Why Every Business Needs a Professional Email Address
Still using a free email account for your small business? While it might be saving you a little now, that generic address could be costing you your credibility in the long run. Whether you’re looking to strengthen your brand identity or simply to stay more organised, professional email can make all the difference. It’s a simple but powerful way to show customers you’re serious about what you do. What is a custom professional email address? A custom domain email address is an email that uses your own domain name, like you@yourbusiness.co.uk, rather than generic choices like @hotmail or @gmail. Professional email, branded email, business email, custom email — there’s a few different ways to describe the same basic idea. Having an email address with your own domain is a step up from free email services in that it’s unique to you and your business. It works to highlight your brand with every message you send. When it comes to running successful online business, there are few better ways to make a great first impression. How does custom email work? At the heart of a custom email address is your domain name. That’s the bit after the @ symbol. When you own a domain, you can create email addresses tied to that domain. This all works through the Domain Name System (DNS), telling the internet where to send your emails and making sure they land in the right inboxes. Each email address is made up of two parts: ☒ Local part: Before the “@” bit (e.g., john, info, sales) ☒ Domain part: The unique address after the “@” (e.g., yourbusiness.co.uk) Your domain’s DNS settings use something called ‘Mail Exchange’ (MX) records to tell which servers handle your emails. But hold up — you don’t need to know the ins and outs of all this to get a great business email address that works for you. It’s easily done! What are the benefits of having professional email with your own domain name? Custom email addresses give your business a professional edge. They help build trust, show that you’re serious, and make your brand more memorable. It’s all about standing out in crowded inboxes — and sending the right message. ☐ Professionalism and Brand Identity First impressions count, and that’s especially true when it comes to email. While a free generic email might do the trick for personal messages, it’s not going to be up to scratch for most businesses. A custom email address with your own domain name does more than just help you stand out; it shows the world you’re serious about what you do. Using a custom email address makes your campaigns feel polished and trustworthy. Customers are more likely to open emails from a sender that looks authentic. ☐ Trust and credibility Professional email builds brand recognition. Every time someone sees your domain in their inbox, it reinforces your name and message. It’s not just marketing—it’s a chance to make your brand stick. People are more likely to take you seriously when your email matches your business name. It’s a little change that can make a big difference. ☐ Effective email marketing Email marketing is one of the best ways to connect with customers and grow your business. Whether it’s a special offer, a newsletter, or a friendly update, it keeps your audience in the loop. But to stand out in crowded inboxes, you need more than just a great message. Adding a custom email address into the mix can make it even better. ☐ Customisation and flexibility Custom email gives you the freedom to create emails that suit your team. From sales@ to support@, you can create individual addresses that work for your business. ☐ Productivity Any custom email provider worth their salt will also give you tools to help your business succeed online. With Professional Email from 123 Reg, you get ample storage and productivity tools, including Calendars and Tasks. If you choose the right Microsoft 365 plan you can get custom domain email plus the full suite of M365 office apps like Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Teams. Custom vs Free Email – at a glance: Custom Domain Email Free Email Uses your own domain, like @yourbusiness.co.uk Uses a provider’s domain, like @gmail.com or hotmail.com Looks professional and builds trust Looks casual, fine for personal use Full control over usernames and setup Little or no control over your email address Can set up multiple accounts Usually tied to one personal account Requires a domain and hosting plan Free, with restricted functionality What’s wrong with using a free email address? While free email providers like Hotmail and Gmail might seem to be the cheap and easy choice, they come with drawbacks when it comes to doing business online. To start with the obvious, most free email services come with advertising. These ads can be more noticeable with some providers than others (in Gmail, for example, they appear in a tab of the inbox, looking like regular emails but marked as “sponsored”). This can make inboxes cluttered and harder to manage. Free email providers don’t give the same level of control as you expect with a custom email. You’re at the mercy of the provider’s features and security measures, which might not be as robust as you need. You’re also missing out on storage space and all sorts of additional business tools. For security, free email accounts can fall short — in part because they may not offer the same level of protection, but also because free providers tend not to prioritise customer support or recovery options the way paid providers do, leaving customers exposed to data loss — or unable access their emails! Above all, the biggest downside of using a free email address is probably what it means for branding. An email like you@hotmail.com doesn’t convey professionalism or trust, and that can be a big turn-off for potential customers. In fact, it might even make your
Email – report of its death is greatly exaggerated
Admit it, your email inbox is cluttered with folders, messages and half-finished tasks. As much as email has made our life easier and more efficient – imagine standing over the fax machine every time you wanted to send a quick message between offices – the volume of email we now all deal with on a daily basis and the time pressures of modern life means it can be hard to get on top of it. One internet group have even taken it upon themselves to ensure that those emails that are sent are not too long and trest them more like SMS text messages for brief, specific questions and answers. Yet, if you believe some media outlets, email is a dying trend – but then they’ve been saying that for years! A ComScore report earlier this year also suggested that email usage was plummeting. Yet our daily experiences suggest differently and a close look at the ComScore report explains why. The report correctly reported that the usage of web-based email plummeted across the board last year – nearly 60% in the 12 to 17 year old age range – but so it should. Web-based email is now often a secondary method of picking up email on the move, many now download direct to their smartphone where email is still very strong and getting stronger. The reality is email has so much more functionality that the social media networks many suggest are replacing it. It has the immediacy, the functionality and the privacy that people want when swapping business or private personal information. Email enables a permanent record in a place you control – rather than on a public network. Email is definitely here to stay, but how we use it, how it works and interacts probably will change, in many ways, it needs to or it will lose its efficiency benefits.