How to add a headshot to your gmail signature.

How a professional headshot in your email signature can build trust, authority and impact -Tips from headshot photographer in Greenwich, London

Adding a headshot as part of your email signature makes your signature more impactful. It helps build trust with potential clients; seeing your pictures helps them feel they are interacting with a real person and may be motivated to reply instantly! Why is this good? If you are in business, you want to build, know, like, and trust to do business with potential clients. Interacting with a person who looks warm and friendly may increase response time to email replies. 

Studies have shown professional headshots increase influence. An article by Forbes, in their article The importance of a 'Good corporate headshot' looked at a study conducted in 2012 in the Cognition And Emotion Journal on facial features. The research showed that you make your decision to trust someone within 100 milliseconds of seeing their face. Your photo needs to present your personality. Smiling pictures help clients become comfortable with your business in seconds. Just from this one shot, people need to feel like they know you. This is one reason it is essential to get a professional headshot photographer on board to take the photos, as they have experience showcasing your personality.

A professional Headshot increases influence.

In a study conducted in 2019, 240 participants were asked to rate three sets of headshots. They were asked to rate their first impressions of the person in the photo. They were shown a selfie verses a headshot of the same person.

They had to rate on a scale of 1-10 the person's competence, likability and influence. THE PERSON WITH THE PROFESSIONAL HEADSHOT APPEARED, 79.9% more competent at their job, 9.7% more relatable and 62% more influential in their job.

Create an email signature in gmail using your headshot, headshot and personal branding photography, Razia Jukes, Greenwich, London, UK

Your email signature may be the first place someone sees what you look like. Follow my tutorial on adding a headshot to your email signature in Gmail. 

Video Transcript.

Hi, My name is Razia Naqvi-Jukes and I am a personal brand photographer in London. Today I'm going to teach you how to make an email signature like this in Gmail using your headshot to create more impact and trust and isn’t that what business is all about! It’s all about creating trust. So, let’s get started. Go into Gdrive and create a new document. Create a table of two columns. For the headshot we are going to hop over into Canva. We are going to create a simple template. I use a square Instagram template to start with. Go to elements and choose this circle here which I then put onto the square and resize until it’s in the middle. Then look at your uploads and the headshots that you have. Choose one where you are looking directly at the camera and smiling so looking approachable and one that you like obviously. Upload your image and resize it as it doesn’t need to be too big for an email signature. Find a font that fits your brand and then fill in your details. Upload your social icons. You can find free ones in Canva, or you can google them. Link your social media icons by pressing the link button. Copy and paste URL’s here and press apply. We are going to change the black lines to white. So, you literally click on each line and change the colour to white. Copy and paste it and upload to the signature section in Gmail settings. So, there you have it a beautiful email signature that includes your headshot and has all the hallmarks of trust and impact. So, if you would like a headshot shoot or personal branding shoot to really capture your uniqueness, essence and personality and something that’s really going to make to feel confident to show up more online. If you are bored of those boring generic images those corporate boring generic images, you see online then click the link in the description box for a free brand assessment to see if we are a good fit. If you would love more branding advice, then please subscribe to my channel.