Are you ready to step up your game!?

If you are using an @gmail or @hotmail or @aol type account for your business, now is your change to look a little more #profresh.

Get a professional email account via Google Apps for 50% off! 
It's the email service I've been using for YEARS and I love it.

Steps:
Go here, http://goo.gl/sPHVsQ (affiliate link)
When asked us code "9TMA3MMHVVLJGX"

* You'll get 50% off the first year.  Normal cost is $50 per year so you'll pay $25 for the first year.
* You'll have ONE email addess, typically people do Name@YourWebsite.com

This offer expires December 31st.

Too often I come across business owners who have "lost" access to their domain (aka www.businessname.com).  Here is how the story goes:

"My ________ bought the domain for me because I had no idea what I was doing.  Now s/he is ignoring my calls and emails and texts.  Now what?"

You can fill in the  ______ with: boyfriend, programmer, husband, good friend, girlfriend, wife, son, daughter, etc.

If they are ignoring you and basically holding your domain hostage you need to kiss that domain good-bye.  To get it back (assuming the other party does not want to give it back) would mean bringing them to court.

Because stories like this are so common I NEVER EVER will buy a domain for someone.  I simply send them these instructions: 

1. Go here http://www.godaddy.com/gdshop/redirect/go.asp?isc=cjcdplink and enter the domain you want.
2. Hit Select (make sure you are picking the right one and not another option that GoDaddy throws at you).
3. Hit Continue to Cart.
4. Now GoDaddy is going to try to sell you the WORLD! Say NO to everything.
5. They are going to try to get you to buy even more stuff on the shopping cart page, ignore it all. 
6. If they want you to buy more than 1 year, change it to 1 or 2 years (your choice).
7. Now, open a NEW window and GOOGLE around for a coupon code! There is ALWAYS a coupon code out there. Find a good code and enter it BEFORE you check out, on the Shopping Cart Page.
8. If your total is not around $12 or less make sure GoDaddy didn't sneak something into the cart.

More Tips:

• GoDaddy will ask for a physical address. Know that this information will be public so either pay for the privacy OR use your PO Box (or a friend's). You can always add privacy later so no worries if you want to run out and buy a PO box. For YEARS I did not hide my address and nothing bad ever happened.
• Buy a .com  Do not buy a .org or a .guru or a .info.  Make it a .com.
• If this is your first time creating a GoDaddy account make sure you use a REAL email and phone number.  You will need to verify things.
• After you buy it, set up an alarm in your phone and on your calendar (yes, two alarms) to go off 1 month BEFORE your domain will expire.  So if you paid for 1 year set it to go off at 11 months.  You will want to make sure you RENEW that domain. If you forget to renew there are companies out there who will buy your domain and then ask you to pay them hundreds of dollars to get it back.

The link I posted above is an affiliate link. That means I get a kickback if you buy a domain through GoDaddy.  But kickback or not, I strongly recommend GoDaddy. They are HUGE, so I know the company is not going to disappear. Their customer service is the BEST I've seen.  You can call them up and get real help. Sometimes they even call you just to make sure everything is OK or to remind you your domain is about to expire. Really, I love them. The only reason not to love GoDaddy is (as you saw) they try to upsell you on services.

Now that you've bought your own domain you know it is safe (just do not lose the password) :)

When I first started out I used an @hotmail.com address for my business.  This was in 2004 before @gmail.com was public.  But after I few years I knew it was time for an @MyDomain.com email address.  By then I had a gmail account and I loved the ease of it so signing up with Google Apps was a no-brainer.

Your Google Apps email looks just like gmail but the address will be @YourDomain.com instead of @gmail.com. The cost is $5 a month per user or $50 a year.

To save some money go here (affiliate link) and give this promo code a try. It is first come, first served so it may or may not work.

• 9LRQNKTJGANMHQ

No matter which website builder you are using, the odds are you will be offered a URL (branded with their domain). However, before you start to promote your business, you must get your own URL.   

For example, if the name of your business is “Chicago Massage”, Weebly will give you the URL http://www.chicagomassage.weebly.com  In your marketing efforts, you’ll find it MUCH easier to use your own URL.  Doesn’t it look (and feel) much better to post www.ChicagoMassage.com?

Here is a summary of benefits of using your own URL:

• Your URL will be short.  Much shorter than the URL given to you by your platform.
  
• Your own custom URL will be so much easier for your customers (and potential custoomers) to remember or even jot down.  
  
• Eventually you may want to leave the website builder you are using, and if you have followed all of my tips on how to find customers, then your URL is going to be all over the Internet. Doesn’t it make sense to have posted your own URL so that you do not lose all of your hard work?
  
• Overall, having your own URL gives off a much more professional vibe, and it will always help you attract customers. 

Where to get a URL:
I strongly recommend you use www.GoDaddy.com to buy your URL. GoDaddy.com is known for always trying to up-sell you (so say no to everything they try to toss in your cart along with your URL), BUT their customer service is excellent!  If you experience any trouble, you can easily call them and they’ll walk you through whatever you are trying to do. They periodically even call you to see if you need any help.

A URL (aka domain) will cost around $12, but before you check-out go to Retailmenot.com and see if there are any promo codes you can use.  Often you can get the cost down to $3 or so. 

How to get a custom email (now that you have a URL):
Now that you have a URL, it means you can get a matching email address.  I recommend you ONLY use Google Apps.  The cost is $50 a year per user (you should only need/want one email address), but worth it as you can then use Google Apps for your calendar, Google Drive, Analytics, and so many more tools that you will need as your business grows.

The reasons for having a custom email address are pretty repetitive with the reasons for obtaining a custom domain.   It’s more professional, you will have it posted all over the Internet, etc.  

Bottom Line
Do not spend time publishing your business all over the internet until you have a URL.  When you switch platforms (aka you move from Weebly to Wix), you do not want to lose all of the people who find your online postings AFTER your move.