Lawyers spend so much time and energy thinking about how to market their law firm but seemingly so little time considering the lowly and humble email signature block. You know, those few lines of contact information that many of us put at the bottom of every email we send.

Free and easy, these forlorn little blocks of text get less respect than Rodney Dangerfield. But if you take just a few minutes to work on it, your email signature can be a powerful means of marketing your practice.

Think of your email signature as a little messenger who speaks to everyone you send an e-mail to. What do you want him or her to say?

Here are 8 ways to turn your email signature into a marketing force.

1. Make sure your correct “snail mail” address shows up, including the ZIP+4. Doing so will help people when they want to send you something the “old fashioned way,” and prevent a phone call asking for the address.
2. Include your direct dial phone number and fax number. When someone gets an email they may find it easier to pick up a phone and “talk it out” (hat tip to Ari Gold) rather than wear their typing fingers to the bone.
3. Remember your email address. Sure, hitting REPLY will let the recipient send you email, but what if they want to save your contact information?
4. Tell ‘em what you do. If someone doesn’t know the exact types of law you practice, how can you possibly expect them to ever send you business? Even if they know, telling them is a great nudge in the right direction.
5. Add your “hub.” Whether it’s your website, your blog, your Facebook page or somewhere else, give the recipient some way to connect with you online. This way, they can learn more about you and delve deeper into how you can help.
6. Make an offer. By offering the recipient a tractor beam in your email you increase the chances that they will become part of your email list. Doing so will provide you with an opportunity to educate them more thoroughly, update them regularly, and increase your influence. Even if the offer is inapplicable to the recipient, remember that every major email program has a button that lets someone forward the message onto someone else.
7. Skip the disclaimers. Disclaimers are longer than ever. How to handle them? I created a separate page on my law firm website that contains all of my disclaimers, and put a link to that page on my email signature. It cuts down the amount of space the signature takes up, saving my readers the joy of reading all the useless disclosures.
8. Cut the quotes. Nobody cares that you have an inspirational poem or quote. Cute once, useless thereafter.

What do you think?

Photo courtesy of Viernest.

Related posts:

1. Guarding Against The E-Mail Faux Pas
2. Using Autoresponders To Market Your Practice
3. Disposable EMail Addresses? Not As Stupid As You Think.
4. Your Email Signature – You Need One, But Tread Carefully!
5. 7 Ways To Profitably Use Email Marketing In Your Law Firm