It is difficult to remember a time when email was nonexistent or available to the very few tech savvy, beginning in the 80s.  Today, email seems to be a part of everyday life for personal and business use, for the very young and the young at heart.  So what’s involved in setting up and effectively using email to communicate – especially if you’re using it for your business?

The following are a few emails options to consider for use by your business or organization, based on free or fee-based subscriptions.  However, we at eBernie, Inc. strongly recommend against using a free service, based on the reasons we outline below.  If you’re running a business, register a domain name and go with a fee-based service, again, based on the following reasons.

Free e-mail

You can choose free Internet accessible email, like Yahoo or Gmail, or use the “free” email through your Internet Service Provider (ISP), for e.g., Comcast or Verizon (although you’re actually paying a monthly fee for your Internet / phone / cable package so, technically, your email is not free).  We highly discourage tying your email to your ISP, or free web-based email.

Features/Problems of free mail

1. You’re increasing visibility for your ISP instead of your business.  By creating a company domain branded email, you are creating visibility for your business which, in turn, can help drive traffic back to your website.  When I get a business card I will look at the email listed to go to that person’s website and learn more about them.  If the email is abc@comcast.net, I have to do more research and it may discourage me to do business with that person.

2. Same issue applies when using free Internet accessible email, like Yahoo or Gmail, i.e. your increasing visibility for Yahoo or Google.  Plus, if you’re having issues with your email account, like it got hacked, good luck getting timely support!

3. On occasion, you will need to switch ISPs because of a move or an issue with your service.  Once that happens, you will need to notify all your customers / clients / vendors of the switch and new email, and request they update their contact records.

Fee-based e-mail (POP3, IMAP, AND EXCHANGE):

eBernie, Inc. recommends this subscription fee-based email service option.  Register a domain name for your business or organization with a third party web hosting platform, like NameCheap.com or Register.com – there are many registrars but choose one that is reputable and certified.  If you’re a for-profit business, it’s best to purchase the same domain name with both a .com and .net extension but, at a minimum, purchase the .com.  If only the .net is available, keep looking until you find a .com domain name that’s available.  If you’re a not-for-profit, register a .org domain name.

These third party vendors will often offer reduced rates for packages to include a. domain ($5.00 to $12.00/year), b. email (many now include “unlimited” email boxes plus spam filtering) and web hosting ($100.00 to $300.00/year), and c. support options usually are included and are typically 24/7 via an 800 toll free number.

The fee is usually a monthly based subscription or discounted fee if annual amount is paid up front.  For example, currently (as of early September) Powweb.com is offering a complete packing, including free domain registration, for an introductory offer of $3.88/month (regularly $9.99/month).

Features of fee based e-mail

Increased Visibility of Your Business:  By creating a company domain branded email, you are creating visibility for your business which, in turn, can help drive traffic back to your website.  When I get a business card I will look at the email listed to go to that person’s website and learn more about them.

1)Email Conformity for all Employees:  Setup standards to be used by your employees in email communications, like email signature, company logo, and a confidentiality notice.

2)Human Resources:  employees’ emails can be monitored, if the proper policies are put in place. In addition, when an employee is terminated, his / her email account can be quickly re-assessed.

3)Spam Filtering:  third party solutions are often in place to help minimize spam.

4)Encryption and Compliance Archiving Features:  if your business is subject to HIPAA or SOX compliance, proper hosting companies can provide you with encrypted email offerings where some or every email sent from your company is encrypted, and archiving where every email sent or received by your company is stored off-site in case you need to retrieve them for documentation and compliance.

5)“Email Alias” setup:  a generic email address that could be setup with two or more recipients to receive the email at the same time.  For example, info@thecompany.com or sales@thecompany.com.  Setting up the email for at least two employees is a good practice because one employee may be on vacation or unavailable to respond.

6) “Group Email” setup:  for an internal group of people, for example within the same department, who receive the email at the same time.  For example, legal@thecompany.com or allemployees@thecompany.com

“An email that reflects your business domain name is the most professional way to communicate with your customers, prospects, vendors, and colleagues,” stated Bernie Orglmeister, President and Senior Project Engineer, eBernie, Inc.  “It is also the best way to manage employees’ emails from a company-wide perspective in a secure and controlled environment.”

For a variety of reasons, GoDaddy and Google are not favorites of eBernie’s when it comes to email management, so we tend to stay away from these providers.  For example, the scanning performed by Google of all your email contents to serve you targeted ads.  If you’d like more information, feel free to reach out to us.

In our next article, we’ll discuss the differences between POP3, IMAP, and Exchange email subscriptions.