Of course I say simple and you say HOW?
Everyday, you can send out a simple, and EXPECTED branding message.
What is it you ask? And I ask you, do you email?
As long as you email, and have a web entity, you should ALWAYS, ALWAYS, have an email address that expresses your brand. This means your email address should be “YourName@YourCompany.com”
I see too many business owners who have Internet Service Provider (this would be YourCompanyName@AOL.com or YourCompanyName@shaw.ca, etc.) or Web Email based email addresses (YourCompanyName@hotmail.com, etc.).
No matter what, you HAVE to not only project a professional image, but you have to market your business, even when it might not be so obvious!
So what’s the solution?
With each company I’ve been a part of the past three years, I’ve used Google Apps to power our email. There is a free (standard) version (which will be good enough for the vast majority of small business needs). The setup for it is pretty straight forward if you have a little bit of technical knowledge.
I know that virtually all hosting providers have their own email that they throw into whatever package they offer you, but what happens if you switch providers? Heaven forbid.
Google Apps provides the stability of Google, and isn’t JUST email, but I personally use the Google Calendar integration as well. Let me do a quick run down for you on how I use Google Apps.
1. I IMAP my email AND calendar into a desktop client for my laptop and desktop computers x 2 (Mozilla Thunderbird) – If you are still using POP mail, get out of the dark ages and transition to IMAP – which has similar performance to a MS Exchange server, without the headache.
2. I IMAP my email AND calendar to my iPhone.
3. When my computer or iPhone isn’t handy, I can login to any computer and access my mail through the gmail interface. SO, if you use gmail already, this is a piece of CAKE.
Other notes: Up to 50 users is free, you can create group emails, you can share calendars, it’s pretty awesome.
So there it is. And if you need any assistance, just give me a shout by posting a comment!
About the Author:
Samuel Araki is the founder of LocalTrifecta Internet Marketing. He believes SME’s need to regain control of their digital marketing - which has become a muddled landscape, filled with fast talking, budget sucking, wannabe Internet Marketing leeches. He is clear that online marketing is not an overnight process, but is a commitment to furthering an upward trending marketing channel. Follow Samuel’s musings on Twitter and Google+
