Every email has a return address. People read it before they read anything else.
[email protected] says one thing. [email protected] says another.
Both might belong to the same honest plumber. Both might fix your sink just fine. But only one looks like it will still be here next year.
That's the trouble with free email for business. It's easy to get, so it's easy to fake. Scammers know this. So do your customers.
A free address doesn't make you look dishonest. It just doesn't help you look real.
A business email costs a few dollars a month. A domain name costs about as much as lunch for a year. Setup takes an afternoon.
In return, every message you send carries a small signal. I'm set up. I plan to stay. You can find me.
Strangers notice small signals. They don't have much else to go on.
Your work speaks for itself.
Your email address speaks first.