Using a free Gmail or Yahoo address for business emails is like showing up to a board meeting in flip-flops. It is going to be functional, but the first impression to people isn’t going to be good.
It’s ok to start this way if you’re just starting out on your entrepreneurial journey, but if you’re using a free email service for more than 6 months to a year, then not only does it look unprofessional but you could also be setting up your business and brand for reputation damage and failure.
Here’s Why It’s a Problem
1. Low trust with email inbox providers
Email service providers like Gmail, Yahoo and Hotmail will treat your business emails sent via a free @gmail.com account or other free email account with suspicion. Why? Well, people from countries that aren’t as well developed will use free accounts to send emails to try to scam people out of money. Ever got a Nigerian prince email or someone who came into some money and wants your bank details to send you your millions? That’s a scammer. Why wouldn’t email service providers treat you similarly if you’re sending business emails on a free account?
2. Higher spam classification
As mentioned above, spammers and scammers commonly operate from free email accounts. Why? They can get past spam filters inititally as email service providers trust @gmail.com or @yahoo.com email addresses initially because they’re coming from a verified sender. If the scammer were to send from a new domain account then the email providers would potentially filter them.
3. No control over SPF, DKIM, or DMARC
You have no influence over what records are shown on your behalf, whether the emails will be accepted, or whether you’ll temporarily be placed in the spam/junk mail folder because of other people using the same platform you’re using. You’re at the control of other organisations and the emails you’re sending could be a huge waste of time.
4. Can’t build a sender reputation
When email service providers start to see that you’re passing all DMARC checks (SPF and DKIM are 100% passing) and your emails have consistency: sent from the same range of IPs and have a consistently high open rate and click through rate (no matter if they’re business, emails, transactional or marketing; they all tend to help), you’re seen as a trusted sender. If you, at some point, have send an email that has some broken links in or a few too many CTAs then most providers will let that slide (as long as you don’t do it consistently).
The Better Way
1. Register a business domain name
If you have a business and want to be seen as professional then register a your business’s (or brand’s) domain name to communincate with people. Simply go to a registrar like Spaceship and buy a .com or similar for less than $10. It’s fairly easy to register and you can be the new owner of a domain name in around a few minutes.
2. Set up professional email account
Why not get a [email protected]? You’ll then look professional when you send emails to prospective and current clients/prospects. Our suggestion is to go with Google Workspace. It’s fairly simple to setup and get going with emails from and to the account and the steps to secure your email.
3. Configure SPF/DKIM/DMARC
When it comes to setting up your SPF record, DKIM signature and DMARC analysis alignement, you want to ensure “all your ducks are in a row.” This means sorting out the SPF and DKIM records for your domain based business email account, e.g., [email protected], so that your emails are authenticating and passing DMARC checks when you’re sending email.
You can also then setup those records and inegrations for your email marketing system, and for the transactional emails from your website. After they are setup, integrated, and confirmed to be working correctly (thus aligning) then you’re good to go.
4. Start building reputation on your own terms
That’s it. You’re not using a free email address anymore to build, grow and develop your business. You’re doing it the right way by separating yourself from others and ensuring you are on track to building your own business’s or brand’s reputation as a trusted sender. Then all you need to do is monitor your DMARC reports and check that everything is correct.
Not sure what all the above means and want a helping hand? See this page for our prices: the DNS Ninjas can help you review and correct all of your DNS records to ensure your emails land in the inbox. We also offer ongoiung support through DMARC monitoring to ensure a trusted source is overseeing your email delivery.