This post isn’t strictly about the Mission Disk, but I thought it was worth posting anyway.

Everyone understands the importance of professional websites, blogs, flyers, and mailings. But most people don’t even think about what their email address says about them. They don’t give a second thought to sending emails out from addresses like BestPastor187@yahoo.com or missionfriend32@hotmail.com. (If you happen to have one of the two addresses I listed, I didn’t pick you out specifically.) Email addresses like the two I listed, do not give out the impression you want to give. instead of saying, “I am a professional. I know what I’m doing, and you can trust me.” They say, I run my mission out of my house and lack the organization to do a professional job.

Now if you don’t own a domain, you don’t have a lot of options for getting a more professional email without purchasing one. But the good news is that Domains are relatively cheap these days. You can purchase a domain these days for about $10 a year.

At the end of this post, I’ll list a few domain registrars you can purchase a domain through. Keep in mind that most domain registrars will also sell you hosting services for your website. You don’t actually need the hosting if all you want is professional email, but if you plan to add a website someday, you might want to look into it.

Skip past this to the next paragraph if you already have a domain.
If you are purchasing a domain, there are a few things you should consider. The fist thing is the name. You really need to think about your domain name before registering it. Cute names and funny names are not appropriate. You want something professional sounding that fits your ministry. The name of your church or mission would be best, but if your ministry has a common or popular name you may not be able to register it. If you can’t register your ministry name because someone else already has it, try adding the city or country name to the end or the front of it. That way you will be able to keep your name and yet make it more localized.

Assuming you have a domain lined up, the cheapest (as in free) and most reliable email system to use is actually Google Apps. The standard edition is completely free and you get all the features of gmail, with your own domain address. So that means, you can get email at missions@yourdomain.com, pastor@yourdomain.com, firstname.lastname@yourdomain.com, or any other combination you want. All at @yourdomain.com.

Sign up for a new account and follow the instructions to set the account up and associate it with your domain. Once you have your account set up, you can set up as many email addresses as you want. There is a limit to how many users the free version allows, but you can set up as many aliases (email addresses that all go to the same inbox) as you want. The new accounts will be available to receive emails and send them. Then all you have to do is publish your new email address on your bulletins and newsletters.

There are many domain registrars to pick from so I’m just listing a few of them below to get you started.
Domain registrars:

• Google: Probably the easiest to set up since it is automatically attached to your account when you register it.
• dreamhost.com: The registrar and hosting company I currently use for this website.
• godaddy.com

Hope this post has shown you how easy it is to get your own professional email address.