Small Biz Professionalism: Email on Your Domain

Have you ever been handed a business card from someone where you could tell that they spent a good amount of time and money creating a sharp card - the logo looks fantastic and it ties to the product or service the company offers and they have a great URL or web site address --- only to look down at the contact information and have this be what you see:

YourGreatBusinessName@gmail.com
YourGreatBusinessName@aol.com
YourGreatBusinessName@msn.com
YourGreatBusinessName@SomeOtherISP.com

When this happens, I always get nervous.  I wonder:

• how long the person has been in business?
• do they actually own the business or are they are just a rep?
• what other parts of their business are they not paying attention to?
• can I really expect a quality solution or product?

It is EASY to have your business email use your business web domain!  Below are some quick steps (using Gmail) that will have you be able to set it up:

1. Create a forwarding address on your domain such that 'yourname@yourgreatbusiness.com' is forwarded to your Gmail account. - this can either be done by you if you manage your domain with the registrar, or if you have a webmaster, you can ask them to do it.  That handles the emails that are sent to you.
2. In your Gmail, go to your Mail Settings and select Accounts
3. Select the button 'Send Mail from another address' and add the email address you had created in step 1. 
4. Check your gmail account for a new message to confirm you can receive messages with this address in your Gmail.
5. Select the setting below that to always 'reply from the same address the message was sent to'
6. Go back to the General Setttings Tab and create your business signature - so that you always have your contact data including your name, company name, phone, email and links to your website and any social media platform you use.

It is that easy!  I've never been a big fan of ISP email addresses, so I don't have the details on how to do this on all the other email platforms - some may support it and some may not - but Gmail is free - so you can do this today using these simple steps. 

Stay tuned for more blog posts in the Small Biz Professionalism series!  

Mary Camacho is the author of The Internet Plan. Buy the book here!

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3 Great Uses for a Google Site

In the context of businesses, non-profits and churches, Google Sites can be a wonderful tool that are easy to use, quick to set up and perfect for sharing.  

I do NOT recommend Google Sites as a public website for any organization - with maybe the exception of a school club.  

However the following uses are ideal!

1. Business Intranets:  Every company has documents, lists, ongoing conversations, policies and announcements that need to be communicated and a Google Site is a great way to do that.  It is especially easy if you are using Google Business Aps for your email and groupware too - because when you create the site - everyone in the organization is automatically made a member.
2. Project Sites:  Just like SharePoint, a Google Site can be created and used as a repository for project plan, membership information, design docs and more.  Whether the project is large or small, technical or not a Google Site is a great working space to share all the information for the project team.
3. Church or Non-Profit Committees:  Just as with the examples above, committees within churches and non-profits always have items that they are working on that are not yet ready for public consumption.  With a Google Site, you can store documents, post your agendas and minutes, track action items for your team and keep everyone informed quickly and easily.

One of the great aspects of a Google Site is that you can create it in about a minute and then probably spend less than an hour to have it be a functional site for your team.

Mary Camacho is the author of The Internet Plan. Buy the book here!

Musings About Video and Video Plans for Businesses

Today was an interesting day - we had a video shoot this morning of our workshop and we also did some interviews of me and the participants.  This was all part of our Video Plan - which is something I talk about in the The Internet Plan Workbook - and there will be some online resources added to the website soon as well.


Basically we decided that video was a necessary option for our business - because not only do we want people to get to know me better and to relate to me personally, we also wanted to be able to show any media folks out there what they would be getting if they considered interviewing me.  As you may follow here in the blog or from my Twitter or Facebook postings, we are at the beginning of launching the first book in the series and we are heading out on the road this summer and fall to take it to cities all across the United States.  What would be useful about video for your customers?  Or do you have an audience other than your clients who would benefit from video on your business site?


In The Internet Plan Workshop we offer some great tips about how to use video on your website.  For example, we discuss what it is like for site visitors when they go to a site that is all video with little or no text.  How does that make you feel?  I can tell you that it really doesn't work for me and I tend to leave the site.  You might be surprised because video has become such a hot medium - but when it comes to communicating about your business, people still tend to favor text.  What video can do on your business website is have site visitors stay longer, delve into deeper issues that concern them and even learn things.  What you want to remember though is that it should always enhance and complement the other text and images that you have there already. 

Stay tuned - we will be adding video segments to the blog and to the website next month - and after that we'll add a resource about how to choose a good videographer for your business needs.  I hope you'll enjoy it!

Mary Camacho is the author of The Internet Plan. Buy the book here!

Online Logo Design Companies: Our Recommendations

There is an exciting new way to have your logo designed for you at a price that YOU set, and the process couldn’t be easier. You simply host a “design contest” through an online design company.
Start by submitting an outline of the kind of design you need. Include the amount of money you are willing to pay the winning designer, and almost immediately, designers from around the world will begin to submit ideas for your consideration. Work with the designers one-on-one to refine your favorite concepts until they’ve created your perfect logo for you, and you’re done!
This approach works so well that we even used it to design our logo for The Internet Plan!
In our Online Resources for The Internet Plan - we highlight 3 of our favorites - here are the details about the first one and then go to the Online Resource to find the others!

LogoDesignGuru

• Minimum cost - $179 ($149 minimum award + $19 listing fee + 7.5% credit card processing fee).
• Money-back guarantee policy – refund of award money if no winner is chosen, minus listing fee, processing fee, designer fee, and any upgrades.
• Expedited contest option – completion with as little as 2 days, for a fee.  
• Contest timeframe – seven days. Three additional days can be added to the contest for $19.  
• Revisions – after the winning logo has been selected, two minor revisions are allowed, but only at the designer’s discretion.

Note: We have used this service to great effect, so we have no hesitation in recommending them. Also, they have a smaller talent pool and a stringent screening process, which means that, while you may not receive as many concepts, those you do get should be of better quality.

Learn about more options for Online Logo Design here.