Email signature banner examples: Designs, best practices, and inspiration

Is your professional email signature working for or against you? While 28.7% of specialists use mail signatures to increase brand visibility, the majority still underestimate this element. A single piece—an email signature banner—can turn the signature into a tool, rather than a sign-off.

But how do you create effective banners that can boost engagement and drive sales? We’re about to find out.

What is an email signature banner?

An email banner is a visual element placed within the signature. The goal? To influence brand awareness and engagement positively, drive clicks, and promote the product or service. Banners vary based on the goal or design, so we’ll review five types that are currently in demand:

• promotional banners: These banners often offer services at a discounted price, announce sales, or promote upcoming events;
• corporate branding banners: This type of banner focuses on strengthening brand identity and often shares the company’s values;
• social proof banners: These often include feedback or reviews from existing clients to foster trust and increase credibility;
• seasonal banners: Some banners are linked to the season or upcoming holidays—another way to spice up marketing messages and make them relevant to direct recipients;
• hiring banners: Banners don’t always revolve around products. They sometimes focus on the team and can share essential information about hiring. 

Email signature banner objectives

Before we delve deeper into the email signature banner design, let’s examine the key objectives:

• 18.8% of respondents use mail signatures to generate leads;
• 15.9% of surveyed email specialists promote social media accounts;
• 9% of email marketing specialists upsell products or services.

A properly made banner can make these goals more reachable and leave a lasting impression—a subject for our next section.

5 email banner design ideas

It all comes down to the first impression—a positive one improves brand perception, while a negative one cuts off the chances with potential customers. I suggest that we review ideas for five banner image types and analyze what makes them so effective.

Promotional banners

The first email signature banner design is promotional. It’s precise and contains only essential details: job title; company name; a mention of the sale; and a promo code to try the perks. This simplicity keeps the recipient focused and not overwhelmed by promos. An icon catches the reader’s attention, while the red coloring adds a sense of urgency. The combination of these factors encourages people to click on and engage with an email.

To better tailor the banner to the brand style, you may add a company logo and choose the right fonts, coloring, and tone of voice.

Corporate branding banners

Does your email signature strengthen your professional image? Around 60% of companies report a 10% revenue growth after style consistency. 

A brief mention of the role, company, and contact details is standard, but a business quote makes this banner below truly eye-catching. It reflects the company’s values and what drives its processes. Whether it’s a slogan or a quote, it can create a clear brand image.

Social proof banners

9 in 10 potential customers check online reviews before committing to a subscription or a purchase. An email banner could ease this task and display positive feedback within the signature.

A yellow icon grabs attention, and the review fosters trust, positively influencing the sales process. Could this be your next banner idea?

Seasonal banners

Let’s talk about relevance. Before you write off mail signatures off as calling cards, consider adding seasonal banners. The key benefit? A balance between professionalism and time.

The email signature example below offers recipients a glimpse of seasonal email templates. There’s no pushy promo, just hand-picked and relevant designs that add a personal touch to the message.

Hiring banners

Only 2.3% of specialists use email signature design to advertise open vacancies, while most still miss out on this catchy way to attract applicants. An example of the banner below could be your sign to try this approach.

A contrasted call-to-action button with a personalized note not only creates an impression but also invites readers to join the team. Clear messaging encourages clicks and raises brand interest.

3 best practices for email signature banners

Say you have chosen your signature banner type and have prepared your signature. What are some tips for improving it?

Call-to-action wording

The Stripo team experimented with different email button lengths and wording, so you don’t have to. Now, we are ready to share our findings:

• length: Buttons with up to 3 words work best—precise and catchy, they motivate recipients to act without overwhelming them with text;
• word choice: The Stripo team increased button results by almost 48% by changing button text from “Try now” to “Read more.” This gave subscribers a better understanding of the desired action, so they clicked more actively.

When it comes to small layout elements, it is crucial to use the text carefully and communicate clearly. The key is to avoid vague phrases and to hint at the button destination using its text. 

Whether you want the recipient to join the team, review templates, or try a new feature, take a straightforward approach.

Visual hierarchy

Managing a single button in the banner is covered, but how do you deal with multiple buttons? That’s when visual hierarchy comes into play. Let’s review two examples and study how this works in practice:

• variant A: Cluttered—this is the first impression that the signature makes. Social media icons overwhelm and distract from the hiring banner. Overall, it is unclear which action is primary and which is secondary;
  
  
• variant B: Making a minor visual adjustment—removing button shape—makes the signature appear more appealing. Aside from visual aspects, the primary action becomes clear, so there is no confusion about what to click.
  
  

Mobile responsiveness

Say you created a banner and tested it on desktops only. What can go wrong? The truth is you may be losing more than half of your subscribers:

Mobile optimization is a must, especially for small email elements. Non-optimized banner images, buttons, or social media icons may look distorted, affecting perception. A solution is testing the final email signature template so that no screen size can ruin your marketing efforts.

How to add an email signature banner in Stripo

In Stripo, you can build a functional email signature and add a banner effortlessly. With a library of pre-made templates and modules, a few clicks are all that’s separating you from a catchy email.

Let’s review how you can create a signature and add a banner:

1. Open the template editor.
2. Click on the “Structures & Modules” button to expand the section.
   
   
3. Choose the desired signature by scrolling through the list or using the filters.
4. Drag-n-drop it onto the template.
   
   
5. Add a banner using the same drag-n-drop method.
   
   
6. Click on the banner and choose the design using the settings window on the right.
   
   

You can add seasonal images, discounts, icons—anything to make your signature attention-grabbing. Whatever element you choose, Stripo has a few pre-made options to save time, so all you need is your creativity while we handle the rest.

Inspiring email signature banner examples

Even the best email specialists may struggle with new ideas; we’ve all been there. Let’s get you inspired with some of our signature templates.

Minimalistic variant

Email signature banners don’t always function as attention-grabbers. The example below uses a quote that’s embedded seamlessly into the signature. It looks natural and helps create a unified image in which all elements are aligned. 

The template could be a great foundation for corporate branding or social proof banners.

(Source: Stripo template)

Call-to-action variant

How about a call-to-action button with no fluff? The email signature template below has the foundation of the button, with only one missing element—your creativity to customize the sign-off.

You may rename the button text and add a personalized note, which could be your next hiring or promotional banner.

(Source: Stripo template)

Image-based variant

If image-based banners are the key to your audience’s heart, Stripo has just the variant for you. This signature template is a great foundation for seasonal banners. 

You may add product-related images or seasonal discounts to encourage engagement and clicks.

(Source: Stripo template)

Wrapping up

An email signature banner is a small but mighty element. Would you like to announce a hiring update? Check. Do you need to promote your product or service? Check. How about sharing the company’s values or customers’ feedback? Check.

Functional and visually appealing banners can strengthen your marketing message and encourage recipients to act, even when just looking at your signature. I hope this article has inspired you to spice up your sign-offs and make every email element work toward your goal. Good luck!