Summary
Using ZoomInfo email lists for cold outreach necessitates thorough validation due to data decay and accuracy concerns. While ZoomInfo provides validation, it's recommended to use third-party email verification services like NeverBounce, ZeroBounce, Hunter.io, Snov.io, Clearout, Mailfloss and Bouncer for more accurate and up-to-date results. These services offer features like email scoring, abuse detection, and real-time validation. Experts also advise against blindly trusting ZoomInfo data, emphasizing the importance of permission, personalization, and data enrichment to improve deliverability and protect sender reputation.
Key findings
- Third-party Validation: Relying solely on ZoomInfo's validation is insufficient; third-party email validation is necessary.
- Data Decay: Email data from ZoomInfo decays quickly, requiring frequent and real-time validation.
- Service Variety: Several email validation services are available, each with unique features such as email scoring and abuse detection.
- Deliverability Impact: Validating email lists improves deliverability and protects sender reputation.
- Permission Matters: Ethical concerns exist around using purchased lists; opt-in strategies are preferred.
Key considerations
- List Hygiene: Implement regular email list cleaning practices to remove invalid and risky emails.
- Real-time Validation: Consider using real-time validation services to capture changes in email validity.
- Cost-Benefit Analysis: Evaluate the cost of email validation services against the potential benefits in deliverability and sender reputation.
- Data Enrichment: Use data enrichment tools to gather additional information about prospects and personalize email messages.
- Legal Compliance: Comply with email marketing regulations and prioritize permission-based marketing strategies.
- Toxic Emails: Removal of toxic email addresses from lead generation lists will improve deliverability.
What email marketers say
11 marketer opinions
Validating ZoomInfo email lists for cold outreach requires caution and third-party validation. While ZoomInfo validates emails, its data accuracy is questionable and decays quickly. Experts recommend using email validation services like NeverBounce, ZeroBounce, Hunter.io, Snov.io, Clearout, and Bouncer to remove invalid and risky emails. Personalization and data enrichment enhance deliverability, but even with validation, purchased lists are risky and double opt-in processes are highly advisable for quality data.
Key opinions
- Validation Needed: ZoomInfo validated emails aren't always trustworthy for cold outreach and should be validated again using a 3rd party email verification tool.
- Popular Services: NeverBounce, ZeroBounce, and Hunter.io are popular choices for validating ZoomInfo email lists.
- Data Decay: Data from ZoomInfo can decay quickly, so real-time validation is recommended.
- Personalization: Personalizing cold emails based on data from ZoomInfo and enriching the data is crucial for engagement.
Key considerations
- Data Accuracy: Be aware that ZoomInfo's data may not be 100% accurate, requiring secondary validation.
- Deliverability: Focus on email deliverability by implementing email validation and list cleaning processes.
- Sender Reputation: Protect your sender reputation by removing invalid and risky emails before launching a campaign.
- Testing Approach: Segmentation and small batch testing of ZoomInfo emails are recommended before large-scale cold outreach.
- Legal: Always consider legal ramifications of sending email to non opted-in people.
Marketer view
Email marketer from Email Marketing Forum shares their experience that while ZoomInfo claims to validate emails, their data isn't always 100% accurate. They advise using a third-party validation tool like Hunter.io or Snov.io to double-check the emails before using them for cold outreach.
4 Oct 2021 - Email Marketing Forum
Marketer view
Email marketer from LinkedIn explains that when sending cold emails based on data from sources like ZoomInfo, it's crucial to personalize the message and provide value to the recipient. They suggest using data enrichment tools to gather additional information about prospects and tailor the email accordingly.
28 Nov 2023 - LinkedIn
What the experts say
2 expert opinions
Experts caution against relying solely on ZoomInfo's data for cold outreach. Kickbox disallows purchased lists due to permission concerns, while Word to the Wise highlights the rapid data decay in such lists, potentially harming sender reputation despite ZoomInfo's validation efforts.
Key opinions
- Permission Focus: Reputable email validation services like Kickbox avoid purchased lists to maintain high permission standards.
- Data Decay: Email data from purchased lists decays rapidly, invalidating ZoomInfo's initial validation.
- Reputation Risk: Using outdated or unverified data from ZoomInfo can negatively impact sender reputation.
Key considerations
- Source Ethics: Evaluate the ethics of using purchased lists versus permission-based email marketing.
- Validation Frequency: Validate email lists frequently due to data decay, even if initially validated by ZoomInfo.
- Reputation Monitoring: Monitor sender reputation closely when using ZoomInfo data for cold outreach.
Expert view
Expert from Word to the Wise explains that purchased lists, like those from ZoomInfo, suffer from data decay very quickly. Even if ZoomInfo validates emails, a significant percentage may become invalid soon after. Using such lists without thorough and recent validation can harm your sender reputation.
15 Jun 2024 - Word to the Wise
Expert view
Expert from Email Geeks shares that Kickbox disallows the use of purchased list data, because they want to remain on the brighter side of permission.
14 Jul 2024 - Email Geeks
What the documentation says
5 technical articles
Email verification services such as NeverBounce, ZeroBounce, Kickbox, Hunter.io and Bouncer offer advanced capabilities to validate lead generation lists from sources like ZoomInfo. These platforms emphasize removing invalid, risky, and toxic emails to protect sender reputation, improve deliverability, and enhance campaign performance through features like email scoring, abuse email detection, catch-all verification, and various email verification methods. Removal of toxic emails will improve deliverability.
Key findings
- Verification Needed: Even lists from lead generation platforms need verification.
- Multiple Features: Advanced platforms provide scoring, abuse detection, and catch-all verification.
- API Integration: Platforms integrate with marketing automation for seamless validation.
- Advanced Methods: Advanced methods include syntax, domain, and MX record checks for accurate validation.
Key considerations
- ZoomInfo Trust: Don't blindly trust data from lead gen, always verify.
- Risk Assessment: Understand which types of emails are risky and how to identify them.
- Platform Cost: Evaluate platform costs vs gains in deliverability.
- Automation: Look for integrations that allow automated validation.
- Toxic Emails: Toxic email addresses can harm your deliverability if not removed
Technical article
Documentation from Hunter.io provides information about different email verification methods, including syntax check, domain check, and MX record verification. They state that their platform combines these methods to provide accurate email verification results for lead generation efforts.
2 Oct 2021 - Hunter.io
Technical article
Documentation from ZeroBounce highlights its email validation capabilities specifically for B2B email lists. They emphasize features like email scoring, abuse email detection, and catch-all verification to ensure high deliverability and accuracy when using data from platforms like ZoomInfo.
16 Oct 2024 - ZeroBounce
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