If you want to be taken seriously, a professional email address is necessary.
You might love your old AIM address from high school, but if your clients, partners, or other professional contacts receive an email from “baseballbro25@aim.com,” there’s a good chance it’ll go straight into the trash.
That said, coming up with a professional address isn’t always easy. To help you figure out how to set up a professional email address for your business, I tried a handful of the top email address generators available today.
Below, I’ll go through some of the most important do’s and don’ts I’ve learned throughout my marketing career before walking you through three of my favorite email name-generation tools.
How to Create a Business Email Address
Unprofessional Email Address Examples
Professional Email Address Ideas and Examples
How to Create a Business Email Address
- Choose your email host.
- Connect your email to an email client.
- Connect your email to your marketing automation software.
1. Choose your email host.
If you want a custom domain for your business, you’ll first need to purchase a domain and hosting site.
One way to create a business email address is to look for a hosting package with a business email. An email address usually costs extra, but many users set up their business email this way because it can be easier than other options.
If you opt for this approach to creating a business email, you must go to your hosting site and set up your email. Usually, this means going to the “Email” section of your hosting site and choosing an email (see tips and examples below).
Alternatively, another way to set up email is to go through G-Suite rather than your hosting platform (this is what we do at HubSpot). Google will walk you through this process, and it's also pretty straightforward.
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2. Connect your email to an email client.
Next, if you choose to host your email through your hosting platform, you must connect your email address to an email client.
To do this, start by logging into your hosting platform. Then, go to the “Email” section and find a button that says “Set up Mail Client” (or something to that effect).
This will walk you through setting up your email with Outlook, Gmail, or any other mail app.
3. Connect your email to your marketing automation software.
Finally, you’ll want to ensure your marketing automation platform has access to your email.
To do this with HubSpot, you can follow these instructions.
If you use another system, you’ll want to go to your settings and look for a “Domains” or
“Email Sending” button. Then, follow the steps to connect your email.
Unprofessional Email Address Examples
We’ve covered the basics of setting up an email address from a technical standpoint. But what address should you choose?
I can tell you firsthand that avoiding an unprofessional email address is critical. Before we dive into ideas to inspire your professional email address, let’s review common mistakes you should make clear of.
Nicknames
Even if your colleagues call you by nickname, you should still leave nicknames and alter-egos from your professional email address.
For example, your name is Daniel Johnson, but your coworkers, friends, and family call you Danny or DJ.
While you may like being called by those nicknames, the following email addresses would still be inappropriate:
- dannyjohnson@domain.com
- djdaniel@domain.com
- dannyj@domain.com
To make a good impression, keep your personal and professional lives separate. Your close coworkers can still refer to you by your nickname.
Still, your business email address must reflect your professional name, especially if you’re emailing someone for the first time or giving your contact information to a potential lead.
What does this look like in practice? Instead of using a nickname, use some combination of your first name, last name, and/or initials, such as:
- djohnson@domain.com
- danieljohnson@domain.com
- danielj@domain.com
Company Position
Though it’s acceptable to include your profession in your business email, you should avoid having your current role. After all, your position within the company can change over time, and your email address is expected to remain the same.
Plus, your job title may only capture a handful of your skills, and the person you’re contacting may not be interested in those particular skills. As such, I’d suggest that you avoid creating an email address like these:
- jsmithoperationsmanager@domain.com
- seniorengineerjohnsmith@domain.com
- jsmithceo@domain.com
Remember, you can always include your job position in your email signature. But it’s best to combine your name and initials in your email address. Plus, it’s also shorter and easier to read.
Numbers
Most names are not unique. Especially if you have a fairly common name, finding an email address that hasn’t been taken yet can be hard. As such, some people may be tempted to include numbers in their email addresses.
However, this can do more harm than good.
When creating email addresses, avoid adding lots of extra numbers like this:
- janedoe95@domain.com
- jdoe813@domain.com
- janedoe1408@domain.com
Usernames like these often come across as unreliable and untrustworthy. They can even set off spam filters, meaning your emails will be sent straight to the recipient’s junk folder.
Instead of numbers, you can use periods or underscores — but do so sparingly because too many punctuation marks or symbols can also trigger spam filters.
If you choose this route, use only one or two punctuation marks in your email address. For example, the following formats are acceptable for a professional email:
- jane.doe@domain.com
- jane.a.doe@domain.com
- jane_doe@domain.com
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Professional Email Address Ideas and Examples
Now that you know how to set up your business email (and what to avoid when crafting an address), let me share some of my favorite ideas and examples to help you choose your naming conventions.
Combine your names.
- First name + last name = cliffordchi@domain.com
- First name . last name = clifford.chi@domain.com
- First name . middle name . last name = clifford.douglas.chi@domain.com
- First initial + last name = cchi@domain.com
- First initial + middle name + last name = cdouglaschi@domain.com
- First initial + middle initial + last name = cdchi@domain.com
Pro Tip: A period is a great option if you want to break up your first and last name.
Shorten your names.
- cliffchi@domain.com
- cliffdougchi@domain.com
- cliffdouglaschi@domain.com
- clifforddougchi@domain.com
Best for: If your name is longer, it’s often worth coming up with a shortened version.
Combine your name with your profession, city, or degree.
- cliffordchiwriter@domain.com
- cliffchiwriter@domain.com
- cchiwriter@domain.com
- cliffordchiboston@domain.com
- cliffchiboston@domain.com
- cchiboston@domain.com
- cliffordchimfa@domain.com
- cliffchimfa@domain.com
- cchimfa@domain.com
What we like: Adding a profession, city, or degree to your email address can effectively differentiate yourself.
Email Name Generators
In my experience, it can be challenging to settle on a professional email address. So, if you’re still struggling to figure out how to set up a professional email address, I’d suggest taking a look at some of the email name generators below:
1. Romarto
Romarto is one of the simplest email generators I’ve used. Just enter your first and last name, and the generator tool will come up with different combinations you can use for your address.
You can also add your profession or city to get more options.
I tried out Romarto, putting my first and last name into the generator. I had the option to include my middle name, profession, and the city I live in.
From there, Romarto created dozens of options that I could use for my email, mixing and matching different elements of my name and profession. This is an excellent option with plenty of outputs if you feel stuck.
Best for Romarto is an excellent option for busy professionals seeking a quick and easy email generation tool.
2. 4MeNearMe
Another option I tried was 4MeNearMe. This free email address generator works similarly to Romarto, except it lets you add your email host.
I tested 4MeNearMe. Similar to Romarto, I had the option to share my name, profession, and area. I could also include the email server I planned to use, like Gmail.
The results appeared cleanly in tables, separated by what combinations of information the algorithm used.
Pro tip: If you’re looking for a tool to add an email host, 4MeNearMe is the way to go!
3. GetMara.com
Finally, GetMara.com is another excellent tool to help you choose your professional email address.
As you can see in the screenshot below, GetMara allows users to add their company’s domain to craft the correct business email address for their organization.
GetMara.com had fewer fields to fill out. All I had to do was put in my name and company name. As a result, I had fewer options to choose from than the other two email generators. However, constraints can be helpful.
If you’re looking for a shortlist, GetMara.com is the way to go.
What we like: GetMara lets you generate over 50 different email addresses, helping you identify the best possible option.
Crafting the Perfect Professional Email Address
In sum, there are a few key takeaways I’ll leave you with when it comes to creating your professional email address:
- Stick to a variation of your real name, and avoid nicknames.
- Don't use numbers because they can result in your email getting flagged as junk mail.
- If you must use punctuation or symbols, do so sparingly, using only periods and underscores.
- Keep your professional and personal lives separate.
Choosing a professional email address can be challenging. Fortunately, there are still plenty of ways to choose a solid, professional email address — and my experience has taught me that they’re well worth the effort.
Editor's note: This post was originally published in October 2018 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.
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