The email signature I received today from a Human Resource manager included this quote:
“Just when the caterpillar thought its’ life was over, it became a butterfly.”
While I often tend to agree with these lovely insights theoretically, they don’t belong in a business email. They are distracting from the core message. Business email volume is heavy, and we need to streamline our messages to assist busy readers. This quote offers only unrelated extraneous content, and requires additional valuable reader time – never good practice.
Additionally, there is a grammar error. Its’ is a grammatical formation that does not exist. The possessive form of its is its. Correct grammar would be, “Just when the caterpillar thought its life was over…” Learn more about using its vs it’s correctly.
This quote is particularly odd for a Human Resources manager, given the huge layoffs occurring across many companies. There is an oblique hint of ending/layoff mentioned, and reminder of this in all business emails is not helpful.
Email signatures can be hugely valuable for marketing, so save signatures for useful information that will drive business, as explained in this research.
How do you feel about inspirational quotes in email signatures, especially in business email?
Learn More in This Course: Email Essentials: Productivity and Impact
