Datablist's Email Finder enrichment finds professional email addresses in bulk from a CSV or Excel file.

It uses a waterfall approach: instead of querying one email provider and stopping there, Datablist tries several sources until it finds a result. This improves coverage and avoids the usual single-provider problem where a valid prospect is marked as "not found" too early.

Use it when you have a lead list with names and companies, or when you only have LinkedIn profile URLs and need to turn them into verified work emails.

Step-by-step guide

Step 1: Load your CSV or Excel file on Datablist

Create a free account and import your data file. Datablist is a powerful CSV editor, perfect for opening large lead lists, CRM exports, and prospecting files.

Create a new collection and import your file.

Step 2: Select the "Email Finder" enrichment

Click on the "Enrich" button, and search for "Email Finder".

Email Finder
Email Finder

Step 3: Choose the email search method

The enrichment supports two search methods.

By Name and Company

Use this mode when your file contains the person's name and company information.

Required inputs:

  • First Name and Last Name, or Full Name if you enable the "Use Full Name" setting
  • Company Name or Domain

Optional input:

  • LinkedIn Profile - Helps the waterfall providers identify the right person when you have it.

Use a company domain when possible, such as datablist.com. A clean domain is usually more reliable than a generic company name.

By LinkedIn URL

Use this mode when your file contains LinkedIn profile URLs.

Required input:

  • LinkedIn Profile

The URL must be a standard LinkedIn profile URL such as https://www.linkedin.com/in/profile-id. Sales Navigator profile URLs are not supported by this enrichment.

This mode is useful when your list comes from LinkedIn scraping, Sales Navigator workflows, event attendee research, or manual prospecting.

Step 4: Configure the inputs

Map the enrichment inputs to the matching columns in your collection.

Examples:

  • First Name -> your first-name column
  • Last Name -> your last-name column
  • Company Name or Domain -> your company domain or company name column
  • LinkedIn Profile -> your LinkedIn URL column

If your file has a single Full Name column, enable Use Full Name in the settings and map that column instead of first name and last name.

Step 5: Select the outputs

The Email Finder returns three useful fields:

  • Email - The work email address found for the contact.
  • Email Status - Deliverability status such as verified, unverified, not_found, missing_source_data, or invalid_data.
  • MX Provider - The email provider behind the mailbox, such as Google, Microsoft, Proofpoint, Mimecast, or another provider.

Click the "+" buttons to create output columns in your collection, then run a preview before processing the full file.

Step 6: Run the enrichment in bulk

After the preview looks good, run the enrichment on all rows.

Datablist keeps a run status for each row. You can filter rows where no email was found, fix missing inputs, and rerun only those records.

Why Use a Waterfall Email Finder?

Single email finder tools usually query one database or one algorithm. If that provider does not have the person, the result is "not found."

A waterfall email finder works differently. It tries several providers in sequence and stops when one returns a usable email. This is why waterfall enrichment usually finds more emails than a single provider.

This is useful for:

  • Sales prospecting
  • Recruiting outreach
  • Lead list building
  • CRM enrichment
  • Agency list building
  • Event attendee enrichment

For a deeper comparison of email finding methods, read The Best Methods to Find Someone's Email Address.

Finding Emails From LinkedIn Profile URLs

Most email finders require a first name, last name, and company domain.

Datablist can also find work emails from a LinkedIn profile URL. Choose By LinkedIn URL in the "Email Search Method" setting, map your LinkedIn profile column, and run the enrichment.

This workflow is useful when:

  • You scraped LinkedIn profiles
  • Your lead source only provides profile URLs
  • You do not trust the company name in your source file
  • You want to avoid scraping extra profile details before searching for emails

Read the full guide: How to Find Emails From LinkedIn Profile URLs.

Custom Waterfall With Your Own API Keys

If you already have subscriptions to email providers, enable Custom Waterfall.

This lets you configure your own provider sequence and API keys. Supported custom providers include:

  • Icypeas
  • Enrow
  • Prospeo
  • Wiza
  • Findymail
  • LeadMagic
  • FullEnrich

When using your own provider API keys, Datablist runs the waterfall with your configured providers instead of the default Datablist credit system.

Custom Waterfall is available for the By Name and Company search method.

How Much Does It Cost?

The Email Finder costs 25 Datablist credits per work email found when using Datablist's default waterfall.

You pay for successful results. Rows with missing inputs, invalid data, or no email found are marked with a status so you can review them.

Example:

  • 1,000 found emails -> 25,000 credits
  • A $20 credit pack gives you 20,000 credits
  • 20,000 credits can find up to 800 work emails

If you use Custom Waterfall with your own provider API keys, provider usage is billed through your provider accounts.

Input Quality Tips

Better input data gives better email finding results.

  • Prefer company domains over company names when you have them.
  • Split full names into first name and last name when possible.
  • Use Use Full Name only when your file has one combined name column.
  • Avoid passing directory URLs, LinkedIn company URLs, or generic website pages as the company domain.
  • Use standard LinkedIn profile URLs for the LinkedIn mode.
  • Keep the original source columns so you can debug rows with missing_source_data or invalid_data.

What To Do After Finding Emails

Finding the email is only one step in a clean outreach workflow.

After running the Email Finder, you can:

  • Filter to keep only verified emails.
  • Review unverified emails before sending.
  • Run email verification on older lists before outreach.
  • Use Datablist's AI enrichments to personalize cold emails.
  • Export the clean list to your CRM or outreach tool.

If you are working with an old list, read Email List Cleaning before sending any campaign.

Best Inputs for Bulk Email Finding

Email Finder works best when each row has enough identity and company context.

For the By Name and Company mode, use:

  • First name and last name, or one full name column
  • Company domain when possible
  • Company name when the domain is missing
  • LinkedIn profile URL as an optional disambiguation signal

For the By LinkedIn URL mode, use standard LinkedIn profile URLs. This is useful when your list comes from LinkedIn scraping, Sales Navigator workflows, event research, or manual prospecting.

FAQ

Can I find emails from a CSV file?

Yes. Import your CSV into Datablist, map the name and company columns or the LinkedIn profile URL column, and run Email Finder in bulk.

Can I find work emails from LinkedIn profile URLs?

Yes. Choose the LinkedIn URL search method and map the column with standard LinkedIn profile URLs. Sales Navigator URLs are not supported by this enrichment.

What does waterfall email finder mean?

A waterfall email finder tries several providers in sequence and stops when one returns a usable email. This improves coverage compared with relying on one database.

Do I pay when no email is found?

With the default Email Finder waterfall, the page pricing states a cost per work email found. Rows with no result keep a status so you can review and rerun them later.

Should I verify emails after finding them?

Use the returned email status first. For old lists or risky campaigns, run email verification before sending outreach.