Setting up a Professional Business Email And Why You Must!
When you are looking to grow your business it is essential that your professional brand is mirrored throughout every aspect of your business. So if you want to sell like and to the big companies you need to act like them.
Ensuring you communicate in a professional way is essential. Here we share top tips on email professionalism with your email address.
Although email was introduced back in 1971, it wasn’t until 1993 that we saw the dawn of what was to be one of the most effective method of communication, the electronic mail!
Nowadays most people take it for granted that a business will have an email address in which to communicate at the click of a button, however as with any marketing piece, your email address needs to be consistent with your brand. So a simple personal Gmail or yahoo address may not suffice in creating that vital first impression!
So where do you start?
At this point, let’s make an assumption that you have bought yourself a web domain name, you know that bit you type at the top of your Internet window. At the top of this page you are reading it will say old.thebusinesswomansnetwork.co.uk
When you purchase a domain name from one of many online traders, they will give you the opportunity, sometimes at an additional cost, to purchase a business email address; so ours are things like this: Lisa@thebusinesswomansnetwork.co.uk
Seems simple enough, you now have an email address purchased and ready to use, but what on earth do you do next?
There will normally be two options for you; to purchase simple email forwarding, not advisable in most cases as this is a simple forward to an email account and will not allow you to send from your domain. The second is a mailbox, with this option you should be able to view your account from a web page, via an email client is a desktop application such as Microsoft Outlook Express, Mozilla Thunderbird, Eudora or Apple Mail. Or finally to sync with your mobile device so you can always access your emails when you are on the go.
Your DNS changes
So when once you have purchased your email address, the domain name needs to have some rules set in order for the email account to become active. This is done via the DNS (or Domain Name Server) settings. This can seem pretty scary as this is the information that shows your website where to look in order to be live on the world wide web, so changes to this can break the site if the are done incorrectly. So let’s take a look at what the DNS dashboard will look like…
| DNS Entry | Type | Priority | Destination/Target | |
| @ | MX | 10 | mx0.123-reg.co.uk. | |
| @ | MX | 20 | mx1.123-reg.co.uk. | |
The priority settings are a simple back up for the email servers, so if at any one time Priority 10 is not functioning then your email will automatically swap to Priority 20. This is ideal to minimize downtime for your business through lack of email communication!
The type MX refers to the Mail Exchange and the Destination Target is the mail server address of the company that you have purchased the email from. At this point I am assuming you are not asking someone else to host the emails for you.
So now let’s take a look at how you can set up your email on your computer, and in this example we are looking at a domain purchased through 123reg but most are very similar in their workings.
First of all, you will need to open your email client for example Microsoft Outlook Express, Mozilla Thunderbird, Eudora or Apple Mail. Then you need to add a new account to your email program. The exact way of doing this will vary depending on which program you use, but you usually need to find the add new email account option.
You will need to check on the site you purchased your domain from for specific instructions for a variety of email clients, although armed with the information below you might be able to set things up yourself.
Whatever Email client you are using you will need to add a new email account and you’ll be asked to supply some details. This is the information you are likely to be prompted for by your email client are as follows:
Username: This is the full email address (e.g. yourname@yourdomain.co.uk)
Password: The password for the mailbox
For POP3:
Mail account type: POP3
Incoming mail server (POP): pop.123-reg.co.uk
Outgoing mail server (SMTP): smtp.123-reg.co.uk
For IMAP:
Mail account type: IMAP
Incoming mail server (IMAP): imap.123-reg.co.uk
Outgoing mail server (SMTP): smtp.123-reg.co.uk
So what is POP3 and IMAP?
Post Office Protocol version 3
By default, POP3 stores your email on the mail server until it is downloaded by your email client or mobile device. When the email is downloaded onto your computer it is deleted from the server and you cannot view them using webmail or other clients.
Internet Message Access Protocol
IMAP is the more advanced email choice for today’s modern world. It allows you to download your emails using webmail, your email client and your mobile device, where each will show all of your emails concurrently, deleting an email from one will delete from all.
So what is a catch-all account?
A catch-all will ensure that all email sent to your domain name will be forwarded to your mailbox or chosen forward email address – it literally “catches-all” email.
In short, when you buy your domain, make sure the company has a decent online support to help you set this up, just in case there are any problems! Most reputable providers should have simple instructions to help achieve the set up without too much difficulty or better still if you ask nicely, they may well reconfigure your DNS for you!
We hope this article helps you consider your email set up. If you are having any problems or would like further advice, just get in touch via info@thebusinesswomansnetwork.co.uk or post to our confidential mastermind group where we will add additional learning.
Our mastermind group is only £5 a month and is packed with advice and resources to grow your business. Best of all because it is confidential it means you can ask anything and get treated with respect and have business owners like you share advice. Due to the way that the Insiders work together it is a powerful way to grow your business with high quality advice and great market research opportunities too. You can join here.
Networking isn’t working!
Last week we had a call from a business woman who said that she was going to give our network “A go” because she had been recommended to network, and yet after a year of networking, she had gained nothing from it.
“Nothing?” we asked.
“No, nothing” she said.
We found that hard believe. And we as asked more, this business woman did change her viewpoint a little, okay she had gained;
- Some great contacts
- Some nice people to have coffee with
- Some nice 1 2 1’s
But when we asked if it had resulted in anything that was good for business, the answer was clearly no. Okay you could say that networking is a slow burner. As our founder likes to say “A marathon, not a Sprint” “A little acorn that grows into an oak (with the right attention!)” however for this business woman, that clearly was not the case.
So we did 2 things. Firstly we gave her some advice (which she took and it changed the results of her networking) and secondly she is joining us at our networking this month. So firstly here is our advice we shared;
- Don’t dismiss a network until you’ve given it at least a few months.
- And make sure you attend regularly.
- Are you at the right network? Look around you, is this the right environment for you and your products and services. People may say they love what they do, however are those nice comments turning into sales? Most networks are groups of nice people, although those nice people are not necessarily your target market, so check that you know who yours are.
- What are you saying? If you walk in and talk about what you sell or do, then stop it. Noone cares what you do (sorry that’s a tad harsh, but its true), they care about the results, and the irony is that although so many people know its about talking about results, and not being salesy, when people network, they slip into telling us about what they sell and what they do. Tell us about the results, your happy customers. Tell us about a million other things than being a 80’s car sales person! Still worried your selling? Check out our reports on this website for some great ideas to get better results. (Our master class slots our packed with ways to sell without selling too!)
- Follow up. It scares up that so few business women follow up effectively between networking session, that’s between session. Yes we see business women hopping onto our page to post about their event, or to say how much they loved our event or to comment on the brilliant photos, but that’s about it. What about popping in and saying “Hi” and telling us what you are up to this month? What about sharing your top tips for social media marketing, or email marketing, or public speaking, or getting more out of your day, or even how to control your accounts. Remember when you are a useful business woman, you become a powerful networker. And people that are useful, kind and caring get remembered for all the right reasons. And guess what that could do for business?
- Think this is girlie, “Not going to get me business stuff?” on the contrary this is the stuff that could be the difference between more sales this month (and for the next 6!) and less sales. Remember networking is about supporting your marketing strategy, its not your be all and end all marketing, so what else are you doing? And is that structured and consistent too? Remember networking needs to be consistent and structured. What is your goal, your aim, who do you wish to talk to and what about (don’t start selling) Your aim’s should be something along the lines of; “Make 4 contacts within these industries who are the decision makers in these businesses and arrange to have follow up conversations. And to connect on social media, email and telephone.”How will they factor into your sales funnel for the next month, and we aren’t so keen for them to get added to your mailing list. How is that making you a caring respectful business woman that wants to get remembered for all the right reasons in a months time?
And lastly, make sure you’ve signed up to our newsletter, (because we won’t add you to ours., we appreciate how busy you are and only get in touch with people that want to grow their business and hear from some of the greatest business authors and trainers in the UK) we are currently in Essex, Suffolk and Norfolk and in talks to launch in Herts, Kent and London. And are happy to discuss launching anywhere in the UK with business women who would like to get paid to network, would like to work with our founder Business Coach Mandie Holgate for free and get the support to make their networking events a success.
Because in our opinion networking in the right places can be a very powerful way to success. And our business women will tell you it does far more than just increase profit, sales and success. Its confidence, motivation, friends and so much more. Now that makes us very happy!
Help!
Help
A small word. If you were being chased by a tiger you would be screaming it.
If your house was on fire you would be screaming it.
And it would appear they are about the only times us business women say that word.
Why is that?
What stops us very talented, educated, successful women from saying four letters?
Why are we so frightened of saying help?
I’ve learnt recently that I don’t say the word at all. And its become natural just to “get on with it”. I’m capable and able so I just do it. That’s good right?
or is it?
You see going it alone is fabulous for so many reasons, however never saying help is dangerous when it comes to success. I worked on my own success 2 weeks ago with a mentor, because I am always looking for ways to power up my own success as I do for those of my clients and that of the women attending the BWN, and I realised working with this business woman that I just don’t ask for help. And even if its offered I tend to say “I’m okay, thanks for the offer.” So I set a goal to change that and ask for help. It’s already paying off dividends in my business. (I really recommend creating clear goals, you are far more likely to achieve them that way and they don’t turn into gaols, which is a goal gone wrong if you aren’t clear enough about it!)
I know you are mega busy so let’s look at why you should accept help and how to do it in easy quick top tips;
- If you ask for help then you can do the things you are good at, which means you can get through your to do list faster. Which means more brain space to come up with more creative solutions. More you time. And more time to do the money making bits of your business. All positives right?
- If you ask for help you are enabling someone else. Letting someone else be good at things is good for other people too. It’s not fair that you do all the work and get all the praise. Spread the work, spread the praise, spread the opportunities. If someone else does the work then could get an opportunity off of the back of it. Remember success is better shared. (It really is!)
- Create a strong enough sense of pain to make you ask for help. If you don’t ask for help what are you agreeing to? Less success? Less money? Less free time? Less family time? More work? More time in front of the screen?
- What are your long term goals? Are they really achievable if you do everything yourself? Can you physically do it all alone? Tot up the hours. When I work with clients its amazing how often they over or under estimate how long a task is going to take.
- Fear of what people will think of you could be stopping you from asking from help. What are you assuming people are going to be thinking? Power up your self belief and what you tell yourself about you. If you love yourself enough (and we are not talking about a big head here, just a genuine appreciation of doing what’s right for you) then you would respect you as much as you do anyone else at work, right?
- New skills and ideas could be yours if you take on board someone elses help. As brilliant as you are (and yes you are brilliant) by getting someone else’s input you could learn a new way of doing tasks that could make you more productive and give you new skills. There fore powering up your success.
- Success really is better shared. By letting someone else help you, you grow your network in a sustainable way. And by doing that, you grow a trusted network. If you really need help in the future, by having taking the leap of faith and trusted someone before you will know who you can rely on in the future.
A brilliant business woman reminded me of these points when I posted a public thank you. Because as people help you I think its always good to say thank you. (My thank you’s don’t tend to be thank you cards, I tend to give testimonials on LinkedIn and Facebook so that they can grow their business and use them powerfully in their marketing to gain more happy customers – just a thought for you there!) This lady said;
You’re very welcome – I’m pleased my diary allowed me to help. I can relate to the whole asking for help. I’m incredibly independent which is positive. There are times when working as a team gets much better and bigger results and you get to enjoy the journey so much more when you have great people around you (cheesy I know but true!!) Xx
You know what? I don’t think its cheesy at all. A Business woman with a powerful network is far more likely to be successful. See you at some BWN networking events this month, let’s help each other, network together and do business. It’s going to be an awesome month for business.
I’m on TV speaking about issues impacting on women in business and at Mums Net Work Fest national conference. And we have a very special BBC Essex Radio 30th Birthday show being broadcast live from my house on the 13th May. So much good stuff for business!
To get my book to help increase sales, confidence and success the 6 week course or learning about coaching and training visit. www.mandieholgate.co.uk and do say hi on social media too (all accessible via my website) its great to connect and grow my network!