How to Find Anyone’s Email Address in Under 2 Minutes

You can’t promote a product, service or story in a vacuum. To generate buzz, you’ll need attention from a specific set of people. If only you could just shout, “Hey, you! Look at this!”

But you can shout until your vocal cords get sore. If you don’t know how to reach people, they will never hear you.

You need email addresses. And you need them fast.

But have you ever blindly tried to find someone’s email? Talk about time-consuming. By the time you find the contact info, your story will be stale.

Fortunately, we don’t have to fly blindfolded. We have tools to help find anyone’s email address in the shortest possible time. There are many options, so we set out to find which methods work.

The Test

We searched for the same 20 email addresses with seven different email-address-finding methods. Our goal was to see which methods had the highest success rates and which were the fastest.

We did ultimately find all of the email addresses, but there wasn’t one method that found them all. The closest we saw to perfection in our small test was with AeroLeads.

Success Rate

Toofr was the most accurate method. With it, we were able to find all but one of our randomly-selected email addresses. But Toofr works by giving you a few of the most probable email addresses for your search. It doesn’t give you a definitive email, so it can take longer to narrow it down to the right one.

Speed

The fastest methods were SellHack and AeroLeads.

The time it took to find an email (after accounts were created and browser extensions installed) ranged from 30 to 31 seconds. It was a very close race.

A Balanced Equation

When you’re looking to find an email fast, you need a combination of speed and accuracy.

We’ve found that the fastest way to find an email address is to first use AeroLeads. You are very likely to find what you’re looking for with this method, so you won’t even need to go further.

If you do need to dig deeper, I recommend using Email Checker or Verify Email. We were able to find the two email address that we weren’t able to find with AeroLeads using both of these methods. Both offer affordable options for finding email addresses.

A Note on Pricing

These email-finding methods are lightning fast, but they aren’t all free.

You won’t be too surprised to learn that the fastest and most accurate methods are also more expensive. We’ve included two free methods here because they have a good success rate and are great options on a budget.

Your choice will also depend on how many email addresses you must find. All paid methods mentioned here have free trial options, and that may be all you need.

Not Every Method Made the Cut

To provide you with a concise list of the best ways to find an anyone’s email, we had to make some tough decisions. Some popular email-finding methods didn’t perform as well on our tests as other methods, so they didn’t make the cut. This doesn’t mean that these methods are bad. If one of these works better for you, keep using it.

Here are the other methods we tested:

• CEO Email
• Conspire
• Datanyze
• Email Breaker
• Email Format
• EmailHunter
• Voila Norbert

The Full Results

In the following list, you’ll find information on each of the methods we tested. Although we have clear winners in mind, the method that’s right for you may be closer to the bottom of the list. Your preferences will certainly be swayed by things like pricing, accuracy, and speed. And you’ll find information on each of these qualifications by the method below.

AeroLeads

• Accuracy: 90%
• Speed: 30 seconds
• Cost: 10 free searches, plans start at $49 for 100 email addresses

AeroLeads was our favorite method because it was fast, easy to use and had a very high success rate. It is, however, one of the most expensive options. You’ll get ten searches free to test, but after that, plans start at just under $0.50 per search.

Out of 20 possible email addresses, AeroLeads found 18. And it only took an average of 30 seconds to find each address (after the account was setup and browser extension was added).

Here’s how to use AeroLeads:

1. Click here to sign up for a free trial. Once you create your account, you’ll be prompted to download the Chrome browser extension. Copy the API key on this page.
2. Click the AeroLeads icon on your browser and then click on the settings tab. Paste the API key in the text bar. 
3. For the best results, search for the person’s name along with the company they work for. Click “Search”. 
4. If you see a match, click “Add”. 
5. Go back to the AeroLeads website and click the “Prospects” tab (be sure you’re logged into your account). Here you’ll see a list of the prospects you added in the previous steps. Each one should have an email address.

toofr + Rapportive

• Accuracy: 95%
• Speed: 1 minute, 54 seconds
• Cost: Free trial, plans start at $29 for 250 credits

toofr was the method most likely to return the correct email address, and it does so in mere seconds. The drawback is that it often will return a list of potential email addresses that you then have to verify. So, while the correct email address is very likely in the top 3-5 results, you have to do the work (with Rapportive) to figure out which one is correct.

toofr offers a free trial and Rapportive is always free. After the trial, toofr plans start at $29 for $250 credits.

Out of 20 possible email addresses, toofr found 19. By using toofr + Rapportive, the process takes a bit longer, but you can be sure the email address is correct. On average, the process took one minute and 54 seconds.

Here’s how to use toofr + Rapportive:

1. Sign up for a free toofr account here.
2. Enter the person’s full name and URL. Click “Import”. 
3. Copy the first three to five email addresses from the results. 
4. Click here to install the Rapportive Gmail extension for Google Chrome. 
5. Compose a message from your Gmail account. Paste the address combinations from your clipboard into the recipient line (important: do not send).
6. Hover over each email address in the list. When you find a legitimate email address, you should see a social profile on the right. 

Note: The first time we ran this test, it seemed that there was a glitch. Instead of the social profile, we saw a message that prompted us to sign in. Upon further investigation, we weren’t the only ones who have run into this problem. If it happens to you, know that the sign-in message does seem to indicate a valid email address.

SellHack

• Accuracy: 65%
• Speed: 31 seconds
• Cost: 10 free credits each month, plans start at $9/mo. for 50 credits

Sellhack is a super-fast and easy method, but it isn’t the most accurate. Although accuracy is a downfall, consider that this method is very reasonably priced. If you can live with the 65% accuracy, this is a great option.

SellHack offers ten free credits each month. And if you need more, plans start at $9/mo. for 50 credits.

Out of 20 possible email addresses, SellHack found 13. On average, the process took just 31 seconds.

Here’s how to use SellHack to find anyone’s email address:

• Create an account at sellhack.com and log in.
• Download the appropriate browser extension for your browser of choice. 
• Enter the name and company for the person who you’d like to find. The appropriate domain should automatically populate. Click “Run Search”. 
• Review results. 

Verify Email

• Accuracy: 65%
• Speed: 1 minute, 21 seconds
• Cost: 5 free searches per hour, plans start at $9.95/year for 1,000 bulk checks/mo.

Verify Email is a very simple tool you can use to find anyone’s email address. It works especially well if you think you already know the address and are looking for confirmation. If you are taking a shot in the dark, use the email permutator to help with the guessing process.

Verify Email offers five free searches per hour. And if you need more, plans start at $9.95/year for 1,000 bulk checks/mo.

Out of 20 possible email addresses, Verify Email found 13. On average, the process took one minute and 31 seconds.

Here’s how to use Verify Email to find anyone’s email address:

• Use this handy email permutator that was so generously built and shared by Rob Ousbey  (you’ll have to make a copy before you can edit).
• Enter the name and domain of the person you are trying to contact in Step 1 of the spreadsheet. 
• Navigate to verify-email.orghttp://verify-email.org/ and scroll down until you see the email address search bar. 
• One by one, enter all of the email addresses that were returned in step 2 of the email permutator document. 

Email Checker

• Accuracy: 65%
• Speed: 1 minute, 19 seconds
• Cost: Free

Much like Verify Email, Email Checker works best when you think you know the email address or email structure.

Email Checker is completely free to use. Out of 20 possible email addresses, Email Checker found 13. On average, the process took one minute and 19 seconds.

Here’s how to use Email Checker  to find an email address:

1. Use this handy email permutator that I referenced earlier.
2. Enter the name and domain of the person you are trying to contact in Step 1 of the spreadsheet. 
3. Visit Email Checker’s website and enter each possible email address from Step 2 of the document. 
4. The result you get will either be valid or not valid. When you find a valid result, you have stumbled upon the correct email address. 

Mail Tester

• Accuracy: 50%
• Speed: 1 minute, 28 seconds
• Cost: Free

Mail Tester is a great tool because it’s free. It’s one way to weed out potentially bad email addresses to find the one that will work for you.

Out of 20 possible email addresses, Mail Tester found 13. On average, the process took one minute and 28 seconds.

Here’s how to use Email Checker  to find an email address:

1. Follow Step #1 and Step #2 discussed above when using Verify Email or Email Checker, i.e. use the email permutator and enter the name and domain for the person you’re trying to contact.
2. Visit Mail Tester’s website and enter each possible email address from the email permutator results. 

Email Permutator + Rapportive

• Accuracy: 50%
• Speed: 2 minutes, 19 seconds
• Cost: Free

This tool rounds out the bottom of our list as the slowest. But although it’s slower than the rest, doesn’t mean it’s not still useful. Rapportive found some email addresses that others didn’t catch. So if you’re trying to cover your bases with a free solution, Rapportive might be right for you.

Here’s how to use Email Permutator + Rapportive to find an email address:

1. As discussed earlier, install the Rapportive Gmail extension for Google Chrome.
2. Again, use the handy email permutator and enter the name and domain of the person you are trying to contact in Step 1 of the spreadsheet.
3. Virtually any combination of email addresses you can imagine will populate in the “Step 2” section of the spreadsheet. Copy all of them onto your clipboard. 
4. Compose a message from your Gmail account. Paste the address combinations from your clipboard into the recipient line (important: do not send).
5. Hover over each email address in the list. When you find a legitimate email address, you should see a social profile on the right that might match the person you’re looking to email. 

So, where do we get 2 minutes?

All of these methods returned emails in well under 2 minutes. So why aren’t we touting that? Well, let’s remember that this post is about how to find anyone’s email address. We are recommending that you use two methods to improve the likelihood that you will find anyone’s email.

The best recommendation we can give you based on our testing is to use AeroLeads first. Then, use Email Checker or Verify Email to find whatever email addresses you seem to be missing.

The average time to find a lead via AeroLeads was 30 seconds. The next fastest method that found email addresses missed by AeroLeads was Email Checker at 1 minute, 19 seconds. Combined, that’s 1 minute, 49 seconds.

Are There Other Methods?

There are other ways to find someone’s email address, including old-fashioned spy techniques and some common sense. We didn’t include these in the list because they are generally more time-consuming and less reliable overall. But let’s take a moment to acknowledge some lower tech ways to find anyone’s email.

• About pages – Check the about page to see if this person has a bio with contact information.

• WHOIS lookup – If your intended recipient has their own personal website, perform a WHOIS lookup to see if their contact information is available. Just keep in mind that the email used here may not be the person’s primary email address.

• Google search – When in doubt, perform a Google search for the person’s name and the words “email address.”

• Social Media search – Do you have links to this person’s social accounts? Check Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn to see if they share their email address publicly.

• LinkedIn connections – See if you are connected with this person on LinkedIn. If you find a connection, reach out and ask for an introduction. There’s nothing wrong with a little old-fashioned networking.

• Simply ask – If you have a phone number, call and ask for the person’s email address. If you are connected on social media, send the person a quick message to let them know why you want their email. They may willingly hand it over. This method takes time and energy, but the bonus is that they’ll be expecting your email. They may even be looking forward to it.

A Caution About Cold Emailing

If someone hasn’t given you their email address, there’s a good chance you’ve never met in person before. Your email has to fight harder to be seen. And while cold emailing isn’t quite as risky as interrupting a stranger’s family dinner with a phone call, you will want to proceed with caution.

Remember that you are asking for their time and attention. Be helpful.

When you’re crafting your pitch, don’t think about what they can do for you. Think about why they should want to read in your email. In other words, what’s in it for them?

If you cannot benefit your reader in some way, you may want to rethink this strategy.

You may think that the worst thing that could happen with a cold email is that the recipient hits the delete button. You would be wrong.

The worst thing that could actually happen is that your recipient reads your email, becomes irritated and marks it as spam. Not only are your future emails to anyone more likely to end up in bulk mail folders, but you have also put your reputation on the line. Craft a thoughtful and personal pitch.

The #1 Tip That Will Get Your Emails Read

Treat your subject line as you would treat a blog post headline.

33% of people base the decision to open an email solely on its subject line.

Your subject line shouldn’t be thrown together at the last minute as an afterthought. It is what will entice recipients to open your email, so make it count.

Here are a few more tips to help:

• Keep your subject short and to the point – Email clients often only display a shortened version of email subject lines, so don’t bother making it longer than it has to be. In fact, try to keep it to 50 characters or fewer.

• Use your name as the sender – Even if you want the recipient to associate the email with your company, use your personal name. Emails from real people are opened far more often than emails from a company.

• Personalize your email – If you can, use the person’s name. And keep it informal. “Hi Carrie” is much more pleasant than “Dear Sir or Madam.”

• Leave them hanging – Just like a good headline, your email subject should leave them wanting more. They should be intrigued, but not quite satisfied. Then, your email should answer most of the questions left open by the subject.

• Make your recipients feel special – If possible, craft each email for the intended recipient. This is manageable for a list of 10 or 20, not so much for a list of 200. If you have a large list, elude to a sense of exclusivity. Why were these people specifically chosen to be on your list?

Using Anyone’s Email Address

Email is an extremely powerful tool to connect with influencers and for link building outreach, and you now have the ability to send an email to virtually anyone with an email address. Regardless of which method you use to find emails, use your newfound power wisely. Avoid large bulk mailings and respect your recipient’s time.

Now, it’s time to pitch that story, promote that product or to simply form strategic partnerships. I’ll be waiting for your email.