Humans are visual learners. As our world becomes increasingly digital, we don’t just think in pictures but also tend to look more than we read.
That explains why the web is filled with imagery from image-heavy articles to video content. This trend has extended to emails where an email signature with a photo is considered a crucial tool for email marketing.
Given the importance of maintaining a professional digital appearance, professionals can rely on WiseStamp’s online signature generation platform to create visually appealing, photo-enhanced email signatures efficiently. Discover the seamless way to unify your team’s email branding in minutes.
Key takeaways
- A photo in an email signature is a visual representation of your brand’s personality and values.
- An email signature with a photo builds intimacy, making recipients more likely to respond positively and engage with your message.
- The easiest and most effective way to create an email signature template with a photo is with a dedicated email signature generator.
Examples and templates of email signatures with a photo
Just looking for inspiration? Start by exploring some of our newest examples of email signatures with photo!
The impact of adding a headshot to an email signature
A plain-text email signature can get the job done by providing essential contact details. However, compared to a signature with a photo, a plain-text signature lacks warmth, personality, and relatability that may help strike a relationship with the reader.
When you add a professional headshot to an email signature, you build an intimacy with the recipient. This is crucial in the modern world where AI is threatening human connection.
An email signature with a headshot creates a feeling of having a conversation with a real person, not a chatbot.
Your recipients can learn a lot about you just by looking at you: Are you approachable? Do you look trustworthy? Do your perceived values match theirs?
In short, a high-quality photo in your email signature creates an immediate connection. It can influence how your recipients perceive your emails, making them more likely to open up, respond, and engage with your brand.
How to create the right email signature with a photo
Most modern email platforms, including Gmail and Outlook, will support an email signature with a photo template.
And a signature generator? If you’re not a designer or don’t have the time to craft an email signature manually, using a reputable signature generator like WiseStamp will be the best option. You get a professional email signature with photo or headshot, banners, social media links, and a legal disclaimer – all in under 10 minutes!
Learn how to create professional email signatures with photos using WiseStamp, Gmail, and Outlook.
Creating an email signature with photo using WiseStamp
Go to WiseStamps for Teams and create an admin account.
Set up your organization profile by adding your company name, logo, and branding colors.
Add employees. You can do this manually by entering each member’s details or uploading a CSV file with members’ information. You can also integrate WiseStamp with your Google Workspace or Azure Active Directory to import users automatically (optional but time-saving).
In the dashboard, select and customize a template with an image placeholder for photos.
Add employee photos. WiseStamp will automatically pull employee photos if integrated into your directory. Otherwise, you can upload their photos manually or have each user upload theirs via the employee hub.
Once you've filled in all the details, including employee photos, assign the signature to your target individuals and deploy across email clients.
How to create an email signature with photo on Gmail
Log in to your Gmail account.
Go to settings by clicking the gear icon in the top right corner.
Click "See all settings" in the drop-down menu.
Scroll to the “Signature” section. Click “Create new” and give your signature a name.
Create your email signature in the signature editor box to the right.
Use the formatting toolbar at the bottom of the signature editor to design your signature. To add a photo to your Gmail signature, click the “Insert image” icon. Select how you want to add your photo via a URL or Google Drive.
After inserting your photo, scroll down to “Signature defaults” and select your newly created signature to automatically add to all new emails and/or replies and forwards.
Scroll down and click “Save Changes” at the bottom of the page to apply your new signature.
Your new email signature with headshot will now automatically appear in your latest messages and/or replies and forwards. Here’s a detailed guide on how to add a signature in Gmail.
How to create an email signature with photo template on Outlook
Creating an email signature in Outlook manually can be tricky because the process varies across devices, operating systems (OS), and Outlook versions. Outlook also has rendering problems, which often lead to issues with image placement.
Follow these steps to add an email signature with a headshot in Outlook on the Web:
Go to Outlook.com and log in to your account.
Click the gear icon in the top right corner to navigate to settings.
Select “Account”> “Signatures”.
Under “Email signature,” name your signature, then type it in the text box below. Use the mini toolbar to format and design your signature.
To add a photo, click the “Insert pictures inline” icon in the toolbar and upload your image.
When you’re done formatting your signature, under “Select default signatures,” set whether you want the signature to appear in new messages, replies/forwards, or both.
Once satisfied, scroll to the bottom and click “Save.“
Additional benefits of using a photo in an email signature
Besides human connection, here are other reasons professionals prefer adding photos to their email signatures:
Increases attention span
When you add a photo, it becomes a focal point. Even if your recipients only skim the email, a real headshot encourages them to slow down and pay more attention to your message. These extra seconds could convert your email signature into a powerful marketing tool, especially if you have included other vital elements like banners, CTAs, and relevant contact details.
Says you’re legit
Today, almost everybody is just one email away from a phishing attack. Most recipients are cautious and most likely to consider any message a scam.
One way you can add legitimacy to your emails is by using an email signature template with a photo. Using the same photo on your LinkedIn and company profile further helps to prove that you’re a real person with nothing to hide. Scammers rarely use real photos.
Makes your emails less boring
Especially if the photo has a smiley face! Everybody loves a happy face, even if they don’t know the person behind it personally. A headshot with a smiley face says you’re approachable and generally brightens up the email.
Makes you easily recognizable
Do you hope your email collaborations will eventually lead to a physical meet-up or video call? If so, adding a photo in your email signature helps your recipients know who they are expecting. They feel like they already know you even before you’ve shaken hands, reducing the awkwardness of first meetings. This could have an immense impact on how your interaction goes.
How WiseStamp helps in overcoming compatibility and technical challenges
Creating an email signature with a headshot may seem straightforward. But that’s not always the case. Here’s a list of the most common compatibility and technical challenges when creating an email signature with photo and how WiseStamp helps fix them:
i) Image rendering problems. Email clients render images differently. Some will display them as attachments, block them by default, or strip the images altogether.
Solution: WiseStamp embeds your photos and images inline, making it a part of the HTML code, not just linked from an external source. This makes your photos more likely to be rendered correctly and displayed by most email clients.
ii) Image resizing. Email signature images need to be sized properly for optimal display. Unfortunately, email clients don’t handle resizing the same way. An image that looks perfect in Gmail might appear pixelated or stretched in Outlook and vice versa.
Solution: The WiseStamp signature generator compresses and resizes photos and images automatically, making them web-safe and compatible with all modern email clients.
iii) Managing a team’s email signatures with photos. Manually resizing all employees’ email signature photos can be tedious, time-consuming, and inconsistent. And leaving it to individual users? That often results in mismatched image sizes, poor quality headshots, and off-brand layouts, all of which impact your brand image.
Solution: WiseStamp for Teams saves you time by allowing your IT team to manage and update all employees’ signatures plus their photos from a single device.
Final thoughts on email signatures with a photo
An email signature with a photo will get more attention than one without. That’s not a secret.
Statistics show that the average consumer receives about 121 emails per day. While most of them get opened, only 19% are read thoroughly.
Most people often spend roughly nine seconds skimming through emails. They focus on areas such as headlines, the first two lines of a few paragraphs, and the email signature block (if there’s one).
A professional headshot becomes an aesthetic interruption that makes your message more personal and less robotic. Consistently adding this personal touch can be why your emails stand out in overcrowded inboxes.