Pre-Internet, one of the proven methods of professional networking was handing out business cards. But how do you do that now when your business exists in a virtual world with faceless contacts and a paperless office? Signature or "sig" files are your e-business cards for today''s burgeoning new economy. They are the short text files you create as an appendage to your e-mail or newsgroup postings and are automatically added to the bottom of your messages without having to be retyped.
Sig files generally include your contact information -- name, title, company, phone and fax numbers, email address and URL. Often a tag line, personal statement, notable quote or philosophy is added on as well. Some signatures are more elaborate and include designs or pictures that were created with the characters on a standard keyboard.
In addition to announcing who you are through a sig file, you can also use them to promote your company''s specials, contests, sales, seminars, sponsorships and any awards you may have received. Almost all email programs allow you to create one or many signature files that can be selected for attachment to your outgoing messages and you may want to have a few on hand to use for different occasions or targeted to different audiences.
Be mindful that e-mails often get forwarded to unintended recipients, so don''t include information that is too personal or confidential. Also, basic netiquette dictates that your signature should be short (usually not more than four or five lines).
This article takes you through the steps on how to set up your own e-business card: Creating a Signature File
This site is filled with lots of sayings that can be added to your signature too: Coolsig.com
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