An email footer is the section of an email that appears at the bottom of the message. It usually contains information about the sender, such as their name, job title, and contact information. An email footer may also include additional information, such as the sender’s company logo, social media icons, a legal disclaimer, or an unsubscribe button.
From an email marketing perspective, companies typically include information in an email footer to:
- Provide recipients with an easy way to contact them
- Reinforce the company’s professional brand
Footers can also be customized to add a personal touch to the email. As such, many email marketing programs allow users to create multiple footers, either for different types of messages or for different groups of recipients.
What Information Can You Include in an Email Footer?
While footer information is crucial, you don’t want to clutter this area, add too much bulk to your email, or confuse the recipient with a wave of text. Here are different types of information a company can (and should) convey in an email footer, such as:
- Legal disclaimers: Email footers with legal disclaimers include legal statements or disclosures that are required by law or company policy, such as confidentiality notices or copyright statements.
- Social media links: This is one of the most common email footers in email marketing. It includes links to the sender’s social media profiles, such as Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram, to make it easier for the recipient to contact the company.
- Marketing messages: Commonly included during sales promotions, this type of email footer includes a call-to-action or promotional message, such as a discount code or invitation to an event.
- Unsubscribe link: This includes a link that allows recipients to unsubscribe from future emails. It’s often mandatory in an email footer according to local regulations. At the least, providing an easy way to opt out of future emails works to convey professionalism and thoughtfulness, making your email look more legitimate to users who do intend on staying.
- Other information: This can include anything else that the sender wants to include in the email footer, such as a quote, the company’s values, or a link to their website.
A single email footer may contain one or more of these message tyres. In general, you want to only include information that is most relevant to your audience.
How to Create an Email Footer
Email footers are an easy way to convey information in your email campaign that would otherwise clutter the primary message. They can help you:
- Further connect with an audience
- Provide more convenient means of communication and branding
- Offer options or perks for reading the email to the end
Creating a good email footer for your business will help create a professional and consistent image for your brand. To ensure it’s done properly, here are tips to keep in mind when creating an email footer:
Include important contact information
Your email footer should include contact information, such as your company’s name, address, phone number, and email address. This makes it easy for people to get in touch with your company if they need to. It’s enough of a standard practice that most readers know to check the bottom of an email for this data automatically.
Add links to your website and social media
Including links to your company’s website and social media profiles can help people to learn more about your business and engage with your brand. This works best for omnichannel marketing in particular.
Include a call-to-action
Encourage people to take action by including a call-to-action in your email footer. This could be something as simple as “Follow us on social media” or “Visit our website for more information.” It should be compelling, but not intrusive (which is why many companies choose to put this in the footer instead of the main body in the first place).
Keep it simple and easy to read
A cluttered email footer can be overwhelming and difficult to read. Keep it simple and easy to read by using a clean design and limiting the amount of information you include. The majority of the content should be included in the main body, where it’s most relevant. If it’s not that relevant, and can’t be contained to a few sentences or lines, it may be wise to exclude it.
Keep your branding consistent
Your email footer should be consistent with your company’s branding. Use the same colors, fonts, and style as your website and other marketing materials to create a cohesive image of your brand.
Include a legal disclaimer
Depending on the nature of your business, you may need to include a legal disclaimer in your email footer. This could include information about confidentiality or data protection policies. The majority of mailing list services offer this disclaimer automatically and only allow you to custom-tailor what it will include, not remove it.
Overall, a good email footer should be simple, professional, and consistent with your company’s branding. By including important contact information and links, you can create an effective email footer that helps you connect with your audience.
