Is your small business still relying on a Hotmail address as it’s primary e-mail point of contact? If you are then you’ll not be surprised to learn that there are many more just like you, literally thousands of small businesses still rely very heavily on Hotmail. To be fair, Hotmail is ok, the new Windows Live Hotmail web interface is very nice, but there are a few problems associated with sticking with Hotmail. The number one problem for most Hotmail users, be they personal or business is spam, Hotmail seems to get more than it’s fair share, much MUCH more. Anyone who has used Hotmail for any length of time becomes aware of the anount of absolute rubbish that manages to make it into your e-mail inbox. The second problem is professionalism, you’ve got your own domain, you’ve got your own webiste and yet anybody who wants to contact you has to use a Hotmail address. Doesn’t look very good does it? There also the matter of client security, a lot of people are afraid to send to a Hotmail e-mail address just in case there address gets added on to some soprt of spammers list. In truth this shouldn’t happen but if peoples perceptions damage your business then there’s very little you can do.
Once you have used a Hotmail address for your business contact then it’s actually quite difficult to break away. Microsoft were quite sneaky with Hotmail, they have avoided using publically documented protocols for access and instead gone their own way. They also do no offer the opportunity to have your e-mail messages forwarded automatically like most other mail services. In order to get your Hotmail mail forwarded you’ll need to either subscribe to a forwarding service that can handle Hotmail, or alternatively download some software to do your own forwarding. Deciding to suddenly not bother at all with your Hotmail account can be a dangerous, can you remember all of the webistes your submitted your contact details to, not to mention your stationary?
One piece of software that does this is GetMail Evolution, it’s a small program that you run whenever your computer is on and it forwards messages from POP3, Hotmail, MSN and Windows Live Hotmail Accounts to another account. Not only this but when you reply, your reply will come from your new address updating your potential customers records. It’s really quite a simple solution to the breaking from Hotmail problem. By ensuring that GetMail runs when your computer starts there is no way you’re going to miss any e-mail that do manage to find their way into your old Hotmail account.