What Your Email Address Says About You
First impressions are key and, when it comes to your digital presence, your email address is front and center. Like your home address, your email address implies certain things about you to the rest of the world. Hopefully it’s all complimentary…
Digital culture site The Oatmeal has a clever graphic for email archetypes, those judgments we make about someone based on their email address. A Hotmail user “still thinks that MySpace is hip,” according to the graphic. It also assumes that those using Gmail probably know their way around a computer, while AOL users still think it’s okay to say they’re computer illiterate.
These preconceptions may seem arbitrary but they’re common and possibly supported by fact. In a survey of thousands of email users, it was found that those with Gmail accounts and email accounts with custom domains were on the cutting edge. They were distinguished as being early adopters of new technology, more educated, entrepreneurial and well-traveled than their counterparts.
If you’re using a dated email domain and want to make an upgrade, here’s how to make a move today with three easy steps.
Simplify Your Username
Before anything else, you want to make sure your unique username, the part before the “@,” is simple, professional and represents you well. What better than your actual name? Get rid of “sportyguy123@gmail.com” and move to “john@gmail.com.” Now, for those of us with common names, that’s easier said than done. And although most email hosts give helpful username suggestions when setting up a new account, don’t just go for “john123@gmail.com” without some thought. Avoid numbers, dates and other add-ons that people aren’t likely to remember. Instead try for derivations of your name. John Smith’s username could be “john.smith, john_smith, johnsmith, j.smith, etc.”
Invest in a Custom Domain
Purchasing a domain from sites like Go Daddy, , and 1&1 will take your professional image to the next next level – and for as little as $5-$12/year. If you’re an entrepreneur, it makes a statement to the world that you’ve committed to your business and it’s not some extension of your personal life (i.e. a hobby.) It’s also a great way to snag your dream username because you won’t have to fight it out with other users like you do with a free host. And if you don’t want the expense of a custom domain, there’s another option. Mail.com is a free email host that allows you to pick from more than 200 domains, with options including: usa.com, dr.com, writeme.com and more.
Forward Your Mail
Finally, the number one reason that people stick with antiquated email accounts is because of familiarity. Good news: you don’t have to move on entirely. No matter which option you choose: a new username, a more attractive free service or custom domain, you can always keep your old address and have the mail forwarded there. Almost all hosts will allow you to transfer contacts and emails between accounts and, once that’s done, the last thing to do is forward all incoming messages from your, new and fancier account to the one you’re used to.
Photo Courtesy, The Integer Club.
