Deliverability

How to check if an email is valid (5 methods without sending emails + Free tool)

lemlist team
LAST UPDATED
July 19, 2024
READING TIME
7 min.

Want your cold emails to land in your prospects’ inboxes?

Then, it’s essential to keep your bounce rate under 5%! (Bounce rate is the percentage of emails that aren’t delivered.)

High bounce rates can harm your email deliverability.

When your email deliverability is compromised, many of your messages won't reach your audience, meaning your email outreach will have a poor ROI.

The key to keeping your bounce rate under control is to only send emails to verified, valid email addresses.

That means you have to verify an email before sending email to it. If you send email to unverified emails, it will hurt your deliverability.

In this article, you'll find 5 proven methods to validate email addresses without sending emails and risking your sender reputation.

Free email verifier

At lemlist, we created a tool to verify 10 emails for free. ⬇️

If you need to bulk verify large lists of emails, check out lemlist’s Email Finder and Verifier. It allows you to find and verify emails for your leads.

lemlist email finder and verifier feature

Email Finder and Verifier finds up to 80% of valid emails for your leads, whereas other tools only get to 60% or less.

5 other ways to check if an email is valid

1. Check the email address syntax

A valid email address should have the following format:

username + "@" symbol + domain name

[email protected]
❌ peterk.johnconsulting.com

2. Hover over an email address

  • In Gmail:

    Go to New message → Add the email address in the recipient area → Hover your mouse over the email address

    If the email address is valid, you should get the leads’ full name and image!
validating email address in Gmail
  • In Google Sheets:

    Add the email address to the cell → Hover your mouse over the email address

    If the email address is valid, you should get the leads’ full name and image!
validating email in Google Sheets

3. Search email address on Google

A quick search on Google or social media platforms will show you if the email address is used elsewhere and, therefore, likely legit. ⬇️

Google search results for an email address

4. Check email domain age 👴

Your prospects are more likely to use long-standing domains for work purposes. Newly created domains can sometimes be used for spam or similar purposes.

You can check the age of a domain using a domain checker tool like Small SEO Tools!

5. Use email verifier tools 🛠️

A quicker way to verify emails is by using a bulk email verifier tool.

One of the easiest ways to find and verify leads' email addresses on the market is to use lemlist's Email Finder and Verifier.

It not only finds your leads’ email addresses, but it automatically verifies those emails as well.

Thanks to the waterfall enrichment method, Email Finder and Verifier combines the best third-party data sources to give you 40-55% more valid emails. This is the equivalent of asking 6 different providers for up-to-date leads’ information without navigating and subscribing to multiple apps.

Here's how to do it 👇

How to use lemlist's Email Finder and Verifier

For leads that already have an email address, you can verify their email address with one click.

In the second step of the campaign setup process for your "Lead list" after importing, you will come across the "Set up import settings" section.

Here, you will have the option to choose from various enrichments, including:

If your leads are already in your campaign - select your leads by bulk or one by one, and click on the three dots at the top right to choose "Verify email".

Verifying a leads email in lemlist

For each lead, lemlist will:

1.➡️ Clean lead's first and last name

2.➡️ Extract and save relevant information from their LinkedIn profiles (if available)

3.➡️ In case more emails are found, keep the best email found for the lead

4.➡️ Display the status of the email

  • Deliverable: The recipient's email provider has confirmed that the email address exists and that it is safe to send messages to.
  • Risky: The email address has the potential to result in a bounce or low engagement. Risky addresses include those classified as Accept All (accepts all incoming emails regardless of validity), Full Mailbox (mailbox is full and unable to receive new messages), or Disposable (temporary or throwaway email address).
  • Undeliverable: The email address is either syntactically incorrect or does not exist.
  • Unknown: We did not receive a response from the email provider, so the status remains uncertain.

5. ➡️ If available, save additional information such as phone number, civility, job title, and other relevant details.

By executing these steps, you'll get the lead's comprehensive and accurate information, which will allow you to reach their inboxes and open new opportunities.

screenshot from lemlist email verification results

In the leads section of your campaign, by hovering above the enrich stats icon, you can see a portion of leads with different statuses in your campaign:

screenshot of lemlist enrichment stats

The cost of the following actions:

- Email Finder: 5 credits per lead
- Verify email: 1 credit per lead
- LinkedIn enrichment: 2 credits per lead

New lemlist users receive 100 Free Credits as part of their trial.

Free credits are also included in paying plans, reset monthly. The number of Free Credits varies based on the plan:

  • Email Starter: 100 credits
  • Email Pro: 250 credits
  • Multichannel Expert: 500 credits
  • Outreach Scale: 1,000 credits

Plus, users can purchase Additional Credits for $0.01 each. These credits will fully roll over to next month! 🛞

Here's the list of other reliable tools to perform a valid email check:

Simply upload your email list to their platform, and they will deliver you a CSV report that labels undeliverable and risky emails to avoid.

Key takeaways

You can spend hours writing perfect emails for the right audience, but if you send them to invalid email addresses, they will never see them.

You will lose time and resources. But the worst part of sending to unverified emails is that it hurts your deliverability.

More and more of your emails will land in spam, leading to a continuously decreasing ROI.

To ensure that won't happen to you, you must only send to verified emails.

To check whether an e-mail is valid, the first step is to find your prospects' e-mails. To do this, you can use our free email finder.

lemlist team
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G2 Rating
Price
Best for
Standout feature
Con
4.9
star
star
star
star
star
$30/mo
$75/mo
$2,999/mo
Large, distributed sales teams
AI evaluation precision, gamified KPIs
Lack of tracking system
4.6
star
star
star
star
star-half
Not publicly available
Sales operations and finance teams
Powerful configurability
Limited training resources and complex to navigate
4.4
star
star
star
star
star-half
Not publicly available
Mid-market and enterprise businesses
Comprehensive incentive management
Potentially high cost and steep learning curve
4.7
star
star
star
star
star-half
$15/user/mo
$40/user/mo
Enterprise: custom price
Complex sales structures and businesses of all sizes
Complex sales structures and businesses of all sizes
Steep learning curve
4.6
star
star
star
star
star-half
Not publicly available
Collaborative teams
Connected planning
Complexity and steep learning curve
4.6
star
star
star
star
star-half
Not publicly available
Companies with complex sales structures
Complex incentive compensation management (ICM) with high efficiency and accuracy
Complexity for smaller teams and potentially high costs
4.7
star
star
star
star
star-half
Not publicly available
Companies who want to automate commission calculations and payouts
Simplicity and ease of use
Lack of features like redirection
4.7
star
star
star
star
star-half
$30/user/mo
$35/user/mo
Custom: upon request
Businesses that need a comprehensive and user-friendly sales compensation management software
Ease of use and adoption
Lack of ability to configure the product based on user needs
4.8
star
star
star
star
star-half
Not publicly available
Companies with modern sales culture and businesses who want real-time insights
A built-in dispute management and real-time visibility
Users say it works slowly, customer support is slow
4.9
star
star
star
star
star
$30/user/mo
$50/user/mo
Smaller sales teams
Powerful automation
Lesser user base and average user interface
4.7
star
star
star
star
star-half
Not publicly available
Companies with scalable needs
Automated Commission Calculations
Lack of filtering by date, no mobile app
ERP vs. CRM
ERP
CRM
Summary
Backbone of a business's internal operations.
Backbone of customer-centric interactions and operations.
Goal
To centralize and streamline core business processes in a company.
To increase customer experience, satisfaction and loyalty, and boost sales.
Focus
Internal operations and processes across departments (finance, accounting, inventory, supply chain, HR, and sales).
All interactions with leads and customers.
Manages
Internal business data like financial data, inventory levels, production details, supply chain, HR info.
All customer data like contact info, purchase history, communication history, customer preferences and more.
Users
Finance, accounting, operations, supply chain, and HR departments.
Customer-facing teams like sales, marketing, and customer service.
Benefits
Streamlines operations, improves data accuracy, enhances decision-making, boosts collaboration, increases productivity.
Improves customer relationships, increases sales, strengthens customer service, personalizes marketing campaigns, provides insights.
Price
$150 per user per year on average.
$10 to $30 per user per month on average.
PRM Tool
Rating
Feature
Pro
Con
Mobile App
Integrations
Free Plan
Pricing
4.65
star
star
star
star
star-half
Org-wide alignment
User-friendly layout and database
Suboptimal as a personal CRM
square-check
Lack of tracking system
square-check
Team: $20/month
Business: $45/month
4.7
star
star
star
star
star-half
Social Media Integration
Easy contact data collection
No marketing/sales features
square-check
Lack of tracking system
square-xmark
7-day trial
$12/month
4.75
star
star
star
star
star-half
Block Functions
High customization capability
Not a dedicated CRM
square-check
Limited
square-check
Plus: €7.50/month
Business: €14/month
N/A
Open-source
Open-source flexibility
Requires extensive manual input
square-xmark
Limited
square-check
Self-hosted
$9/month or
$90/year
3.1
star
star
star
Simple iOS app
Ideal for non-tech-savvy users
iPhone only
square-check
iOS only
Limited
square-xmark
1-month trial
$1.49/month or
$14.99/month
3.6
star
star
star
star-half
Smart Contact Management
Feature-rich and flexible
Reported bugs
square-check
Rich
square-xmark
7-day trial
Premium: $13.99/month
Teams: $17.99/month
4.4
star
star
star
star
star-half
Customizable Interface
Customizable for teamwork
Pricey for personal use
square-check
Rich
square-xmark
Standard: $24/member
Premium: $39/member
4.7
star
star
star
star
star-half
Integrated Calling
Integrated Calling
Too sales-oriented & pricey
square-check
Rich
square-xmark
14-day trial
Startup: $59/user/month
Professional: $329/user/month
4.8
star
star
star
star
star
Business Card Scanning
Business Card Scanning
Mobile only
square-check
Limited
square-check
$9.99/month
4.45
star
star
star
star
star-half
160+ app integrations
Comprehensive integrations
No free app version
square-check
Rich
square-xmark
14-day trial
$29.90/month or
$24.90/month (billed annually)
Capterra Rating
Free Trial
Free Plan
Starting Price (excluding the free plan)
Maximum Price (for the most expensive plan)
Best for
4.5
star
star
star
star
star-half
square-check
14-day
square-check
€15/month/seat billed annually
€792/month/3 seats billed annually + €45/month for each extra seat
Versatility and free plan
4.2
star
star
star
star
square-check
30-day
square-xmark
But it offers reduced price to authorised nonprofit organisations
€25/user/month
€500/user/month billed annually (includes Einstein AI)
Best overall operational CRM
4.3
star
star
star
star
star-half
square-xmark
square-check
Limited to 3 users
Comprehensive incentive management
€52/user/month billed annually
Small-medium businesses and automation
4.5
star
star
star
star
star-half
square-check
14-day
square-xmark
€14/seat/month billed annually
€99/seat/month billed annually
Sales teams and ease of use
4.1
star
star
star
star
square-xmark
square-check
Limited 10 users
$9.99/user/month billed annually
$64.99/user/month billed annually
Free plan for very small teams up to 10
CRM goal
Increase the sales conversion rate for qualified leads from marketing automation campaigns by 10% in the next 6 months.
SMART Breakdown
1. Specific: It targets a specific area (conversion rate) for a defined segment (qualified leads from marketing automation).
2. Measurable: The desired increase (10%) is a clear metric, and the timeframe (6 months) allows for progress tracking.
3. Achievable: A 10% increase is possible based on historical data and potential improvements.
4. Relevant: Boosting sales from marketing efforts aligns with overall business objectives.
5. Time-bound: The 6-month timeframe creates urgency and a clear target date.
Actions
Step 1: Refine lead qualification criteria to ensure high-quality leads are nurtured through marketing automation.
Step 2: Personalize marketing automation campaigns based on lead demographics, interests, and behavior.
Step 3: Develop targeted landing pages with clear calls to action for qualified leads.
Step 4: Implement lead scoring to prioritize high-potential leads for sales follow-up.
Step 5: Track and analyze campaign performance to identify areas for optimization.
Outcomes
Increased sales and revenue
Improved marketing automation ROI
Marketing and sales alignment
Data-driven marketing optimization
Table
CDP Software
CRM Software
Approach
Data-centric
Customer-centric
Focus
Interactions across various channels and touchpoints, both online and offline.
Sales, marketing, and customer service interactions.
Functionality
Automatically collects, organizes, tags, and makes data available in real-time.
Helps businesses track customer interactions, sales pipelines, prospects, and service requests.
Goals
Personalized customer experiences across all channels.
Better customer relationships, streamlined processes, and improved profitability.
Benefits
Data integration, management, and accessibility, allowing for detailed analysis and segmentation.
Better communication within teams and with customers by organizing information about customer interactions and history.
Data Handling
Handles both identified and anonymous data, stitches together various data points.
Deals primarily with identified customer data.
Use Cases
Personalized marketing campaigns, targeted advertising, content customization across multiple channels.
Managing campaigns and leads, enhancing customer service, providing better customer support, increasing customer satisfaction and loyalty.
Examples
Insider, Bloomreach, Salesforce Marketing Cloud CDP
HubSpot, Salesforce Sales Cloud Lightning Professional, and Zoho CRM
CRM
Free plan
Best feature
Best for
Con
1. HubSpot CRM
square-check
Sales automation
Sales teams
Up to 1,000 contacts
2. Insightly
square-check
Custom fields
Basic needs
Not enough info about the free plan
3. Agile CRM
square-check
Deal and sales pipeline tracking
Small teams
Up to 10 users
4. Zoho CRM
square-check
Lead and contact management
Businesses of all sizes
Limited to 3 users
5. ClickUp
square-check
Unlimited tasks and unlimited members
Personal use
Up to 100MB storage
6. EngageBay
square-check
Live chat
Small and midsize enterprises
Up to 1,000 branded emails per month
7. Bitrix24
square-check
Unlimited users and 5 scrum teams
Big teams
Up to 5GB of cloud storage
8. FreshSales
square-check
Easy to use and simple setup
Beginners
Up to 3 users
9. Mailchimp
square-check
Very beginner friendly
Marketing teams
Send up to 500 branded emails per month
Type of Affiliate Marketing
Unattached
Related
Involved
Format
Paid advertising
Social media or YouTube channels
Dedicated website or blog
Focus
Quick income
Your niche
Your audience
Engagement with your audience
square-xmark
square-check
square-check
square-check
square-check
Very close connection with your audience
Pro
Little effort
Higher credibility thanks to your niche
Long-lasting and scalable
Con
Paid ads cost a lot
Potential for bias since you don’t use the thing you promote
Require time, effort, and dedication

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