We all have to start somewhere
When you’re starting a business, using an email address you already have can make perfect sense.
You may not even know whether the business idea will work yet.
So you create something like:
mybusiness@gmail.com
and get on with it.
There is nothing inherently wrong with that.
But there may come a point when your business has grown up — and your email address hasn’t grown with it.
What is a domain-based email?
If your website is:
yourbusiness.com.au
a domain-based email might be:
hello@yourbusiness.com.au
or:
yourname@yourbusiness.com.au
Instead of advertising Gmail, Hotmail or another provider every time you send a message, you’re reinforcing your own business name.
It’s a small difference that can make your business feel much more established.
Your email address is part of your brand
We tend to think about branding as logos, colours and fonts.
But your email address appears everywhere.
- It’s on quotes.
- Invoices.
- Business cards.
- Contact pages.
- Booking confirmations.
- Email signatures.
- And every email you send.
- A domain-based email quietly reinforces your business name every time somebody sees it.
Our earlier Her Place material made this distinction deliberately: a free address can be a useful temporary starting point, while a domain-based address becomes part of creating a more professional and recognisable business identity.
Keep it simple
You don’t need twelve email addresses simply because you can create them.
There it is again:
Just because you can, doesn’t mean you should. 😁
For a very small business, one or two addresses may be enough.
For example:
hello@yourbusiness.com.au
yourname@yourbusiness.com.au
A business taking bookings might use:
bookings@yourbusiness.com.au
An online shop may use:
orders@yourbusiness.com.au
Choose addresses that make sense to your customers and that somebody will actually monitor.
Don’t forget who controls the domain
Your professional email usually depends on your domain name.
That means knowing where your domain is registered and making sure you have access to it is important.
Know:
- Where your domain is registered
- Which email address controls the account
- Who can log in
- When the domain renews
- Who is responsible for paying the renewal
Losing control of a domain can affect more than your website. It may also affect email addresses attached to it.
Already using Gmail or Hotmail?
You don’t have to change everything overnight.
Create the new business address and start using it for new correspondence.
Update your website and business materials.
Tell important contacts about the change.
Keep monitoring the old address during the transition so nothing disappears into the digital wilderness.
Over time, the new address becomes the one customers recognise.
One small job for this week
Look at the email address you’re currently using for business.
Ask:
Does this still represent the business I have today?
If it does, great.
If you’re running an established business from an email address you created one evening ten years ago because everything else you tried was taken, perhaps it’s time for an upgrade. 😂
