Small-sized gaming websites or amateur esports teams typically deal with an unexpected amount of business-type correspondence.
For example, you might one day email a game developer to ask for a code to test or demo. Then, the next day, you’ll be reaching out to a prospective sponsor, responding to a partnership opportunity, or signing off on onboarding a journalist who is new to covering games and events.
The reality is that, to a great extent, many small operations start out without any formal business structure. It’s likely that only a website will exist at that stage, plus some social media, maybe a few writers, and lots of eagerness, but without a business side. That can be problematic when you start contacting publishers, sponsors, and other industry professionals.
Small Signals Can Influence First Impressions
If someone receives an unsolicited cold email, it’s not a huge surprise that the sender is completely unknown to the recipient.
Of course, the first impressions are largely determined by the email itself, subject line, website signature, and email address. All of these play a part in the impression that the email makes!
Let’s imagine the scenario where two emails for a reviewer code arrive in a publisher’s inbox. One of the reviews was sent by a colleague using a personal Gmail email and the other through an email address connected to the gaming site’s own company domain.
Although the email content could be very similar, the second one will immediately convey the impression that the author is a representative of a well-known media platform.
We are not saying that a personal email address would automatically make an organization look informal. Still, when you are requesting resources, asking for funds, getting products, or borrowing time, the truth is, the address was professional enough to help clear some of the possible doubts away!
Your Domain Enhances the Legitimacy of Outreach
A personalized or domain name shows your email is a legitimate part of the business communication. Rather than using a common email, you could have an email signed from [email protected] or [email protected].
This differentiation is beneficial, in particular, if you’re in touch with potential contacts for the first time. Publishers, for instance, receive hundreds of emails, a sponsor gets many pitches, and an experienced writer contributor can have multiple job applications. Anyhow, what makes the prompt understand your message can work in your favor.
On top of that, it’s more convenient to handle when a whole team is at work. An editor can be responsible for receiving code for a review, a public relations manager can be on top of a new partnership request, and finally, someone in the sales department can coordinate with potential writers.
Assigning role-based email addresses gives the team a clearer overview of all incoming tasks, so the company avoids mistakes like relying solely on individual email accounts.
Setting Up Professional Email the Affordable Way
To make email more professional, you do not need a huge IT department. For instance, a small gaming website or an esports team can start with its current domain and then opt for an email provider that offers a custom domain address.
The degree of security cannot be neglected, as business exchanges may include contract credentials, contact details, or other confidential information.
In the EU, an organization processing personal data must comply with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). Similarly, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) also offers cybersecurity guidelines for businesses to adopt.
Gaming websites and esports team organizers looking for a hassle-free setup can get a professional email service that provides email addresses using their own domain.
This will allow them to become more credible in their communications without having to go through the entire setup, as they would otherwise have to build their email system from scratch.
Though setup is only half the story. You should, at your website, press page, social profiles, email signature, and media kit, use the same email address consistently.
If you separate the email accounts for editorial, partnerships, and general inquiries, always indicate which address is for which, so that you or your clients know exactly where to reach you.
The Benefits Of A Professional Email
Just having a professional email address won’t do the trick to have a publisher send review codes or a sponsor accept your pitch.
You still need to deliver a site of a good quality audience content proposition, and communication skills, which remain to be the main factors.
Though infrastructure alone may not determine whether someone will communicate, it can determine whether that communication will actually get attention in the first place.
Beyond the basics of having your gaming publication or esports organization as a small business, these little touches matter.
A personalized domain email makes publishers know where you stand, offers sponsors easy communication, and makes the contributor onboarding process much more organized.
Starting out as a hobby project does not automatically mean that your email correspondence should look as such either.
Setting up a couple of pieces of small professional infrastructure beforehand will help both online gaming platforms and esports companies present themselves as legitimate businesses, making it more likely that important emails will be taken seriously rather than not at all.
Conclusion
For amateur esports organizations and gaming sites, professional communication is part of building credibility.
The sending of review code-request emails, sponsor pitches, and content contributor emails may come from a little team with minimal resources but they still reach individuals who expect clear and trustworthy delivery of the message.
A custom-domain email address is a cheap and simple way to demonstrate your team’s seriousness about the work they do. It of course doesn’t replace great content or a winning pitch but it serves to reinforce the impression you create early on.
As your gaming project grows in size and influence, laying the foundation for your professional infrastructure can make day-to-day communication more efficient and less burdensome.
It also plays a key role in building and maintaining your audience’s trust. This, in turn, increases your chances of capitalizing on new opportunities.