Your
e-mail address is your identity on the Internet. It doesn't make
any sense to "train" customers and clients (your Sphere
of Influence) to send e-mail to an address that may not exist in
the future. Since every piece of e-mail is a marketing piece, it
makes sense to have your e-mail address in as many pieces of e-mail
as possible. You want to train your clients to send e-mail to you
at one e-mail address. Once you have a permanent e-mail address,
you can change the return address in your e-mail software reflecting
that e-mail address. It may sound like a little thing, but it is
the little things that make a difference when working to differentiate
yourself from the competition.
With
a permanent e-mail address, all your branding efforts and dollars
spent to create an e-mail presence will, over the years, create
a cumulative result. Having a permanent e-mail address will prove
much more cost effective than diffusing your marketing dollars over
the years on e-mail addresses that no longer exist because you changed
Internet Service Providers (ISPs).
Here are
a few thoughts on the use of a permanent e-mail address for REALTORS
or anyone in business:
1. Your e-mail
address is an asset of your business and you invest in the e-mail
address you use every time you give out a business card, piece of
marketing material, or run an ad with it. You are teaching the world
that to communicate with you by e-mail, they should send e-mail
to that e-mail address. If you ever changed e-mail addresses, for
any reason, you would probably not receive e-mail sent to the "old"
e-mail address. What about a customer who sends e-mail to you at
the "old" e-mail address? Who is going to forward it to
your new address? If you do not receive the e-mail, you can't respond.
What is the cost of potential lost business?2. Anytime you use an
e-mail address with a domain you do not own, you are investing in
someone else's asset -- you are a "renter" and not an
"owner." Would you rather rent or own? If you use an Earthlink
e-mail address, who owns your e-mail address? If you use an AOL
e-mail address, who owns your e-mail address? Not you. The "owner"
can raise the rent at their option. Maybe you think that they would
never do that, but it is in their power to do so and not yours,
whether you think so or not.
2. Anytime you
use an e-mail address with a domain you do not own, you are investing
in someone else's asset -- you are a "renter" and not
an "owner." Would you rather rent or own? If you use an
Earthlink e-mail address, who owns your e-mail address? If you use
an AOL e-mail address, who owns your e-mail address? Not you. The
"owner" can raise the rent at their option. Maybe you
think that they would never do that, but it is in their power to
do so and not yours, whether you think so or not.
3. Who do you
want to brand...yourself or Earthlink (or any other domain you do
not own)?
4. Dot Com (.com)
is the "800 number" of Top Level Domains...would you rather
have an "888" toll free number or an "800" toll
free number?
5. If you use
an e-mail address with someone else's domain, you cannot use the
unlimited e-mail address feature which allows for lead sourcing
and spam control.
The foundation
of your permanent e-mail address is your own domain as opposed to
the domain of your ISP. It makes good business sense for all businesses
to own their own domain and to use it not only for their web site
address, but for their e-mail address as well.
To obtain a
permanent e-mail address, go to http://permanentemailaddress.internetcrusade.com/
Saul Klein,
e-PRO/GRI/CFP, is the president of InternetCrusade®, the creator
of both the content and the technology delivery platform for the
e-PRO® online technology certification program of the National
Association of Realtors. (http://eProNAR.com). Klein is a national
speaker on technology and its role in the future of real estate
and one of the creators and moderators of several international
online real estate communities reaching more than 25,000 real estate
professionals every day. He was selected as one of the 25 most influential
people in the real estate industry by NAR's REALTOR® Magazine
in 2003.
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