Email is still the most effective channel for sales outreach, with an average ROI of $44 for every $1 spent (Campaign Monitor). But to leverage the power of email, you first need a list of valid, targeted email addresses for your ideal prospects.
That‘s where email scraping comes in. Email scraping tools allow you to automatically gather publicly available email addresses at scale from websites, social media profiles, online directories, and more.
Web scraping, in general, is the process of using bots to extract content and data from a website (Investopedia). When it comes to email scraping specifically, these tools are designed to find and compile valid email addresses, typically for B2B sales prospecting.
To source large lists of emails, most scraping tools rely on proxies – intermediary servers that route your request through a different IP address. This allows you to bypass common restrictions like CAPTCHAs, rate limits, and IP bans. Proxies also help distribute your requests across multiple IP addresses, preventing your scraper from being blocked (Oxylabs).
In fact, proxy usage is essential for any kind of large-scale web scraping. Over 79% of websites employ anti-bot measures, according to a 2019 Distil Networks report. Using proxies and rotating IP addresses is the only reliable way to gather email data at scale.
So which email scraping tools provide the best proxy management, data quality, and overall results for sales teams? Here are our top picks for 2019:
1. Skrapp
Skrapp is a powerful and user-friendly email scraper with a focus on LinkedIn. Some key features:
- LinkedIn profile URL to email lookup
- Bulk lookups via CSV upload
- 98% data accuracy (Skrapp)
- Direct CRM integration
- Browser extension for on-the-fly scraping
- Dedicated IP rotation to minimize blocks
Skrapp handles proxy rotation and CAPTCHAs seamlessly in the background, so you can focus on your outreach. It‘s an excellent option for scraping emails at scale directly from LinkedIn.
Pricing starts at $49/month for 1,000 emails.
2. Phantom Buster
Phantom Buster is a unique data extraction platform that uses "Phantoms" – pre-built automation workflows – to scrape data from various social networks and websites. For email scraping, it offers Phantoms for:
- Scraping emails from LinkedIn profiles
- Extracting emails from Twitter profiles
- Gathering emails from a list of domains
- Finding emails associated with Instagram profiles
The Email Extractor API also allows you to build custom email scrapers without code. Phantom Buster manages IP rotation and CAPTCHAs via its proxies, which are included with all plans.
Pricing starts at $30/month for 10 Phantom Slots (concurrent scraping tasks).
3. Hunter
Hunter is best known for its domain search functionality, which allows you to find email addresses associated with a particular company. But it also offers powerful email scraping capabilities, including:
- Bulk domain search for scraping emails from a list of companies
- Email verification API to check validity
- 100+ million indexed email addresses (Hunter)
- Confidence scores to prioritize the best emails
- Browser extension for manual scraping
- Zapier integration for automatic CRM import
All of Hunter‘s data comes from its own crawlers, which use a combination of proxies and custom infrastructure to avoid blocks and CAPTCHAs. The result is a consistently fresh and reliable dataset.
Pricing starts at $49/month for 1,000 searches.
4. Snov.io
Snov.io is an all-in-one sales intelligence platform that includes powerful email scraping capabilities. Its key features include:
- Technographic search for finding companies that use specific software
- Bulk domain search for scraping emails from multiple companies
- Social URL search for finding emails associated with social profiles
- 7 million indexed decision-makers (Snov.io)
- Verification API to check email validity
- Browser extension and Google Sheets add-on
- CRM integrations
In terms of proxy management, Snov.io uses a proprietary network of over 1 million residential IP addresses to avoid blocks and CAPTCHAs (Snov.io). This allows for highly reliable and scalable email scraping.
Pricing starts at $39/month for 1,000 credits.
5. Wiza
Wiza is an email finder and outreach automation platform designed for recruiters and sales teams. Its key email scraping features include:
- AI-powered domain scanning to find emails based on first/last name patterns
- 70% average email finding match rate (Wiza)
- GDPR-compliant and opt-in data only
- Bulk lookups via CSV upload
- Integration with popular CRMs and ATSs
Wiza uses an IP rotation system spread across multiple data centers to maximize deliverability and avoid blocks. The company is also transparent that it doesn‘t scrape LinkedIn or other sites directly, but rather aggregates data from publicly available sources only.
Pricing starts at $50/month for 500 lookups.
6. SellHack
SellHack is a sales prospecting tool that‘s been reliably finding emails since 2014. Its key features for email scraping include:
- Domain search for finding emails associated with a company
- LinkedIn profile URL to email lookup
- 12 data sources for cross-referencing and verification (SellHack)
- Confidence scores to prioritize high-quality emails
- Zapier integration for sending scraped leads to your CRM
All of SellHack‘s lookups run through its dedicated proxy network to minimize interruptions and blocks. The tool also includes a handy sidebar that pops up as you‘re browsing sites like LinkedIn, allowing you to easily save prospect emails.
Pricing starts at $40/month for 250 lookups.
Comparison Table
Here‘s a quick side-by-side look at the key features and pricing of the top email scraping tools:
| Tool | Database Size | Pricing | Proxy Network | Integrations |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Skrapp | 98% accuracy | $49/mo for 1,000 emails | Dedicated IP rotation | LinkedIn, CRMs |
| Phantom Buster | N/A | $30/mo for 10 Phantoms | Included proxies | CRMs, Zapier |
| Hunter | 100M emails | $49/mo for 1,000 searches | Custom crawling infrastructure | CRMs, Zapier |
| Snov.io | 7M decision-makers | $39/mo for 1,000 credits | 1M residential IPs | CRMs, Zapier |
| Wiza | 70% match rate | $50/mo for 500 lookups | IP rotation across data centers | CRMs, ATSs |
| SellHack | 12 sources | $40/mo for 250 lookups | Dedicated proxy network | Zapier |
How to Use Scraped Emails Effectively
Finding emails is only half the battle. To actually drive sales results, you need a solid outreach strategy. Here are some best practices for turning your scraped leads into customers:
Verify Your Emails
Sending to invalid emails hurts your sender reputation and email deliverability. Use a verification tool like Hunter‘s Email Verifier API or NeverBounce to check your emails before reaching out.
Segment Your List
Not all prospects should get the same email. Segment your list by factors like job title, industry, or company size to tailor your messaging. You can also use technographic data from a tool like Snov.io to group prospects by the software they use.
"Personalization is the key to effective cold email outreach," says Scott Barker, Head of Partnerships at Sales Hacker. "Scraping gives you the raw data, but you need to use that data smartly to craft targeted, relevant emails for each segment."
Personalize at Scale
Once you‘ve segmented your list, find ways to personalize your emails in a scalable way. For example, you could use a tool like Mailshake or Woodpecker to automatically insert each prospect‘s name, company, or LinkedIn profile into your outreach.
But keep in mind that personalization goes beyond just custom fields. Research each prospect and tailor your pitch to their specific needs and pain points.
According to Backlinko, personalized emails get 32.7% better reply rates. But the key is personalization based on your research, not just inserting generic custom fields.
Follow Up Persistently
Most sales require multiple touchpoints before closing. Use a sales engagement tool to automate follow-ups so no lead slips through the cracks.
"The biggest mistake I see is giving up too soon," says Josh Slone, Content Marketing Lead at LeadFuze. "You need to keep following up until you get a response. Just because they didn‘t answer your first email doesn‘t mean they‘re not interested."
Slone recommends 6-8 follow-ups over a 4-6 week period for best results.
Track and Optimize
Finally, make sure you‘re tracking your outreach metrics like open rates, reply rates, and conversion rates. This will allow you to continually test and optimize your emails for better results.
A/B test different subject lines, body copy, and calls-to-action to see what resonates best with your audience. And don‘t be afraid to experiment with new tactics and approaches.
The Future of Email Scraping
As anti-bot measures become more sophisticated, email scraping tools will need to evolve to keep up. We expect to see more advanced proxy management solutions and AI-powered scrapers in the coming years.
For example, Skrapp recently introduced an "Artificial Intelligence Scraping" feature that uses natural language processing to find emails in tricky formats. It also includes smart retrying logic to minimize failed requests.
On the proxy side, residential IP networks are becoming increasingly popular for web scraping. These networks route requests through real residential IP addresses, making the traffic look like normal human browsing (Oxylabs).
We expect residential proxies and ISP proxies to play a bigger role in email scraping going forward, as they become more accessible and affordable.
Choosing the Right Email Scraping Tool
With so many great options available, how do you choose the right email scraping tool for your business? Here are some factors to consider:
- Database size and quality: How fresh and reliable is the tool‘s email data?
- Proxy management: Does the tool handle proxies and CAPTCHAs effectively?
- Ease of use: How steep is the learning curve for the tool?
- Integrations: Can you easily get the scraped data into your CRM or sales tools?
- Pricing: Does the pricing structure fit your expected usage?
For large enterprises with big budgets and massive lead volumes, a premium tool like Skrapp or Snov.io may make sense. For smaller teams and startups, an affordable option like Hunter or SellHack could be the way to go.
Ultimately, the best email scraper is the one that fits your unique needs and gets you the results you‘re looking for. Don‘t be afraid to test out a few different options before committing.
Key Takeaways
- Email scraping is a powerful way to build targeted prospect lists for sales outreach.
- Proxies are essential for scraping emails at scale without getting blocked.
- The best email scraping tools combine large databases with smart proxy management and easy integrations.
- To get results from scraped emails, verify and segment your list, personalize outreach, follow up persistently, and continually optimize.
- Residential IP networks and AI-powered scrapers represent the future of email scraping.
With the right tool and strategy, email scraping can be a game-changer for your sales prospecting. Use the techniques and best practices outlined here to take your outreach to the next level in 2019 and beyond.