Would you be less likely to hire a freelance designer if they were using a free email service like yahoo?

In College classes I was told that you should never advertise yourself using a free webmail service like yahoo or hotmail, because it's unprofessional. Is that true?

Would you be less likely to hire a freelance designer if they were using a free email service like yahoo?
It's not so much the email service. It is more about accessing an online portfolio. A display on My Space, for example wouldn't be or much use because that would require the potential client to be a member to view it. If I were one of my clients, I wouldn't bother signing up for the service just to go look at someone's pictures. In other words, I'd expect the freelancer to NOT make it harder for me to see the samples.





It DOES help if the artist was using his own domain name, such as "VinceM.com" rather than, "members.aol.com/VinceM" It is easy to remember and shows that the artist has pride in the name and the site. It can be marginally helpful if the email is accessed via the website.





It wouldn't be fair or accurate to describe the other ways as "unprofessional." But, with any kind of marketing, it is in how easy it is to get the "message" to the client.
Reply:I was taught the same thing.





If you have a gallery posted somewhere, that should speak for itself, but a random 'I'm A Professional Artist for Hire!' from Yahoo!, Gmail, etc. you run the risk of getting dismissed.





On the bright side: if you're looking to purchase a domain name for your freelance website, many of them sell 3-5 addresses like "__________@yourdomainnamehere.com"