Be careful when setting up your display name that will appear as the sender on all correspondence. You know, the name that shows up instead of your email address in the “From” field when you send an email.

Avoid putting your just first name: “John” – John who? Do you know how many emails I get every day from John and Jane and Bob And Beth?

And please, don’t put something cutesy: “Da Champ”, “the Queen”, or worse (believe me we’ve seen some real winners). This might be ok for correspondence with your family and close friends but it doesn’t look professional. Unless it relates to your business name, don’t do it.

Use your whole name or your business name. You want to let professional contacts, potential clients, gallery representatives, etc know you are a serious professional. It also makes it easier for those you correspond with to recognize your emails when they come in and to find your name in their “To” list when they want to contact you.