Time to Turn Pro – Part Two – Make a Name For Yourself

any of them if you just want to check what’s available. The likes of Go Daddy or 123-reg will give you the option to type in your company name and to see very quickly whether it’s for sale. If the ‘.com’ is no longer available then you might be able to buy ‘co.uk’ or ‘.org’ or ‘.net,’ while there are also variations available if you’re happy to have a URL that’s close to your name but not identical. For ‘So Smart Media,’ for example, there is ‘sosmartmedia.london,’ sosmart-media.com’ or ‘sosmartmedia.com.’

Once you’ve got your URL sorted you can then create personalised email addresses, which sound so much more professional than a ‘johnsmith465@gmail.com.’ No client is ever going to remember that, let alone be impressed by it, whereas something like ‘john@sosmartmedia.com’ has a much better ring to it. Then you get the variations: sales@, info@, queries@ and so on.

The email addresses are free to create once you have the URL, but you will need a little technical nous – not a huge amount fortunately – to set up a system where those email addresses will be automatically gathered in under the umbrella of your host email address, which could, for example, be ‘btinternet.com.’

One further consideration is that should you be tempted to work with your given email address then you’re tied into it should you ever want to move to a different provider. Far better to have a company email address and to stick with it and this can then travel with you throughout your entire career.

Companies House: www.gov.uk/get-information-about-a-company
The National Business Register: www.start.biz
Checking a URL: www.123-reg.co.uk/domain-search