The key to owning your own dot com email is getting a free domain name. Once you find this, setting up the email will be easy. Google just recently launched its Google Apps service providing smart business applications for email, documents, sites and more.They are willing to host your domain name for free and take advantage of their business services at no cost.

There are several companies that say they offer free domain names. Web hosting companies give free domain names as part of their hosting package. Others are just redirection services. What they really provide is a sub domain of a very short domain name. Try using this service and you won't be able to host the domain name in any web hosting company. Why? Because you don't really control the domain.

In order to have full control of the domain name, one must be able to control its cname, a, mx, and ns records. If you own a domain and try to host it in free web hosting service, the host will ask you to point your domain to their name servers. Google apps will ask you to change the cname record to what they will provide. Google can also give their mx records for you to copy and paste in your domain management.

We need to find a free domain name service that supports full DNS control and domain management. One that provides free DNS and MX services.

Once you have full control of your own domain name for free, you can now sign up for a free web hosting service. Point your domain to their name servers, modify the mx record to the one provided by Google apps and presto, you got yourself a Google email at your own dot com.

Let's slow down a little bit. These are what you need and look for:

1. A free domain name. You must have full control of this domain. Find a service that provides full DNS control and domain management. One that is not merely a redirection service.

2. Sign up for a good free web hosting company. One that provides own domain hosting for free. Take advantage of what they offer like large disk spaces, 100gb to 300gb bandwidth, easy to use website builder, and a Fantastico one click script installer. This is where you will host your new domain name. Get their name servers and go back to your domain management to point your domain name to the web host's name servers.

3. Sign up for Google Apps using your domain name. Google will ask you to activate email by providing their MX record.

4. Log back in to your free web host member's area and at your control panel, you can modify the MX record. Enter the one provided by Google.

Once completed, all you have to do is wait 24 to 48 hours for these settings to take effect. You now have your new domain name, a good web hosting service, and your Google email at your own dot com all for free. Why not build your website from here and start a new confident journey to an online business. Or just simply have fun.