It should be.

Email marketing takes your blog to the next level: They’re a match made in heaven.

Email marketing and blogging: The perfect pair.

Have you ever seen one of those couples so perfectly in love it’s hard not to be jealous?

They’re in tune with one another and everything they do is in pursuit of a common goal. They bring out the best in each other.

That’s the type of relationship email marketing and blogging have.

Why do you need email marketing on your blog?

If you have a blog then email marketing is right for you — no ifs, ands, or buts about it.

Do the following questions sound familiar?

• How do I build online relationships with my audience?
• How do I encourage loyalty in my readers and blogging community?

Email marketing, my friends. The answers lie in email marketing.

Email marketing is all about relationships.

Once upon a time, you could build a relationship with your audience entirely on social media. That’s not the case anymore. Every time a social media site updates their algorithm it seems to go against small businesses’ or bloggers’ best interests. What are your options? You can pay to play with the big boys and advertise your blog or have your posts buried in favor of people’s friends and family.

In this, your hour of need, email marketing can step in and help out. It isn’t just a perfect partner for your blog — it also encourages and supports other relationships your blog should have, like with your audience.

Think about it: Blogging isn’t a one-way street. You can type, post, and publish all you want, but if you don’t have any readers for your blog then no amount of work on it will do you any good. You need to capture the attention of your readers and any future readers your blog receives and turn them into repeat visitors.

It’s not as tough as it sounds. If your blog posts are informative and satisfy your audience’s needs (and we’re sure they do) you’re more than halfway there. Your next step?

Add an email marketing sign-up sheet to your blog.

It’s probably the easiest thing you can do to create repeat readers. If someone comes to your blog once there’s no guarantee they’ll be back a second time. However, if they sign up for your email list then they’ll see your content again and that keeps you and your blog top of mind.  

How do you add an email sign-up sheet to your blog? There are a variety of ways, and it will depend on the email marketing tool you use. Don’t fret though, it’s an easy task no matter how you go about it.

How do you encourage loyalty in your relationship with your audience?

Quality content.

Few things end a relationship faster than dating an absolute bore. Don’t be that person in your relationship with your audience. If your content is a snooze-fest, you’re in trouble. Deep trouble.

Your blog (and therefore email) content must be quality content. An email composed of memes won’t inspire trust and will do more harm than good. We have nothing against a good meme, but remember to prioritize substance over a cheap laugh.

When your content is high-quality and relevant to your audience’s needs they’ll want to open your emails and come back to your blog where they can find even more awesome information (so don’t forget to include links in your emails!).

Need some inspiration? Try one of these 5 types of email ideas, all of them put together specifically for bloggers to send to their subscribers.  

You can also try sending:

• Your best performing blog content.
• A guide or other freebie for your most loyal readers.
• A coupon or discount if you sell any products or services.

Whatever email marketing service you use should offer you some kind of click tracking. That means that every time someone clicks on a link in your email it’s recorded and then added to a report for you. By reviewing this report, you can figure out what type of content resonates best with your readers and cater future emails and content accordingly.

Email marketing statistics for bloggers.

Still not sold on adding an email marketing sign-up sheet to your blog? Or not convinced that the (minimal) amount of work is worth the effort?

Perhaps these statistics can convince you otherwise:

• 99% of consumers check their email every day.
• For every $1 you spend on email marketing, you can expect an average return of $38.
• Emails related to hobbies have some of the highest open rates.
• Including a call-to-action in your emails can lead to a 28% increase in your click-through rate.

Market your blog with email.

It’s time to take your blog to the next step, isn’t it?

You know what to do to start a blog and have a plan figured for how to monetize it … now you need to woo your audience.

You can do that with quality content and an email sign up form on your blog. Capture your readers’ attention and email addresses, and never lose touch. Provide valuable, actionable information in your emails, and maybe a sweet deal every now and again, and watch your relationship with your audience bloom.

Our final tip? Make sure the email address you use when sending your emails matches your blog’s domain name. Remember, the goal here is to engender trust with your audience and build your relationship, not have them mark you as spam because they don’t know who [email protected] is.

For example, did you know that you can link your domain to your Gmail account so that your business can take full advantage of G Suite services? Boiled down, this means that you can connect a Gmail address to your domain name, and then access it from just about anywhere in the world.

Let’s say that you have a domain called golfbropros.com and your name is Tom. With Domain.com you can easily create [email protected] as the email, and then have that linked directly to a Gmail account. If you don’t already own a domain, you can find one and complete the purchase process with Domain.com in minutes. This way, you get to keep a professional looking email and have the power of the G Suite at your fingertips as well. 

Now, getting started can be a little daunting but finding a domain name and linking it to a Gmail is easy with Domain.com. Let’s discuss the steps to take to setup a Gmail and domain, plus  everything you need to know about Gmail for business. 

Domain.com makes it easy to add G Suite for Business to your domain name.

Obtaining a domain name

Before you can have a Gmail domain name, you first must register a domain. If that step is already completed, just skip this section and move on to the G Suite section. For those of you that have yet to complete this vital process, fear not, Domain.com has made domain registration cheap and easy.  

In order to claim a domain name, it must be registered with ICANN, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, a nonprofit that keeps track of available, unused domain names. Because of regulations, a domain can only be registered with ICANN through a domain registrar such as Domain.com. 

Domain registrars are afforded this privilege because: 

• They have received accreditation through ICANN
• They have built up years of experience in the world of domains
• It helps centralize and track ownership and availability of names

Purchasing a domain name

Checking for a domain name’s availability at Domain.com is simple. Type the name you wish for in the search bar and then hit the magnifying glass symbol. If available, you can then buy your domain name. If unavailable, a list of similar names with slight variations to the domain name itself or the domain extension is presented.

Once you have found that ideal domain name and confirmed its availability, you’re then required to submit the following information to Domain.com:

• The domain name and domain extension
• First and last name
• Email address
• Phone number
• Physical address
• Billing information
• Administrative contact information

After you file this information, Domain.com instantly starts the registration process, sending the request to ICANN, who then performs a WHOIS query to confirm your identity.

As a note, you should be aware that domain registration does not last forever. It is similar to renting an apartment for a few years, with the option to renew that rent annually. With Domain.com, you have the opportunity to purchase a domain name for a span of one to five years.

G Suite explained

If you weren’t already aware, Gmail for business is not merely an email service. It is powered and enhanced by the G Suite tools. These applications are what really set Gmail apart from other mail services, and are a big part of what has propelled it into the spotlight as the most popular email service to date. Utilizing the power of cloud computing, they have revolutionized the way we work, edit, share and collaborate on the internet. These apps include the following applications:

• Calendar – Cloud-based scheduling software that lets users view a teammate’s calendar, share their own schedule, set meetings, or plan for the upcoming week or month.
• Cloud – Get rid of servers and protect your data with Google’s cloud computing service.
• Docs – Google’s cloud-based answer to Microsoft Word allows documents to be worked on, edited, shared, or viewed by anyone, with permission. This gives easy visibility and workability, all the while preventing loss thanks to automatic updates and the ability to track changes.
• Drive – Google’s cloud-based data storage center for all of your files, including music, video, text, documents, pictures, or any other vital data.  
• Forms – Collect and disseminate information like never before. Start a poll, create a survey, and get answers quickly. Forms gather, tabulate, and organize responses so that analysis is made simple.
• Gmail – Google’s mailing service is intuitive, powerful, and easy to organize. Users can have storage that is either 30GB, 1TB, or Unlimited, depending upon their package and the total number of users.
• Hangout – Video conference app that takes video chat and messaging to the next level. Depending on their subscription package, anywhere from 10 to 25 users can have a video conference at any given time.
• Meet – The high-resolution, high-end version of Hangouts that can support anywhere from 50 to 100 users on a single video conference at any given time.
• Sheets – Spreadsheets are brought to the cloud. Similar to Docs, Sheets can be worked on, edited, shared, or viewed by anyone on your team.
• Slides – PowerPoint creation has never been simpler. Slides has all the tools and templates you need to put together a high-end pitch or demonstration.
  

Why should you select GSuite for your needs? 

While you may think you can just get by with the free Gmail account and Google Apps, that means you don’t have the ability to link your domain name to Gmail. On top of that, you miss out on all of the powerful tools that come with the G Suite subscription.

Your subscription includes:

• Audit reports for user activity
• BigQuery log analysis
• Gmail and Drive data loss-prevention features
• Hosted S/MIME
• Gmail third-party archiving
• Security key enforcement

How to set up Gmail with your domain

Here’s how to set up Gmail with your domain name for a personalized and professional looking email address:

1. Go to Google Apps Gmail page, click the “Get Started Button.”
2. Enter the name of your business and choose the number of employees or users.
3. Pick the company’s location.
4. Enter your email address, but know you can create a new business Gmail address
5. later.
6. You will receive a prompt that asks, “Does your business have a domain?” If, yes,
7. enter it on the screen and click “Next.”
8. Create your login information including username and password.
9. Enter your credit card information and click, “Continue.”
10. Confirm you’re not a robot, check the box, and click, “Agree and create account.”

Now that the account creation is complete, you can begin to set up your Gmail account with your domain. First, though, you need to verify your domain name.

1. Go to the Google Admin Console and hit the “Start Setup” button at the top center of the page.
2. Hit the “Verify Domain” button then hit, “Next.”
3. You will receive a message that says, “Verify your domain: Before you begin using apps and services we need to contact your domain host to verify that you own (your domain name). Your domain host can detect that sdrive-gmail-setup.net is hosted at Network Solutions.com.” Hit, “No.”
4. A drop-down list will appear. Choose, “Other” then hit “Begin Verification.”
5. The easiest way to verify a domain name is an “HTML File Upload.”
6. Download the given HTML domain verification file
7. Upload the file to your domain
8. Confirm successful upload by visiting the given HTTP:s-drive location
9. Hit “Verify”
10. Once you’ve finished, login to your Google Apps account and hit, “Users.”
11. You will see an option to add new users including a custom email address.
12. Congrats, you’re finished!

Benefits of G Suite

There are plenty of benefits that come from linking a G Suite Subscription to your Domain. They include:

• Domain-branded emails – A professional email name connected to your domain, and powered by G Suite signals to prospective customers that your business is legitimate. A stranger who knows nothing about your business trusts you infinitely more if you have a website, and an email tied to it.
• Storage – Even the 30 GB of storage provided by the basic account is a huge amount of securely stored data. For the Business and Enterprise models, you may never have to worry about storage again.
• Email marketing – G Suite allows users to create and facilitate high-level email marketing campaigns and grants you the ability to fashion up to 30 email aliases per user.
• Collaborate – G Suite cloud-based document creation uses cutting-edge technology that lets teams work together, make alterations, and share their work no matter where they are located. A team member in Dallas on their PC can participate in a Hangout with a team member in Los Angeles on their mobile device, along with another worker in New York on their tablet. These three people can access the same document, spreadsheet, or presentation simultaneously, making changes and strategizing in real-time.
• Document ownership – Thanks to archiving, it’s so simple to track changes to any file in Google Drive. You can see who made changes, when the changes took place, and what the differences were. You can access the earlier versions of the documents, or make notes about the current one. This method means that team members are kept accountable and can take ownership of any edit.  
• Outlook sync – If your company or employees require the use of Microsoft Outlook’s email service, G Suite has a simple G Suite Sync with Outlook.
• Two-step domain verification – G Suite provides extra security by allowing admins to decide if a user needs to sign in to their account with both their password and then confirm with their mobile device. This 2-step verification protects sensitive information, especially if you utilize Drive as the cloud backup.
• 24/7 support – G Suite provides dedicated 24/7 phone, email, and chat support. So if you have any questions or need help troubleshooting, call, mail, or text the Google team and get an answer instantly.
  

Set up Gmail to start talking to customers

It’s never been easier to link your domain name with a Gmail account. As discussed, the benefits to your business are endless. Start using an email that’s custom branded with your own domain name to talk to customers and potential business partners like a professional. 

Domain.com makes it easy to add G Suite for Business to your domain name.

Learn about more G Suite below, and find out how it can benefit your business.

Domain.com makes it easy to add G Suite for Business to your domain name.

The power of professional emails with Gmail for Business

You’re probably all too aware that, these days, using a personal email for your business is not always the best way to hook in customers. Similar to having your own website, a professional email address grants a person or business legitimacy, signaling to customers that you’re a real and trustworthy operation.

With Gmail domain integration, business owners can use the Gmail system for all communication from your custom domain email address. This way you get to have the best of both worlds, a professional email address that matches your domain name.

Gmail For Business

Business email aside, you likely already use the free Gmail service and apps on a regular basis for emailing or online writing purposes. While these provide plenty of horsepower for anyone who is using Gmail personally, for businesses, some of the basic features of Gmail for work are lacking or limited, especially when compared to Microsoft Office 365.

Gmail for Work is the paid version of Gmail and was designed specifically for businesses of any size. With Gmail for Work and Domain.com, you receive a package of products and cloud-based services that allow you to communicate and collaborate seamlessly from anywhere on any device. Your company is armed with an intuitive and fantastic set of Google tools meant to improve communication and optimize workflow.

Four features of Gmail for Work

At their essence, the G Suite tools can be broken down into four categories: communicate, collaborate, store, and manage.

1 – Communicate

The following G Suite applications help improve your team’s ability to act and react in real time, to share messages, or to stay in touch. They include:

• Gmail – The most obvious feature of Gmail for Work. A paid subscription via Domain.com grants you email access to your domain. Depending on the G Suite package you choose, this email address allows users to store data and messages, anywhere from 30 gigabytes to multiple terabytes.
• Google Calendar – This time-management and scheduling service lets G Suite users create and share a schedule, meeting, or pitch. With it, teams can plan out delivery schedules and due dates. They can also highlight important dates or times. Since it is cloud-based, you can share your calendar with other people at the company, allowing them to check your schedule for availability.
• Hangout – Google’s powerful video chat and messaging service lets ten users participate in a single video conference. Hangout is easy to use and far more reliable than a similar product such as Skype. For G Suite enterprise, as many as 25 people may join a low-resolution video conference.
• Meet – Recently, Google rolled out Meet, a beefier version of Hangout meant for medium to large businesses. This allows anywhere from 50 to 100 users to participate in a video conference call simultaneously. This version allows for phone dial-in, recording of the meeting, and high-resolution video.

2 – Collaborate

Gmail for Work relies upon cloud computing in order to revolutionize the way work documents can be collaborated upon, edited, shared, and viewed. Each service comes with a plethora of easy to use templates. Any changes made to the document are made in real time, and saved automatically, preventing document loss while also keeping editors accountable for who wrote what, who made a change, or who made a note. These products include:

• Docs – Docs was Google’s take on a Microsoft Word in the cloud. As a result, documents can be edited, disseminated, and altered rapidly without any fear of losing files. Documents can be shared in either edit mode or view-only mode, so only the right people can make modifications to the material. Docs also work seamlessly with Microsoft Word, allowing you to convert a word file to docs, or vice versa.
• Sheets – Google’s version of Excel, this easy to use but extremely powerful spreadsheet service lets users create charts, graphs, tables, and formulas to both enhance and simplify your spreadsheet compilation. The dozens of templates allow a person to dive in immediately no matter what device they’re using. Open, create, and change your spreadsheets from wherever you work.  
• Forms – Forms allow a person to gather and optimize information, whether big or small. You can start an office poll, gather up personal email addresses, or start a survey. Forms help you get answers as quickly and concisely as possible. With a variety of templates and options, from multiple choice to fill in the blank, your Q&As can be set up in such a way as to provide you with the best and most pertinent information. Thanks to smart organization, responses are neatly compiled for optimal analysis.
• Slides – Slides is Google’s answer to PowerPoint. This excellent tool helps you give a pitch, create a presentation, or compile a slideshow. Make impactful presentations and tell inspiring stories anywhere, anytime.
• Sites – Google’s structured Wiki and Web page creation tool lets any user with access to G Suite create simple websites.

3 – File storage

With previously unprecedented cloud storage , store lets Gmail for business users create, edit, query, and renew files from wherever.

• Drive – Drive is a cloud-based data storage center, which creates a haven for all of your data, including:
  • Sheets
  • Docs
  • Music
  • Audio
  • Video
  • Excel
  • Word
  • PowerPoint
  • Slides
  • Adobe video
  • Photoshop

• Cloud – Google’s cloud computing service, Google Cloud allows for secure and high-performance cloud services. It enables a business to go serverless and provides a host of robust data and analytics tools. Features include:
  • Virtual Computing
  • Storage  Space and Databases
  • Networking
  • Big Data
  • Data Transfer
  • API Platform and Ecosystems
  • Internet of Things
  • Cloud AI
  • Management Tools
  • Developer Tools
  • Identity and Security
  • Professional Services

4 – Manage

Smart tools make it easy and straightforward to manage and secure your users, devices, and files.

• Admin – With admin privileges you can manage your Google Admin console with a variety of topics, such as:
  • Admin roles
  • Analytics
  • Audit
  • Authentication
  • Billing and Subscriptions
  • Chrome devices
  • Communication settings
  • Company profile
  • Custom URLs
  • Data migrations
  • Domain names
  • Groups
  • Mobile Devices
  • Password strength requirement
  • Password strength monitoring
  • API Access
  • Reports
  • Services On/Off
  • Service-specific settings
  • Single sign-on
  • Support
  • Two-step verification
  • Users

• Vault – Vault allows a business to keep, manage, find, and send data to increase archival organization and eDiscovery. Vault retains:
  • Email messages
  • Chats in Hangouts
  • Drive files
  • Conversations in Hangouts
  • Recording in Hangouts
  • Groups

• Mobile –  Gmail’s mobile apps and suite features can be accessed from any smartphone or tablet, whether they are running Android or iOS.

G Suite subscription

Gmail for Work can be split into three categories and price points:

1. Basic – $5 per month per user plan that gives users 30 GB of data storage space along with various G Suite tools.
2. Business – $10 per month per user plan that gives four or fewer users 1 TB of data storage, and five or more users unlimited storage. Business comes with enhanced office suite with additional features such as audit reporting, cloud searching, eDiscovery, and access to Google Vault.
3. Enterprise – $25 per month per user plan that grants unlimited storage with premium office suite advanced tools and analytics. Enterprise allows for:
   • Audit reports for tracking user activity
   • Data loss prevention for Gmail and Drive
   • Integrated Gmail with third-party archiving
   • BigQuery log analysis
   • Security key enforcement
   • Hosted S/MIME

One of these plans should be ideal for your business, though the vast majority of companies find the sweet spot of price point and features with G Suite Business. These plans can be paid either monthly with the flexible plan, or annually with the fixed plan.

Although the annual plan saves some money in the long run, the flexible monthly plan allows a company to add or remove accounts, and only pay for the Gmail accounts that get used. The flexible plan also gives you the ability to cancel a subscription if desired, whereas, with the annual plan, you pay for a year and get a year, whether or not you use the service.

Getting the most out of Gmail For Work

If you want to get the very most out of your Gmail for Work and Google Apps, consider the following:

• Set up your domain name to be hosted by Gmail – Doing this, you get to use Gmail for your Domain.com email inbox. You can also make custom emails for anyone who works for you or to delineate various aspects of your business such as [email protected], or [email protected]. With Domain.com you do not need to toggle between separate mail systems or names, simply integrate your email with your domain. By doing so, you no longer have to search a domain name or register individual accounts. This benefits your company by allowing for quick domain ID, 24/7 customer support, and a custom Gmail for your domain.
• Create a signature – Having a personalized signature at the bottom of your messages makes every email look more official, and ties you or your employee closer to your business in the mind of your customer.
• Utilize the labels feature – You can label and categorize your inbox in order to simplify inbox navigation, or to highlight important messages or contacts.
• Take advantage of Customer Support – Google provides round the clock customer support for paying members. If you have any questions, queries, or problems, they’re a brief call, email, or message away.
• Group email addresses – A nifty feature of Gmail for Work is that you can catalog people or departments into groups for easier messaging. By adding the entire marketing team to a group, you no longer need to find and enter every email address.

Verifying Your Domain

Before you can start rolling with Gmail for Work, you must verify and register a domain to confirm that no one else is using that domain without your expressed permission. With Domain.com, verification is simple, letting you get to work in no time at all.

To do this,  sign into your Domain.com account and add the record of Gmail for Work to your DNS records. To do this you need to:

• Have your Domain.com login info at hand. If you have forgotten, you can easily reset your password at the login section.
• Search for Domain.com’s Domain Name System settings.
• Copy that information and paste either the MX, TXT, or CNAME record of the DNS settings.
• Another option available to you is adding the meta tag or HTML file.
• This verification record does not affect your Gmail or website.
• Once you have this information, follow the Gmail Setup Wizard to verify the domain.
• If you have trouble accomplishing this, feel free to contact Google Cloud Support which comes with the G Suite subscription. You can also reach out to the team at Domain.com if you are having difficulty finding the MX, TXT, or CNAME records.  

Getting started with professional tools from G Suite and Domain.com

Gmail for Work is a powerful cloud-based tool that can help take your business capabilities to the next level. Thanks to its fantastic mailing features and real-time document collaboration, you can crush your work from anywhere at any time.

When you pick Domain.com as your hosting provider, we make it easy to add G Suite for Business to your domain name.

That wolf shirt you love to wear is pretty cool, isn’t it? Fits like a glove, too.

That said, your wolf shirt has no place in an interview or meetings with your customers and clients.  (And no, it’s not because we’re trying to cramp your style.)

In the business world, presentation matters. You wouldn’t want to lose potential high-value customers just because they didn’t take your shirt (and therefore you) seriously, would you?

The same thing holds true for email addresses.

If your customers and clients can’t physically see you to size you up, they’re going to make their assumptions and decisions based on the things they do see — like your email address. Your email address is one of the first impressions people will have of you as it has a prominent spot in their inbox. You want that email address to represent you well and show that you mean business.

A Professional Email Address Matches Your Domain Name

What do we mean by “professional email address?” A professional, business-minded email address is one that matches your domain name (i.e., [email protected] vs. [email protected]). And why is that?

Let’s take a look at the following scenario as it should shed some light on the matter. 

Look Professional, Establish Credibility, Support Your Digital Identity

Arya spent the last 2 years getting her fencing teacher’s license so she can open her own studio. She’s got an email sign-up form on her website (take note: that’s a really good idea all around) and has been working on growing her list of potential clients. She’s ready to email them and let them know that her studio, Winterfell Fencing, is finally open! But instead of getting an email address to match her domain name, she sends it from the account she’s had since grade school, [email protected].

Now, I don’t know about you, but if I saw an email address like that in my inbox, I’d steer clear from clicking on it because it looks spammy. I like my personal information staying personal, and am in no rush to click on an email that looks like it might be carrying a virus.  

But what if she had emailed from [email protected]? I’d recognize her email address and trust it because I’m familiar with her website, winterfellfencing.com. Her professional email address matches her domain name and helps reinforce her business and professional identity. There’s no sending her email to spam this time around because I know exactly who sent it and I trust her business.

via GIPHY

Is it really all about appearances?

There’s more to life and business than appearances, right? We think so, too.

Having a professional email address that matches your domain name isn’t just for looks — it’s also to provide you with the productivity tools you need today to prepare and plan for future growth.

Productivity tools that come with your professional email address

When you purchase a professional email address, you’re also getting access to a host of tools to help you organize, streamline, and get more done efficiently.

What are these tools exactly? They range from cloud storage and file sharing to team calendars and even customer invoicing and estimating tools.

Here at Domain.com we offer two different professional email products. Maybe you’ve heard of them … Google’s G Suite (it’s Gmail for business) and Microsoft’s Office 365 (O365)?

Let’s take a look at the specific tools each of them offers.

G Suite: Where your domain meets the power of Gmail. Enjoy the benefits of having a business email address with 30 GB of storage, shared calendars, multiple communication tools, and more.

Office 365: Adding your domain to Office 365 provides an all-in-one productivity solution for your business. You’ll experience cloud-based access to the suite of Office 365 tools, including Word, Excel, Outlook, and more.

With automatic updates and cloud storage for your files, you can collaborate on projects with your team from across the room or across the globe, without worrying about losing files or needing to update any applications. You’ll even be able to stay on track with the included bookkeeping and appointment tools.

Since you’re likely familiar with Microsoft or Gmail already, there shouldn’t be much of a learning curve when getting started. And connecting your domain name to a professional email address is a breeze. For example, if you have a custom domain name with us and choose Office 365 as your email tool of choice, the first step would be to log in to your account. From your domain dashboard, select the domain name you want your email to match, and on the next page, click the Office 365 tab to the left of the page. Follow the prompts, and you’re good to go! Learn more about connecting professional email to your Domain.com account here.

Reinforce the connection between your website and email with a professional email address

Stranger danger is a real thing, especially online. You don’t want your customers ignoring your emails, and they don’t want potential spam landing in their inbox. Match your email address to your domain name to present yourself as a professional, stand out among the competition, and help customers decide that you’re the right business to work with. Save your personal email address (and your wolf shirt) for the weekend. 

Even if Jerry really does have the hottest pants in all the land, I’d hesitate before handing over my retirement savings.

Something as simple an email address makes a big impact on how people perceive your business. Since a free email address promotes Yahoo or Aol instead of your custom domain, customers aren’t likely to take your company seriously. If you haven’t invested in a professional email address, it looks like you don’t take your own company seriously either.

Put a well-dressed foot forward with a professional email address paired with your domain name to establish trust and grow your business at the same time.

Domain.com makes it easy to add G Suite for Business to your domain name.

Make it easy for your customers to trust you with a professional email address

Hotpants runs a real business, but who would know? When a professional email address is linked to a real website, customers can see that your company exists outside of the inbox. This leads to more trust that your email contains value, and a better chance of a clicked link that points back to your website.

When customers head to a trusted website they also shop with trust, making them more likely to purchase from you. If Hotpants sent me an email with a From Name such as ‘[email protected]’ instead, then I’d be interested. Not only do I recognize the website he’s connected with, the email handle also reminds me how his company proposes to help me.

Make the connection to your website and brand stronger

A Hotmail or Yahoo email handle does nothing to build a connection back to your brand in the eyes of a customer. When your email pops up in their inbox, the From Name helps you lead with your own brand name, not the name of a common internet company.

With a professional email address, every email you send and every time your email appears on a business card, speaking credit, or flyer, your customers are seeing an advertisement for your brand. As your audience becomes accustomed to seeing your name, you stay top of mind. This means the next time they think of their problem, your products will come to mind as the solution before your competitors.

Steer your emails away from the spam folder

When your email address is full of letters and symbols your audience’s inbox becomes harder to reach. The inbox of your potential customer is designed to reject incoming emails that look suspicious or at least send them to the spam folder. That means emails sent without a professional email handle may not even be reaching your customers.

Since email marketing is so powerful, getting your emails to the inbox and opened is an important priority. Customers that signed up to your email list have shown their interest in hearing from you, and may even need to hear from you if it concerns their recently purchased products. Using a professional email address will make sure your business is communicating loud and clear.

Even the small details matter to your business

Your email address may seem like a small, insignificant detail that matters little to your customers. But these small details make a big impression as looking like a professional is about the total package, not just a single aspect of your online brand.

Using a personal email account when talking to your customers makes them think that you’re holding back from your business, and them, as if you’re not going to be fully committed to helping solve their problem. Instead of letting your customer’s imagination run wild, it’s much simpler to add a G Suite for Business account to your marketing tool belt. For a few dollars a month you can legitimize your email address, and also better collaborate with your team on spreadsheets, documents, or presentations, all stored in the Google cloud.

Talk to potential customers like a professional

Even if [email protected] is the smartest financial planner around, customers would need a lot of convincing before handing over their hard-earned savings. Instead of looking like a novice, lead with a professional email that establishes trust in your business and connects back to your website.

Domain.com makes it easy to add G Suite for Business to your domain name.