How to choose the perfect email signature quote: tips and examples
You spent a long time writing your email, choosing the necessary words to convey your message and establish the necessary connection. All that's left is to create a signature. Perhaps you want to stand out from the crowd and add some zest to the already-familiar email block. Quotes are one of the options for how you can make this block unique, and in this article, we discuss email signature quotes in detail, specifically what they’re needed for and when they’re appropriate, as well as provide a large sampling of email signature quotes for all occasions.
Why include a quote in your email signature?
First, let's discuss why you’d want to use quotes in your email signature. Email signature quotes are a way to convey your personality to your audience. They’re a tool that allows you to stand out in a sea of automated emails and potentially spark deeper, more meaningful conversations. Besides this, a well-chosen email signature quote can convey necessary emotions, replace negative thoughts, lift the recipient's mood, and generally set the right tone before you make full contact with the recipient.
(Source: Stripo template)
As a result, email signature quotes can add a nice touch to your presentation, while conveying your personal email address, phone number, and other information that always is placed in the email signature.
Important note: While many experts recommend against using quotes in signatures, often viewing them as inappropriate, there are still scenarios in which you can add a quote to your signature. We examine such cases below, including necessary advice and examples of quotes.
Suitable cases for quotes in email signatures
We figured out why you can consider using quotes in your email signature, so let's examine when it's appropriate to use them. Just as a joke isn’t appropriate in every situation, and a quote won’t look good in every email signature. Quotes work best in more creative industries and those that involve working with an audience.
Art
The first case comprises creative industries related to art. Artists, designers, directors, and many others can count on a well-chosen quote in an email signature to help them express their creative nature and add zest to business emails. Quotes in such cases should be used more thoughtfully, and you definitely shouldn’t merely pick the first one that contains the word "art.” Think carefully about who in your artistic field inspires you, particularly how this person’s words resonated with you.
(Source: Stripo template)
Music
This case speaks for itself. Singers, composers, musicians, producers, sound engineers, and other industry professionals won’t be out of line adding a quote to their email signatures.
Perhaps you liked a deep line from a song, or a quote from a musician who inspires you? These sources are appropriate for seeking quotes to enclose with your email signature, conveying to the recipient that you’re actively involved in this industry and that the best minds are guiding lights in your career. The only caveat is to avoid overly generic quotes, particularly those from songs that contain obscenity. Be creative, but also remain professional.
Coaching
Motivational speakers, coaches, public figures, and industry experts comprise another case in which a bright quote can be a good addition to your email signature. These people often are sources of valuable quotes, as they’re skilled at speaking authoritatively, with emotion, to convey knowledge and smart thoughts to millions of other people who are eager to hear their wisdom.
For example, say you’re a professional coach who trains managers of large teams. You can use another successful coach’s quote—one that contains interesting advice or an inspirational boost for your future students.
(Source: Stripo template)
Tips for choosing effective email signature quotes
Now it's time to talk about a few nuances you should keep in mind when choosing a quote for your email signature.
Keep it short
The first thing you should think about when choosing a quote is its length. The quote shouldn’t be overly long because the signature block’s space is limited. No matter how good and deep a paragraph-sized quote is, there simply may not be room for it in a modest-sized signature block. Furthermore, a large quote can turn reading into a routine for the recipient, or they may skip the signature altogether as soon as they see a long block of text.
And don't forget that an email signature’s main purpose is to convey important contact information, so you shouldn't overly distract recipients from that.
Keep the design simple
Now let's talk a little about the design of the quote and the signature block in general. First, the quote’s design should be readable. There’s no point in spending time choosing a quote if it’s difficult to read. Furthermore, the fonts, colors, and overall contrast should be accessible so that recipients with visual impairments can read the quote easily.
We cover email accessibility requirements in more detail in our dedicated article:
Visual perception and accents are also worth considering. If your quote distracts the recipient from the contact information, you should reconsider the design or choose a smaller quote. If you’re not sure how your email will look in the recipient's inbox and how they will perceive it, show it to friends and colleagues by sending it to their inboxes and listening to their feedback.
Keep it professional
The last tip is more of an add-on to all of the above. Regardless of your industry, maintaining a professional tone is essential. An email signature is like a business card that you leave at the end of an introduction. It’s for networking and making connections, among other function, so avoid quotes that could ruin your chances of achieving your career goals. When choosing a quote, always think about how the other person might perceive it and whether there’s a hidden meaning in the quote that might go against your goals, image, etc.
For example, witty email signature quotes that you may view as conveying positive thinking may confuse or irritate the recipient, as everyone has a different sense of humor. Even if you choose the quote with good intentions, it may backfire. So, always think twice when choosing a professional email signature quote.
(Source: Stripo template)
Although an email signature is a fairly simple visual element, it can take time to create. We've demonstrated how you can generate an email signature for your emails quickly using Stripo.
Email signature quote examples
We gathered a wide variety of quotes that you can use as email signatures for your own email newsletters, dividing them into several sections. We tried to select quotes that would be suitable for the widest possible number of industries and cases.
Inspirational email signature quotes
These quotes are sources of inspiration for many people, so it would be a great idea to share them with your audience:
- “The only limit to our realization of tomorrow will be our doubts of today.” —Franklin D. Roosevelt.
- “Believe you can, and you're halfway there.” —Theodore Roosevelt.
- “The only person you are destined to become is the person you decide to be.” —Ralph Waldo Emerson.
- “The only way to do great work is to love what you do.” —Steve Jobs.
- “In the middle of every difficulty lies opportunity.” —Albert Einstein.
- “Failure inspires winners. Failure defeats losers.” —Robert T. Kiyosaki.
- "Winners make a habit of manufacturing their own positive expectations in advance of the event." —Brian Tracy.
Professional email signature quotes
Sprinkle these quotes in your email signature to reinforce your professional image and convey that you mean business:
- “Quality means doing it right when no one is looking.” —Henry Ford.
- “Be so good, they can’t ignore you.” —Steve Martin.
- “Be professional. Make your work speak for itself.” —Richard Branson.
- “Try not to become a man of success, but rather try to become a man of value.” —Albert Einstein.
- “A professional is someone who can do their best work when they don’t feel like it.” —Alistair Cooke.
- “It’s not about ideas. It’s about making ideas happen.” —Scott Belsky.
- “Professionalism is when you can do your best work and make everyone around you feel their best too.” —Steve Jobs.
Email signature quotes on success
These quotes are all about success and what it means for the thought leaders of the past and present. Reinforce your successful business story with a motivational quote like these:
- “Success is the sum of small efforts, repeated day in and day out.” —Robert Collier.
- “Don’t aim for success if you want it. Just do what you love and believe in, and it will come naturally.” —David Frost.
- “Success is a journey, not a destination.” —Arthur Ashe.
- “Success does not consist in never making mistakes, but in never making the same one a second time.” —George Bernard Shaw.
- “Action is the foundational key to all success.” —Pablo Picasso.
- “Success is how you bounce when you hit bottom.” —George S. Patton.
- “A satisfied customer is the best business strategy of all.” —Michael LeBoeuf.
Business email signature quotes
Use these email signature quotes to inspire your business colleagues and valuable future contacts to push their businesses toward new opportunities and boundaries:
- “Your most unhappy customers are your greatest source of learning.” —Bill Gates.
- “Great things in business are never done by one person. They're done by a team of people.” —Steve Jobs.
- “Anticipate the difficult by managing the easy.” —Lao Tzu.
- “Business is all about solving people’s problems—at a profit.” —Paul Marsden.
- “Business opportunities are like buses, there's always another one coming.” —Richard Branson.
- “Don’t find customers for your products, find products for your customers.” —Seth Godin.
- “In the business world, the rearview mirror is always clearer than the windshield.” —Warren Buffett.
Popular email signature quotes
These quotes are all over the place, but they still can reach your audience's minds and hearts:
- “Don’t watch the clock; do what it does. Keep going.” —Sam Levenson.
- “You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.” —Wayne Gretzky.
- “It does not matter how slowly you go as long as you do not stop.” —Confucius.
- “If you can dream it, you can do it.” —Walt Disney.
- “Success usually comes to those who are too busy to be looking for it.” —Henry David Thoreau.
- “The function of leadership is to produce more leaders, not more followers.” —Ralph Nader.
- "The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams." —Eleanor Roosevelt.
Wrapping up
Even though various experts don’t recommend using email signature quotes, you still can gain some style points if you use signatures appropriately. If you work in a creative field or inspire and teach people your job, quotes can make your image more vivid and memorable. However, don’t forget about email design rules because without them, even the most inspiring quote will fall flat with recipients. Be laconic when choosing a quote, arrange it in a readable and pleasing-to-the-eye package, and always remain professional.