Whether you blog about food, fashion, technology, or travel, there’s one thing every blogger has in common: We all want to be taken seriously.
There are a few easy things that bloggers can do to make their sites look more professional and more polished.
One of the easiest ways to do this is to set up a professional email address that’s associated with the name of your blog. Using your Gmail or Yahoo account doesn’t exactly lend credibility.
Some people blog as a hobby. Some people blog for a living. Some people blog to build credibility for an existing business.
But regardless of how or why you do it, having an address that ties into your blog name will make you look more legitimate and more professional.
Today we’re breaking down the details of how to set up an email account that uses your domain name.
Why Is It Important to Have An Custom Email Address With My Domain?
There are a few main reasons why you should have an address that includes your domain name:
- It will make your blog look professional
- You can usually get one free with your hosting account
- It will help you build trust readers
- It will make it easier for people to find you
Let’s dive a little bit deeper into why each one of these is so important:
1. Present yourself in a professional light
The biggest reason to use a domain name email address is that it makes sites look professional.
If you use a Gmail account or something similar, your readers might think you’re blog is nothing more than a hobby. With a Gmail account, readers are likely to imagine you’re just some guy or girl sitting behind a laptop typing your blog late at night.
And guess what? You might be. But your readers don’t have to know that.
When your email account ties in with your custom domain name, they’ll be less likely to think that.
For all they know you could be a serious team of bloggers churning out the best content on the web.
That’s what you want them to think.
Consider your own habits for a moment.
If you had to message someone about your mortgage payment, would you feel safer emailing [email protected] or [email protected]?
The latter establishes credibility and assures you that this person has some authority. In the world of blogging, credibility is key.
The more credible you are the easier it will be for you to legitimize your blog and increase readership.
With good traffic and steady readership, you can even start monetizing your blog and turn it into a stream of revenue.
2. You Can Get One for Free
Depending on who is hosting your domain, you usually get at least one free domain email to use.
There’s no reason not to use it.
When you are starting a blog, you need to think of your blog as a business.
And as a small business owner, you need to take advantage of every advantage you can.
A free domain email is one of those advantages.
When you are shopping around for your domain name, check what is included with your domain name.
Some services offer free SSL certificates, domain emails, email aliases and more.
Make sure you do your research and get the most bang for your buck.
If free email services and extras are on the table, you may as well take advantage of them and get yourself a free email address!
3. Build Trust With Your Readers
As mentioned above, credibility is key to building trust.
The idea of building trust with your readers goes hand-in-hand with the concept of looking professional.
You want your readers to think of you as the authority on whatever topic you blog about.
You don’t want them to think you’re some kid blogging for a hobby.
It’s crucial that you present yourself as someone who’s consistent, trustworthy, and reliable.
By using a domain email name that ties in with the name of your blog, readers will think you’re more established.
Your blog will look more authoritative and with good content to share, you’ll build trust with your readers.
4. Make it Easy for People to Find You
Having a domain email address will make it easier for readers, followers, and customers to find you.
When you keep a consistent address that relates to your business, people will know where to find you over an extended period of time.
This makes it easier to market your blog or your brand and build momentum for years.
If your domain name is mynewblog.com, no one is going to remember that the address associated with that site is [email protected] or [email protected].
People are much more likely to remember, and assume, that your email address is [email protected].
What is Email Forwarding?
Most people have multiple email accounts, but we all have one that we use the most.
Don’t let this be the reason why you attach your Gmail or similar email account to your blog.
With email forwarding, you can list an address with your domain name on your blog and have those emails forwarded to any email account you use.
With email forwarding, any incoming mail to your domain name email can forward to your Gmail or another account.
For example, if your domain email account is [email protected], you can have those emails forwarded to [email protected].
That means you can read and respond to those emails through your Gmail account.
Bloggers love this service, as it’s one of the easiest ways to set up a new email address.
You can enjoy your new address, keep your personal address private, and never have to change your email program.
Plus, you’ll cut down on the number of inboxes you have to check!
You might hear forwarded email addresses referred to as “aliases.”
Many services, like Google Domains, offer the email option to create hundreds of aliases.
You can have many email aliases forwarded to the same address or a variety of different ones.
As an added bonus, you can often set up a “wildcard” alias using your domain name.
This basically means that any email sent to your domain will be forward to your inbox.
For instance, someone could email gr[email protected] and it would still get forwarded to you.
To set up a wildcard alias, simple create a forwarding rule using “*@mynewblog.com”.
The “*” is the wildcard that tells your domain to forward all emails.
How Can I Set Up An Email Account With My Domain Name?
So now that you know a thing or two about why domain email addresses are important and how you can use email forwarding, are you ready to set up your account?
There are two main things you’ll need to do: create your domain email address and integrate it with your other email account.
How to Create a Domain Email Address Through Your Web Host Provider
The first step is to log into your blog hosting cPanel (control panel) as an admin.
Every web hosting service is different, but the process is usually pretty similar.
Look for the email section and click on “email account.”
Enter the email address, password, and a few other details for your new account.
Remember to click “create account” when you’re done.
Most hosts will reward you with a notification that says “Success! Account Created” or something similar.
When you see this notification you should also see your account on the same page.
Return to your cPanel and locate the mail section. Click on “forwarders”, select “add forwarder” and add the name of the account you created.
You will then add the destination email of where you want those emails to go.
That’s all there is to it.
Once you’ve completed these steps, incoming emails to your new domain email will get redirected to the destination email you added.
You’ll never have to check an inbox for the domain email name.
You can find all those emails right in your Gmail account.
[su_note]
How to Create a Domain Email Address Through Your Hosting Provider:
- Log into cPanel
- Select “Email Account”
- Enter your new desired email and password
- Select “Create Account”
[/su_note]
How to Integrate Your New Domain Email With Google
Gmail users can integrate their new domain email in a few easy steps.
- Step 1:
- Add an address you own
- On your computer, open Gmail.
- In the top right, click icon that looks like a Cog and then Settings.
- Click the Accounts and import or Accounts tab.
- In the “Send mail as” section, click Add another email address.
- Enter your name and the address you want to send from.
- Click Next Step and then Send verification.
- For school or work accounts, enter the SMTP server (for example, smtp.gmail.com or smtp.yourschool.edu) and the username and password on that account.
- Click Add Account.
- Step 2: Confirm the address
- Sign in to the account you added.
- Open the confirmation message you got from Gmail.
- Click the link.
- Step 3: Change the “From” address
- In the message, click the “From” line.
- (If you don’t see this, click the space next to the recipient’s email.)
- Select the address to send from.
Having an address tied to your domain name is key to building a professional blog that readers can take seriously.
By doing so, you can also protect your privacy by not having to post your personal email address on your blog.
This legitimizes your blog, even if you don’t expect to receive too many emails.
You never know how much your blog can grow and expand, so it’s best to prepare for growth.
Depending on who hosts your site or who you buy your domain name from, it’s simple (and sometimes free) to create a domain name email address.
Take the necessary steps to do so.
Do your research to determine if you want your domain email hosted by your web host or domain registrar.
With a domain email, you will look more professional.
Your site will look more legitimate and you’ll be able to build trust.
You’ll look like an established, reliable business.
Customers will be able to find you with ease, especially over long periods of time.
This is crucial for anyone who wants to grow and expand their blog, their business, and their readership.
Don’t want to have to check the inbox on yet another email account?
You can use an email forwarding service that can redirect incoming mail from your domain name email straight to your Gmail or another account.
Having an email address that connects to your domain is essential if you take your blog seriously.
And if you take your blog seriously, your readers are likely to do the same.
