Building a following on YouTube, Twitch or social media is hard work. But you’re making it harder on yourself if you’re pitching sponsors with an email address like gamerguy2024@genericmail.com. When brands are deciding which creators to work with, your email address makes an impression before they even read your message.

Your email shows up in every professional conversation you have. It’s either helping your brand or hurting it.

Email domains & the creator credibility gap

You’ve probably spent money on cameras, microphones and editing software. Maybe you’ve even hired an editor. But you’re still using the free Gmail account you made years ago — that doesn’t match up.

Research on choosing a professional email address shows that people judge your professionalism partly based on your email. Sponsors looking at dozens of creator pitches make quick decisions about who seems serious and who doesn’t. Your email address affects that judgement.

A custom email domain from Protonmail changes how people see you immediately, so instead of yourname@gmall.com, you’re using contact@yourchannel.com or business@yourbrand.co.uk. It’s a small change that makes a big difference in how brands and other creators perceive you.

Matching your brand everywhere

Successful creators keep their branding consistent with logos, colours and branding matching across YouTube, Twitch, Twitter and Instagram. But then someone checks your email and it’s completely different from everything else.

Custom domains let you extend your brand to email. Every message you send displays your brand name instead of Gmail’s, which matters especially when you’re reaching out to potential sponsors who need to quickly understand who you are.

As you grow and add merch or Patreon, having proper email addresses becomes essential. You can create orders@yourbrand.com for merch questions, support@yourbrand.com for Patreon issues and business@yourbrand.com for sponsorships. It looks organised and professional.

Getting sponsors to take you seriously

Landing your first major sponsorship means sending lots of emails and competing with hundreds of other creators. Small things that make you look professional help you stand out.

When a brand gets pitches from contact@established-channel.com and gamingdude789@gmail.com, the difference is obvious. Custom domains show you’ve invested in your career and understand business basics. You’re treating content creation as a real job, not just a hobby.

This matters even more as you grow. Professional managers and agencies expect creators to have proper business setup. Having to explain why you’re still using personal Gmail whilst negotiating big deals is awkward. Custom domains avoid that problem entirely.

Protecting your professional identity

Gmail addresses belong to Google. Your account can be suspended or locked for various reasons, cutting off access to years of business communications and sponsor relationships.

With custom domains, you control your email address, so iIf you want to switch email providers later, you keep the same address and nobody you work with notices any change. This independence matters when building a long-term career.

Custom domains also give you flexibility. You can create multiple addresses (business@, press@, fanmail@) that all come to your inbox whilst looking organised to people contacting you.

Setting up is easier than you think

Custom domains used to be complicated. Not anymore. Modern email services walk you through setup with simple guides anyone can follow. You register your domain, connect it to your email provider and start creating addresses. It takes about an hour.

The cost is tiny compared to other creator expenses. Domains cost around £10-15 per year. Email hosting costs roughly what you’d spend on a few coffees each month. That’s nothing compared to cameras, software or other tools you’ve bought for content creation.

Making the switch to a business email address

If you’re using personal email now, you don’t need to change everything overnight. Set up your new professional address and configure your old Gmail to forward messages there. Start using the custom domain for all new communications.

Update your email on social media, video descriptions and your website. Tell important contacts like existing sponsors about the change and, over a few months, your custom domain becomes your main professional contact.

Your content creation career deserves proper infrastructure — custom email domains cost less than one sponsor payment but affect every professional interaction you’ll have for years.