Headshots in Email Signatures: Weighing the Pros and Cons.

Every professional should have a basic email signature that they can use to sign off on emails. In professional communication, having a person’s contact information makes it easy for someone to get in touch with them in the most appropriate way for business.

Have you ever gotten an email and seen the sender’s headshot in their email signature? What did you think of that? There’s plenty of discussion on whether or not it’s professional or good to include your headshot in your email signature. I wanted to weigh out the pros and cons on this subject to help you make a decision that works best for you.

The Pros of Including a Headshot in Your Email Signature

1. Puts a Face to a Name:

By putting your headshot in your email signature, this can help your recipients feel a personal connection with you, especially in a remote work or networking environment. We often correspond with people on projects, but don’t necessarily know what they look like unless we stalk their social media profiles. Having a face to put with a name can build trust.

2. Makes You Stand Out:

I know so many professionals that can have hundreds, if not thousands of emails hit their inbox in any workday. A professional headshot can grab attention of the reader and make a more lasting impression.

An email signature with a professional headshot attached would be useful for any client-facing roles such as salespeople, realtors, consultants, or customer service representatives.

3. Could Improve Response Rates:

Let’s face it, humans love visuals! I mentioned above that a headshot can create a personal connection, which can humanize the sender. If your recipient sees you as a person vs. just another email to check off, they may be more inclined to respond to your email over others. Showing your photo helps create a sense of familiarity, especially if this is someone that you’ve already met before - or have not seen in a while!

The Cons of Including a Headshot in Your Email SignaturE

1. Might Trigger Spam Filters:

Be careful with adding too many files into an email; email providers sometimes flag messages with embedded images, which could cause delivery issues. Your email could end up in the junk/spam/clutter folders. You may want to test your signature with a few close colleagues with different email providers before you roll this out.

2. Can Increase Loading Times:

Be careful what files you include in your emails! The larger the image, the longer they may take to load on a recipients computer or device. Other factors could be their internet or cellular connection and if their device is full. To mitigate this, you don’t want to have a large, high-resolution file to your email signature. I would personally keep the dimensions around the size of your Facebook or LinkedIn profile photos. This should also keep the file size down and prevent any issues with SPAM or loading times.

3. Might Appear Too Casual in Different Industries

For Professional Industries like law, accounting, finance, government, science, medicine, and education, a headshot in your email signature may not be deemed as professional and could look like you are being overly-familiar or oversharing within the workplace.

Factors To Consider Before Adding Your Headshot:

1. Your Industry Norms

Is this common practice in your industry or company to include headshots in email signatures?

IE/ For me as a Photographer, it’s probably more common and acceptable vs. someone who is working within a legal setting.

2. Your Personal Brand

Does your headshot align with your own personal brand (it should!) and the message you want to convey?

If you do include a headshot in your email signature, it should be polished and professional.

3. Email Platform Limitations

You’ll need to consider how your email platform handles sending these images, if you need to host the image online and have a code in place. Consider having 2 separate signatures - one with the photo included and one without it so that you’re not always sending the headshot out once you’ve gotten into a thread.

Alternatives to Including a Headshot In Your Email Signature:

1. Add a Link to Your LinkedIn Profile

2. Use a Custom Logo or Branding Element

3. Highlight Your Contact Info or Call-to-Action

Tools to Help You Create a Professional Email Signature:

Here are some professional email signature generators can help you create polished, consistent designs. Your email software may allow you to do this as well, or you may find another web option, but this should get you started:

Popular Options:

1. Wisestamp: Offers customizable templates and headshot integration. Some features may require a paid plan.

2. HubSpot Email Signature Generator: Free to use with basic options but includes subtle branding unless you pay.

3. MySignature: Great for integrating photos and logos but requires a subscription for advanced features.

4. Canva Email Signature Templates: Offers drag-and-drop customization and premium options for branding.

Important Note: Many of these tools require a subscription or fee to remove branding or access premium features. Research and choose a platform that aligns with your needs and budget.

Should You Include a Headshot In Your Email Signature?

The choice is yours, there’s pro’s such as creating a personal connection and increasing your response rate, however the cons could be getting your emails sent to SPAM or looking too familiar within certain industries such as law, medicine, and finance. The decision is yours and you can always change it or create multiple signatures for various uses.

Thinking about adding a headshot? Ensure it’s professional and polished to make the best impression. Need an updated photo? Book a branding session today to take your personal marketing to the next level!