Anonymous email addresses are those setup at web sites such as Hotmail, Yahoo!, Paxemail.com and other similar web sites where you can sign-up for free email accounts. ISP email addresses are those provided by your Internet Service Provider such as Qwest, Bellsouth, Cox, AOL, and so forth. There are several reasons why you should not use these email addresses on your stationary. One reason would be policy changes, for example, Paxemail.com has just announced that they will no longer offer free email services, so what happens now to all those account holders?

Another prime example is Qwest and MSN. Recently these two companies made a deal to merge services where thousands of customers had to change their email address from the qwest.com domain to msn.com. In addition to policy shifts, there's branding. Whenever you publish your anonymous or ISP email address on your business card, mailer, advertisement or other material, you are promoting their domain name instead of your own. Domain names are also similar to P.O. Boxes, are you more likely to send your personal information to a P.O. Box or an actual street address? With anonymous emails you are less likely to receive a response from a prospective customer as opposed to sending from your own domain name.

To avoid the headaches simply purchase your own domain name. Most domain registrars offer email services that you can use with the domain you purchase from them. Take GoDaddy.com for example, funny name but serious service. The founder of this registrar is Bob Parsons, who authored the first version of the popular accounting software Quicken later sold to Intuit, Inc. GoDaddy was formed in 1997 and has grown to become number one ICANN accredited registrar in new domain registrations. They have the lowest rates around at $8.95 per year for the domain registration plus $9.95 per year for email.

The beauty of domain names is that your domain stays with you as long as you keep up with the annual fees. Even if a domain registrar such as GoDaddy were to go out of business, ICANN, the governing body of Internet domain names will assist the failing registrar in moving your domain name registration to another registrar.  Just make sure you register your domain with an ICANN accredited registrar, click here for a complete list.

Once you have registered your domain name, or if you already have a domain name, consider putting up a web site, even if it is just one page, this should not cost you more than $100. Then instead of placing "JaneTheRealtor@isp.com" on your business cards and promotions, place something like "Jane@JaneTheRealtor.com". Which of these two emails would you write to? The Internet novice or the Internet savvy?