The #1 Mistake I See Daily

If you've ever attended one of my classes or built a website with my team, you know that I always include email.

Though branding, websites, social media and Google results are all a huge part of the bigger picture, people often forget they are sending messages daily...and I'm not just talking about the words you're using.

If you're going to build a name for yourself, you need two things when it comes to email. The #1 mistake I see is that people forget step #2.

1. Professional Email Address.

Your email address should be a professional representation of you. I recommend using email@yourname.com. It continually invites people back to your website.

While you can use yourname@gmail.com, I would avoid building your online empire (or community) around school, work, or dated email accounts. (I'm looking at you, AOL and Hotmail users!)

If your name is already taken, I share some ideas here. The big idea is to always use your first name—whether email, social or domains.

Use your full first name, then get creative. This way, when someone's browser autofills the rest of the address, they don't have a hard time connecting to you! You don't want to lose opportunities because you have a fun or creative address no one can remember or find.

2. Professional Email Signature.

"Sent from my iPhone" is a lost opportunity. It’s the biggest mistake I see and my biggest pet peeve! You're advertising for Apple every single day.

If you're going to spend time, money and energy on new photos, videos and a website—invite people over! Try replacing their brand with your own!

Sent via YourName.com 

YourName.com

💗YourName.com

That's it! No fancy code or graphics needed. While you can get fancy with WiseStamp, high-end design is often minimalistic—you strip away anything that isn't necessary. If you've set your website up correctly, I believe that’s all your email signature needs to be.

The emoji is optional, but it can help guide the eye and compel people to click.

Please make the time today to add "YourName.com" to the email signatures on all of your devices and accounts.

While you can get very creative (including social icons or links in your email signature), you can also capture that interest once you've invited people over to your "dream home" and "24/7 buffet" at your website! Analysis paralysis is a real thing. Give them one choice to make, rather than three or more. 

Furthermore, include your website address (versus all of your social links) wherever possible—social media and printed bios, business cards, industry profiles, and more. Not only can you then better control the impression(s) you're making, you're also helping to raise your Google search results. 😁