How do you feel when you see an email from “little.lizard@gmail.com” in your inbox? If you're like most people, you probably wouldn't take that email seriously, and it might even make you uneasy about opening it. Now imagine that same email address belonged to your doctor, or a potential new hire. Yikes! You'd probably have a very different impression of them if they'd used something like “john.smith@gmail.com” instead.  

Why You Should Ditch Your Old Email Address for a Professional One

Business culture is weird. Some traditionalists swear by strict adherence to all sorts of unspoken guidelines, such as wearing a blazer and a button-down shirt at all times, or addressing all clients by their last name, preceded by "Mr." or "Mrs." On the other end of the scale are those hotshot entrepreneurs and startup employees who probably wore t-shirts to their weddings and act like their customers are their buddies. There is considerable variance among professionals. One thing everyone can agree on, though, is having an email address that looks good. This isn’t just true when applying for a job; it’s also true when communicating with your vendors and clients. Using an unprofessional address can even hurt your sales. 

The Impact of a Professional Email Address on Your Business Image

A professional email address not only adds a touch of professionalism to your business but also ensures that the public takes your business seriously. In essence, your email address becomes your business brand name. You may not realize it, but an email address holds more significance than you might think. No matter how amazing the content of your email is, if it's not opened, it won't make an impact. Your email address conveys a great deal about your level of professionalism and trustworthiness. It plays a crucial role in establishing credibility and building trust with your customers and partners. 

What Makes an Email Address Professional? 

A professional email address should be simple, name-based, and easy to recognize. To maintain a professional tone, avoid using nicknames, humor, unnecessary numbers, or outdated domain names. To ensure your email address maintains a professional tone, focus on: 

• Simplicity and clarity 

• Appropriate domain  

Keep It Simple: The Best Business Email Addresses Are Clean and Clear 

The best business email address is one that is simple and easy for potential employers to remember. One of the most straightforward ways to achieve this is by using your first and last name or a slight variation of it with your middle name. This format ensures that the recipient immediately knows who the email is from, which is crucial when applying for jobs or networking professionally.

Some clean and effective email address examples include: 

• john.smith@gmail.com 

• j.smith@gmail.com 

• john.a.smith@gmail.com

It’s important to avoid using nicknames, random numbers, or unnecessary special characters in your email address. An email like john12345@gmail.com can come off as impersonal or even unprofessional. Numbers, in particular, can make it seem like your email is less serious and the prospective employer may question your attention to detail. Instead, use an email address that is easy to remember and aligns professionally with the tone you’re trying to set. Opting for a business email address that sticks to clear and straightforward formats will help you make a positive impression on the prospective employer. Furthermore, it increases your chances of standing out in a crowded inbox. 

Choose the Right Domain: Avoid Outdated Email Domains 

The domain of your email address plays a significant role in shaping how a hiring manager perceives it. When you include your email in a job application or cover letter, you want to ensure that it reflects professionalism. Domains like Gmail or Outlook are widely recognized and trusted, helping you establish credibility with potential employers. Using one of these respected platforms makes it easier for the hiring manager to take you seriously.

For example: 

• john.smith@gmail.com 

• john.smith@outlook.com

On the other hand, using outdated or less common domains can raise red flags. Examples of unprofessional email addresses include those tied to older platforms, such as Hotmail or AOL. It’s best to avoid using these domains, as they might make you seem disconnected from current technology trends. Avoid casual or informal domains that can come off as unprofessional in the eyes of a hiring manager. Stick to widely recognized platforms to ensure your email address leaves a positive impression. 

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12 Unprofessional Email Address Examples That Say ‘Don’t Trust Me’

1. Childhood Nicknames are for Kids, Not Emails  

Any email address that includes your childhood nickname comes off as immature. Using an address that consists of a nickname is a bad decision. That being said, it can be funny when people make this bad decision for themselves. 

Be honest: You have at least one address that is similar to my own, such as shmandalicious15 @ email.com. Hopefully, you aren’t using it too often. When you made this ten years ago, you probably thought it was cool. Now, when you send an email to potential clients from this address, you come off as entirely out of touch, and possibly just plain weird. This goes for any address that includes phrases like:

• “Sparklysunshine”

• “Beyoncefan12”

• “Footballbro9”

If you want, use these phrases in your Pokémon Go username. Or use these addresses to sign up for newsletters and download offers you don’t want. Just don’t use them to email your business contacts.

2. Less-than-Trendy Email Providers  

Examples: 

• yourname@hotmail.com

• yourname@aol.com

• yourname@att.net

Less-than-trendy email providers send a signal that you’re out of touch. Firstname.lastname@aol.com isn’t that bad, right? Well, yeah – it’s not bad compared to shmandalicious15@email.com. But if you’re using this email address to send to clients, it’s telling them that you use aol.com for your mail services, which tells them a couple of things. 

• Probably means that you created this email account a while ago. 

• It suggests that I’m not incredibly technically savvy.

Take a look at a Google Trends chart of searches for leading mail clients, and notice where AOL Mail falls. It was just as popular as:

• Yahoo

• Gmail

• Hotmail

In 2004. 

Avoiding Outdated Email Domains for Professional Credibility

If you’re in an industry where it’s essential to stay up to date on data and trends, it probably isn’t a good impression to send emails from a service that was at its peak of relevancy 12 years ago. Using an outdated domain makes you look disconnected from modern trends. And not, like, obscure or insider trends; knowing that Gmail is cooler than AOL isn’t high-level stuff. While these providers still work, using one deep into the 2020s sends the wrong signal about how well you keep up with basic trends and norms. And no company wants to hire someone or work with someone who seems like they’re willfully behind the times.

3. Unprofessional Words Make You Seem Immature  

Examples: 

• PartyGuyMike@gmail.com

• TheSallymander@yahoo.com

• JohnLovesSex@outlook.com

Using slang, jokes, or nicknames makes you look immature. And beyond that, it makes you look like you’re aggressively unprofessional. Email addresses are free. So if someone’s choosing to do their professional correspondence with such a goofy personal address and didn’t bother to get a different address for professional situations, it makes you question their judgment on everything.

4. Hobbies Have No Place in Professional Emails  

Examples: 

• SoccerKing21@gmail.com

• BTSluver05@hotmail.com

While it’s great to have passions and hobbies, they don’t belong in your professional email address. This format distracts from the compartmentalized image you’re trying to present and makes a shaky first impression. 

5. Avoid the ‘McBunchOfNumbers’ Format  

Examples:

• john834209238@gmail.com

• jane12321434324@hotmail.com

There’s a long-running joke on the site I still call Twitter that the worst opinions come from people with handles like “FirstName McBunchOfNumbers.” It never fails. So don’t bring that stigmatized format over to your email address. Even if someone isn’t a social media user, when they see an address like this, it screams “spam.”

6. Don’t Reference Your Age in Your Email Address  

Examples: 

• JaneDoe1987@gmail.com

• johnsmith95@outlook.com

If you use something that looks like a year in your email address (either the two-digit or four-digit version), anyone who sees your email address will clock it, and immediately put you into a mental bucket because of your age. They don’t want to have that bias; it’s instinctive and innate. And even if your year isn’t your birth year (like it’s your graduation year), the person receiving your email won’t know that. If you’re hiring someone, you’ll have inherent biases about both janedoe2004@gmail.com and janedoe1952@gmail.com. Don’t put other people in that position, and don’t miss out on opportunities because quickly revealing your age sinks you.

7. Jokes Don’t Belong in Business Emails  

Examples: 

• iloveitwhenyoucallmebigpippa@gmail.com

• letsdothisjim@yahoo.com

Love your puns, just not in a work context. Your clever, funny, or so-bad-it is-good email address is perfect in personal settings, but it falls flat professionally. This type of email address can make you seem unserious or even annoying, leaving a bad impression.

8. Shared or Family Email Addresses Seem Childish  

Examples: 

• johnandmarysmith@gmail.com

• thesmithfamily@yahoo.com

Don’t love your codependent email addresses. These would come to an end. However, even if you want to use one personally, using a shared email address for professional communication can be confusing and even raise privacy concerns. It also makes you seem like you’re unprepared to handle correspondence. 

9. Irrelevant Domains Make You Look Inexperienced  

Examples: 

• johndoe@randomcoolsite.com

• jane@myoldblog.com

In the “good” email addresses list, talked about personal professional sites and name domains. Those are both good. However, it cautioned that the domain name should direct users to a website. That’s the problem with using an irrelevant domain, whether it’s to my personal hobby site, an old business, a friend’s website, or anything else unrelated to professional work. These kinds of domains will catch the eye because they stand out in a bad way, and there’s a good chance the people corresponding with them will check out the website. And it may raise more questions than answers. Not in a “this is a good icebreaker” way, in a “I’m not sure I want to work with this person” way.

10. Overly Informal Phrases Seem Childish  

Examples: 

• heyitsmejohn@gmail.com

• callmejane@hotmail.com

Using casual or conversational phrases in your email address feels unprofessional. It doesn’t reflect the seriousness of business communication. It’s better to stick to formats that establish authority. 

11. Overly Long Email Addresses Are Confusing  

Examples: 

• johnathanalexandermichaelsonthethird@gmail.com

• janedoethegreatestpersonalive@hotmail.com

An excessively long email address is hard to remember, prone to typos, and unnecessarily complicated. Simplicity is key. 

12. Any Email Address @yahoo.com Just Looks Bad  

Finally, this one’s a bit more controversial. That’s because Yahoo Mail is pretty popular, as you can see from our Google Trends chart. It has nearly 300 million unique users, so if you’re using a @yahoo.com address, don’t feel too bad, because you’re certainly not alone. 

Here’s the thing, though (and this is, more or less, the main takeaway from this post): unless you’re using an email address that is @yourdomain, you appear unprofessional. 

Think about it: Would any successful business believe that investing in their domain and email is too high a cost? Owning a domain and using it for email services looks more legitimate. It means that you have the resources to spend on a website and an email. And, of course, having an address that reads @yourdomain helps people to remember your brand.

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9 Simple Rules for Creating a Professional Email Address

1. Gain Respect with a Trustworthy Domain

A professional email address consistent with your brand and using the same domain name as your website builds trust and brand awareness. Consider two examples: johndoyle@outlook.com and johndoyle@tesla.com. Which email address would you rather receive a sales pitch from? The answer is clear. While we’re all accustomed to communicating via Gmail, one of the user-friendly, nice-looking email clients anyone can create an account using these resources. You need a unique domain corresponding to your company’s name. An exceptional title after the @ sign is the hallmark of a classy business email.

2. Leave Nicknames to Personal Communication

Many of us have multiple email accounts for various reasons, and there's nothing wrong with that. However, these accounts are for our personal and social lives, not for business purposes. Any nickname or alter-ego is inappropriate for your business email address. Michael Smith, who sometimes goes by Mikey, would be better off using MSmith@email.com. Your first and last names are always a good idea.

3. Exclude Numbers

While the global population tops 7 billion, the chances of having a unique name are slim at best. Spare a thought for the John Smiths of this world. Due to the limitations of free email tools, they often offer automated options that include numbers as alternatives. This isn’t good for business. Users named “johnsmith2013” or “19johnsmith78” are considered untrustworthy and unreliable. They can trigger spam filters and get your emails sent straight into the junk. The same rings true for punctuation and symbols. All this stuff is complicated to remember and can trip spam filters, especially with large companies. Stick to letters only. If you need punctuation, only include one or two full stops or underscores maximum.

4. Avoid Using Your Position

When you put your position in your business email address, like “ingridengineer@company.com,” it stands out and outlines which skills you possess. However, your recipient probably doesn’t care about this information. Leave the title for your email signature.

5. Generic Names for Certain Purposes

Generic business email addresses, such as info@yourcompany.com or support@mycompany.net, are widely used on the web. These email accounts represent a particular service or department of a company without any reference to one specific team member. The domain name plays a decisive role in a recipient recognizing a sender. This approach is an excellent solution for setting up email accounts used for specific purposes.

6. Make It Pronounceable and Memorable

With so many people doing business via the tiny screens of their mobile devices, misspelling an address is common, even if it’s something that would generally seem easy to spell. Keep in mind that you’ll often have to read your email address aloud in business. Make sure it’s easy and doesn’t require a lot of explanation.

7. Avoid Anything Unprofessional

Everyone has a private life. Would you be willing to receive personal information in your business mailbox and vice versa? No. The same relates to electronic mail. Avoid any references to race, religion, sexual orientation, and age, like “johnfromsixties.” Your professional identity might be drastically different from your identity. There should be a clear line between the two.

8. Full Name Is Not Always Necessary

Some people have multiple names, and most of the time, it depends on their place of origin. You do not need to use your full name all the time, only the one or two most common names that you use, for example, andrea.lopez@company.com.

9. Experiment and Choose the Best One

The opportunities to spice up your email address are endless. Take an imaginary user with the full name Andreas Turbin, who works at the MakeMyDay Company. Let’s take a look at this email address example: 

• Full Name: andreasturbin@makemyday.com

• First Name: andreas@makemyday.com

• Last Name: turbin@makemyday.com

• First Name + Last Initial: andreast@makemyday.com

• First Initial + Last Name: aturbin@makemyday.com 

Sometimes, the best option isn't the most obvious one. That's why you need to test a variety of different ones before you find the most appealing professional email address. The best way to find a good email address is to A/B test it.

Start Buying Domains Now and Set Up Your Email Infrastructure Today

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Users benefit from automated:

• SPF

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Dedicated email servers for each user, and 16-hour daily priority support. Unlike traditional providers that charge per inbox and leave you wrestling with technical configurations, Inframail streamlines the entire process. Whether you're an agency looking to scale outreach, a recruiter connecting with candidates, or an SDR driving sales, Inframail provides the robust email infrastructure you need without the usual technical headaches and per-inbox costs. 

What are The Benefits Of Using Inframail? 

Using Inframail comes with multiple benefits. The service automates technical setups. When you create a new inbox with Inframail, we automatically configure the:

• SPF

• DKIM

• DMARC

Records so that you don’t have to. These records help improve your email deliverability and reduce the likelihood of your messages being sent to the spam folder. The service provides dedicated email servers for each user, ensuring that the activities of others do not interfere with your outreach. Inframail offers priority support, so if you run into any issues while using the service, you can get help quickly.

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