For quite some time, I have been using Gmail as my email program. Recently, I discovered a great Gmail feature that lets you brand your email address. For example, if you have a Gmail account and your email address is johnsmith@gmail.com, you can now use your own domain to create an email address such as john@johnsmith.com and still use Gmail as your email program.

Assuming that you have already registered your domain name, here’s what you do:

1. Go to your domain registrar control panel and create an email forwarding account for your domain (most registrars, like Godaddy, offer this feature for free with your domain registration).
2. Decide what your branded email address will be (for example, john@johnsmith.com) and forward it to your Gmail address. You do this by filling up two fields in your domain registrar’s email forwarding control panel:
   • In the “Add Forward” field, type in the left portion of your branded email address, in this example john.
   • In the “Forward Mail To” field, type in your current Gmail address: johnsmith@gmail.com.

   If this is not very clear and you’re using Godaddy, this page will give you more details on how to implement email forwarding.

3. Log on to Gmail.
4. Click on Settings (you’ll find the link in the top right corner).
5. Click on Accounts.
6. Click on Add Another Email Address.
7. Add your new, branded address: john@johnsmith.com
8. Click on the Next Steps button.
9. Click on the Send Verification button. Gmail will now send you a message with a link that you must click to verify that in fact you own your branded domain. Since in step 2 you have already forwarded your branded address to your Gmail address, the verification email will be automatically forwarded to your regular Gmail address.
10. Open the verification email and click on the verification link. You’re almost done.
11. Go back to the Accounts tab of the Settings menu (see 4 and 5). You should see your new branded email address already listed there.
12. Click on the link that says ‘make default’ next to your branded address.
13. Check the radio button next to “always reply from my default address”.

That’s all. You should now be ready to use Gmail with your own branded email address. If you want more details, you can visit Gmail’s custom domain help page.

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