In this edition of Web Enlightenment we'll be talking about signature files and why you should have one.

This newsletter focuses on giving you practical, interesting insights into how to successfully use technology as a tool to improve the way you do business. Bridging the gap between knowledge and understanding that all entrepreneurs have will help you make money online.

Please hit reply and tell me about what you'll be doing to improve your sig file. I answer every email sent to me.

All the best,

Where o Where has the little Sig Gone?

Recently I have noticed that a great number of people emailing me don't have sig files - even folks from big companies - and that shocks me. How could someone skip over such a reliable opportunity for promotion ?

For those of you that might not be familiar a "sig" or signature is that little bit of text at the bottom of sent emails. The reason it is often referred to as a "sig file" is because many email programs use a separate text file as the source of a signature and append it to every outbound message.

No matter what email program you use it supports sig files - and if you don't have one you should get one today.

Evan Esar - the American Humorist - says: "A signature always reveals a man's character - and sometimes even his name."

All great sig files contain three elements: promotion, identification, and personality.

Let's take a look at the sig file I am using right now to show you the three key elements. At the bottom of every email I send you'll find this:

The Internet Educator - Bridging the Gap between Knowledge and Understanding
Please visit http://www.TheInternetEducator.com and subscribe to my free bi-weekly newsletter Web Enlightenment
128 Buckwood Rd.
PO Box 720
Manchester, ME 04351
Main Phone Number = (207) 684-4000

“Human happiness and human satisfaction must ultimately come from within oneself. It is wrong to expect some final satisfaction to come from money or from a computer.” -Tenzin Gyatso, HHDL
"Tell the blunt, honest truth in the starkest, darkest way. And what will be, will be. What will be, should be." - Jack
"Few people can see genius in someone who has offended them." - Robertson Davies
"Computers are incredibly fast, accurate, and stupid. Human beings are incredibly slow, inaccurate, and brilliant. Together they are powerful beyond imagination." - Albert Einstein

The first two lines of my sig file are the promotion section, and in general I'd recommend putting that first. The way I have it setup is a tried and true formula - one piece of data and one call to action. A tagline or mission statement is a pretty typical thing to use as your data. One of the most effective calls to action is to ask people to sign up to receive something. This can be an E-Newsletter, a tip sheet, or pretty much anything at all. Changing what you are offering - or the way you describe the offer - is something that should be done a few times a year.

The next critical element of a sig file is identification and while there are many styles, the key is to make sure all the needed information is present. I don't have a fax machine and I recently setup my main phone to forward to my cell phone whenever I am not in my office - that saved me two lines of data. In general the information you want here is the same as what is on your printed letterhead.

The last section of a sig file is the fun part - personality. Lots of people do what I do in that section, they use quotes that they like. As I am a big fan of quotes I try to limit myself to three of them, but as you can see above I am currently failing at that by using four.

The other option with the personality section is to use a joke or a pun - you just want to have something that would make people that know you well smile.

I suppose the real key to a sig file is to make sure you actually have one - then focus on the three critical elements: promotion, identification, and personality.

I'd love to hear from readers about how sig files have helped you - just hit reply to share your thoughts.

Sig Files are an incredibly effective way to promote your business , if you've never had one before you'll be amazed at how effective they are.

Ross's Brain

I love this picture - drawn by Todd Parlee of Parlee Stumpf - it was part of a powerpoint presentation about Todd's firm and what it has been like to work with me in the last year or so.

I really love helping my clients succeed in the interactive world and it was such a treat to see this visual representation of what I hope to do for people.

Thanks again Todd.