How to Customize Your Outlook Email Signature

Posted on: 10/10/2024

As a professional, your email signature is an important part of your digital identity. A well-crafted signature can make a lasting impression and provide essential contact information. In this guide, I'll show you how to create a standout Outlook signature, complete with a customized oval profile picture.

Outlook Signature with Profile Picture

Getting Started with Templates

Microsoft offers email signature templates to get you started. While they've recently changed their template system, I'll provide you with access to the original Word document full of signature options.

Steps to Create Your Signature:

Download the Word document with signature templates (link in resources section below)
Choose a template you like and copy it
Open Outlook and start a new email
Paste the template into your email

YouTube Video - Customize Email Signature

Customizing Your Signature

Once you've pasted the template, it's time to make it your own:

Replace the placeholder text with your information
Customize your profile picture (more on this below)
Adjust social media icons and links as needed

To create that eye-catching oval profile picture:

Open your image in Word. Try and make sure the image is less than 300x300 pixels before inserting.
Use the crop tool to make the image more square
Go to Picture Format > Crop to Shape > Oval
Resize the image
Copy and paste the oval image into your Outlook signature

Saving and Setting Your New Signature

Once you're happy with your customized signature:

Copy the entire signature table
In Outlook, go to Signatures > New
Name your signature and paste the table
Make any final adjustments to links or icons
Choose when to use this signature (new messages, replies, etc.)
Click OK to save

Resources

Two resources are listed below. The first is the link to Microsoft's instructions and their web gallery of templates. The second is the Word document template that Microsoft previously used. I prefer this one, but the web gallery is still a great resource.

Microsoft Signature Template page

Email Signature Page

Email signature gallery from Microsoft (Size: 1MB)

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Chris Menard

Chris Menard is a Microsoft Trainer (MCT) and works as a full-time Trainer at BakerHostetler - one of the largest law firms in the US. Chris runs a YouTube channel with 900+ technology videos that cover various tools such as Excel, Word, Zoom, Teams, Gmail, Copilot, Google Calendar, and Outlook. To date, the channel has helped over 20 million viewers. Menard also does 2 to 3 public speaking events yearly, presenting at the Administrative Professional Conference (APC), the EA Ignite Conference, the University of Georgia, and CPA conferences. You can connect with him on LinkedIn at https://chrismenardtraining.com/linkedin or watch his videos on YouTube at https://chrismenardtraining.com/youtube.