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APPLYING THE BRAND TO EMAILS

Emails are an unavoidable part of our workday, and email signatures act as a virtual business card, providing necessary contact information — and maybe even show a little personality — while staying professional, accessible and on brand.

Below are a few tips for how to craft email signatures at UNF.

EMAIL SIGNATURE GENERATOR

Remember, you want to make yourself available, but don’t put your personal info at risk.

When including your phone number, add your area code within parenthesis followed by the seven-digit number. EXAMPLE: (123) 123-4567.


Name
Title
Department
Address

Phone Number | Email Address
Website

Please note: Email signatures may look different on other platforms and devices.

ADD YOUR SIGNATURE IN OUTLOOK

  • PC Users

    Desktop Client (PC)

    1. Open a new email message. 
    2. On the Message menu, select the Signature icon > Signatures.Signature icon to add Signatures dropdown
    3. Within Signatures, choose New.
    4. In the Signature dialog box, type a name for the signature.Type a name for this signature dialog box
    5. Under Edit signature, paste in the signature that was generated for you with Keep Source Formatting. Paste Options Keep Source Formatting (K)
    6. Under Choose default signature, set the following options. In the E-mail account drop-down box, choose an email account to associate with the signature. You can have different signatures for each email account. Email account highlighted and Choose default signature dialog box
    7. You can select to have your signature automatically appear in reply and forward messages. In the Replies/forwards drop-down, select one of your signatures. Otherwise, accept the default option of (none).
    8. Click OK to save your new signature and return to your message.

    Source:

  • Mac Users

    Desktop Client (Mac)

    1. Open a new email message.
    2. On the Message menu, select Signature > Manage Signatures.
    3. Under Edit signature, click + to create a new signature. 
      edit signature box
    4. In the New Signature dialog box, type a name for the signature.
      signature box in outlook
    5. Paste your generated signature.
    6. If format looks incorrect, click on the clipboard icon and pick Keep Source Formatting.
      Paste Options Keep Source Formatting (K)
    7. Save your new signature.
    8. You can select to have your signature automatically appear in reply and forward messages. In the Replies/forwards drop-down, select one of your signatures. Otherwise, accept the default option of none.

      choose default signature dropdowns
    9. Close the signature manager and return to your message.

    Outlook doesn't add your new signature to the message you opened in Step 1, even if you chose to apply the signature to all new messages. 

    Source:

WRITING YOUR EMAIL COPY

Shorter is better

Include only the essential topics you want to address in your email, and use scannable shorter paragraphs broken up with bullet points. 

Calls-to-action

Make sure to use action verbs, active language, and make it clear what the benefit is by clicking on the call-to-action link.  

Use plain language

Your readers should understand your message the first time they read it. Follow these tips: 

  • Organize your thoughts so it’s easy to follow; be clear, specific and avoid vague language 
  • Lead with the main idea 
  • Break up copy with headings
  • Avoid acronyms, jargon and idioms
  • Use action-oriented sentences and verbs so readers are clear about what they should do

Use descriptive link text

People who are blind or have low vision often navigate with screen readers by going from link to link. Providing readers with descriptive link text is vital, because it tells them what is being clicked on, and where it will take them. 

FORMATTING YOUR EMAIL

Chunk your content

Chunking means to lay out content in small digestible pieces with headings that describe what can be expected from the following paragraph(s). It calls for shorter paragraphs, often using bullet points. 

Using headings and lists to organize

Headings help users read and understand your content better by organizing content structurally. Heading 1 (H1) should be your main point, and subheadings follow in chronological order (H2, H3, H4, etc.).

Tables

In general, try not to use tables in plain text emails. 

OUT OF OFFICE MESSAGE

Thank you for your email. I am out of the office from [BEGINNING DATE], 2024 through [END DATE], 2024.

If you need immediate assistance, please contact [NAME OF CONTACT PERSON & WORK EMAIL ADDRESS]. I will do by best to reply to your email as soon as I can upon my return to the office. 

Have a nice day. 

[YOUR SIGNATURE INFO]