Wow! I hope you're really in the mortgage business and not just some kind of mortgage Yahoo?

Now don't get me wrong, there's definitely a place for those addresses like Yahoo, Hotmail, and Gmail. In fact, I use them myself for various things. But using these email addresses as your business email should not be one of them.

Remember, when you are in the mortgage business...impressions and perception can be everything. You need to be professional and look professional. It makes your customer/prospect comfortable and relaxed. It makes your customer/prospect want to view you as an expert and it makes it easier for them to trust you.

Does using a Hotmail, Gmail or Yahoo address help your professional image? Absolutely not! You need to correct and improve the situation immediately.

Many of you have access to and are able to use your Mortgage Broker/Lender/Employer's email address. Good for you. You're a step ahead of those using the free ISP email addresses.

But, here's the problem...In both cases you are promoting and branding the ISP of someone else and certainly not yourself or your mortgage business. And what happens when you change mortgage companies or go off and establish your own mortgage business? That borrowed email address you were using for so many years no longer works, and all those inquiries default to your last employer. What a bummer!

Here's my recommendation and the best solution. Buy your own domain name immediately and use it to promote your mortgage business. Use your personal name as your domain name. The chances of your name being available are very good. It would look something like this: yourname.com or a possible variation such as yoursite.com.

You can purchase/reserve your domain name for eight or ten dollars a year and usually less if you make a longer commitment. Establish a hosting service and put up a small web site to promote your mortgage business. Most hosting companies will reserve your domain name for you as apart of their service or charge a nominal extra fee.

Either way, this is the best money that you could ever spend. Here's why:

1. You'll have your very own mortgage email address plus the default addresses. They replace your first name in the address before the @ such as info@ or support@yourname.com. You can even set-up the defaults to determine the responses from your advertising.

2. You'll have established a much needed web presence for yourself. The numbers are increasing and today, 92% of the folks shopping for real estate are also checking out Real Estate and Mortgage professionals using Google. That company/employer/lender web site doesn't help you one bit. You need to take the bull by horns and establish your internet presence.

3. You'll be taking the steps necessary to ensure your mortgage business survival and success in the business. You'll be promoting your identity, your selling position, and your business. Remember, if you're working as a loan officer or mortgage broker and receive a 1099, you're really working for yourself (unfortunately, nobody is telling you that). It's time to act accordingly and take those actions that are necessary to insure your success.

The chances are really good that the competition in your area will read this article next week or next month and take the necessary actions to secure their position. Will you make that same commitment? I'm really counting on you and hope that you do just that!