Building a B2B email list that doesn’t suck is harder than most cold email “gurus” want you to believe. The good news: with the right tools and a little patience, you can fill your pipeline with real prospects—not just a pile of bounced emails and angry spam complaints. This guide is for marketers, founders, or sales folks who actually want to connect with the right businesses, not just hit a quota.
If you’ve heard about Aeroleads and want a clear, honest walkthrough—without the hype or recycled sales pitches—you’re in the right place. Let’s dive in.
Step 1: Get Clear on Who You Actually Want to Reach
Before you touch any software, figure out who your real targets are. This isn’t busywork; it’s the difference between a list that works and one that wastes your time.
Ask yourself: - What industry or industries? - Company size (employee count, revenue)? - Geography (countries, regions, cities)? - Specific job titles or roles? - Any dealbreakers (like avoiding competitors or certain sectors)?
Pro tip: Don’t try to “boil the ocean.” A list of 200 laser-targeted prospects beats 2000 random ones every time.
Step 2: Set Up Your Aeroleads Account
If you haven’t already, sign up for Aeroleads. They offer a free trial, but you’ll hit limits fast if you’re serious. Expect to pay if you want to build a sizable, quality list.
What you’ll need: - A work email (avoid free Gmail addresses if you want to look legit) - A credit card if you’re buying credits or a subscription
Heads up: Don’t expect magic—Aeroleads pulls from public sources and social profiles. It’s not a magic wand. You’ll still need to do some vetting.
Step 3: Install the Chrome Extension
Aeroleads works best as a Chrome extension. This lets you pull contact info directly while browsing LinkedIn or company websites.
To install: 1. Go to the Chrome Web Store and search for “Aeroleads.” 2. Click “Add to Chrome.” 3. Pin it for easy access.
Why bother with the extension? - You can grab contact info as you browse LinkedIn, Crunchbase, AngelList, or even company sites. - It saves a ton of copy-pasting.
But: The extension isn’t perfect. Sometimes it’ll miss data, especially if profiles are private or incomplete.
Step 4: Build Your Search List on LinkedIn (or Elsewhere)
Now for the grunt work—finding the actual people you want to contact. LinkedIn is the best starting point for most B2B targeting.
How to do it: - Use LinkedIn’s search filters to drill down by company size, industry, location, and job title. - Save your search so you can revisit it. - Avoid super-broad searches. “Marketing Manager” at “Any company” = garbage list.
Pro tip: If you’re on LinkedIn Sales Navigator, you’ll get better filters and results. But it’s not required.
Alternatives: You can use Crunchbase, company websites, or business directories, but LinkedIn is usually faster.
Step 5: Start Adding Contacts with Aeroleads
Here’s where the magic (sort of) happens. As you browse profiles in LinkedIn, click the Aeroleads extension.
What happens: - Aeroleads scrapes the contact data (name, job, company, sometimes email and phone). - You can add contacts one-by-one, or in bulk from search results. - Data goes into your Aeroleads dashboard for export later.
Reality check: - Don’t expect a 100% hit rate. Some profiles won’t have emails. - Most emails are “work” emails, but sometimes you’ll get personal or generic info. - Always plan to verify emails before sending campaigns.
What to ignore: Aeroleads will sometimes pull info for people with no decision-making power. Double-check before you add.
Step 6: Filter and Vet Your List
This step is easy to skip, but you’ll regret it later if you get lazy.
What to do: - Go through your Aeroleads dashboard and weed out junk contacts. - Nix duplicate entries, irrelevant titles, or companies that aren’t a fit. - Check for generic emails (info@, sales@) and remove unless you have a strategy for those.
Pro tip: Add a column for “Notes” or “Custom Fields” so you can jot down why each contact is a fit (or not). This pays off later.
Don’t: Trust that every contact in the export is gold. Quality > quantity, every time.
Step 7: Export and Verify Emails
Aeroleads lets you export your list as a CSV. Before you blast out emails, run this list through an email verification tool (like NeverBounce or ZeroBounce).
Why bother? - Bad emails bounce and hurt your sender reputation. - Too many bounces can get your domain blacklisted.
How: 1. Export from Aeroleads as CSV. 2. Upload to your email verifier of choice. 3. Remove any “invalid” or “catch-all” addresses.
A little honesty: No tool is perfect. You’ll still get some bounces. But this step drastically cuts down on problems.
Step 8: Personalize and Organize for Outreach
You’ve got your cleaned, verified list. Now make it useful.
Best practices: - Segment by role, company size, or industry so you can tailor messaging. - Add columns for first name, company, and any other custom fields you’ll use in your outreach. - Avoid sending the same bland template to everyone.
Pro tip: The more you personalize your emails, the better your replies. Yes, it takes more time. No, there’s no shortcut.
Step 9: Start Small—Test, Refine, Repeat
Don’t send to your whole list on day one. Start with a small batch—maybe 30-50 contacts—so you can spot problems early.
What to look for: - Bounce rates: Anything above 5% is a red flag. - Replies: Are you getting responses, or just crickets? - Marked as spam: If you see this, pause and review your targeting/message.
Iterate: - Adjust your targeting based on results. - Tweak your messaging and subject lines. - Keep refining—this is normal.
What Works, What Doesn’t, and What to Ignore
What works: - Tight targeting and real personalization. - Verifying emails before sending. - Focusing on quality, not vanity metrics.
What doesn’t: - Mass-blasting generic emails. - Relying only on Aeroleads data—always double-check. - Skipping the vetting step to “save time.” It never does.
Ignore: - Anyone promising “10,000 verified B2B leads overnight.” That’s code for “list of strangers who’ll mark you as spam.” - Overly complicated automations before you have a solid, clean list.
Final Thoughts: Keep It Simple, Iterate, and Respect People’s Inboxes
Building a targeted B2B email list with Aeroleads isn’t rocket science, but it does take focus and a little elbow grease. Start small. Test. Clean up your data. Don’t chase shortcuts—the best results come from actually caring about who you’re reaching out to.
If you keep things straightforward and tweak as you go, you’ll end up with a list that actually gets results—and doesn’t burn your reputation in the process.