Small Businesses - Ditch the Consumer Email Addresses

Hey, small business owners!  It is time...well past time actually...to move past using "consumer" email addresses to represent your business.

You know which ones they are: hotmail, gmail, aol, the one from your cable company.  You should be availing yourself of every opportunity to promote your business, not advertise someone else's  - and your email address is the first place you should start.

In case you are wondering, or perhaps are a new or about-to-launch business, what we are really talking about is a custom domain.  Every business should register a custom domain name for themselves - yourcompany.com.  No good excuse not to - registrars like Go Daddy and 1 and 1 (among many others) offer custom domain name registration beginning at $12.99 per year.  

The next step is to find an email plan that allows you to utilize that custom domain for your email address: yourname@yourcompany.com .  There is probably an email plan attached to your website hosting, and if you want the same email system that is used by the largest companies in the U.S., look at Microsoft Office 365.  Small business plans begin at $6 per user per month.

That is the how and how much, but we should revisit the 'why'.  We already mentioned advertising another company.  Your own email address also generates a perception of permanence, commitment, and substance regarding your company.  As a small business owner, you know the importance customers attach to a long-term, professional relationship.  Your own email address goes a long way towards demonstrating to prospective customers that choosing your company is the right decision. 

We routinely talk to companies with questions about their websites and keywords, questions about social media and engagement with customers, questions about email marketing with newsletters - some fairly sophisticated questions, which indicate good comprehension of the social media landscape.  And they already have registered a yourcompany.com custom domain name - yet they still use a consumer email address.

Don't let this be you!  Make the move to a professional email address based on a custom domain name specifically for your business.  Let every aspect of your business image match the brilliance of the work you perform.  And do it before your competition.