Tip: How to use hotmail professionally
Mikey 7 comments
After much hesitation, I finally made the switch to a web based email service. My hesitation is not without good reason. Up until recently the primary web based email clients didn't offer everything we needed to be taken seriously. Copious amounts of space are one thing but features and functionality are another.
But I won't be completely ditching Outlook just yet, as it is still the de-facto business communications tool which does things that both Gmail and Windows Live Mail still do not.
After comparing both Google's and Microsoft's offerings, I have decided to take on the latter although both have similar functions and offer significant storage space.
Anyway, if you think having an @gmail or @hotmail email address on your business card will cause you to lose credibility points - you would be correct. The good news though is you can still use a web based email client of your choice and have a preferred email address with a tiny investment.
The first stage is to purchase a domain name. You can get domain names for as cheap as $15/year now, and maybe cheaper if you shop around. Most services will offer free email forwarding but it is advisable to get confirmation before handing over your money.
Anyway, which ever web client you decide to choose, once you have purchased mycompany.com you need to get the company you registered the domain name with to set up an email address for you ( for example) ask them to redirect all emails associated with your domain name to your hotmail (or Yahoo, MSN, etc...) account.
Once that is in place you are done. If someone sends an email to , it will be automatically redirected to . Check your webmail client for the option to change your reply and from address, and make sure to change it to your new professional looking email address and your clients will be none the wiser.
Yes good point about the 'from' address - I missed that in my haste to make this post. Amended now.
Yes some do place advertising at the footer of the email - but not all. Hotmail's is barely noticeable, and Gmail has none at all so it would not be an issue.
I can't speak for every other web mail service though, but it might be worth checking to see if yours has an option to disable it.
Anke
Friday 1st June 2007 | 08:00 PMA good tip but I actually don't mind using my gmail address for most things and the absence of ads is a good selling point. Google make up for it by splashing ads next to your messages when logged in.
Alex
Monday 4th June 2007 | 09:07 PMYou could add also that if you already have your own domain based email address, you could set up a forward to your hotmail account so you always have a mirror online. Handy for anyone who doesn't have web mail access that a host would usually provide.
peter
Saturday 10th October 2009 | 05:18 AMor you could use windows live custom domains to allow hotmail to run the email for your domain :)
Michael Nolan
Friday 1st June 2007 | 06:29 PMSurely you'd need to set the "From" address as well as the reply to address?
And don't most webmail services still put an advert at the bottom? Not very professional!