Email services such as Gmail, Yahoo! Mail and Hotmail are robust, have plenty of features and are free. However, if you're in business you really should buy a domain name and use it for your email communications.
As we all know, first impressions count. If you're trying to woo new customers, they may be a little more open to your approach if your mail is coming from a domain name you've bought (registered) associated with your business; rather than an address from a free email service.
The reason is two-fold.
First, so many scams are carried out via free email services. Secondly, a business person using a free email address may seem like an amateur, or very new to whatever industry they are in; even if this isn't the case.
With domain name registration so cheap these days; a business relying on a free email address doesn't exactly scream success.
Another very important reason to buy a domain name is it becomes part of your branding efforts - advertise your business wherever you can; not your ISP or a free email service.
By acquiring your own domain name, it doesn't mean you have to build a web site too (although this can certainly help your business). You can just use it for email purposes until such time you are ready to have a web site designed.
You don't have to be a business person to benefit from email under your own domain name either. For example, your own domain can be useful in job-hunting; helping you stand out from the pack - particularly if the name you choose is your own; e.g. "firstname@firstnamelastname.com".
Using your own domain also doesn't mean you need to stop using Gmail or whatever free email service if you would prefer to continue to use those interfaces. Simply set up an email address under your domain name as a forwarder and in your free email account, configure your "send as" name to reflect your domain name email address.
Clarification: "buying" domain names is somewhat of an incorrect term; but one that is commonly used. A domain name you register yourself is actually leased from the registry to which the extension belongs. When registering the name, you are being provided a license to use that name for X period, with option to renew perpetually - assuming you are observing the registry guidelines.
Even when you buy an existing domain name from another party; all you are purchasing are the rights to be listed as the registrant and administrator of the name and to operate the domain. Nobody can truly 'own' a name.
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