Business Digital Essentials, Your Email Address Matters

When starting a business there is so much to think about, so many costs to absorb while establishing sales and trying to make a profit. In any business communication is key to success. It’s how we reach our customers, establish sales, get paid and interact with suppliers. The fundamentals of running a business. This is why your email address matters so much.

So, starting out you need a phone, right? Usually these days it’s a smartphone….and it’s not just for talking with customers and suppliers, but also for written communication, messages and invoices to begin with, then marketing and promotion through social media and so on. The very first thing we are asked to supply when purchasing a smartphone, whatever the type of contract, is an email address to add to the phone to setup various apps that you will use from day-to-day. The first thing a social media app requires when setting up an account: an email address. The first thing your invoicing app asks for: your email address. This is why you email address is so important. It is the cornerstone of your business.

From the outset, from the day you decide to go into business, your best marketing tool is your email address.  Everyone loves a freebie, especially starting out when demands for your cash are high and there are “free” email providers easily available. However, there truly is no such thing as a free lunch. You will pay at some stage. By getting your business name into your email address from the start means that every email you send is introducing, reinforcing and reminding your contacts about your business.

How do I setup a business email?

It’s easier than you think.

Step 1 – Register a domain name for your business.

You can register a domain name without having to add a website. That can come further down the line as you grow your business.

Go to a trusted domain registrar and find an available name. You will also need to take into consideration copyright and branding, registering your business name or company name with the CRO when deciding on the domain name that you want to use. Deciding on the name is the hard bit. Purchasing the name, very straightforward.

There are oodles of Internet Service Providers. We like to use Blacknight Internet Systems Limited because they are local to us here in the southeast of Ireland, their pricing is reasonable and their service reliable with excellent (human) customer support.

Other local providers include HostingIreland in Waterford, .ie in Dublin and MyHost.ie in Clare to name a few.

International providers include GoDaddy, NameCheap and Hostinger are among many others.

Based on current pricing with Blacknight Internet Systems limited, .com domains cost less than €20.00 per annum including V.A.T.,  .ie domains are a little bit more but still only €36.89 including V.A.T. with Blacknight,  which if you think about it is probably less than what you spend on hot drinks in a month.

Step 2 – Decide where to host your email

There are various options here and various pros and cons (another day’s discussion)

1. You can purchase a hosting option on offer from the same Internet Service provider where you registered your domain.
2. You can purchase an annual subscription with another email service provider and have them act as your email manager or server.

There are many email providers available.

Some businesses will need more secure options than others depending on the level of privacy required in communication via email. ProtonMail is one of the most popular secure email providers.

Two popular choices for small business that are dominating the market are: Microsoft and Google.

Both offer packages that not only provide standard email, but also their suite of office apps that includes word processing, spreadsheet, presentation and other software as well as some cloud storage. There are very few businesses that do not need at least some of these services to help with day-to-day tasks in the business.

Packages start from less than €6 per month. That’s around the price of a pint in most places these days.

https://workspace.google.com/pricing

https://www.microsoft.com/en-ie/microsoft-365/business/compare-all-microsoft-365-business-products

Both providers will guide you through adding your domain to the package. You will need to make some changes with your domain registrar to point your email towards your chosen email manager, but this is very straightforward too. There is also the added advantage of being able to use a familiar email client such as Outlook or Gmail. 

So currently, for just €89 per annum in Ireland, you can have a professional business email address solely using your own business name*, that can be used as a building block for all other elements of your business from invoicing to promotion growing with you as you grow your business. For me, that is money very well spent to establish a professional setup for your business from the get-go, starting your business’s digital journey on the right foot avoiding messy changes down the line. 

* subject to availability

Contact us today to find out more about our Business Startup Digital Essentials Package 

office@digitalsupportsolutions.com

*Only avaialble to clients based in the Republic of Ireland.