You might think it’s only for business correspondence. Many real estate professionals have a signature with their name, the name of the company, a phone number, and the web address. Many small business people do the same.

But is that enough? And should you limit using a signature to only your business correspondence? I don’t think so.

First, if you serve a specific geographic area, add your city to that factual information. I can’t tell you how many real estate signatures I’ve read that give me no clue where the agent is located. (Aside from the phone number, but how many people know all the area codes in the U.S.?)

Then you need a tag line. That’s something short and sweet that conveys what you do. After that, if you have a special offer going on, include it.

If you’re in real estate you might use a line about your specialty – “Serving the Highland Hills area of Mytown,” or right now… “Call on me for Short Sale Success”

If you’re an electrical contractor, you’ll want to show whether you’re in commercial or residential construction, or if you do rehab work.

If you’re a hairdresser your tag line can let people know if you’re an expert at the latest mod hairstyles or if grandma will love you because you know how to make a pin curl.

Why do you need all this information at the end of an email?

For one thing, even our friends don’t always think about what we do for a living. Especially our on-lines friends who may never have met us in real life.  Your signature on your email is a constant, yet subtle reminder of what you do.

This could be very valuable if you sell products on line, especially if you change the signature now and then to reflect a sale or a special purchase item. But it could be valuable even if you provide a service in a specific geographic location.

That’s because emails are often forwarded on to other people. You may live in Montana and write to a friend in Florida. But your email and your signature could very well end up back in a home that’s a mile from where you’re sitting.

Think about your own actions. When a friend forwards you a funny joke or useful information, don’t you notice if it has a signature at the end? And don’t you forward it on to other friends who will probably enjoy it? Most of us do.

Even better, if you kept seeing the same name attached to messages that resonated with you, wouldn’t you start to feel a little like you knew that person?  You might not consciously think it, but in the back of your mind you will probably be feeling: “This person thinks a lot like I do – I’d like to meet her/him.”  And of course, when you start thinking someone is a lot like you, you automatically think they’re pretty darn good people.

The danger here, of course, is in sending messages that would turn people away. So if you have a good friend and sometimes share jokes that are a bit on the colorful side, or share opinions that are politically charged, it might be a good idea to remove your signature.

You know some email messages do “go viral” so be careful!

In a way, your signature is a way for you to expand your sphere of influence to include people you will never meet. And as long as they have a great impression of you, that’s a good thing!