How to create an interesting email signature

Dealing with email can be such a chore. Which is why I’m starting to appreciate the personal touch of signature quotes that some people add at the end of their online messages. These little sayings can liven things up. Consider the following delightful thought, which hit my inbox the other day…

“For better or worse, it is a delicious thing to write, to be no longer

yourself but to move in an entire universe of your own creating.

Today, for instance, as man and woman, both lover and mistress,

I rode in a forest on an autumn afternoon under the yellow leaves,

and I was also the horses, the leaves, the wind, the words my people uttered,

even the red sun that made them almost close their love-drowned eyes.”

Nineteenth century French novelist Gustave Flaubert jotted down these words in a letter to his mistress, Louise Colet. And I’m just swept away by his images. Wouldn’t it be great if I could feel that complete in my work, my life — so complete that I am both man and woman, lover and mistress as well as every leaf and breeze. <Sigh.>

Most people who add signature quotes pick something short, a manageable one-liner. In that context, running this paragraph is a bit much. But it’s so memorable! Besides, there aren’t really any rules. And that has me wondering if I might want to tinker with my own presentation.

Here’s what people are getting from me right now: A headshot and the link to my blog.For the moment, I’m okay what I have. But at some point, I might add my Twitter handle as part of my signature tooI.

If you’re interested in personalizing your email, go to the account settings for email address. See if there’s a signature option that lets you add image and text. If so, once you create the signature, it’ll automatically appear on every email you write.

How to sign off? Some options: a professional title, cell phone number, company name, your name, logo, photo, website link, your Twitter handle, your Facebook page url or maybe, a jazzy quote.

Honestly? Right now I don’t feel loose-y goose-y enough to try that last option. But the idea remains appealing. And I certainly enjoy reading special verses that others add to their signatures. So thank you, Tony Ramirez, for sending me an email with those lovely lines by Flaubert.   :-)

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