Why Shouldn't I use AOL, GMail, etc. For Company Mail?

If you're using AOL, HotMail, GMail, Yahoo, MSN, etc. for your professional email address then you're:

1.  Not advertising your web site.

2.  Losing out on very valuable marketing.

3.  Posing a security risk by having company email on the Internet (the "cloud") instead of on your computer.

4.  Increasing your chances of your email being blocked by the intended recipient.

5.  Not having the ability to use email stationery.

6.  Potentially putting your company at risk of being unable to reach that system.

7.  More apt to have your email judged as suspicious.

8.  Presenting a non-professional appearance.

Let's say that your company has assigned you joe@ourcompany.com, and you have that forwarded to your GMail account of joe@gmail.com...

Loss of Corporate Web Site Address

Many people use the email address of a contact as a guide to their web site address.  If you're sending as joe@gmail.com, potential customers and clients can't tell the address of your web site.

Loss of Corporate Identity

When you receive an email that was addressed to joe@ourcompany.com and it's forwarded to your GMail account, then the reply will come from your GMail account.  You have lost the marketing of your company name.

Security Risk is Increased

If you're using an on-line mail service, then your email is sitting out on the Internet (aka "The Cloud").  That's like having your paper mail sitting in the mail box, rather than bringing it into the house!  

Higher Risk of Email Not Reaching Recipient

There's a higher chance that your email won't get through.  Many companies block AOL, Gmail, Hotmail, etc., due to spam issues.

Causing Corporate Domain To Be Blocked

The free and semi-free email address companies control who gets through to them, and they block by DOMAIN NAME.   Let's say that you get lots of mail forwarded from joe@ourcompany.com to joe@gmail.com.   GMail just sees lots of mail coming in from the same IP address, the one your company uses for hosting.   If they detect that their system is getting above acceptable amounts of email from @ourcompany.com, they'll block the domain, not the individual name.  So not only "joe", but EVERYBODY who uses an @ourcompany.com  address to reach a GMail account won't be able to get through.

Remember AOL's big advertising campaign about their great spam blocker?   Have you noticed that the campaign has been quietly retired?   That's because the forwards were being picked up as spam.   If joe@aol.com received a hundred emails a day from joe@ourcompany.com, AOL would block the domain across their entire system.  Not only would Joe no longer get his forwards, but nobody with AOL account could get mail from anyone at @ourcompany.com.

Being Judged as Suspicious

Some free accounts are recognized world-wide, but many aren't.  If you send from joe@msn.com most people recognize it as a free Microsoft account.  However, the same is not true of AOL, which is a mostly American company.  An international customer might not know that sending to joe@ourcompany.com and receiving from joe@aol.com isn't suspicious.

Can't Use Customized Email Stationery

If you're using an on-line service rather than Outlook, Outlook Express, Vista Windows Mail, Thunderbird, etc., then you can't use customized company email stationery.  Email stationery is PROVEN to increase returns as folks can click on links in your stationery while viewing topical info, your logo, etc.

Non-Professional Appearance

Free email addresses such as HotMail, Yahoo, etc., are too "cute" to be used in business.   Would you rather receive a formal quote from joe@fortune500.com or from joe@yahoo.com?

All BusyBrain personnel are assigned a BusyBrain email address when they accept a job with BusyBrain, Inc. The @BusyBrain.net address must be used exclusively for all BusyBrain correspondence.

If you receive an email from someone claiming to be from BusyBrain, Inc., and it did NOT come from @BusyBrain.net, please report it here: report@busybrain.net