When you write a letter to a friend, do you sign it? Business letters. You sign them to, right? So why not sign your blog posts?

Every good blog should have a signature line, two or three lines at the bottom of the blog post that tells readers who you are, what your mission is, and provides a link where they can get more information.

Here are 10 reasons why you should sign your blog posts:

1. It makes your blog more personal
2. Looks professional
3. You can drive traffic to specific web pages on your website related to each blog post
4. Builds link popularity into every blog post
5. Your readers know who’s talking to them
6. You automatically become a credible source of information
7. You can promote more than one blog or website through each blog post
8. Brands your business and your blog
9. Treats all of your readers with respect since they don’t know who is talking to them unless you tell them
10. It becomes YOUR message so you take responsibility for what you say

• And the bonus: Consistency

End Each Blog Post With A Bang

When you sign your blog posts you are essentially saying to the world, “I am talking to you. Are you listening?”

I can hear Joan Rivers shouting at me, “Can we talk?”

Remember that? That was her “signature” line. When you heard her nasal whine you knew it was Joan Rivers. Irritating as it may be, or entertaining, the world knows who’s talking to them. And you get to close the way YOU want to close, not with some abrupt phrase at the end of your post.

A Consistent Signature Line Brands Your Business And Makes People Talk

Branding. That’s what it’s all about. Online, off line, toe the line … whatever your line, you need it to be your signature. It’s your message to the world. Tell them who’s sending it.

Take a look at the CD and DVD Publisher blog signature line:

DVD and CD Printers and Supplies
CD Presentations To Boost Your Carreer
DVD and CD Publisher Blog

This is one area where the writer of this blog really got it right. Notice the three lines, all of them links. The first link points to the company’s home page. It also contains some of the primary keywords in the text of the link itself (DVD and CD Printers). Good job!

The second link also contains a keyword, but a different keyword than what was used in the first link. That link points to an internal page of the company’s website. Once again, good job! That’s how you build deep links.

The third link, another keyword-rich phrase, links back to the blog’s home page. Nice touch. Always encourage your readers to read more blog posts. By pointing to the blog home page you give your readers easy access to more of your great blog posts and encourage them to stay on your site longer.

Attributes Of A Good Blog Post Signature Line

Now that you know why you need a signature line at the end of your blog posts, let’s talk about what makes a good signature line. First, it needs to tell your readers who is talking to them. If your blog is a multi-author blog then your signature line should have your name or nickname in it. I participate in a multi-author blog at Freelance Folder under the pseudonym The Old Man.

If you are the sole author on your blog it might be a good idea to include your name anyway, or your company name, or even your initials. Whatever you use, it needs to say “This is me, my personality, my style” and keep it consistent. Don’t change it every day because you’ll confuse your readers. Settle on one thing that brands you and stick with it.

Something else you can add to your signature line is a tag line. A tag line is a branding item that allows you set yourself apart from your competition. It can be your mission statement, USP (Unique Selling Proposition), or a statement that tells your readers why you do what you do. This, too, needs to be consistent from blog post to blog post. Again, if you change it every day then your readers will get confused.

Perhaps one of the most important elements of your signature line is the link. I recommend having at least one link in your signature line. But you can have more. I wouldn’t have more than three, but you might occasionally slip in four links. Too many and it will kill your purpose for having the links in the first place. But what should those links promote. It really depends, but here are some ideas:

• Your company’s home page
• An internal page of your company’s website related to the topic of your blog post
• The home page of your blog
• Another blog post related to the same topic
• Other websites you own
• Partner or affiliate websites
• Website of a product or service you recommend
• Blogs related to yours that you like to read
• Your company forum or bulletin board
• Special downloads page where your readers can get a viral video, special report, podcast, or
• other viral marketing collateral
• Anything you want to promote or profit from

What links you put into your signature line will differ depending on the nature and purpose of your blog. You may have a blog that doesn’t have signature links at all because they would take away from the main purpose of the blog. For instance, if your blog exists to attract traffic on a specific topic where you hope to profit from clicks on AdSense ads (like this Las Vegas Blog) then you probably don’t want signature links because they would only serve as exits for your traffic that you want to profit from in a specific way.

If your blog serves as way for you to attract traffic for specific affiliate programs that you want to profit from then you should include a signature link at the bottom of each post that contains your affiliate tracking code for that affiliate program so that you can get credit for sales made from the traffic you send to that company’s website. Otherwise, if you are a service company and you simply want to drive traffic back to your company’s website then you should include links that drive people to your company’s website so that you can profit from that traffic.

First, determine the purpose of your blog. After you’ve done that you can determine what you want to promote through the blog. It becomes much easier to determine what your signature links should be when your blog has a clearly defined purpose.

Signature Links Should Follow The Normal Rules For Good Linking Strategies

The final consideration for your signature links should be how to do them. You know you need them and you’ve decided what they should be. Now it’s time to do it the right way. All of your signature links should contain the following attributes:

• Keyword-rich anchor text
• Point to a page related to the keyword you are using
• Promise a benefit or an answer to a question
• Encourage the click-through
• Contain a keyword-rich title attribute within the link code (example: title=”keyword description of link”)
• Stand out
• Build trust and credibility for your company
• Promote related web pages, websites, and services related to each specific blog post
• Establish your brand
• Open in a new browser window (especially if you are sending people off of your website, even if you are promoting affiliate programs and such - after all, you want to keep them around, right?)

So there you have it. That’s the low-down on signature lines. You need them and they should help you promote yourself, your company, your blog, your business, and your affiliates without driving customers away. Done right, you’ll keep your readers around longer and encourage them to do business with you.

SEO Service Provider, Article Content Provider, and Blog Content Provider also provide pay-per-click management services - ask us about them!
SEO, Content, and Link Building Strategies that work
Get Top-Notch Blog Content for Your Blog, Affordable Blog Management Services
SEO Service Provider Blog

Sign Up for the Free Content Letter