An email address for contractors and the trades: on the truck, the quote and your Google listing
Updated
For a plumber, electrician, roofer or any tradesperson, your email address shows up in more places than you might think: on the truck door, on the quote, in your Google Business listing, on the invoice that goes to the customer's accountant. Here is how to choose one that works in all of them.
Where your address actually gets seen
On the truck
A wrap or door lettering gets read at a red light, from across a parking lot, or on a photo someone takes later. Short and spellable matters more here than anywhere. Nobody remembers [email protected] after one glance. Consider whether your phone number is doing the main job on the truck, and the address is the backup that goes on quotes.
On the quote and invoice
Customers keep quotes. They forward them to a spouse, a landlord, an insurance company. The address is what everyone replies to. A tidy business address looks settled, and it keeps work mail separate from your personal inbox, so a request does not get buried under family photos.
In your Google Business Profile
Your profile and your website are where many people first find you, and a contact email is one of the things a customer may look for. Whatever address you use there, make sure it is one you check daily.
Address patterns for the trades
Examples on our Colorado city .co domains. They are illustrations: check whether any is still open before you plan around it.
| Pattern | Examples | Good for |
|---|---|---|
| Your first name | [email protected] | A solo operator who wants it short |
| Your trade | [email protected], [email protected] | Saying what you do, instantly |
| Office or quotes | [email protected], [email protected] | Sorting incoming requests |
| Name plus trade | [email protected] | A name and a skill in one |
A trade name such as plumber@ is unique per city, so only one tradesperson gets it. That is part of the pitch, and part of the price: trade and category names cost 3x the city base, which is $147, $207 or $297 a month depending on the city. A personal name like mike@ is $19 a month ($190 a year) in every city. Prices are locked for 2 years from signup, and you can cancel anytime.
Match the city to where you work
A city domain tells the customer you are local. [email protected] reads as a Loveland business. If you serve a few towns, pick the one you are best known in, or the one where most of your work is, then use it everywhere. Do not try to be all of them.
Set it up so it works from the truck
A business address is only useful if you see the mail. Do these three things:
- Add the mailbox to your phone's mail app. It works in any mail app that supports IMAP and SMTP, so you can use whatever you already have.
- Turn on notifications, or set a time to check it twice a day.
- Set a signature with your phone number, your license number if you want it shown, and your service area. The email signature tool makes one quickly.
Setup of the mailbox itself takes about five minutes. There is no domain to buy and no DNS to configure.
One address or several?
Start with one. If you grow, you can add forwarding addresses to the mailbox, so something like quotes@ reaches your phone and your office manager's inbox. That avoids buying a second mailbox before you need one.
Honest tradeoffs for tradespeople
- You do not own the domain. You rent the address. If you cancel, the name is held for 90 days before release. Put that in your head before you print it on a truck wrap, and consider printing it on a wrap only if you are comfortable keeping it.
- If you want yourcompany.com on your truck, your site and your cards, buy that domain. With a crew and several staff seats, buying your own domain and using Google Workspace or Microsoft 365 is the better choice.
- Our product is for one person or a small business that wants a short, local, memorable address now.
- Your mail is not trapped. There are instructions for taking it with you at /help/export-your-email.
A quick checklist before you print anything
- Say the address on the phone to someone. Did they get it right first try?
- Does it still make sense if you hire a second tech or change services?
- Is it the same address on your quote template, invoice template, Google listing and truck?
- Do you have a way to export your mail if you ever move?
Next steps
Need ideas from your own name and trade? Try the email address ideas tool. Want to see whether a name is open? The home page will tell you. Comparing against buying your own domain? Read What a business email really costs.
One more thing, whatever you decide: do not let the address be the thing that holds up the quote. Pick a clean one, set it up this week, and move on to the work.