I have a hard time knowing how what to put at the bottom of an email.

I know that it is wise for anyone who is a creator to include links to all the things at the bottom of their email signature, particularly one whose income depends on sales and fostering patrons (but really anyone who makes things and wishes to share them).

I’ve tried different things over the years… jpegs, lists of contact info, notes with colons leading to links, no signature at all, a link to one priority thing only. I don’t really track any of it, so I don’t know if it leads to traffic… and I know it only really goes out to the people who I’m emailing directly, which… if I’m honest… isn’t a whole lot of people.

Because email means I sit at a computer and have to force myself into a focus mode, in which I usually spend an hour or so composing a single message, and honestly… I’d usually rather spend that time with a paintbrush. Or, ideally, with the person I’m writing in the flesh.

I’m an in-person-for-optimal-connection sort of person. Having lived in several different states up and down both U.S. coasts makes keeping in touch a challenge for people like me… I wish I loved email (I used to love email, in the late ’90s when there was no spam and no social media and no ads and going online was an easy, focused way to connect with a loved one), and so I’m trying to rekindle something of loving it. After all, many of my favorite ways to advance and share my art business… and my life!… happen over email!

So, this week, when I decided once again to update my email signature, I wanted to try something different.

For one, hello, I’m living in the 2020s and I still had full links pasted under my name. It looked like this…

  • Sign up! News and the Muse: www.alanagarrigues.com/newsletter
  • Instagram: instagram.com/alanaofloveandlight
  • etc., etc.

Which was fine once upon a time, but honestly…

I think by now everyone knows that if a word is blue and underlined, it’s a live link and they can just click on it. There may be a time and place for spelling out a link, but inside electronic communication is not it.

So… I was like… what do I want to write that shares the links I need to share, is direct in spelling out to the universe the support that I am calling in, and doesn’t feel too in-your-face salesy?

I settled on a quote, and framing my email signature as gratitude.

If you receive an email from me now, here’s what you’ll see:

 
Alana Garrigues
art, writing, cocreation
“To be an artist is to believe in life.” —Henry Moore
I am grateful to all who visit my website, and tell the search engines that art and poetry and nature matter.
I am grateful to my patrons who sustain creative practice, inspire me, workshop with me, read my zines, buy my artwork, and welcome my explorations of this “one precious life” into their spaces.
I am grateful to my newsletter subscribers who encourage me by asking what’s next and what the muse is noticing, and reach out to visit when we’re in the same places at the same time. 
I am grateful to all those who interact with me on Instagram and on Facebook… commenting, messaging and sharing my work with enthusiasm.
I am grateful to you. 
Thank you. 
 
 
Is it wordy?
 
Yep. But I’m wordy. Well… wordy or silent. But in writing: I’m wordy.
 
Does it feel good to send?
 
Yep.
 
Is it a reminder to myself of my priorities in my practice?
 
Absolutely.
 
Will I add more or delete anything?
 
Of course! My practice and offerings are dynamic, and as I add direct pages to all the things I’m creating, it will shift.
 
Is it a reminder to myself that there is a person on the receiving end of my email who I am so very grateful for?
 
100%.

I invite you to click on the links to explore.

And… I invite you to join me and take a moment to redraft your own email signature.

In my work at the library, I often see people include a link to their Goodreads ‘Currently Reading’ list. I also receive emails with resonant quotes, blessings, poems, and images in the signature.

In other words, you don’t have to have a job title or website or social media or anything you’re trying to promote to make sending an email more enjoyable with an email signature that expresses who you are and what matters to you. And you can always, always change it as you transform and grow throughout a lifetime.