Going self-employed? Setting up a business for the first time? I wonder if you are thinking about your brand identity and how important it might be.

In my opinion, it’s the most important thing.

Today I’m just going to talk about your email address as this is where most young businesses fall down straight away. You get a domain name for your business but you advertise using your Gmail or Hotmail or even a Yahoo email address. Why?

To be credible you need to look credible so please don’t use those free Hotmail type email accounts. Email is free if you have hosting so use it and straightaway your brand identity is given a boost.

If you want to grow your business, a Hotmail email address will make you look small. You might as well scream from the rooftops that you are one man band. Nothing wrong with being a one man band. I am.

Using the right email address will make you look even more professional.

Image is everything.

I was driving behind a van the other day and the business had it’s own website domain name marked on the van but the email address was a gmail one. This does make a difference. I could therefore tell straight away that this was a very small business. Perhaps only one person. Larger companies just tend to use their domain name for their email addresses. Unfortunately this is something that start up businesses forget about or don’t think it’s important enough.

It’s very important.

When I had my Electrical business many years ago, I landed a huge contract and employed my first person off the back of it. I don’t think I would even have been considered if they had thought I was working on my own as I was at that time.

I had set myself up to look like a credible company from the start and that was what clinched the deal.

Image is everything. Did I say that already?!

If you’d like to understand more about how by having the right email address can help with your brand identity and therefore your overall marketing strategy, then please contact me by phoning 01603 383477 or filling in my contact form.