Why would anyone who wants to be taken seriously advertise their Hotmail and Yahoo addresses on their business cards?
When I see those addresses, I think “cheap.”
The sin is even more egregious when an author commits it. Authors need to position themselves as experts in their field. Everything they do should communicate authority, self-confidence, dedication to their craft, and attention to detail.
Authors, You Can’t Afford This
When I returned recently from Publishing University, hosted by the Independent Book Publishers Association, I had 125 email addresses of authors who attended one of my three sessions and signed up for my newsletter. I was astonished at how few authors use domain-level, branded email addresses.
More than one-fourth were free email addresses like Hotmail, Yahoo, Gmail and AOL. If you’re just getting started in business, you can be excused if you don’t yet have a website. But it’s so darn easy to buy a domain name for about $10, connect it to a free WordPress blog, and pay about $9 a month for hosting.
Instead of advertising their brand name, some authors’ email addresses advertise their Internet service providers like Cox, BellSouth and Earthlink. What a missed opportunity!
Yes, People DO Notice
Visible Logic, Inc., a branding firm in Portland, Maine, reported on results of a survey it took on people’s perceptions of free email addresses. Its findings are published in the White paper Your Business Email Address Matters More Than You Think. The survey shows that seven out of 10 respondents think a non-domain-level email address looks unprofessional. And the firm asks a good question: “Would you hang somebody else’s sign in front of your business?”
This problem also spells trouble for Publicity Hounds who are pitching bloggers and the media, even if you’ve taken the time to thoroughly research the journalist. If you’re pitching yourself as an expert source for a story, that AOL address might send a subtle signal to a reporter that you might not be worthy of an interview, or even a call.
If you’re among the guilty, commit to ditching the free address this week. Buy a domain name from a company like HostGator (affiliate link) and finally get serious about your business.
Amen, Joan! I’m always amazed to get pushback on this issue. To me, it cuts right to the heart of your credibility as a businessperson. At 2 x 3-1/2″, the limited real estate on your business card is way too valuable. Let AOL and Google do their own marketing; they don’t need your help.
You get pushback? Amazing.
Joan, I couldn’t agree with you more. As we provide email marketing solutions and support clients with customer acquisition, we run into issues when the client is mailing to several AOL addresses at one time. AOL tends to list you as a Spammer, even for the top tier email marketing providers.
Companies that register for events online, should always use their business email address. Most companies providing event registration are reputable and they are not going to SPAM the registrant. When you use a consumer email address like Hotmail, AOL or others, you are going to be treated like a consumer, by the recipient and by the email filters that won’l allow most of these addresses through their firewall.
Your advice is also pertinent to job hunters, startups and inventors. Create a domain, an identity and use it wisely.
Thanks for bringing up this issue.
Mark, I had forgotten about the spam issue. Thanks for the reminder!
While I fully agree with this argument, I also have to say that I did recently consider getting a gmail account. What happened was I got a really nasty virus and my computer ended up being down nearly two weeks. I did have a laptop as a substitute, but none of my normal programs including Outlook which I use to read my regular email.
I was able to access those email addresses, but only via awkwardly using a webmail server. I also have a Comcast address that I mainly use for newsletters and such, but that was the easiest to access via their site.
It’s been about a month now and for various reasons, I’m still not back up to 100% though I can use most of my normal programs.
The reason I’d considered getting a gmail account was to be better prepared for that kind of situation. Hoping it never happens again, but I know anything is possible.
Also, I don’t travel much, but I could also see someone using a Gmail account plus the calendar and doc features they could access anywhere.
Thoughts on this angle?
It’s all a matter of personal preference, Cheryl. I prefer to access and send email from webmail while on the road. That way, the “From” address is my domain-branded email address and the email stays on the server unless I delete it. If you like Gmail, us it. But when you reply, you’re replying with your Gmail addresses unless you’ve set it up differently.
Cheryl,
I long ago ditched Outlook and use GMail exclusively. I use the free version of their Google Apps to send/receive e-mail, which looks like it’s coming from my domain. So any e-mail I send comes from my domain: Info (at) GIWEconnect.com, but I’m using GMail.
I totally agree with Joan: if you’re not using your own domain-level e-mail address, you look very unprofessional. But I’m not willing to be tied to my laptop or desktop and Outlook either.
I prefer cloud services as much as possible and GMail offers that. Google’s suite of other services (Google Docs, Calendar, etc.) are very useful and I LOVE the cloud feature since I can access it anywhere I have an Internet connection, including my iPhone. I don’t even use the iPhone’s mail feature; I just log into my GMail account via the Safari browser on my phone.
This also helps so much with avoiding viruses. I rarely download anything to my hard drive from my e-mail, just the occasional attachment from people I know and trust.
Hope that helps!
Michelle Nightengale
Founder & CEO
Global Institute of Wellness Entrepreneurs
Michelle, you have hit upon a great solution. I know several people who do it exactly the way you do. Hope others experiment with this, too.
I completely agree that using a free email service for a business’s email makes consumers lose confidence in the company. It really is like hanging a Wal-Mart sign in front of a small Mom and Pop store. Domain names are super reasonably priced, and every business should try to purchase one.
Andrew Adler
Tulane Freeman School of Business
Andrew, I’ll bet some of the students in your School of Business realize this more than many small-business people who have been using their Hotmail and Yahoo address for years. Thanks for weighing in.
Well, I have never even thought about this issue but I’m sitting here going, GULP, I use a Gmail address and a free WordPress site. But you know what, I still have enough clients to work full time doing a job I love that I created for myself with NO money. So I guess I’m not doing everything wrong. I think it might be just a bit shallow for people to judge others based on their email address and not the actual value or content of what they have to offer. Just my humble opinion
Christine, there’s absolutely nothing wrong with using a free WordPress site. It’s the free email address that’s the issue. Congrats for pulling in enough clients to keep you busy. That’s an enviable position to be in!
While I agree with your article and I do use my domain e-mail for business purposes (including my business cards), I do prefer a free e-mail account when submitting my e-mail for newsletters, blog comments, and the like. I never sign up for newsletters using my business e-mail account. Am I over-complicating things for myself?
Some people do what you do because they don’t like a lot of newsletters and other content coming into their regular email account that they use for business. In fact, I have a Gmail account specifically for this purpose, though I don’t like having to log into Outlook, and then Gmail, and go back and forth. So I don’t see a problem with what you’re doing, Mary. Just don’t use these free email addresses on marketing materials and other places where you want to create a good first impression.
I’m always surprised to see authors, artists, crafters, and other creatives, who already have a domain name, still using Yahoo, Gmail, or their ISP email addresses in professional communications. When I’ve questioned this, I’ve discovered many don’t know how to use their domain names for email. Few know most hosting companies offer several email addresses with most packages. Or if they don’t pay for hosting, inexpensive forwarded email addresses can be set up where they purchase their domains.
I’ve owned my domain name since 1992, back when they were free. I’ve used one email address on bulletin boards, forums, blogs, websites I’ve designed, and subscribing to newsletters and feeds for the past 30 years. Consequently, that email address has landed on many lists, and I get upwards of 800 spam messages per day, over 75% getting through a strong filter on my server.
My advice is to use your domain name on all communications, but use one (e.g. first name@domain.com) for subscriptions, and commenting, and any other online activities, and another (e.g. fullname@domain.com) for communicating with clients. That will at least keep the spam relegated to one mailbox.
Love your suggestion, Mihla. Thanks for stopping by.
Using a free email address says to me that the person maybe be very smart. Same with no website. First of all, any unnecessary expenditure should always be so. $10 is lot of money to some billionaires! Smart clients want to work with someone who is thrifty.
By putting up a website you may find most of your visitors are competitors or soon to be competitors. It would be best in many cases to only direct market and provide information that way. I think it’s smart but I understand lots of people don’t feel that way. Then again most people aren’t very successful either!
Your last sentence says it all. Thanks for stopping by to remind us of that.