Email Footer: Types and Best Practices
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As a salesperson, have you limited yourself to only using catchy subject lines, personalizing the content of the email and adding a professional email signature in your emails? If yes, it is high time for you to think about moving ahead.
Do you ever pay attention to your email footer? If not, you have been missing out on the chance to make the most of your email.
Most often, recipients don’t pay attention to email footers and don’t read them, but they are still crucial for your business to scale new heights. They can also help in protecting your business by making your email comply with legal guidelines. Apart from that, footers can help in promoting your brand.
Let’s look at email footers in detail.
Why do you need an email footer?
Mail footers help your email seem professional. They tend to add specific information that allows both the sender’s business and the email recipient. They tend to provide additional information to the recipient and protect them and your business which is why you should consider adding an email footer to every business email you send.
Different types of email footers
There are several different types of email footers, but you must choose what seems relevant to your business and industry. Here is a list of the commonly used email footers,
Legal and confidentiality footers
Adding legal and confidentiality disclaimers in the email footer protect the confidentiality of the email content and the recipient’s identity. Certain situations like sending a bill to the wrong client by mistake can put you in a tough spot legally. That is why it is essential to add a confidentiality disclaimer in the footer so that your business stays protected. It is better to consult a lawyer when creating such footers as it has to be relevant to your business.
GDPR compliant footers
This is not an option. All your emails must have a GDPR compliant footer. GDPR ( General Data Protection Regulation) is a regulation that aims at protecting the privacy of EU citizens. It is essential to comply with the law if your emails hit the inboxes of EU citizens.
The primary purpose of the GDPR compliant footers is to protect your business and build trust between you and your potential customer. It enables you to abide by the standards of the industry. It is essential to use GDPR compliant footers when you collect any customer data that is personal or confidential.
Security or Virus disclaimer
You have to include a security or virus disclaimer at the bottom of your email if you send links and attachments in your email. This disclaimer will ensure that the recipient cannot hold you responsible for a virus attack or malware affecting their PC.
Your footer should warn the recipient of the threat of viruses getting transmitted through email while mentioning that you are not liable if that happens.
Green email footers
You can add a message in your email footer requesting the recipient avoid printing the email unless necessary. It is a good move to show the recipient that your business aims at being environmentally friendly and wants people to reduce their paper consumption. Just keep these green footers short and to the point. It can be something like,
Thanks for not printing this email.
Go green. Save trees. Don’t print.
There are other eco-friendly tips you can add to your green footer. It’s totally up to you.
Social media buttons
If you want recipients to connect with you on social media, you can add your social media links in the email footer. Based on the nature of your business, you can customize these buttons. However, adding too many social media buttons can make it look too crowded. You can instead focus on a few channels. It is better not to go beyond 4 buttons in your footer. Try using clickable icons to make it easier for the recipient to open them. Also, refrain from adding buttons of accounts that are not active. Attempt making it easier for recipients to connect with you beyond the email.
Unsubscribe links
Saying goodbye to a prospect can be challenging. But you have to add an unsubscribe link to your email footer to help recipients who don’t want to receive emails from you anymore. It is now a necessity to add an unsubscribe link to email to make it GDPR compliant. It is essential if you are sending newsletters.
In a way, unsubscribes are nothing to worry about as those who didn’t have interest in your emails have left your list, which means only those who want you to hear from you stay. You can focus more on them and expect a purchase.
Marketing email footers
There are email footer to promote your business as well. You can mention the launch of new products, add a link to a new blog post, promote an event or place a link to your website. It is more like adding a CTA or call-to-action to the email. They can make the recipient curious and give them a chance to get more information about what you have to offer.
Email footer best practices
Certain practices will help you leverage the power of email footers. Here is what all you need to pay attention to,
Add basic info
As you have read above, apart from the mandatory legal disclaimers and an unsubscribe link, your footer should have contact information and social media buttons.
Keep its structure clear
It is essential to make the footer seem like a logical section of your email. Keep it short and to the point with minimal graphics. Nobody would like long paragraphs in a footer. Use a divider if you have to add a lot of information so that it isn’t too cramped.
Make links easy to find
Highlight and use a different colour for a link, such as the unsubscribe link, so that anyone can spot it easily. Give the reader a better experience by adding additional links such as links to FAQs, link to view in browser, store locator, referral link, legal requirements and more.
Add company’s logo
Adding your company’s logo in the footer can help improve brand recognition. After reading your email, when readers look at your logo, they subconsciously connect between the well-written email and your business. Keep graphics, symbols and emojis away when you place your logo in the footer, as the primary focus should be on it.
Mention your achievements
Your awards and achievements work as social proof, and by adding them to the footer, the reader will know about them and trust your company better. You can even mention your partners and collaborators to show your standard and reputation. It matters in making the reader feel that your company is a prestigious firm and your product or service is worth a try.
Add app download buttons
If you have apps, it is a good idea to place the download buttons in the footer so that new subscribers/readers would download them from there. It is an easy way to increase the number of downloads of your apps.
Make use of a contrasting background
It is up to you to use a colour or an image for the background. Just ensure that the contrast is enough to make the text seem visible against the background. You can divide your footer into logical blocks and use one colour or different colours for each block.
Personalize the footer
Make the email look more human by adding elements like a quote or a graphic related to your brand. It can be anything that makes the recipient feel that they are talking to a friend instead of reading an automated email.
The Final Takeaway
Email footers are essential as they let readers take a look at important information about your brand. While some disclaimers have to be there by law, you can use the space to build your company’s reputation. It is totally up to you to add and remove the elements discussed above and leverage the power of email footers.
