From Invisible to Unforgettable: the Impact of a Custom Email Domain on Your Business

Are you still relying on a generic email address for your business communications? If that’s the case, you might be sending the wrong message before you even speak. Chances are, most of your emails won’t even reach people’s inboxes, and if they do, they will likely end up with very low engagement. As a result, all the effort you’ve put into crafting compelling emails will be in vain. The reason is that if you send marketing emails from your Gmail address, they’ll either be rejected by an ISP or end up in a spam folder.

And let’s say you are lucky enough to bypass it. Even in that case, your recipients won’t likely trust you if they see an offer from [email protected]. If you want to look trustworthy and get higher deliverability, you must set up a custom email domain. Think of it like swapping your casual daily outfit for a tailored suit when stepping into a business meeting. It will enhance your professional image immediately and show that you really mean business.

What’s a Custom Email Domain, Anyway?

A custom email domain is one that ends with your custom website domain. For instance, let’s say you have a business called Paperchain. In this case, rather than [name]@gmail.com, your email address would appear as [name]@paperchain.com. It’s worth noting that custom emails aren’t created automatically when registering the domain name of your website, but the capability is built in, and you won’t have to pay any extra fees to register a domain name suitable for email.

Getting a custom email domain is quite straightforward. You start by picking your host, then choose an email plan (this should have enough email addresses to suit your needs). Next, you’ll have to register your domain name, choose an email username format, and set up your email and passwords as part of the onboarding process.

Why Use a Custom Email Domain?

A custom email domain offers several notable benefits for your business:

Credibility

People make buying decisions based on trust, so if you don’t focus on building credibility, you cannot expect to see great results. No credibility means no conversion rate across the sales process. It’s that simple. Your email address is a critical component of your business’s branding and credibility, because it’s the first point of contact with potential collaborators, customers, and your business community.

An address like [email protected] could suggest that your business is in a hobby phase, or that you aren’t entirely invested in your brand’s identity, but switching to [email protected] can fix this problem, making it more likely for people to see you as a professional, and also more willing to provide their payment info.

Deliverability

Another reason why you need a custom email is that it boosts your email deliverability, namely the ability to deliver email to your customers’ inboxes. If you experience low deliverability, you won’t have much success with your business communications and won’t be able to build a relationship with your customers.

There are many factors that influence deliverability, and we won’t go into all of them here. But what you need to know is that when your emails end up in your customers' spam folders, your email deliverability will be affected. And it’s more likely to have your emails flagged as spam from free providers such as Yahoo and Gmail.

Security

Even small vulnerabilities can threaten a business, regardless of its size. A custom email, however, enhances protection by offering the advantages of a hosting package, which typically includes your own web-based control panel. In other words, you or your IT admin will tweak and manage every aspect, giving you control over your security. You can set up spam filters to safeguard your business and employees from emails that may contain malware, spam emails, and phishing attempts.

Another significant advantage is that you can restrict employee access to passwords, which matters given that humans are often the weakest link in cybersecurity. Often, businesses suffer significant consequences when employees unwittingly grant cybercriminals access. However, if they don’t know their account passwords, there’s no way they can be tricked into giving them to hackers.

Flexibility and Scalability

A custom email plan lets you choose the storage you need, so you can start small and increase as your business grows, at a more affordable price. You get to create as many email addresses as needed, depending on the package you choose (which means you can have different email addresses for all your employees and departments, unlike with a free email provider).

Besides, as long as you pay for the domain, your email addresses will be yours always, no matter which hosting provider you move to. What this means is that you won’t be locked into a specific provider, which comes with its own benefits and gives you much more flexibility than free email providers.

Is a Custom Email Costly?

Well, the pricing can vary significantly. A professional email plan can start at around £1 per month, but you can also pay around £10 per user, plus your domain registration costs. Paying yearly for a plan will be cheaper than paying monthly. Just like your website requires a host, your email does too, and the costs can vary depending on your choice. Some website hosts incorporate custom emails in the hosting package for the website, but in some circumstances, you may be charged an add-on fee. And there are also cases in which you won’t be offered any deals, and you have to source a business email plan elsewhere. Ultimately, it’s essential to do your research, compare plans, and choose the one that seems like a good deal to you and meets your needs.

The Bottom Line

Custom email domains aren’t just for large corporations; they are essential for anyone serious about their digital presence and building a strong business reputation. A custom email domain gives you trust, control, and flexibility, and the good news is that the setup process is straightforward. So, if you’re still using free Yahoo or Gmail for your venture, it’s time for an upgrade.