How to Clean an Email List
On this page
- Why are clean email lists important?
- How to activate email verification
- How to buy email verification credits
- How will I know when we're low on credits?
- What happens if we run out of credits?
- How do I convert an Excel file to CSV?
- How to upload and clean an email list
- Who can clean and verify email addresses?
- Email verification status codes
- Frequently asked questions
- For Mobile Locker users
Why are clean email lists important?
Cleaning your email list ensures that your messages reach engaged recipients, boosting open and click-through rates while reducing bounce rates and the risk of being marked as spam. This improves your Sender Reputation and deliverability, saving resources and optimizing campaign results.
How to activate email verification
Go here and click Activate Email verification.
How to buy email verification credits
We use Stripe.com for credit card processing. We never see or store your credit card details.
Purchase credits (1 credit = 1 email validation, valid for 365 days).
Enter your credit card details and click BUY.
Contact Mobile Locker support if you can't use a credit card to buy these credits.
A receipt will be emailed to you, and the charge will appear as MOBILELOCKER_EMAIL on your statement.
How will I know when we're low on credits?
Administrators will see a warning banner when you're getting low. The default low-credit threshold is 1,000, but you can change it here.
What happens if we run out of credits?
Your team can still send emails, but the system won't verify email addresses until you buy more.
How do I convert an Excel file to CSV?
Learn how to convert Excel to CSV.
How to upload and clean an email list
Click the Email List CSV File field and select your CSV file from your computer.
IMPORTANT: The email addresses must be in the first column of your CSV file.
Review the rows from the CSV file and click Upload List.
Wait for processing.
Once done, download the results with a new email_status column.
Who can clean and verify email addresses?
Initially, only the administrator who activated email verification can upload lists.
To grant permissions to another user:
Visit Admin Users.
Find the user, click Edit, and change the Email Address Verification setting to Yes.
Click Save.
Email Verification Status codes
| Code | Description | Safe to send |
| Valid | A valid email address has been verified as a real email currently accepting mail. | YES |
| Accept All (Unverifiable) | This is also known as a “catch-all.” This is a domain-wide setting where all emails on this domain will be reported as an "accept all." There is no definitive way to determine whether this email is valid or invalid. An accept-all address is commonly used in small businesses to ensure a company receives any email sent to them, regardless of typos. These are also found in larger government, medical, and educational organizations. Often, these are valid emails. However, some organizations may utilize this setting as a security feature to prevent unsolicited emails. |
MAYBE |
| Unknown | We are unable to determine this email’s status definitively. This email appears OK; however, the domain and/or server are not responding to our requests. This may be due to an issue with their internal network or expired domain names. Unknown addresses are checked up to 75 times before this result code is given. | MAYBE |
| Invalid | An invalid email address has been verified as a bad recipient address that does not exist or is not accepting mail. Invalid emails will result in a bounce. | NO |
| Disposable | Disposable emails are temporary accounts used to avoid using a real personal account during sign-up. Common providers of disposable emails include Mailinator, Guerilla Mail, AirMail, and 10 Minute Mail. | NO |
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: What is a Sender Reputation?
A: A score assigned by ISPs reflecting an email sender's trustworthiness. A high reputation ensures better deliverability.
Q: What types of email addresses are flagged during cleaning?
A: The cleaning process typically flags invalid, duplicate, and potentially harmful email addresses such as role-based emails (e.g., info@, sales@) and known spam traps.
Q: Can I automate the email list cleaning process?
A: Yes - read about how it works here.
Q: What happens to the flagged email addresses?
A: Flagged email addresses are usually marked with specific statuses (e.g., invalid ) in the email_status column, allowing you to take appropriate actions such as removing or segmenting them.
Q: Does cleaning my email list guarantee 100% deliverability?
A: While cleaning significantly improves deliverability, no method can guarantee 100% success. Factors like email content and recipient behavior also play crucial roles.
For Mobile Locker Users
If you're a regular Mobile Locker user, please read this article.