So, are you still using an outdated personal email address for your business communications? If so, it’s time to make a change. Establishing a professional email address is essential for enhancing your business image and effectiveness.
Recent research by Forbes highlights that 81% of companies incorporate email into their marketing strategies, with global email marketing revenue projected to reach $12.33 billion in 2024. Crafting clear, well-organized, and visually appealing emails not only makes a strong impression but also demonstrates respect for the recipient’s time. A professional-looking email is not just about transmitting information—it reflects on you and your organization.
In this blog, we will delve into the importance of having a professional email address and offer practical tips on how to create one.
The Importance of Professional Email Communication
Professional email is an essential tool for businesses, providing several benefits that can have a big impact on their performance. For starters, it helps you get a foot in the door by generating interest in your products and services. Keeping consumers informed via professional email fosters trust and connections, while also efficiently reaching mobile users. This style of communication attracts more website visitors while conserving time and assuring a steady flow of information.
Furthermore, by maintaining client engagement, professional email creates leads, develops insightful feedback, and promotes repeat business. It offers the perfect setting for storytelling, which strengthens relationships with suppliers and raises brand recognition. All things considered, sending out professional emails enhances customer communications and helps businesses expand and establish a stronger online presence.
In contrast, casual or badly written emails may be seen as unprofessional or end up in spam folders, jeopardizing credibility and efficiency.
What Makes Your Emails Look Professional
When you go through your inbox, it’s easy to tell the professional looking emails from spam or personal messages. But what are the specific elements that make professional emails stand out?
Professional Email Address
A professional email address stands out from other usernames in your inbox. They’re easy to identify because they use a custom domain (instead of a personal Gmail account), and they follow familiar formats.
Examples of professional-looking emails include [email protected] and [email protected].
An Email Signature
The content of a professional looking email matters too. Most professionals have an email signature at the bottom of their message, including their company name, job title, and contact information. Many businesses include branding in their signature, such as a logo.
Using Familiar Fonts
You can guess whether or not an email is professional before reading the content. Professional emails use standard fonts (and font sizes) that are easy to read. Arial, Helvetica, Times New Roman, and Trebuchet are fonts commonly used by reputable businesses.
Most businesses stick with black text for email content. Challenging to-read fonts and wild colors often signal spam or phishing scams.
A Mobile-Friendly Design
More people are using mobile devices to read and send emails. In fact, 46% of all email opens happen on mobile. Mobile responsive email design is a customer expectation now.
If your email promotion or newsletter isn’t mobile-optimized, you can damage your business’s credibility. However, this criteria mainly applies to HTML emails. Plain-text emails automatically adjust to mobile screens.
Although several factors go into creating a professional email, let’s focus on the basics — creating a professional looking email address.
How To Create a Professional Looking Email
Now that you know what makes a professional looking email, it’s time to set up your business email.
Typically, you should set up your business email when you register your domain and start building your website.
However, if you already have a website but still use personal emails, you can always create professional email addresses after building your website.
1. Select a Host
When creating a professional-looking email, you need to use an email hosting provider. An email host provides servers for businesses that need to store and manage emails.
Email hosting services for businesses are usually billed monthly or annually, unlike free webmail servers (like Gmail or Yahoo) that you can use to create personal email accounts.
When looking for a hosting provider for your website, you can choose a provider like Bluehost that includes webmail.
Some hosting providers automatically include a limited number of emails when you purchase a domain and web hosting plan. However, if you need more emails for your employees, you’ll need to buy an email add-on plan.
Alternatively, you can use Google Workspace to create business email addresses with a custom domain.
2. Connect to an Email Client
If you create business emails with your hosting provider, you can use your custom domain as the email address. For example, instead of creating [email protected], you’ll create [email protected].
After you create the emails, you need to connect the email addresses to an email client, such as Gmail or Outlook. An email client lets you read, send, and manage emails. In other words, it’s the app that lets each user login and view their emails.
Your hosting provider should have instructions to connect to any email client.
3. Choose a Format for Usernames
After you’ve selected your host and email client, you need to choose a professional looking email format. For example, you can do [email protected] or [email protected].
We recommend using one formula for all employees.
4. Connect to Your Email Automation Software
If you use a marketing automation platform to send newsletters or transactional emails, you need to connect your business email accounts.
Look for email setup under general settings or an “Email Sending” section. Your automation platform will walk you through how to connect and verify your business email addresses.
Connecting your business email to your automation software ensures your marketing emails come from your professional address.
Your email automation provider should also walk you through the steps to authenticate your domain. Email authentication helps ensure your messages don’t end up in the spam folder.
When you verify your domain, your email provider adds information to the email header that confirms the message genuinely came from the domain in the “sender” field.
Best Practices for Creating a Professional Looking Email
Now that you know how to set up your business email, let’s take a closer look at choosing the right username format.
It’s not enough to use a custom domain in your email address. You need to make sure the rest of the email address looks professional.
Make sure to adhere to these best practices and pay attention to your industry’s particular standards too.
Keep Usernames Readable
For best results, choose a simple username formula that’s easy to read. Most professional looking emails contain a combination of an employee’s first and last name or initials.
Emails using only first names have grown in popularity in recent years. On the one hand, using the first name only generates shorter emails that are easier to read. On the other hand, you’ll have to create alternate emails for employees that share a first name.
If you have a lot of employees, you might want to avoid using only the first name.
Don’t Include Numbers or Symbols
Numbers in a username usually indicate a personal email address. However, adding numbers to an email makes them harder to type and remember. Therefore, a professional looking email should only contain letters.
Avoid unnecessary symbols or accents on characters. Some emails include a period between first and last names, but that should be the only exception.
Limit the Use of Job Titles As Emails
Although your emails should look professional, you still need to give the appearance they’re coming from a human. Using job titles as email usernames, such as [email protected], makes your messages seem less personal.
Furthermore, it can be challenging to manage email accounts if you hire new employees or create new roles.
There are a couple of exceptions to the job title rule. Most businesses have generic email addresses for general information or customer support.
In these cases, it’s appropriate to use a job title as the email username. Finally, some transactional emails (such as password reset emails) can use a “no-reply” username so recipients understand they can’t contact an employee that way.
Business Email Address Ideas
Worried about choosing an acceptable username formula?
Here’s the good news:
You don’t have to come up with something new. It’s best to choose from commonly-used formulas that customers already recognize as professional.
Here are some of the most common formulas businesses use for email usernames:
- [email protected]
- [email protected] or [email protected]
- [email protected]
- [email protected]
- [email protected]
- [email protected]
When choosing your username formula, consider the size of your business, brand tone, and industry standards.
What are the common mistakes to avoid while drafting a Professional Email?
Neglecting Personalization
Emails that are not personalized—that is, not addressed by name or customized to the recipient’s needs—seem impersonal. By addressing the customer specifically in your email, you establish a deeper rapport and show your appreciation for their circumstances.
Skipping Proofreading
Sending an email with spelling, grammar, or typographical errors can damage your professional image. Always proofread thoroughly to ensure your email is error-free and polished.
Using an Inappropriate Tone
Choosing the wrong tone, whether too casual or overly formal, might mislead your intentions and make you appear unprofessional. Change your tone to reflect the context and relationship with the recipient.
Overloading with Emails
Bombarding recipients with too many emails can lead to frustration. Be strategic about your email frequency to avoid overwhelming your audience and ensure your messages are well-received.
Crafting an Unclear or Misleading Subject Line
The subject line should clearly reflect the content of your email. A misleading or vague subject line can lead to confusion and reduce the likelihood of your email being opened.
Exhibiting a Lack of Professionalism
Ensure your email maintains a professional tone and format. Avoid slang, informal language, and unprofessional formatting to uphold your credibility.
Forgetting a Call to Action (CTA)
A clear call to action directs the recipient to the next steps, such as organizing a meeting, responding to a query, or performing another action. Omitting this can result in confusion or inactivity.
Using Unfamiliar Jargon and Abbreviations
Avoid using jargon or abbreviations that not all receivers will understand. To make your message more accessible and understandable, use plain and basic language.
Being Robotic
An excessively formal or mechanical tone can appear disingenuous. Strive for a conversational yet professional tone that shows your personality and helps to engage the receiver.
Final Thoughts
Crafting a professional-looking email is a crucial aspect of effective business communication, significantly impacting your company’s image and operational success. A well-designed email not only enhances your company’s reputation and efficiency but also plays a key role in generating interest in your products and services, building trust, and maintaining client engagement.
To make a positive impression, it is essential to use a professional email address, maintain a clear structure, and avoid common pitfalls. Personalization, attention to detail, and a consistent professional tone ensure that your emails are effective and impactful.
By adopting the best practices outlined, you can enhance your communication strategies and strengthen your company’s presence in the digital landscape. Whether you’re setting up a new professional email or refining your existing practices, investing time in getting it right will lead to improved client relationships and a more credible business image.
Explore Bluehost’s easy-to-use email solutions for creating a custom domain email account for a seamless transition to a professional email setup.
Commonly asked questions
Using a professional email address is crucial for establishing and maintaining credibility in business communications. An email address that uses your custom domain rather than a generic one signals to recipients that you are serious about your business and helps ensure that your emails are taken seriously. It enhances your professional image, increases trustworthiness, and reduces the likelihood of your messages being flagged as spam.
Several key elements contribute to the professionalism of an email. Firstly, using a professional email address with a custom domain is fundamental. Secondly, including an email signature that provides essential details like your name, job title, and contact information adds a formal touch. Consistent use of familiar, readable fonts such as Arial or Times New Roman is also important, as is ensuring the email design is mobile-friendly. These factors collectively help in presenting a polished, credible appearance that reflects well on your organization.
Using a professional email address offers significant advantages for marketing and client engagement. A custom domain email address enhances the legitimacy of your communications, leading to higher open and response rates. It helps in building trust with your audience by projecting a consistent and professional image. Additionally, professional email addresses are less likely to be flagged as spam, ensuring that your marketing messages reach your recipients’ inboxes. This professionalism supports stronger client relationships and more effective engagement, which can ultimately drive business growth and improve customer loyalty.
A professional email signature should include key information that helps recipients identify you and your role within the organization. Typically, your signature should feature your full name, job title, and company name. Additionally, include your direct contact information such as phone number and email address. Adding a company logo and any relevant social media links or website URLs can further enhance your email signature. Keep the design simple and avoid using excessive colors or fonts to maintain a professional appearance.
