First impressions matter. In the modern digital age, your email signature is an important piece of the first impression you leave when sending an email. Furthermore, your email signature can be designed to convey a sense of professionalism, creativity, or style depending on how you want it to be portrayed.
If you want to know how to add a personalized signature to your Outlook email account, you’re in the right place. This article will tell you how to add a signature to your outgoing Outlook email to create a professional appearance to your messages.
Windows – How to Add a Signature in Outlook
Outlook is part of Microsoft’s extensive suite of tools and is one of the most widely used email services around the world. Whether for personal or business use, an email signature can add professionalism to your email correspondence and make it stand out.
Follow the below steps to add a signature in Outlook:
- Open your Outlook account on your computer or device.
- Click on the “New Email” button in the top left corner of the screen.
- Select the “Signature” icon on the horizontal toolbar at the top of the screen to open the drop-down menu.
- Scroll down and select “Signatures” from the option list to open the “Signatures and Stationery” screen.
- Click on the “New” button. This will prompt a pop-up box that allows you to name the signature.
- Name your signature and click “OK.”
- Write and format your signature to suit your personal preference. Additionally, you can add images and links to your signature as desired.
- Once completed, click the “OK” button to save your new default signature.
How to Add a Signature in Outlook on a Mac
As with all Microsoft products, Outlook is a versatile program that is compatible with any device so long as you have an internet connection. Hence, Outlook can be used on MacOS and that means that you can also create and add a personalized email signature on your Mac computer.
Here are the steps to set up your very own Outlook signature on a Mac:
- Open your Outlook account on your Mac computer.
- Navigate to and select the “Outlook” tab from the toolbar on the top left of the screen to open the drop-down menu.
- Click on “Settings” from the options list.
- Once in the Outlook preferences menu, locate and select “Signatures.”
- On the screen that appears, click on the “+” button to make a new signature. This will prompt a pop-up box that allows you to name the signature.
- Name your new signature and click “OK.”
- Write and format your signature to suit your personal preference. Additionally, you can add images and links to your signature as desired.
- Once completed, click on the “Save” button to finalize.
How to Add a Signature in Outlook on an iPhone
Microsoft Outlook can also be used on mobile devices including the iPhone. Therefore, just because you’re sending an email on the go doesn’t mean you can’t sign off your emails in style.
Here are the easy-to-follow steps to make that happen:
- Open the Outlook app on your iPhone.
- Click on your “Profile” icon at the top left of the screen to open the profile menu options.
- Select the “Settings” icon located at the bottom left of the menu.
- Scroll down in the Settings menu and select “Signature” to go to the “Make a New Signature” screen.
- Write and format your signature to suit your personal preference.
- Once completed, simply hit the “Back” button to finalize your new signature.
How to Add a Signature in Outlook on Android
The world is becoming increasingly mobile. Whether for business or personal emails, the importance of having a customized email signature available on your mobile device is becoming evident to many.
Here is how you do it:
- Open the Outlook app on your Android device.
- Select the “Menu” icon located at the top left of your screen.
- Click on the “Settings” icon located at the bottom left of the menu.
- Once in the settings menu, select “Signature.”
- Write and format your signature to suit your personal preference.
- Once completed, click on the “Check” icon on the top right of the screen to finalize.
How to Use Signature Templates in Outlook
Although Microsoft has made the process of creating an email signature simple and easy to use, they also offer a range of pre-designed templates that you can utilize or use as a foundation to build a visually stunning signature.
Here are the steps to create a signature from a template:
- Go to the Microsoft Email Signature Gallery and download the Microsoft Outlook email signature template gallery.
- Once you have downloaded the template gallery, open the program in “Word.”
- Browse the template gallery and select the signature that best suits your needs. Highlight all the elements in your chosen signature, right-click, and select “Copy.”
- Go to “Outlook” on your device.
- Locate and select the “New Email” tab.
- Paste the copied email template into the new email.
- Edit and personalize the email template by adding your personal information and altering the elements as you desire.
- Once satisfied, highlight the edited signature, right-click, and select “Copy.”
- Click on “Signature” on the horizontal menu bar that runs across the top of the screen to open the drop-down menu.
- Select “Signatures” from the drop-down menu options to proceed to the next screen.
- On the screen that appears, click the “New” button.
- Enter the name of your new signature in the designated name box.
- Right-click and hit “Paste” in the designated new signature box.
- Once the signature is displayed in the box and you’re satisfied, select “Save.”
- Using the drop-down menu, select “Default Signature” and then click the “Save” button to finalize.
What Should Be Included in an Email Signature
There is no shortage of options when it comes to online communication in the modern world. However, despite this email remains an immensely popular and effective tool for communicating, especially in business. Thus, having an email signature that portrays you in the light in which you wish to be viewed is extremely important.
Of course, the content and style of your signature will depend on what purpose for which you primarily use your emails. That being said, there are a few elements that are integral to making your signature as effective as possible:
- Contact Information: Regardless of your goal, a good email signature should contain your contact information. For instance, phone number, work address, etc. This allows people to contact you through other means but also gives it a more professional look.
- Visuals: Imbuing your signature with color, logos, etc is a great way to make your email memorable and stand out among the rest.
- Personality: Communicating online can dehumanizing at times but designing a signature that shows your personality can reverse this to an extent. Thus, it allows you to forge better relationships.
- Links: Having a link to your website, portfolio, etc. can be an extremely effective method for building your business reputation and brand.
Sign Off With Style
Although it may appear somewhat trivial, an email signature is a powerful statement. It functions as a sort of digital business card that establishes you as an individual and not some random auto-generated email.
Have you ever created a signature in Outlook? Did you find it an effective addition to your emails? Let us know in the comment section.
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