Did you put your telephone number on website?

No. Do NOT list a phone number. Don't even use an unmasked clear text email address.

Never-Ever put anything personal on your website. If you need to put a land address, get a PO Box. Putting personal information such as phone numbers or addresses on your website is inviting identity theft, or hackers, or worse...

Professionals who have a work number and staff to filter calls, maybe.

If you put your phone number online, you're one step closer to ID theft.

You've practically issued an invitation to every salesperson and scammer and insane hostile freak to call you. At 2 AM.

Don't do it.

Provide a masked email address, and do be proactive about answering and responding to email. You can, if you choose, provide a phone number then.

I got a PO Box so I wouldn't have to put my home address on business cards, etc. I have this on my website, but not my phone number. I don't want random people cold calling me and I prefer to field job-related inquiries by email.

I have my telephone number on my website, and I've never once been called for a non-business related reason. Of course, it may be because I don't promote my web site except to specific targeted people. Either way, my phone number has been there for over a year with nary a problem.

As for the e-mail address, yet, the e-mail address WILL get you spammed. I just live with it.

I don't list my telephone on my site, but I do list it in the sig of my email reserved for business use. If I'm responding to someone who doesn't need it, I delete it out of my sig for that communication. I have a domain email with a passthrough and spam filter to my professional email, so I don't get much spam in my inbox.

jeffo said:

I have my telephone number on my website, and I've never once been called for a non-business related reason. Of course, it may be because I don't promote my web site except to specific targeted people. Either way, my phone number has been there for over a year with nary a problem.

As for the e-mail address, yet, the e-mail address WILL get you spammed. I just live with it.

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I haven't had any problems in over a year, either. I have my full resume posted, which includes my phone number and address as well as my email in image form so that spiders don't bother me. I get very little spam, and very few sales calls to my business line, and almost all of them hang up immediately when I answer professionally and tell them that they have called an office.

I don't, because I don't have a separate business number, and already get enough junk calls as it is. I don't see it as a problem, because it is just as well if it screens out people who are not comfortable with the idea of contacting me by email. This is just how I do business and how everyone I work for does business.

I have my phone number and email address on my website and have never had a problem. I decided my phone number should be there because I veer away from any website that doesn't include a phone number myself.

I would not include a phone number. In addition to the reasons already stated, you run the risk of problems with legitimate clients or prospects. Time zones vary, and people won't stop to think of what time it is in your zone before they call. Also you'll get calls day or night, weekend or weekday, holiday or workday.
Email usually works, particularly if you are the type that keeps on top of email (i.e., you'd respond in a timely manner). If you really feel you must use a phone number, I'd suggest a cell phone that you can turn on/off during work hours, and change your greeting accordingly.

My experience has been different. Despite the fact I often work for US and Ozzie clients, I don't get phone calls at mad times. In twenty years of my phone number being generally available, I've had one abusive call. However, I can see what number is calling and default to the answer machine whenever I want. I'm also registered against sales calls, which doesn't get rid of them completely, but does cut them down drastically. I used to have a separate business number, but it got confusing.

My mobile number is my private number, no way am I giving that out generally. There may be a slight cultural gap here - not giving out a landline number implies that you're fly by night and not necessarily to be trusted.

But maybe I'm simply not popular enough if everyone else is getting calls throughout the night

I always have a phone number on mine, it makes my business seem legit and professional. I have one line with separate rings so I know if someone is calling my business line or not. I have my hours posted and unless it is a client with whom I am working on a special project with, if it’s after hours or on days I have listed as closed including weekends and holidays, I don’t answer. My answering machine has a professional message on it. I use my cell phone as well and the message there is also professional and seems more like a direct line to me. I’ve never had anyone call me outside of normal business hours and I’ve actually gotten many clients because I have a telephone number listed and they can contact me. I did a lot of business writing though so the vast majority of my clients and potential clients were professional and or businesses. I have a professional sounding business I work under, it’s not an LLC but a D.B.A. so that helps as well, most people didn’t think they were calling my home and everyone in my home understands and knows how to answer the telephone professionally if they answer that line. My mother lives with me and at times acted more as receptionist while I was working, answering the phone and taking a message when I was in the middle of something.

As for my address, again, it’s the business name and my address. You can add a suite or whatever if you want, I have in the past only listed my city and state and not the street however, are some companies who pay via check and have to have a mailing address but you can always have them request it if they choose (and you decide to accept) to pay that way.

I’ve been out of the loop for a bit, I went to work as a fulltime reporter and didn’t do much business writing for a while but am now ready to dive back in full force and I will list a telephone number again. I’ll probably just list my city and state but I’ll at least put them there.

SS

samcollie said:

I would not include a phone number. In addition to the reasons already stated, you run the risk of problems with legitimate clients or prospects. Time zones vary, and people won't stop to think of what time it is in your zone before they call. Also you'll get calls day or night, weekend or weekday, holiday or workday.
Email usually works, particularly if you are the type that keeps on top of email (i.e., you'd respond in a timely manner). If you really feel you must use a phone number, I'd suggest a cell phone that you can turn on/off during work hours, and change your greeting accordingly.

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Turn my ringer off when I leave the office and let my nice, professional answering machine get it. My recording also lists my business hours and states that this is Pacific time. I've never had a complaint about it.

I would bet that this differs a lot depending on what kind of writing we're talking about. I can see that for business writing, you'd be dealing with a wide variety of people, not all of whom were comfortable with email, so a phone number might make the difference between them contacting you or some other writer. But in my experience writing for newspapers, magazines and books, I've not only never met the vast majority of the people I write for, I've never even spoken to some of them on the phone. I do include my phone number when I send a resume but I can't think of a single time when someone called without emailing first.

I don't have my number listed, but I have one email address just for writing. I wouldn't use any number on my website.