Three Steps to a Professional Email Address
I notice that many small businesses do not have their own domain name for their email address. For those that may not know what I mean, I am talking about what comes after the @ sign. Many small businesses use @yahoo.com, @gmail.com, @comcast.net, etc. I think that every small business should have its own domain name. It is just much more professional looking than the alternative. So, in this post I hope to show:
- How easy it is for any small business to get their own email address (the hardest part may be choosing your domain name since your company name with a dot com at the end may already be taken);
- That it is very inexpensive;
- How to implement the rather simple technical details and to gain an understanding of things called DNS settings and MX records;
- How to choose an email provider that will host your email for you. There are numerous free options available.
Now, many of you may say, I don’t have a website, why do I need a domain name? Or, maybe you will say I don’t have a website so I cannot get a domain name. Both of these are false. You do not need to have a website to have your own domain name. Although, I do think that every business should have at least a one-page website describing its business and communicating its unique value proposition. But, that is another post for another day.
Right now, I am focused on just your email address. Owning a domain name for your small business means that you will have a much more professional looking email. For small businesses trying to compete in the market against larger competitors and other small businesses, looking professional is a must. Thus, I would say, having your own domain name is just part of the price of admission to the game. Plus, it is not very expensive to own your own domain name. In fact, it is rather inexpensive. Depending upon your domain name registrar (companies like Network Solutions and GoDaddy), the cost can range anywhere from $10 to $35 per year.
Step 1: Purchase your domain name.
Go to GoDaddy.com, NetworkSolutions.com or the myriad of other domain registrars and purchase your domain name. Every registrar’s website has a domain name lookup that includes all of the many extensions that come after the dot (e.g., com, net, org, info, edu, us, etc.) Currently, GoDaddy.com is selling dot com domains starting at $10.69 per year or lower, and other extensions at even lower prices. So, getting a domain name is an inexpensive proposition. What registrar you choose is completely up to you. I have personally used GoDaddy and Network Solutions. Network Solutions is more expensive and to be honest, I am not quite sure what the extra money buys me. But, that is just my personal opinion. I have been happy with both my GoDaddy and Network Solutions experiences and the tools available to me to manage my domain name.
Step 2: Choose your email provider.
There are many email provider choices available to small businesses that allow you to create email addresses using your newly purchased domain name. In addition, some of the choices provide much more than just email. They include a calendar, contacts database, the ability to create documents, spreadsheets and presentations, mobile synchronization, and to create a website for your small business. Perhaps the most well-known is Google Apps which includes Google’s Gmail, Calendar, Contacts, Docs, and Sites. However, there is also Microsoft’s Office Live Small Business and Zoho Business. All of these email providers have free and paid options. In addition, all three provide options for accessing your email beyond just a web browser (i.e., using a desktop email program and accessing your email on a smart phone like a Blackberry, iPhone, or Windows Mobile device). Personally, I use Google Apps and really like it. However, I have started to use some services from Zoho and I am impressed with their features as well. I don’t think that you could go wrong with any of these three choices.
Once you choose your email provider and set up an account for your small business, you will probably need to verify with that email provider that you are the domain owner. For example, when I opened my Google Apps account I need to create a CNAME record in my DNS settings to prove I was the owner of my domain name (see Step 3 for additional information about DNS settings).
Step 3: Change your MX records to send your email to your email provider.
Login in to your domain name registrar’s account and go to your domain name’s DNS settings. DNS stands for Domain Name System. Basically, your domain’s DNS settings map domain names to IP addresses and tells everyone where your domain name is located on the internet. There are different types of DNS settings that manage different parts of domain name resolution. A records translate names to IP addresses. NS records designate the name servers that store the information for a specific domain. CNAME records are used to create additional host names for hosts in a domain. MX records (Mail Exchange records) define the mail delivery location.1 Your domain’s MX records are what you need to change to send your email to your email provider.
While still logged into your DNS settings, also log in to your new email provider account. Go through your email provider’s settings to find your new MX records. Copy those MX records into your DNS settings. If you are using Google Apps, Google provides very clear directions about how to update your MX records for your particular domain hosting company. It may take up to 48 hours for these new MX records to propagate to all of the domain name servers on the internet. However, it can also happen faster. For instance, whenever I have made these changes they are effective within 2-4 hours; sometimes as soon as 20-30 minutes.
The internet “levels the playing field.” Small businesses can compete alongside multi-billion dollar businesses. A professional looking website, with a professional looking email address, helps to increase the perceived size of your business for potential customers. Let’s face it, customers want to feel comfortable that they are dealing with a company that has been around, and one that will not go out of business tomorrow. Having your own domain name is a big part of giving your customers that feeling of comfort.
Now, start giving out that new, much more professional looking email for your small business right now, and replace that @yahoo.com, @hotmail.com, @gmail.com or whatever free email you had set up before.
To help others that may come across this post please post in the comments; what email provider did you end up choosing? Why did you choose that provider? Anything that I missed in my steps that should have been included? Thanks so much for your feedback!
Resources
1. The Importance of DNS Settings from NTC Hosting – http://www.ntchosting.com/dns/settings.html
2. Domain Name System from Wikipedia – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Domain_Name_System
Just came across your blog and the information about Steps to a Professional Email Address presented here is quite enlightening. The template you have used is really unique and cool. Well written information regarding Steps to a Professional Email Address. Company Formation