I’m so over the email signature. Enough already.

What tipped me over the edge was an email I received this morning. It was easily half a page long and included two different Facebook icons, two different Twitter icons, links to three separate websites and a graphic image of the Las Vegas strip inviting me to Register Now! I was so distracted that I could barely read the message, what with all the shiny eye-candy tempting me to click here or there and share something else.

To throw salt into the wound, this afternoon I spent 10 precious minutes looking for an email attachment that I could not find because of all the email signatures that are attachments in and of themselves. Why, why, why is this necessary?

If your email signature meets one or more of the following criteria, skip the aspirin and go straight for the sedatives:

• Includes attachments of any kind. Seriously, stop it.
• Reads like a short story. No one cares.
• Blinks, rotates or moves in any way. Enough said.
• Directs me to more than 3 links, 4 tops. Aggregate or aggravate.
• Uses color to make your point. The color blind are not amused.
• Attempts to be overly clever. Because you’re not.

Do what you want with your private email but when it comes to business, mind your personal brand. Your professional email signature should be just that – professional. Remind people what you do, make it easy to contact you, and offer a few thoughtful links for more information. Period.

Sima Dahl    Sima Dahl on the Web RSS Feed

This article originally appeared on Parlay Communications | From Message to Mindshare and has been republished with permission.

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