What Does Your E Address Tell People About You
What Does Your E Address Tell People About You
What Does Your E Address Tell People About You - To learn more about this author, visit Donald F. Pooley's Website.
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How much time did you spend on deciding on the appearance of your business cards? Or your letterhead? Why was it so important to get them just right? Were you trying to present a professional image? Now, how much time did you spend on the appearance of your email address? Did you give it the slightest thought? Judging by the emails I get from countless colleagues in this business, few do. There are two parts to an e-address, just as there are to your postal address: who you are, and where you are. Who you are, your e-name comes before the @ symbol, and where you are, your domain name, comes after it. Your E-Name People seem to make up e-names with little thought of what they convey to the recipient of their email. If you want to project a professional image, give it more thought than these examples that strike me as unprofessional, and why: A012345@xxx.xx - Obviously not a human being; bdc@xxx.xx - Must I guess who has these initials? lucy@xxx.xx - Cute, no surname (unless it's Lucy); Admin@xxx.xx - Great personal touch! Sydney@xxx.xx - Male, female, first name, surname? BigMoney23@xxx.xx - Where's BigMoney01, -02, etc.? life@xxx.xx - Is this just anyone in the life department? lifesites@xxx.xx - Or just anyone in the company; Mimi-and-Max@xxx.xx - How did Max get into Mimi's act? (Or vice versa?) The general complaint is that it's unclear who you're dealing with. Some even look as if they're from spammers or porn promoters. People want to know: a) that they're dealing with a human being, b) if it's someone they know (not necessarily by their initials), c) and not the cute receptionist, (or porn queen), d) or the impersonal administration department, e) where there's no doubt about the sex or surname of the source, f) and he or she is not one of a number series, g) or just anyone in the department or firm, h) or possibly the spouse of their advisor. Most subscribers to my email newsletter, "TIP: The Insurance Professional" have professional e-names that clearly indicate who sent the message. They use the name they're known by so, if they email a client, prospect, or center-of-influence, the recipient has no doubt about who it's from. Good examples are AlanArcher@xxx.xx, Bill.Burns@xxx.xx, ddavidson@xxx.xx, etc. Hyphens, and underlines are trickier to remember, so try to avoid them. Some people even have problems with periods. I use 'donpooley', and tell people "it's all one word", to keep it simple. Initial capitals don't matter, but if you think they help identify you, use them. Capitalising whole names is considered rude by email aficionados (unless it's an acronym), so BILL.BURNS@xxx.xx is not only gauche, but amateurish, and hence unprofessional. Think about it. If you want to be considered a professional, your image must reflect it in every way. Don't let your e-name dull your image, or confuse your clients. Your Domain Name The second part of your e-address, your domain name, is as important as your office address. If your image requires a prestigious downtown office, then your domain should reflect it. Ditto if you seek to indicate that you're unique, and special in some way, or a totally independent advisor. When we start emailing, or to email friends or relatives, a commonplace domain, such as: telus.net, sympatico.ca, yahoo.com, aol.com, etc., is usual, but it tells recipients of your email either that you are new to digital communication, or that this is not a business message. On the other hand, while a domain of a large firm such as: clarica.com, freedom55financial.com, assante.com does indicate a business message, it also implies that you are not independent. Because of this, many advisors advertise their independence by registering their own domains, so you'll see domains such as johnsonfinancial.ca, jackjohnson.com, rrspguy.com, etc. The key here is something that uses your name, your business name, or something readily associated with you. Domain names are easy to get, and cheap---$35 annually for .ca, less for most others---but they have to be unique to get registered. What Does Your E-Address Tell People About You? Your e-address says as much about you as your letterhead or business card, and just as you use them to project a professional image, so can you use your email address. You email address may actually be more important to your image than your letterhead or business cards. How many letterheads did you use last week? How many business cards did you hand out? How does their combined total compare to the total number of business emails that you sent out? So, which projects your image more often? And how professional is it?
What Does Your E Address Tell People About You - To learn more about this author, visit Donald F. Pooley's Website.
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Anne BarrAnne Barr has over 26 years experience in sales and marketing, six years as a franchisee. She has assisted over 367 business owners and purchasers to achieve their goals in career change, transition and exit strategy. She holds the designation of Certified Franchise Executive from the International Franchise Association, Certified Business Intermediary from the International Business Brokers Association and Board Certified Broker from the Texas Association of Business Brokers. Anne is active in professional organizations, networking groups and volunteers for non-profit entities. As owner/operator of four successful businesses, Anne has proven people skills and enjoys helping clients find the right "fit" in business ownership. Visit www.FranchiseOpportunitySpecialist.com for more information about me and my company. - Visit Anne Barr's Website |
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Jeff FosterWebBizIdeas.com is a Minneapolis website design company founded to help people start an internet business by providing them with website, business, and internet resources that help foster the growth of successful online businesses and develop innovative Internet business ideas. We specialize in internet consulting & internet marketing. - Visit Jeff Foster's Website |
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John BrennanJohn Brennan Ed.D. Dr. Brennan is President of Interpersonal Development, LLC, a training and development firm. Interpersonal Development has provided sales training and coaching to more than 3,000 sales reps from over 100 companies. A native of Australia, Dr. Brennan received his doctorate from the University of Rochester. His dissertation researched the effectiveness of Behavioral Modeling Technology in training people in interpersonal skills. While he has spent most of his career designing or delivering training, he was also a Vice-President of Sales of a training and development franchise with operations in 25 markets. Dr. Brennan has designed and delivered sales training in North America, Asia, Europe, Australia and the Middle East. He has been a guest speaker at numerous national and regional professional conferences. When Microsoft wanted Best Practices articles on sales for their web site, they called Dr. Brennan. The results are at http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/FX011387391033.aspx His firm’s clients have included Volvo, The Prudential, Merrill Lynch, Eastman Kodak, Gannett, Equifax Europe, the Economist Group and countless small businesses. - Visit John Brennan's Website |
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Stephanie RobeyStephanie Robey is President and CoFounder of Pivot Positive, LLC - an Internet marketing business focused on helping people start work at home ventures. Previously, she was employed at The Search Agency with over 20 years experience in graphic design and 10 years experience in online marketing. She was responsible for launching the Conversion Path Optimization (CPO) unit where she and her team have conducted hundreds of optimization tests for online companies across multiple verticals. She is a successful entrepreneur having started and sold 2 companies and remains on the board of directors of the third, PhotoSpin.com Stephanie began her career in the direct marketing realm creating and producing direct mail for many of the major cable television companies and directly attributes her understanding of Internet marketing to those early offline experiences. Stephanie is a graduate of San Diego State University with a BFA in Graphic Arts and also holds an Executive MBA from the Graziadio School of Business and Management at Pepperdine University. Read Steph's Blog Meet Steph and Dave Sign up for our Free 7-Day BootCamp: Self Employed & Rich - Visit Stephanie Robey's Website |
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