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Setting up an email account is one of the first things you should do to start your business. This article will go into great detail about what kind of accounts are needed for your business, which services have free ones, and how to create an email address for yourself or someone else as an administrator.
Business owners often use their personal accounts to log in to work-related sites and apps, but this can be problematic at times. Using your own personal information to begin with may not set the best tone for your workplace, and may even expose you to legal action. It’s important to consider this before you go through with it!
There are many free online service providers that allow you to create an email account easily. Some of these include Gmail, Yahoo!, Outlook, and Apple Mail. No matter which system you choose, make sure to check out all of the settings and features thoroughly before using it for your business.
Google Apps and Microsoft Office 365 both offer very robust productivity suites that can help you run your business more efficiently, so whether you want just individualized email addresses or team collaboration tools, look into those!
This article will talk mostly about Google Apps, but most of what you learn here can be applied to other types of accounts.
Even if you’re running a business, there are some things you can do as an entrepreneur that don’t require you to have your own domain or hosting site!
It’s totally fine to use free email services like Gmail or Yahoo!, but sometimes people feel the need to add additional decorations to your message.
These decorations are called “emailsignatures.” They include such things as your company logo, your contact information, and even pictures of yourself or someone else. These additions make your message more interesting and personal, which is what we want our messages to be!
But unfortunately, many people use these signatures as a way to promote their product or service. It may seem innocent at first, but when enough people do it, it becomes annoying for the recipient.
When you run your business via social media, chat apps, email, or any other type of communication tool, it can become difficult to focus on what needs to get done. There are so many ways to communicate with people about your business!
That’s why having simple, short messages is important. Messages that inspire action typically contain either of the following:
The main message focused on helping the reader do something
A secondary message that is more descriptive and/or educational
Simple business emails don’t require much content beyond the first sentence and second bullet point. Your recipients will know what to do after that!
Your sender won’t necessarily be familiar with everything yet, but they can quickly look up details if needed. By using templates, there’s no need to re-type or edit anything except for the bullet points and tone.
This article will go into detail about how to create a template email for this purpose. But before then, let's discuss some reasons why having easy-to-read business emails is important.
As we discussed, business email starts to become less professional as messages get longer and more informal.
Topic and bullet point: Is it really necessary to use all capital letters?
Sub-topic: How this style of writing can backfire for you
Using all capitals comes across as very formal or even arrogant. It may also scare away people due to how intimidating it looks.
If you must write an email in all capitals, then at least do so smartly by putting an underscore (_) between each letter.
Sometimes people get so focused on making their messages professional, flashy, or even funny that they forget to actually try to connect with your audience.
If you pay too much attention to how polished your message is, then you can seem very formal and disconnected from other people.
People send casual emails all of the time- it’s impossible to be totally professional all of the time!
So why not use humor, stories, and engaging images to make your messages more personal?
Take a look at what brands do every day – whether it’s Facebook, Instagram, or YouTube- they interact with their followers by incorporating things like jokes, anecdotes, and pictures.
These aren’t high budget advertisements, but they’re just as effective because they’re slightly off the wall and less intimidating for readers who may need some inspiration or motivation. -Sara Geller
I agree wholeheartedly with Sara’s advice here. It’s such an easy way to improve your business email tone and keep your messages more inviting and approachable.
A little humour in your notes will go a long way when trying to connect with others. People enjoy being laughed at (or cried at!) so don’t hesitate to pull out the toys if needed.
Messages that include pictures or videos are known as messages with media. They are also referred to as message attachments, embedded messages, or inline messages.
This is because the picture or video typically breaks up the content of the email into another area of your inbox, which you have to scroll down to see.
It’s easy to forget how much time people spend looking through their emails on mobile devices every day. If someone needed to contact you right now, they could probably find you if you make your phone number accessible via email.
But most people don’t, at least not in a way that makes it quick and simple to do so. Having access to all your important information can save you a lot of time in the long run.
That’s why having a very basic set of business emails on your smartphone is essential. You should always be able to send an email quickly and easily.
Messages that are not related to business or work can be categorized as personal. This includes things like asking about someone’s day, getting health updates, and telling jokes or sharing funny pictures or videos.
If you find yourself spending lots of time sending personal messages, it may be time to consider creating separate email accounts just for workplace use.
This will allow you to keep all your important communications in one place, avoiding clutter. Plus, if you ever need to refer to those old messages, you won’t have to search through several different accounts!
Business emails should include information such as an address, phone number, website, etc. But other than that, they can be very casual and informal.
It is very common to see business email messages with all sorts of flashy fonts, fancy logos, and marketing terms. These are usually sourced from other promotional materials or advertisements for the product or service being marketed.
Email marketers will often take pieces of these designs and incorporate them into their own campaigns. They may even edit or reword the original text to make it more fit for their purpose.
However, using too much marketing jargon can backfire and lose your message readability. People who do not work in the field may find it difficult to understand what you want to say!
Using simple, direct, and clear language is an excellent way to communicate. If you are ever questioned as to the meaning of a word or phrase, look it up! There are many free online dictionaries available.
Also, try to avoid using big, dramatic words where simpler ones will do. This includes using slang instead of regular English, and using nouns instead of verbs or adjectives.
Sometimes business owners get so focused on building their business and growing their company that they forget about what truly matters to them – you, his or her friends.
Running a business means there are always things to do, but being personal is sometimes an overlooked component of running a successful business.
Providing value to your community is one of the most important parts of owning a business. It’s easy to spend time in front of the computer doing work, staying connected with people through social media, and keeping up with politics, sports, and entertainment- all great activities, but none of these matter if you don’t know who you are spending your time helping.
Promotional messages via email can be a powerful way to bring attention to the products and services that you're offering and to strengthen relationships with others by showing interest in theirs.
Business emails with offers, coupons, and other free items can help create buzz around your product or service and generate new followers or customers.
