A site visitor was curious and pondered…
The company I work for utilizes an all blue signature and signature block (name, address, phone, website, etc). I understand the owner’s reasoning which is to make it stand out from the rest of the email however, I think it not only looks tacky and unprofessional but it makes me think that somehow our website URL defaulted the entire block to blue. What are your thoughts?
Why does it have to stand out from the rest of the message? The message itself should be the primary and sole focus of every e-mail. It is standard and customary to have a signature file with the info you describe and folks know it is there. They don’t need it highlighted in tacky blue as though they wouldn’t see it or know better. (Funny! I thought “tacky” before I read the part in your e-mail and saw you used the same word to describe that awful amateurish blue! Great minds think alike!)
Having an all blue signature file breaks the #1 guideline for business e-mails. If you wouldn’t do it on business letterhead — you don’t do it in a business e-mail. I agree with your concern and can see why some may think the whole sig to be a clickable link.
Unless having your contact informaiton in that blue is part of your overall branding image — it needs to go.
Some More Info for You:
![[Business E-mail Etiquette eBook]](http://www.businessemailetiquette.com/bee-ebook2010VSM100.jpg)
![[Take The Email Etiquette Pledge]](http://www.emailetiquettepledge.com/ee-rev-medium.jpg)
UPDATE:
After presenting a reasonable argument advocating for elimination of the blue signature file – it was again defeated. Therefore, if you or any of your readers can come up with another approach or angle, it would be greatly appreciated.
MBM
Hey, MBM…
Sorry to hear that. But don’t feel bad — you tried. I’ve been promoting the importance of email etiquette and professionalism in email for well over a decade. And I have clients who’ve been with me for that long, know that I have these sites, are coached on this topic and choose to disregard my advice as a “Judith thing.”
Email etiquette, particularly in business is not a “Judith thing.” It’s a professionalism thing, a tech savvy thing, a perception thing.
So for those who ignore or choose to disregard this good advice because they think they know better or that it isn’t important, the chips will fall where they may.
At least they know there is another option and a venue for more information in such case that they decide to truly take full advantage of what technology can do for their business.
At your service,
Judith