What is an email signature?

Still have a question, spotted an error, or have a better explanation or a source we should cite?

An email signature is that block of text that shows up at the bottom of an email, usually with your name, title, company, and contact info. It's automatic (you set it once, it appears on every message), and it's how recipients know who you are beyond just your email address.

What goes in a signature varies, but the basics are: your full name, your role or title, your company name, and one or two ways to reach you (website, phone, or social link). Some signatures include legal disclaimers, especially in finance or healthcare. Some people add a headshot. Some just stick with plain text.

For marketing emails, signatures are a little different. Most Mailchimp or Brevo templates include a signature-style section at the bottom (company address, social icons, unsubscribe link), but that's not the same as the auto-append signature in Gmail or Outlook. Those are designed by the sender, not configured in your inbox settings.

One old-school detail worth knowing: the signature delimiter. It's two hyphens, a space, and a line break (-- ). Early mail clients used that marker to know where the signature started, so they could collapse or hide it. You still see it in plain-text emails today, especially from technical folks or command-line mail users.

And from a deliverability perspective, signatures don't usually cause problems, but overly long ones with tons of images, huge logos, or tracking pixels can trigger spam filters. Keep it clean, keep it light. If you're sending transactional email (receipts, password resets), a simple text signature is safest.

Want to see what your signature looks like to mail servers? Run an email through our Source Analyzer to check the raw HTML and spot anything weird (broken images, tracking pixels you didn't know about).

Contributors

Who worked on this answer

Every name links to their profile. Every company links to their site. Real people, real accountability.

Ask an AI · tailored to your setup

Get signature advice for your setup

I read this on the Email Almanac about "What is an email signature": "An email signature is that block of text that shows up at the bottom of an email, usually with your name, title, company, and contact info. It's automatic, and it's how recipients know who you are beyond just your email address. For marketing emails, signatures are a little different, most ESP templates include a signature-style section at the bottom, but that's designed by the sender, not configured in your inbox settings. From a deliverability perspective, overly long signatures with tons of images or tracking pixels can trigger spam filters." Help me understand how this applies to MY specific situation. Based on what I share below, give me: 1. What to include in my signature (based on my use case, personal email, company email, marketing campaigns, or transactional messages) 2. What NOT to include (things that might hurt deliverability or look unprofessional) 3. Technical check (signature delimiter, plain-text version, image size) 4. Signature examples (3 options ranked by formality and use case) --- My details (fill in what applies): - Email type: [personal / work / marketing campaigns / transactional / cold outreach] - Email client: Gmail, Outlook, Apple Mail, Thunderbird, other - ESP (if applicable): Mailchimp, Brevo, HubSpot, SendGrid, none - Signature use: one-to-one emails / bulk campaigns / automated transactional - Current signature length: one line / a few lines / a paragraph / image-heavy - What I want it to do: [look professional / include legal disclaimer / drive traffic to website / stay minimal]

Edit the yellow boxes, then send to the AI of your choice.