Now, also consider putting promotional info in your sig file, such as: - an offer for a free report or product you offer - an offer for a free consultation or trial offer - a company announcement (new client, new product, award won, etc.) - a hyperlink to your latest press release, article, or Web site feature - an invitation to subscribe to your free e-newsletter

In interest of space and your reader's time, keep your offer or announcement to one or two sentences only. (Tip: Always throw in word "FREE" when possible. It's everyone's favorite word!)

BONUS: Most e-mail software programs allow you to create and keep several signatures on file, so you can change them easily and often. This makes it a cinch to switch your messages weekly or even daily, and maintain ones for different businesses.

**Choose What's Important to You** Of course, it's possible to get carried away and include too much information. We don't need random quotes that have no relation to your business, cute illustrations made up of keyboard characters, or your weekend phone number in Hamptons.

Try to keep your sig file to a maximum of eight lines. More than that will overwhelm reader, and it will look silly if your sig files are always longer than your e-mail messages!

Here's a good example: Jane Smith, President Smith I.T. Consulting "Take a Byte Out of Network Headaches" ph: 800-321-0000 fax: 212-321-0001 jane@smithit.com *Visit http://www.smithit.com and get your FREE report on top 10 most common computer network problems and how to solve them!*

Notice that "Jane" opted not to give her mailing address here, in order to use space for her tagline and an invitation to receive her free report. It's all up to you. If your customers frequently need your mailing address, then you should include it. (I don't include it in mine, since 99% of my work is done via e-mail.) Decide what bits of info are most valuable to keep, and use rest of space for a unique message or promotion!

**One Last Thing: Make Sure We "Get" What You Do** I've seen some seemingly complete sig files that still leave me wondering, "Thanks for all info, but what do you DO?" We all know what IBM and Kodak do, but whole world doesn't know what your business does (yet). For now, it's your job to help us all learn. Include a tagline that describes what your company does or a short phrase that helps us understand. If your sig file consistently delivers a clear impression of what you have to offer your prospects, it will reward you numerous times in future!

Jerry Jensen http://playpianoperfectly.com

try something a little more descriptive and catchy, like

Jerry Jensen

Check out Jerry's revolutionary approach to playing piano at: http://playpianoperfectly.com

or take it one step further,

Jerry Jensen Jerry can answer all your questions about playing piano professionally. E-mail him at Jerryj@ivories.com, or check out his web site: http://playpianoperfectly.com

By adding that one line to your signature, you can totally change customer's perception of your business, and that little extra bit of information could be difference between a trickle of new business and a flood.

So you see, it's not enough to just give an address, you've got to give people a reason to click. You've got to spark an interest in what you do. By creating a short, catchy and descriptive sig file, you can really set yourself ahead of pack. There's money to be made out there if you just know how to do it.