Earlier today I saw a terrific post over at Lisa Gerber‘s blog by Alan Lemire, on his entrepreneurial journey thus far. Just as I enjoyed Dan Cohen (part of the WUL team) sharing his experiences thus far, because there’s so much we can learn from each other. And as I continue on my own entrepreneurial path, I am starting to see and meet so very many people who are either doing the same, or yearning to do so.
So an honest post like Alan’s, or those that Dan authored are, I think, supremely invigorating, thought-provoking and valuable.
Seeing as how Alan came with a super recommendation from Lisa (one of my good friends, and whose opinion I value and respect), I clicked through his website. It’s beautiful.
And then I saw that his contact information contained what I assume is his personal email address.
This is not the first time I’ve seen this, of course. I have clients right now who use their personal email addresses for work, and have seen quite a few other iterations of a business name incorporated into a popular email provider, e.g. “MyBusiness” [a] yahoo [dot] com.
And I’ve always wondered: why? Why not just set up your branded business email address, especially if you already own your domain? If you’re going to showcase your business professionally, then shouldn’t you have an email address to go with that? Wouldn’t this be one of the basic marketing mistakes to avoid?
So I posed the question on Twitter and Facebook to see what others think. Here are some of the answers (and many thanks to all who replied):
Daniel Honigman thought it was fine:
@shonali If you have a built-in client base.Lots of high-end consultants do&, esp. if they’re @ the end of their careers, don’t want new biz
”” Daniel Honigman (@DanielHonigman) March 22, 2013
Deb Lee, on the other hand, didn’t, unless you’re just getting started and don’t have your own domain yet:
I would stay away from a generic e-mail address. A company branded address seems more professional. @shonali ”” Deb Lee (@SohoTechTraing) March 22, 2013
There were others who agreed with Deb:
@shonali No. I think it’s the first sign of someone being careless, cheap, or not taking biz seriously.
”” Julia Angelen Zunich (@JulesZunichPR) March 22, 2013
@shonali I do, however one CEO said I wasn’t a “real company” b/c of it. I have a biz email, but if I connect via Linkedin I use my gmail.
”” Jordan Parker (@JordanAleah) March 22, 2013
And over on Facebook, there were a variety of opinions:
Both Joe Hackman and the afore-mentioned Dan Cohen had interesting responses:
D.C. Hughes and Amy Vernon had some interesting points (made energetically):
The discussion on Facebook became quite animated, actually, and many thanks to Jason Konopinski, DC Hughes, Joe Hackman, Dan, Doug Wendt, Jeff Crites, Amy Vernon, and Tinu Abayomi-Paul (to name just a few) for sharing their thoughts on Facebook. And for – perhaps – changing my mind.
Before and after
You see, when I posed the question earlier in the day, I was pretty convinced of my position: if you’re running a business, why use a personal, or Gmail (or other email provider) email address? I’ve written before about “dressing up your business,” with things like a decent website, etc… and wouldn’t an email address be an extension, or part, of that?
Now I’m not so sure. Because I have seen many, excellent practitioners who use AOL or Comcast email addresses, for example. Their LinkedIn profiles aren’t sexy. Some of them don’t even have websites.
Yet, they have done such great work, that they have built a steady client base, and their work begets them more work (as Heather Whaling said on #PRStudChat the other night, “referrals = gold!”).
Sure, some people may think of them as not “with it,” or not taking their business seriously. But the people I know like this… not only do they take their businesses very seriously, they have been running them for years and years, so they must be doing something right… right?
A matter of perception
I suppose, at the end of the day, it’s all a matter of perception. For my part, I like having an email address associated with my domain. I run everything through Google, but I prefer keeping business communications to [a] shonaliburke [dot] com emails, keeping my Hopkins-related communications to my Hopkins email address, and so on.
I do find that folks for whom LinkedIn might have been the primary online connection tend to send emails to my personal address… and I’m fine with that, since my LinkedIn profile is, after all, my personal profile. Right now, my company is primarily represented by me, so the dividing line is a bit fuzzy… but that is something that will need to be figured out as the company grows.
However, when people work with me under the Shonali Burke Consulting, Inc., umbrella, they get, and use, email addresses associated with the domain. I feel more comfortable with that, and so far, at least, no one’s objected (I also don’t throw a hissy fit if they forget to use the “official” email address once in a while).
So while I do think how you present your business is important – and your email address is part of that – I wouldn’t automatically dismiss anyone who used a personal email address for it. At least, not any more.
Now it’s your turn. What do you think? Do you have a opinion, perhaps a strong one, one way or another? Do share!
Image: cascade hiker via Flickr, CC 2.0
[…] 4. Should You Brand Your Business Email Address? […]
JamieCrager shonali especially when its so easy to set up a Google for Biz email addy! {{shakes head as to why smart ppl fail to do this}}
Wow….all very interesting comments! Can’t say that I disagree with any of them – as every person is going to have a different perception based on their experiences with various businesses/individuals. In the end, I went with a personal email address instead of a branded one through my website for the following reasons….
When people hire me, they are hiring me specifically, not my company. I want them to know that every communication that we have will be directly with me, and the fewer layers in between, the purer (is that a word?) that communication will be.
I like to think of myself as an artisan, someone that puts some of himself into every aspect of his work. If I was hiring a woodworker or a metalworker to build something for me, I wouldn’t care what his email address was…..or if he even had one. He doesn’t have a phone? Fine with me – that makes me feel that he is probably more focused on his art.
I also use my personal phone number. Does anyone else that is a single entity/business owner use a business line? One more way to let people know that they will be dealing directly with me, and not going through someone (secretary, business partner, intern, whatever).
Lastly, and certainly not least: I’m not technologically challenged, but I’m certainly not technologically gifted either. The simpler the better for me. The fewer email addresses I have to manage, the fewer mistakes that will be made in acknowledging/answering/organizing email replies.
Also, no worries on any kind of feedback. It was all taken in the best of terms!
Thanx everyone!
AL
AlanLemire Thank you so much for stopping by and leaving such a thoughtful comment/reply – I really appreciate it! And I apologize for not being by myself to respond earlier.
What you said about people hiring you specifically, not your company, is what I was thinking. And that’s what I referenced when I was responding to Lisa Gerber and others… and interestingly, I’ve seen this quite a bit with photographers specifically, though it seems it would apply to any artisan/artist whose work is specific to him/her.
I used to have a business line but then I canceled it. What I did instead was sign up for a Google Voice number, and now I use that as my business line. It redirects to my home/cell phone, but also functions as its “own” phone number, if that makes sense. I don’t have my assistant answer it – I answer it – but it does give me some separation between “work” and “personal” calls on my phone.
Here is what I really like about it – transcription of voice messages (which can be very funny!) and also avoiding text spam. Plus, that way when I give people my actual cell phone number, they know that they are getting something not everyone has… it makes them feel special.
samfiorella profkrg kathikruse chillygal SandraSays arkarthick lisagerber howiegoldfarb KendaMorrison TY for sharing!
LisaPetrilli ericamallison courtneyengle seanmcginnis annelizhannan AmyVernon mmangen TheJackB TY for sharing!
I’m firmly in the branded email camp but – and it pains me to type this – HowieG ain’t wrong. ;-) And yes, plenty of people are doing just fine w/ branded emails thank you.
Seriously it’s window dressing, it’s perception – when you’re talking about individuals or even small partnerships DBA something more than that. Anything larger, it’s the difference in organization, being a business vs. being a job. Already mentioned were the legal implications; to me it signals a way of thinking, company culture – is it being run as a professional business or a hodgepodge of random people?
IDK. I know I don’t like it when people mix my personal/professional emails. I’m cautious when I see – esp. from a company w/ 10+ employees and a branded website already – using personal email accounts. Why are they? Will my emails get lost in the din of personal friend requests, soccer schedules and bills? What happens when that account gets hacked, how much spam am I in for? (happened.)
Even the “joebobplumbing AT hotmail . com” addresses raise my eyebrows, makes me question the kind of ‘professional’ company it is; and if I perceive those doubts, who’s to say others won’t? Put it another way: is anyone turned off by a branded email, do they second guess the company? Even from an independent consultant like me – I’m not trying to fake anyone out; I’m running a business, making it professional not personal. FWIW.
3HatsComm Your “joebobplumbing AT hotmail” example made me laugh, but that IS one of the types of email addresses that irks me. Especially if they already have a website/domain… how can they NOT also have an email address associated with it?!
How in tarnation did I miss this discussion?
I prefer the business branded email path. That said, I don’t necessarily judge if you prefer a different path – so long as that path shows you are technology-centric. If you’re still using an AOL email address, then you are definitely engendering a view that you are change averse and not “with it” technologically speaking. A little less so for Yahoo and/or Hotmail. Gmail and me.com and probably OK.
Sean McGinnis speaking of change averse you are discussing Friendster for business at Social Slam?