Our last topic this week regarding domain names is actually about email addresses.
All too often, people will use free email systems for their email addresses. Google Mail, or Gmail, is very popular in the past year or so. Prior to that, Yahoo! was most popular, and of course AOL, Hotmail and a multitude of others are still around.
As the web becomes an important part of your business, email communications will become even more important (if they aren’t already). When you use an email address associated with your domain name, you increase the brand awareness with your customers, as well as establishing credibility.
There's a higher level of business credibility with using joe@jewelrystore.com instead of jewelrystore@gmail.com.
Free emails are, well, free. Your email savvy customers know this because most likely they are using free email services, too. Not everyone understands what it takes to get a website or a domain name, so for many people the "joe@jewelrystore.com" looks more prestigious and adds to your level of business credibility.
Setting up email addresses associated with your domain name is an easy process for your website host. You could also have your emails attached through Gmail if you like the Gmail system.
Domain name emails usually cost money every month, and normally are including in the cost of website hosting. So before you spend time and money elsewhere, contact your website host first. However, if you decide to go with Google email/domain hosting, make sure you choose the paid "Google Apps" service and not the free Gmail service. This will give you appropriate control over your anti-virus and spam filtering options.
Many services will automatically filter out emails from other countries to prevent spamming. Make sure whatever email service you select allows you the options to unblock emails from other countries, otherwise your foreign diamond suppliers may not be able to communicate with you.
