Probably one of my largest online business mistakes is trusting my web host to provide reliable email services.
At one time, I used PHPMail to deliver copywriting applications to my inbox. And only after a long period without receiving an application did I discover that my web host turned off PHPMail without telling me.
Thanks!
Just last week I woke up to 3 emails in my inbox. And if you’ve ran an Internet business for long, you know that number is remarkably low.
I started poking around the ‘net and realized I could count for several emails that SHOULD have been delivered but weren’t! (Payment notifications, auto-response messages and the like.)
I contacted my web host who set up a “test” and discovered my email was working “just fine.” (And miraculously, it did start working after I complained.)
But as was confirmed today, potential clients did email me and, of course, received no response back from me.
Overall, I like my web host and I’d be very hesitant to move. But it’s becoming very clear that I need to stop using their email.
GMail, The Reliable Free Mail
It used to be that a free email address was a big no-no for business. But that’s changed since Gmail came along.
Gmail REALLY IS that much better than paid alternatives. There’s little excuse not to use them as your primary email address, and many of the IM GURU’s do.
Needless to say, I hope to quickly move away from my web hosts email and rely solely on Gmail for the foreseeable future.
GMail kicks serious booty, and Google Docs is an unexpected treasure. You can use it to create PDF files, PowerPoint presentations, and even publish web pages anonymously. Do remember that you still need something like AWeber or GetResponse to send out mass mailings. GMail is not set up for it at all; I think the most you can do is 250 at a time or something.
Yes, I use Google Docs and OpenOffice as an alternative to MSWord. And I do use AWeber, although I was considering switching to my own hosted variety.
Now that I’m having this email problem though… I’m not so sure.
For now it appears that my old email address is dead. Can’t receive emails, web host can’t seem to fix it.