Signatures -- The Long and Short of It

What is the accepted standard for signatures? Who sets these standards? The signatures in question are those blurbs that we include after the body of our main message content in our emails for the purpose of identification and contacts.

I'm really not referring to signatures in the respect that Usenet Newsgroups see them. It is pretty much agreed by established netiquette that Usenet signatures should be limited to five lines or less. They should, or may, contain:

  • Your name: Doug Davis

  • Your email: dougd@cros.net

  • Your company: Northern Research

  • What you do: Publisher

  • Your URL: dougd@cros.net

    You can shave a line or two from the above by combining your name and email address plus your company with what you do:

    Doug Davis dougd@cros.net

    Northern Research, Publisher

    dougd@cros.net

    Getting away from Usenet and, some lists, into the real nitty-gritty of internet marketing, signatures have become a way of sticking that extra ad in there. For better or worse we seem to be stuck with this practice, so don't expect it to go away soon.

    How wide should your signature be?

    Text terminals usually had and have a width of 80 characters; this means they can display just as many characters in one row. This is the practical reason why the ultimate text width of email messages and sigs should be no more than 80 characters.

    But this doesn't work very well in practice. We reply, we forward, we quote, and each time we do we add those little angle brackets to the lines of text in our messages, ">>>>." So we end up having short lines and long lines staggered throughout the text. This looks very unprofessional, even if you're just sending to friends. That's why all the recommendations for different line lengths. Some will not set their character length to anything greater than 72; some 74, others 76, etc.

    In publishing ezines and newsletters online, however, the standard seems to be 65 characters. This is what most submission guidelines that I have read, recommend. My ezine wraps with hard carriage returns at 65 characters. Almost all of the article submissions I receive are wrapped at 65 characters. If they're not, then I have to reformat them to fit my layout. I don't like reformatting -- it's a time wasting task I could do without.

    Naturally, sigs in my ezine, and many others, can't be longer than 65 characters either.

    How many lines?

    It depends, I suppose, on where you are posting or sending your emails. Discussion lists should be about the same as Usenet, in my opinion. On the other hand if you are posting to opt-in mailing lists for the purpose of advertising your business offerings, there are no rules. It's whatever you can get by with really. Who cares whether you have 20 lines of text and a 4-line sig? How about 4 lines of text and a 20-line sig?

    I have exactly 128 separate sigs in my MS Outlook 2000 sig file. Some of these are actually 12 line, or more, ads; it's just easier to paste them into the email that way.

    Remember the aim of your signature is to be read. If you have a humongous sig it not only won't be read, it will possibly provoke anger -- an emotion you don't need in your prospective customers.

    Signature Dashes

    The "signature dashes" actually is a line which is used as the first line of a signature. This is described in the "son-of-rfc1036": If a poster or posting agent does append a signature to an article, the signature SHOULD be preceded with a delimiter line containing (only) two hyphens (ASCII 45) followed by one blank (ASCII 32).

    The sigdashes act as a separator which allows easy recognition of signatures. This line consists of two dashes and a trailing space, ie "-- " (note the space) and thus can be recognized in a data stream as the character sequence "(newline)(dash)(dash)(space)(newline)". Some programs recognize a signature by the (sigdashes).

    Let me make this perfectly clear: There are no additional characters before, after or in between. This means no whitespace before the dashes, no additional dashes, one space at the end, followed only by an newline which ends the line. That's it!

    Synopsis:

    If you are posting to newsgroups or discussion lists keep your sig as short as possible; try not to go over four lines. Personal messages probably should be the same; why would you need all that sig space when you have the entire body of the message?

    When I'm posting ads to opt-in lists I usually don't include a sig at all. I want the ad to be the focus, not the sig.

    About The Author

    Doug Davis is the publisher of "Couch Potato Marketing Ezine", a veritable treasure trove of internet marketing information, plus a section highlighting the freebies available to help you increase your bottomline. We Have Bonuses: http://kabino.com

    Wood Dale Chicago prom limo .. Lockport Chicago limo O’Hare
    In The News:

    Stay up to date on the latest AI technology advancements and learn about the challenges and opportunities AI presents
    Internet browsers are useful, but they can be dangerous. Clicking on malicious links can direct you to dangerous websites that steal information or infect your device.
    Apple's latest iOS update introduces advanced artificial intelligence capabilities, which may be capturing and analyzing sensitive information.
    Breach site confirmed 56,904,909 Hot Topic users' data leaked online. Tech expert Kurt “CyberGuy" Knutsson says the company's silence makes matters even worse.
    Tech expert Kurt “CyberGuy" Knutsson discusses how an innovative Easy-Way kit turns standard strollers electric, simplifying navigation for parents.
    Tech expert Kurt “CyberGuy" Knutsson talks about T-Mobile being hacked in broad cyberattack on global phone and internet companies.
    Tech expert Kurt “CyberGuy" Knutsson shows you how to add, customize and manage widgets for quick access to apps and info from your iPhone home screen.
    Wrong Google searches can not only compromise your device and personal data. They can also bring law enforcement to your doorstep. Hackers are targeting Google searches.
    China's Shanghai Kepler Robotics has developed a new humanoid robot that can carry up to 35 pounds per hand for commercial applications across various industries
    Checking your hearing has gotten easier with the new hearing test feature in AirPods Pro 2. You can take reliable hearing tests using your iPhone or iPad.
    Stay up to date on the latest AI technology advancements and learn about the challenges and opportunities AI presents now and for the future.
    Kurt "CyberGuy" Knutsson explains how a VPN — virtual private network — works and how running it can slow down the operation of your device.
    The WalkON Suit F1, an exoskeleton developed to help people with disabilities, can actually walk over to a person in a wheelchair, solving a major problem.
    ClickFix, a new scam targeting computer users, is on the rise in the U.S. The scam prompts its targets to click on a link to fix a problem.
    Skydweller is the world's largest unmanned solar-powered aircraft that can stay airborne for weeks, and even months, without refueling.
    The U.S. government said it is investigating after People's Republic of China hackers targeted commercial telecommunications service providers in the U.S.
    Stay up to date on the latest AI technology advancements and learn about the challenges and opportunities AI presents now and for the future.
    Scammers are using increasingly sophisticated ways to lure unsuspecting victims, and some are impersonating an email help desk or support team.
    You can unsend or edit your iMessages with the latest iOS updates. Kurt the CyberGuy explains how you can save yourself some potential embarrassment.
    Kurt “CyberGuy" Knutsson says there’s been a rise in cybercriminal services using hacked police and government emails to send subpoenas and data requests to U.S. companies.
    Kurt “CyberGuy" Knutsson discusses how Axiom Space and luxury designer Prada are collaborating on NASA's Artemis III spacesuit design.
    Voice assistants may cause confusion across devices. Tech expert Kurt “CyberGuy" Knutsson offers some solutions to fix it.
    Shameless scammers trick veterans into giving personal info or cash. Tech expert Kurt “CyberGuy" Knutsson explores five common scams.
    Tech expert Kurt “CyberGuy" Knutsson helps you honor our heroes with these powerful podcasts, audiobooks and documentaries this Veterans Day.
  • Get Thousands Of Clicks To Your Website For Free

    Do you want to advertise about your website?Wait and have... Read More

    Web Site Promotion: 10 Eye-opening Secrets To Sky-rocket Your Sales

    If you're having problems generating a lot of sales at... Read More

    1 Seldom Discussed Method Of Web Promotion

    So you've made the perfect web site (in your eyes... Read More

    Signatures -- The Long and Short of It

    What is the accepted standard for signatures? Who sets these... Read More

    Cheap Website Promotion in Birmingham

    People are always wanting to attract more visitors to their... Read More

    Promotion Techniques Dont Have To Be A Hassle

    Are you tired of writing countless eMails to other webmasters... Read More

    Ten Free Ways To Promote Your Website

    Often, website owners would like to promote their new business... Read More

    Online Website Promotion: How To Expand Your Business By Staying In Touch With Your Customers

    If you want your customers to keep coming back To... Read More

    Hunting For Online Directories - The In depth Strategy

    Directory marketing can help boost your companies performance a great... Read More

    Specialty or Niche Directory Submissions

    You are an attorney or other service or product provider.... Read More

    Is Your Website Content Worth Reading or Obvious Search Engine Bait?

    Webmasters are always looking for ways to increase their traffic... Read More

    Marketing Your Website

    Market my website? Why should I have to spend time... Read More

    How to use Free Website Submission Services

    After you have built your website the next natural step... Read More

    Internet Advertising Solutions: 10 Things To Barter For, Before Buying

    Before you spend your hard earned money, why not first... Read More

    Set Your Site on the Right Trajectory by Submitting It to Every Directory

    Webmasters across the globe are involved in a race to... Read More

    Ten Day Plan to Online Sales

    Recently one of my students asked a great question: We... Read More

    Do We Need Web Directories?

    WEB DIRECTORIESDirectories play an important role in aiding a site's... Read More

    Make Sure The World Sees Your Website

    You have spent hours creating a HTML masterpiece, you have... Read More

    Web Site Promotion: 10 High Powered, Magical Ways To Make Your Web Site Profitable

    Are you interested in empowering your website so it will... Read More

    How to Make Your Website Sticky!

    Five Nifty Ways to Make Your Site Sticky!'Stickiness' is one... Read More

    Online Promotion: Five Extraordinary Online Promotion Secrets To Sky-rocket Your Sales

    Do you want to achieve extra-ordinary success in your online... Read More

    Web Site Promotion: 10 Super Charged Secrets To Suck Up Orders Like A Vacuum Cleaner

    If your website is not generating a lot of sales... Read More

    Web Advertising: 5 Uncommon Ways To Generate Online Business Ideas

    Success in business thrives on ideas.The more creative you're the... Read More

    Internet Promotion: 10 Incredible, Intriguing Ways To Increase Your Profits

    Are you making money from your website?Will you like to... Read More

    One In A Million - Make Your Site Stand Out

    "One in a million". What do I mean by that?... Read More

    Antigo wedding limo ..