(Published in Brainstorm! August 2005)

If you're in business, you probably give your email address out several times a week, maybe more often than you think. It's likely that you give it out every time you pass a business card along or send an email. It may be on your web site, your printed materials, your ads and more.

Your email address is part of your business identity. It's unique to you; no two people can have the same email address. It says something about your business and your professionalism.

What's the best option?
If you have a web site, your email address should be @yourdomain rather than @yahoo, @comcast, @aol, or anywhere else. It tells people that you're serious about your business and that you recognize and respect the power of the Internet to affect your business. Plus, when your email address is @yourdomain, you give out your web address every time you give out your email address. That helps to promote your web site and drive visitors to it.

I don't have a web site yet.
You can register a domain name for your business to use for email, even if you don't have a web site. We don't necessarily recommend doing that because people will see your email address and assume you do have a web site. A better option would be to start out with just a few pages about your business.

If you're not sure how to choose a domain name, read the article What's in a (Domain) Name?. If you want to check to see if your domain name is available, visit our domain registration service.

But I've had the same email address for years. Everyone knows what it is.
With the exception of AOL and a few other ISPs, it's fairly easy to have your email messages automatically forwarded to a new email address (sort of like having the post office forward your mail when you move). Some people prefer to forward their new business email address to their old email address, but we recommend against that. Remember, you give out your email address every time you send an email or reply to an email. You want those emails to come from your business address @yourdomain.

If your ISP can't automatically forward email messages, you may want to send a message out to everyone in your address book notifying them of your new email address. This is generally a good idea anyway. Include a message on every outgoing email about your new address. You can check both email boxes, using your new email address exclusively for sending out messages. Once emails to your old address taper off, you can safely quit checking it.

Whole Brain Technologies can advise you on selecting an appropriate domain name, setting up your email, or building that starter web site you need to begin establishing a professional Web presence for your business. Contact us today!

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