If you’re running email campaigns, you already know half the battle is just getting your emails to the right people. Messy lists—full of bad addresses, duplicates, or folks who never open anything—waste time, kill deliverability, and make you look sloppy. This guide is for anyone who wants to take a pile of emails, run them through Zerobounce, and come out with a clean, segmented list that actually gets results.
Let’s skip the fluff and get to the real steps that work.
Step 1: Prep Your List Before Uploading
Don’t just dump your whole CRM export into Zerobounce. Garbage in, garbage out. Take five minutes to clean up your spreadsheet first:
- Remove obvious junk: Duplicates, empty rows, weird formatting, or test addresses (like “asdf@asdf.com”).
- Stick to essentials: For now, you really just need the email address. If you have extra columns—like names or tags—keep them if you plan to segment later, but don’t overcomplicate.
- Save as CSV: Zerobounce likes CSV files. XLS/XLSX can work, but CSV is less likely to break.
Pro tip: If you have a huge list (>100,000), break it into smaller chunks. Large files can stall or fail to upload.
Step 2: Upload Your List to Zerobounce
This part’s straightforward:
- Log in to Zerobounce.
- Go to the “Email Validation” section.
- Click “Upload File” and select your CSV.
Zerobounce will ask which column contains the email addresses. Double-check that it’s picked the right one, especially if your headers aren’t labeled “email.” You can also map extra fields (like “First Name” or “Source”) if you want to keep them in the cleaned file.
What to ignore: Most folks can skip the advanced settings about “deduplication” or “append data” for now. The defaults catch 95% of issues.
Step 3: Run the Validation and Wait
Depending on the size of your list, Zerobounce can take anywhere from a couple minutes to a few hours. There’s no magic here—just let it run.
- Don’t close your browser if you want to see the progress, but you’ll get an email when it’s done.
- You can check the job status in the “Validations” tab.
What’s actually happening? Zerobounce is checking each address to see if it’s valid, invalid, a catch-all, disposable, or even a spam trap. It also tries to spot abuse or role-based emails (like support@ or info@).
Step 4: Review the Results and Understand the Statuses
When Zerobounce finishes, you’ll get a downloadable results file. Here’s what you’ll see:
- Valid: Safe to send.
- Invalid: Bounce risk—don’t even bother.
- Catch-All: These domains say “every email is valid,” but most marketers avoid them unless they’re desperate.
- Spam Trap/Abuse/Do Not Mail: Sending to these can get you blacklisted. Avoid.
There are other statuses, but 99% of folks only care about these.
Real-world advice: Don’t get cute and try to “test” invalid or abuse addresses. That’s a fast track to deliverability hell.
Step 5: Segment Your List for Targeted Outreach
Now you’ve got a clean list, but blasting everyone with the same message is lazy (and ineffective). Here’s how to slice it up:
A. By Validation Status
- Only keep “Valid” (and maybe “Catch-All”) for most outreach.
- Save “Catch-All” for a separate, lower-priority campaign. Expect some bounces.
B. By Custom Data
If you uploaded extra fields (like company, job title, or tags), use them to target:
- By industry or role: Great for B2B.
- By engagement: If you kept a “last opened” or “source” column.
- By geography: Useful for local offers or compliance.
C. By Email Type
- Personal vs. role-based: Avoid blasting “info@” or “sales@” unless you’re doing very broad outreach.
- Disposable emails: Skip them; they’re not worth your time.
How to segment: Use Excel, Google Sheets, or your favorite spreadsheet tool. Filter by the “ZB Status” column (that’s what Zerobounce calls it) and whatever custom fields matter to you.
Pro tip: Don’t overthink it. Start with simple segments (e.g., “Valid + US-based”) and get fancier only if you see results.
Step 6: Export Your Final, Segmented List
Once you’ve filtered your spreadsheet:
- Copy your target segment (e.g., all “Valid” addresses from a specific industry).
- Paste into a new CSV file.
- Name it clearly (e.g., “Q2_Outreach_Valid_SaaS.csv”).
Why not just use the Zerobounce export? Because you usually want to segment further (and sometimes fix small issues) before uploading to your email tool. Plus, their downloads can get messy if you’re not careful.
Step 7: Import to Your Outreach Platform and Test
Don’t skip a dry run. Before you hit “send” to thousands, upload your cleaned segment to your email platform (Mailchimp, Outreach, whatever you use) and:
- Send a test campaign to yourself and a small sample.
- Check formatting, personalization, and deliverability.
- Watch for bounces or weird errors.
If all looks good, you’re ready to scale up.
What Works, What Doesn’t, and What’s Overhyped
- Zerobounce is great for scrubbing out dead and risky emails. It’s not magic—it won’t write your subject line or fix a bad offer.
- Don’t bother emailing “Invalid” or “Abuse” addresses. No exceptions.
- “Catch-All” can be tempting if you’re desperate for volume, but expect a higher bounce rate and watch your sender reputation.
- Don’t obsess over every status code. Focus on “Valid” and your most important segments.
- Manual review always beats blind trust. Sometimes legit emails get flagged—double-check if you see something weird.
- You don’t need every Zerobounce feature. Stick to cleaning and segmenting, and ignore upsells unless you know exactly why you need them.
Keep It Simple and Iterate
The best email marketers I know don’t spend hours fiddling with lists—they keep the process simple, run small tests, and adjust as they go. Clean your list, segment by what actually matters to your campaign, and skip the rest. If something’s confusing or not working, try a smaller batch or a different segment.
Fancy automation is nice, but good judgment and a clean list will get you further. Keep it tight, stay skeptical of “growth hacks,” and you’ll get better results with less hassle.