How to choose a professional email address [9 rules]

Originally published February 14, 2018, updated September 26, 2023

Let’s make you a professional email address that’ll establish credibility and build trust

How can you make a first impression on your recipient, the second you send out an email? Well, when we consider that every second person or so decides whether to open an email or not depending on who it’s from. I’ve got an idea...

Imagine this: you've put together an impeccable resume, composed a beautifully crafted an effective follow-up email to a client, or sent an appealing offer to a potential lead with a catchy subject line. But here's the catch—the recipient doesn't get to see all the impressive content. Instead, the first thing they notice is that you're using a personal email account, which is clearly not associated with a professional business.

Every single person (don’t say you haven’t😄) has owned an email account named something like “rocketman9786@yahoo.com” or “alicekitten95@gmail.com” at some point. However, when it comes to business, it's time to set aside those nostalgic memories and reserve them for a laugh with friends. Using such an unprofessional email address can damage your reputation and undermine your clients' trust in your brand.

A professional email address not only adds a touch of professionalism to your business, but also ensures that the public takes your business seriously. In essence, your email address becomes your business brand name.

You may not realize it, but an email address holds more significance than you might think. No matter how amazing the content of your email is, if it's not opened, it won't make an impact. Your email address speaks volumes about your level of professionalism and trustworthiness. It plays a crucial role in establishing credibility and building trust with your customers and partners.

Now, I know you're eagerly waiting to find out the answer to the question, "How can I create a professional email address?"

9 Simple rules to creating a professional email address

Rule 1: Gain respect with a trustworthy domain

A professional email address that is consistent with your brand, and uses the same domain name as your website and shop front, builds trust and brand awareness.

Let’s just compare: johndoyle@outlook.com and johndoyle@tesla.com. It is likely that a sales pitch from the latter guy is much more appealing, don’t you think?

Undoubtedly, we are all used to communicating via Gmail; it's one of few user-friendly, simple, and nice-looking email clients. But although the words “Google” and “Outlook” are associated with prominent companies, they lack originality since anyone can create an account using these resources. You need a one-of-a-kind domain which corresponds to the name of your company. An exceptional title after @ sign is the hallmark of classy, business email.

Rule 2: Leave nicknames to personal communication

Some of us have multiple email accounts for multiple reasons, and there’s nothing wrong with that. Everyone has their own vices and virtues, but they are for our personal and social lives, rather than for business.

Any nickname or alter-ego is inappropriate for your business email address. Michael Smith, who sometimes goes by Mikey, would rather use MSmith@email.com. Your first and last names are always a good idea.

Rule 3: exclude numbers

While the global population grows way past 7 billion, the chances of having a unique name are slim at best. Spare a thought for the John Smiths of this world. Because of poor John, free email tools offer automated options containing numbers as alternatives.

This isn’t good for business though. Users named “johnsmith2013” or “19johnsmith78”, for example, are considered untrustworthy and unreliable. In fact, they can trigger spam filters and get your emails sent straight into junk.

The same rings true for punctuation and symbols. All this stuff is difficult to remember and can trip spam filters, especially with large companies. Stick to letters only. In case you absolutely need punctuation, only include one or two full stops or underscores maximum:

john.smith@company.com
john.e.smith@company.com
j_smith@company.com

Rule 4: Avoid using your position

When you put your position in your business email address, like “ingridengineer@company.com”, it stands out and outlines which skills you possess. However, your recipient probably doesn’t care about this information.

Leave the title for your email signature. By the way, check our recent blogpost “How To Create A Professional Email Signature”, you’ll find tips to help you write an eye-catching email signature using email signature generators.

Rule 5: Generic names for certain purposes

Generic business email addresses such as info@yourcompany.com or support@mycompany.net are very widespread in the web space. These email accounts represent a certain service or department of a company, without any reference to a particular team member.

Naturally, the domain name plays a decisive role in a recipient recognising a sender. This approach is a great solution for setting email accounts used for specific purposes.

Rule 6: Make it pronounceable and memorable

With so many people conducting business via the tiny screens of their mobile devices, misspelling an address is common, even if it’s something that would generally seem easy to spell.

Keep in mind that you’ll have to read your email address aloud often in business, so make sure it’s easy and doesn’t require a lot of explanation.

Rule 7: Avoid anything unprofessional

Everyone has a private life. Would you be willing to receive personal information to your business mailbox and vice versa? No.

The same relates to electronic mail. Avoid any references to race, religion, sexual orientation and age like “johnfromsixties”, Your professional identity might be drastically different from your personal one. There should be a clear line between the two.

Rule 8: Full Name is not always necessary

Some people have a lot of names, and most of the time it depends where they are from. You do not need to use your full name all the time, only the one or two most common names that you use - andrea.lopez@company.com.

Rule 9. Experiment and choose the best one

The opportunities to spice up your email address in some way are endless. Let us introduce several business email address examples that are common in business.

We take an imaginary user with a full name Andreas Turbin who works at the MakeMyDay Company. Let’s take a look at this email address examples and see what option he may choose for a proper professional email account.

Full Name: andreasturbin@makemyday.com
First Name: andreas@makemyday.com
Last Name: turbin@makemyday.com
First Name + Last Initial: andreast@makemyday.com
First Initial + Last Name: aturbin@makemyday.com

Sometimes, the best option isn't the most obvious one. That's why you need to test a variety of different ones before you find the most appealing professional email address. The best way to find a good email address is to A/B test it.

Unprofessional email address examples

While it's important to choose a professional email address, it's equally important to avoid using unprofessional or inappropriate email addresses. Here are some examples of unprofessional email addresses to avoid:

Personal Nicknames:

partyanimal123@example.com
crazycatlover@example.com

Vulgar or Offensive Language:

hateeverything@example.com

Random or Confusing Combinations:

xxyyzz1234@example.com
randomname_1987@example.com

Overly Long or Complicated Addresses:

superlongemailaddressthatnobodycanremember@example.com

Non-Professional Hobbies or Interests:

soccerlover@emailprovider.com

Remember, your email address is often the first impression you make on others, so it's important to choose one that is professional, clear, and reflects your business or personal brand in a positive way.

How to create a professional email address: ideas and examples

When creating a professional email address, it's important to choose a name that reflects your business or personal brand in a clear and credible manner. Here are some ideas and examples to inspire you:

Simple and Direct:

firstname.lastname@example.com
initials@example.com
name@example.com

Business Name:

businessname@example.com
info@businessname.com
contact@businessname.com

Industry-Specific:

consultantname@example.com
realtorname@example.com
lawyername@example.com

Role-Based:

sales@businessname.com
support@businessname.com
info@businessname.com

Combination of Words:

servicesbyname@example.com
yournameplusindustry@example.com
professionplusname@example.com

Customized:

brandname@example.com
yourname@brandname.com
uniquename@example.com

Remember, it's best to choose a professional email address that is easy to read, simple, and memorable. Avoid using numbers, special characters, or excessively long addresses. Additionally, consider using a domain name that matches your business or brand for added professionalism.

Keep in mind that the availability of specific email addresses may vary, so be sure to check the availability of your preferred address before finalizing your choice.

All these rules on creating a professional, business email address are not aimed at restricting your imagination or creativity. Obviously, there are some cases when business people need to express a certain degree of individuality in any aspect, including their email address.

However, in most situations, professionalism means the exclusion of extra features and inclusion of strict and accurate data - your first and last name.

It doesn’t make you any less unique; just more professional.

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