In 1998 I snagged my first email account at entrepreneurmag.com. Since that time I’ve tried additional web-based email accounts as well as direct accounts for a couple businesses and websites I created. At this point I have over 10 for various purposes and projects, and I’m comfortable with managing several information streams.
For freelancers, I recommend having at least 3 email addresses: one for friends and family, one for you direct business communications, and a catch-all address. For a free service I have been very happy the last few years with Gmail.
Here’s what to consider: Friends and family means those people who email you relatively infrequently, and most importantly they aren’t likely to forward your email address randomly such that you get onto inane and unwanted email lists. (This could easily be more than two email addresses: think family/work friends/college friends/volunteer group friends.)
A business address focuses your thinking when you’re in that email account to just project-related items. The third address is for newsletters, online accounts, membership sites - any of the places that require an email but if they don’t fall into the previous two categories, assume this email address will be sold and the spam will soon be flowing. You can periodically reevaluate whether you need the info that flows here, and dump it if it’s just overrun with garbage.
There are free services that aggregate several emails and other online inputs (Facebook, Twitter, etc.) and I’ve created easy forwarding rules that allow me to follow all my inputs regardless of the account I’m in at any given time.
Plus each account provides a niche option to provide a tagline, link, photo, sales prompt - all sorts of things that would resonate with your audience. For my family email address I show a link to our YouTube page for the latest videos of our adventures. Business clients - a link to this site, and a Twitter account prompt. Other emails have a Linked In tag.
Being online is a completely customized and categorized reality - don’t try to squeeze all the aspects of your life into just a couple emails addresses.
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