lemlab

Write an effective cold email signature in 5 steps

Tony Do
LAST UPDATED
September 30, 2024
READING TIME
7 min.

At first glance, your cold email signature may seem like an afterthought. But if you do it right, it helps you drive prospects’ engagement and get replies.

By strategically placing information such as your name, job title, and contact information in every email, you establish trust and credibility - and prospects can familiarize you. This is key to making more sales.

So, how do you write email signatures that represent you and push the prospect down the sales funnel?

We analyzed the data of millions of cold email campaigns to find the answers.

Here are the 5 tips you need for a successful cold email signature - based on real data. ⬇️

Five Tips to Create a Compelling Email Signature

Here’s everything you need to know about writing a cold email signature that catches attention.

1. Keep your signature concise

Based on an analysis of millions of lemlist cold email campaigns, the most successful cold email signatures are short and sweet: between 4-6 words.

A bar graph with the title "how long should your cold email signature be?" The Y axis shows click-through-rate, and the X axis has 4 columns: 1-3 words, 4-6 words, 7-10 words, and 11-20 words. The 4-6 word column has the highest CTR, 3.5%

Writing a concise email signature helps you:

-> get the most important information across

-> not distract from your pitch and CTA

-> stay on top of your prospects’ minds

2. Add your image (optional)

For a personal touch, you can choose to include a professional photo of yourself in your cold email signature.

Including a headshot or a professional photo in your email signature helps you:

-> establish a human connection that fosters trust and relatability

-> create a more memorable and personable experience

-> add authenticity and establish a relationship with your leads

Note: Too many images in a cold email can lead to formatting and deliverability issues. Also, many email providers already allow you to add a profile picture to your contact information - so this step may not be appropriate for everyone.

3. Include helpful links

Want to build credibility and build followers for yourself or your brand? Add links for prospects to follow.

By adding links to relevant articles, eBooks, or other valuable resources to your email signature, you can:

-> enrich prospects’ understanding and decision-making process

-> position yourself as a thought leader

-> guide your prospects toward deeper engagement

In fact, in our data analysis of millions of cold email signatures, we found that adding links increases the success rates (replies and clicks) of your cold outreach:

A bar graph with the title, "should you include links & images in your cold email signature?" The Y axis shows 'success rate,' and the X axis has two columns: all signatures, and signatures with links. The 'signatures with links' column has a higher success rate than the 'all signatures' category

4. Showcase relevant awards

If you’ve been recognized as a top company or earned prestigious badges from reputable sites like G2, include them in your cold email signature.

Showing off relevant awards helps you:

-> boost confidence in your prospects

-> demonstrate you’ve been acknowledged and endorsed by industry experts

-> establish your position as a trusted and reliable partner

Note: avoid adding too many images or symbols in your signature, as this can lead to formatting issues.

5. Give an actionable next step

If you want prospects to follow up with you, give them a clear indication of how to do it.

Include a link to a virtual calendar where prospects can easily schedule a call or a demo to:

-> move the conversation forward and streamline the sales process

-> eliminate unnecessary back-and-forth

-> demonstrate your commitment to meeting the needs of your prospects

The 4 most successful cold email signatures

For some extra inspiration, here are the four sales email signatures that had the highest click-through rates of all the cold email campaigns in our study.

These are real signatures that lemlist users have sent to get more replies and conversions.

For privacy, we have anonymized their names and contact information.

Notice that each signature:

-> is concise

-> includes links

-> provides contact information to follow up on

-> avoids complicated formatting or too many images

A graphic with the title "Cold email signatures with the highest CTR." There are 4 squares, each showing a cold email signature. They contain: Name (in bold), position, phone number or email, a link to their website, and in some cases a logo

How to create your best signature in under 2 mins

You can easily select and personalize signature elements and make your emails stand out thanks to HubSpot’s suite of tools.

Here’s how:

Step 1: Use a tool like HubSpot’s free email signature generator. This resource allows you to add your name, title, department, contact information and more in just minutes. 

Step 2: Leverage additional custom materials with tools like the free logo maker to uplevel your signature even more and make it more custom. 

Step 3: Download the file and upload it to your email provider of choice, whether it’s Gmail or Outlook. 

Step 4: Start sending out your emails with your newly enhanced signature! 

Cold Email Signature Generator

Start to generator your own cold email signature with our free tool:

Key takeaways

Following these five best email signature practices can help you:

-> catch your prospects’ attention

-> establish credibility and trust

-> get more replies and book more meetings

Consider it a concise yet comprehensive snapshot of your brand that helps you stand out in prospects’ inboxes, book meetings, and grow your business!

And if you’d like to try a cold outreach tool that will allow you to:

-> A/B test your signatures to pinpoint the best results

-> save your best signature as a reusable {{signature}} variable to save time

-> personalize at scale to drive more conversions

Then sign up for a free lemlist account. (Don’t worry - no surprise bills or card info required!)

Tony Do
Marketing Manager, Digital Marketer, and SEO Strategist @ HubSpot
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G2 Rating
Price
Best for
Standout feature
Con
4.9
star
star
star
star
star
$30/mo
$75/mo
$2,999/mo
Large, distributed sales teams
AI evaluation precision, gamified KPIs
Lack of tracking system
4.6
star
star
star
star
star-half
Not publicly available
Sales operations and finance teams
Powerful configurability
Limited training resources and complex to navigate
4.4
star
star
star
star
star-half
Not publicly available
Mid-market and enterprise businesses
Comprehensive incentive management
Potentially high cost and steep learning curve
4.7
star
star
star
star
star-half
$15/user/mo
$40/user/mo
Enterprise: custom price
Complex sales structures and businesses of all sizes
Complex sales structures and businesses of all sizes
Steep learning curve
4.6
star
star
star
star
star-half
Not publicly available
Collaborative teams
Connected planning
Complexity and steep learning curve
4.6
star
star
star
star
star-half
Not publicly available
Companies with complex sales structures
Complex incentive compensation management (ICM) with high efficiency and accuracy
Complexity for smaller teams and potentially high costs
4.7
star
star
star
star
star-half
Not publicly available
Companies who want to automate commission calculations and payouts
Simplicity and ease of use
Lack of features like redirection
4.7
star
star
star
star
star-half
$30/user/mo
$35/user/mo
Custom: upon request
Businesses that need a comprehensive and user-friendly sales compensation management software
Ease of use and adoption
Lack of ability to configure the product based on user needs
4.8
star
star
star
star
star-half
Not publicly available
Companies with modern sales culture and businesses who want real-time insights
A built-in dispute management and real-time visibility
Users say it works slowly, customer support is slow
4.9
star
star
star
star
star
$30/user/mo
$50/user/mo
Smaller sales teams
Powerful automation
Lesser user base and average user interface
4.7
star
star
star
star
star-half
Not publicly available
Companies with scalable needs
Automated Commission Calculations
Lack of filtering by date, no mobile app
ERP vs. CRM
ERP
CRM
Summary
Backbone of a business's internal operations.
Backbone of customer-centric interactions and operations.
Goal
To centralize and streamline core business processes in a company.
To increase customer experience, satisfaction and loyalty, and boost sales.
Focus
Internal operations and processes across departments (finance, accounting, inventory, supply chain, HR, and sales).
All interactions with leads and customers.
Manages
Internal business data like financial data, inventory levels, production details, supply chain, HR info.
All customer data like contact info, purchase history, communication history, customer preferences and more.
Users
Finance, accounting, operations, supply chain, and HR departments.
Customer-facing teams like sales, marketing, and customer service.
Benefits
Streamlines operations, improves data accuracy, enhances decision-making, boosts collaboration, increases productivity.
Improves customer relationships, increases sales, strengthens customer service, personalizes marketing campaigns, provides insights.
Price
$150 per user per year on average.
$10 to $30 per user per month on average.
PRM Tool
Rating
Feature
Pro
Con
Mobile App
Integrations
Free Plan
Pricing
4.65
star
star
star
star
star-half
Org-wide alignment
User-friendly layout and database
Suboptimal as a personal CRM
square-check
Lack of tracking system
square-check
Team: $20/month
Business: $45/month
4.7
star
star
star
star
star-half
Social Media Integration
Easy contact data collection
No marketing/sales features
square-check
Lack of tracking system
square-xmark
7-day trial
$12/month
4.75
star
star
star
star
star-half
Block Functions
High customization capability
Not a dedicated CRM
square-check
Limited
square-check
Plus: €7.50/month
Business: €14/month
N/A
Open-source
Open-source flexibility
Requires extensive manual input
square-xmark
Limited
square-check
Self-hosted
$9/month or
$90/year
3.1
star
star
star
Simple iOS app
Ideal for non-tech-savvy users
iPhone only
square-check
iOS only
Limited
square-xmark
1-month trial
$1.49/month or
$14.99/month
3.6
star
star
star
star-half
Smart Contact Management
Feature-rich and flexible
Reported bugs
square-check
Rich
square-xmark
7-day trial
Premium: $13.99/month
Teams: $17.99/month
4.4
star
star
star
star
star-half
Customizable Interface
Customizable for teamwork
Pricey for personal use
square-check
Rich
square-xmark
Standard: $24/member
Premium: $39/member
4.7
star
star
star
star
star-half
Integrated Calling
Integrated Calling
Too sales-oriented & pricey
square-check
Rich
square-xmark
14-day trial
Startup: $59/user/month
Professional: $329/user/month
4.8
star
star
star
star
star
Business Card Scanning
Business Card Scanning
Mobile only
square-check
Limited
square-check
$9.99/month
4.45
star
star
star
star
star-half
160+ app integrations
Comprehensive integrations
No free app version
square-check
Rich
square-xmark
14-day trial
$29.90/month or
$24.90/month (billed annually)
Capterra Rating
Free Trial
Free Plan
Starting Price (excluding the free plan)
Maximum Price (for the most expensive plan)
Best for
4.5
star
star
star
star
star-half
square-check
14-day
square-check
€15/month/seat billed annually
€792/month/3 seats billed annually + €45/month for each extra seat
Versatility and free plan
4.2
star
star
star
star
square-check
30-day
square-xmark
But it offers reduced price to authorised nonprofit organisations
€25/user/month
€500/user/month billed annually (includes Einstein AI)
Best overall operational CRM
4.3
star
star
star
star
star-half
square-xmark
square-check
Limited to 3 users
Comprehensive incentive management
€52/user/month billed annually
Small-medium businesses and automation
4.5
star
star
star
star
star-half
square-check
14-day
square-xmark
€14/seat/month billed annually
€99/seat/month billed annually
Sales teams and ease of use
4.1
star
star
star
star
square-xmark
square-check
Limited 10 users
$9.99/user/month billed annually
$64.99/user/month billed annually
Free plan for very small teams up to 10
CRM goal
Increase the sales conversion rate for qualified leads from marketing automation campaigns by 10% in the next 6 months.
SMART Breakdown
1. Specific: It targets a specific area (conversion rate) for a defined segment (qualified leads from marketing automation).
2. Measurable: The desired increase (10%) is a clear metric, and the timeframe (6 months) allows for progress tracking.
3. Achievable: A 10% increase is possible based on historical data and potential improvements.
4. Relevant: Boosting sales from marketing efforts aligns with overall business objectives.
5. Time-bound: The 6-month timeframe creates urgency and a clear target date.
Actions
Step 1: Refine lead qualification criteria to ensure high-quality leads are nurtured through marketing automation.
Step 2: Personalize marketing automation campaigns based on lead demographics, interests, and behavior.
Step 3: Develop targeted landing pages with clear calls to action for qualified leads.
Step 4: Implement lead scoring to prioritize high-potential leads for sales follow-up.
Step 5: Track and analyze campaign performance to identify areas for optimization.
Outcomes
Increased sales and revenue
Improved marketing automation ROI
Marketing and sales alignment
Data-driven marketing optimization
Table
CDP Software
CRM Software
Approach
Data-centric
Customer-centric
Focus
Interactions across various channels and touchpoints, both online and offline.
Sales, marketing, and customer service interactions.
Functionality
Automatically collects, organizes, tags, and makes data available in real-time.
Helps businesses track customer interactions, sales pipelines, prospects, and service requests.
Goals
Personalized customer experiences across all channels.
Better customer relationships, streamlined processes, and improved profitability.
Benefits
Data integration, management, and accessibility, allowing for detailed analysis and segmentation.
Better communication within teams and with customers by organizing information about customer interactions and history.
Data Handling
Handles both identified and anonymous data, stitches together various data points.
Deals primarily with identified customer data.
Use Cases
Personalized marketing campaigns, targeted advertising, content customization across multiple channels.
Managing campaigns and leads, enhancing customer service, providing better customer support, increasing customer satisfaction and loyalty.
Examples
Insider, Bloomreach, Salesforce Marketing Cloud CDP
HubSpot, Salesforce Sales Cloud Lightning Professional, and Zoho CRM
CRM
Free plan
Best feature
Best for
Con
1. HubSpot CRM
square-check
Sales automation
Sales teams
Up to 1,000 contacts
2. Insightly
square-check
Custom fields
Basic needs
Not enough info about the free plan
3. Agile CRM
square-check
Deal and sales pipeline tracking
Small teams
Up to 10 users
4. Zoho CRM
square-check
Lead and contact management
Businesses of all sizes
Limited to 3 users
5. ClickUp
square-check
Unlimited tasks and unlimited members
Personal use
Up to 100MB storage
6. EngageBay
square-check
Live chat
Small and midsize enterprises
Up to 1,000 branded emails per month
7. Bitrix24
square-check
Unlimited users and 5 scrum teams
Big teams
Up to 5GB of cloud storage
8. FreshSales
square-check
Easy to use and simple setup
Beginners
Up to 3 users
9. Mailchimp
square-check
Very beginner friendly
Marketing teams
Send up to 500 branded emails per month
Type of Affiliate Marketing
Unattached
Related
Involved
Format
Paid advertising
Social media or YouTube channels
Dedicated website or blog
Focus
Quick income
Your niche
Your audience
Engagement with your audience
square-xmark
square-check
square-check
square-check
square-check
Very close connection with your audience
Pro
Little effort
Higher credibility thanks to your niche
Long-lasting and scalable
Con
Paid ads cost a lot
Potential for bias since you don’t use the thing you promote
Require time, effort, and dedication

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