Try a spiral staircase instead of a straight tower. It takes the same amount of material once you remove any scaffolding. You don't need to jump off and die, and you can return to the top and build a larger or more interesting beacon (such as a lava ball, a pixel art sign, or a huge glass observatory) at a later date.
Another thing I like to do is, once I've gotten just to the edge of sight range from my current base of operations, find a local high spot and put up a short cobblestone pillar. Put a torch on top of it and another torch on the side facing home (or two sides if your base is on a diagonal). These navigational beacons extend the range at which you can easily explore without getting lost.