6 Ways to Find Anyone's Email Address [Personal + Business]

Finding someone's email address is the first step to reaching out to a client or potential employer or even reconnecting with an old friend. 

In this post, we will explore several methods for finding email addresses and how you can do it for yourself.

Let’s get started. 

6 ways to find someone’s email address for free

Here are six surefire ways to find someone’s email address online. 

Google it

This may be basic and not be effective for most people trying to find people's personal email addresses. If that’s the case for you, we suggest that you move on to the next method. 

Googling your recipient's email address works well, especially if they are popular with a common name.

The trick is simple.

Simply type your target’s “name + email” into the Google search box and hit enter. Here is an example for Rand Fishkin, CEO of Spark Toro.

Here are other combinations you can use to bring up a person's email address:

• [name] + email

• [name] + email (or) email address

• [name] + contact

• [name] + contact (or) contact information (or) contact me

• [name] + “company they work for”

Keep in mind that Google might not always bring up the answers in the search snippet as it did above.

So, check the first few pages that pop up in the search results. These might be helpful in finding the actual email address. Here is an example. 

We searched for “name + contact details,” and here is what Google showed us. 

Obviously, the email address we are looking for is not immediately displayed there. But by simply clicking on the first link to check the page that comes first, we are able to find the email address. 

Here is what we found first. 

Then we scrolled down the page and found this as well. 

Use email lookup services to find and verify email addresses

There are several email lookup services or tools available online that can help you find email addresses. These tools work by scraping the internet for email addresses associated with a specific company or domain (based on the domain availability status). 

However, it's important to keep in mind that these tools can be less accurate than other methods and may not find all available email addresses. Also, some of these tools may require a paid subscription.

Our favorite email lookup tool is Hunter.io. Here is how you can use it to find someone’s email address. 

Hunter.io

Head over to Hunter’s Email Finder and paste your target’s name and the url of the company they work for. Like below: 

Hit the “Enter Button” or click on “Find” to find their email address.

Hunter verifies the email address automatically and gives it a score out of 100 to tell you how verified the email address is. You’ll also see the different sources they used to pull out the email address. 

The best thing about Hunter is that even if it fails to bring out the email address of the person you are looking for. It will still show the email format they use at their company, and if you know your target’s name, you can easily guess it. 

For this, you’ll need to use Hunter’s Domain Search tool or the chrome extension. We will be using the Domain Search tool. We put in our website url and hit the enter button.

Here is the result. 

You can see the formula we use at our company is “name @ domain dot com”.  If you're looking to learn more about Hunter's features and use cases, check this Hunter review.

Voila Norbert

VoilaNorbert is also another email lookup tool we recommend for finding someone's email address. It works in pretty much the same way as Hunter.io. It asks for information about your target; you provide the information it asked for, and scrape the internet to bring you their email address. 

See it for yourself. 

Guess a personal email address and verify it

Every company has an email pattern they use for all their employees. And the most common email formula companies use is “first name @ company dot com. Just like us, ibrahim @ nerdyjoe dot com. 

According to a survey by Hunter, 49% of companies use that pattern. So, make it a rule of thumb to start your guessing with that pattern. 

That said, here are other patterns we’ve also found that companies use mostly — and which you can follow for your email address suggestions. 

In most cases, your target’s company email pattern will fall anywhere between the patterns we suggested. But once you have created all the combinations, you will need to verify the email address to ensure your guess is correct. 

Bear in mind that depending on the name of your target, they might cut it or readjust it in the email. For example, names like Robert could get cut and give “[email protected]” or “[email protected]”. 

Someone named Edward could use “[email protected]” Vladimir could become “[email protected]” or Ibrahim could use “[email protected]”. You need to be aware of these potential formats on the personal level — based on your target’s name. 

Verifying the guessed email address

There are two ways we suggest that you verify the email address's correctness. You can use email verification tools or search google sheets.

• First way: Hunter’s Email Verifier

Head over to Hunter’s Email Verifier tool, choose Bulk verification, and paste the email addresses you guessed. 

Launch the verification and watch it verify your email addresses. 

Here is the result.

Of course, only the correct email addresses will come out as “valid”. And you can move on from there. 

• Second way: Google Sheets

Most people don’t know this, but Google Sheets is fit with a feature that allows you to ensure that an email address is correct. All you have to do is paste the addresses into a spreadsheet and use your mouse to hover over it. 

Google Sheets automatically identifies the email address associated with an actual profile and makes it pop up. 

Use social media to find personal email addresses

Social media platforms can also be a valuable resource for finding email addresses. Many people list their professional email addresses on their LinkedIn profiles, and some may even include it on their Facebook or Twitter profiles. 

Here is how you can find them on each platform.

LinkedIn

To find someone's email address on LinkedIn, try searching for their name and the company they work for, and then visit their profile. If they have made their email address public, it will be listed on their profile page. 

Let’s try to find the email address of our good friend Irana Maltseva, working as part of the growth team at Aura. 

So here is the search query I used to find the prospect's linkedin profile. 

The result.

Now, the next step is to click to view her full profile and check out the contact information. 

Here is the result. 

Although this may not be the professional email address she uses at Aura, it can be an effective way to reach out and get a response. So, depending on whether your target took the time to professionally set up their profile, you can find their personal email address or the one they use at work. 

Here is an example from a perfectly set up profile by Vladimir Blagojević at FullFunnel.io.

Twitter

Twitter is a popular social media platform and can be used for a variety of purposes, including networking and finding new contacts. It’s also a good place for you to find the email address of your targets.

Here are a few methods you can try:

• Search Twitter for the person's profile and check their bio

Many people include their contact information, including their email address, in their Twitter bio. This is often the easiest place to find an email address, as it is prominently displayed on their profile.

Here is an example from Mark Golbridge.

• Look through the person's tweets (with Twitter Advanced Search)

Sometimes, people will share their email addresses in a tweet. This can happen when they're promoting a new product or service or when they're looking for new contacts. Searching through their tweets for keywords like "email" or "contact" may reveal their email address.

But because their email addresses could get scraped by marketers using bots to send them unwanted emails, they hide them. Using Twitter Advanced Search features will help you dig them up. So, go to Twitter Advanced Research.

In the “Words” box, type in “email at”.

Then scroll down to “Accounts” and put in the name of the company your target works for. Let’s assume you’re looking for the email address of someone working at Ahrefs. 

Next, click on the search button and get your results. 

• Reach out to the person directly/Tag them in a Tweet

If you're unable to find an email address using the above methods, you can always reach out to the person directly. You can send them a direct message on Twitter or mention them in a tweet and ask for their email address. 

image source

Or if it’s a company, they’ll probably direct you to their support team.

Facebook

Facebook is also a good place to find someone’s email address. It includes an “About” section where users can put their personal details and contact information.

Most people add their email addresses as part of their contact information, and you can easily access them. 

Simply log into your Facebook account and search for your target’s name. Go to their profile and click on “About”, then “Contact information”. Look here how we found Neil Patel’s email address easily. 

Important note: 

When searching for someone's email address on social media, it's important to be as specific as possible in your search terms.

For example, instead of searching for "John Smith," try searching for "John Smith at XYZ Company." This will help to narrow down the search results and increase the chances of finding the correct person.

It's also important to consider the privacy settings of the person you are trying to reach.

Some people may have their social media profiles set to private, which means that you will not be able to view their email addresses even if they have them listed on their profiles. In this case, you may need to send them a message and ask for their email address.

Last but not least, while social media can be a useful tool for finding someone's email address, it's not a guarantee.

It's important to keep in mind that not everyone will have their email address publicly available on social platforms and that some people may not want to share it.

Check out relevant online pages

You can also check some online pages that are about your prospect to find their email addresses. Here are the top online pages you need to consider.  

Website

Go to your target’s website and look for their email address in the above folder or the one below. If it’s a company website, head over to their about or career page, where they could potentially list everyone working at the company’s contact detail.

Bio pages

If your prospect has a bio page, that can also make finding their email address an easy task for you. You can find their bio pages by simply searching it into the Google search box. Type in their name + bio, and the trick is done. 

Here is an example for Rand Fishkin. 

And here goes the email inside. 

Author pages

The author page on your prospect's blog or website, linked from their name anywhere on their blog or website, is another easy place to start.

In some cases, this page can be very detailed about the person and include lots of valuable information.

Subscribe to their personal newsletter

Subscribing to someone’s newsletter is one of the easy ways to find their email address. You subscribe to their newsletter, they send you their next email, and that’s it. In most cases, the automated welcome email is all you need to get their email address. 

So, if your target has a newsletter, this adds to the many ways you can find their email address. Find their newsletter, subscribe to it, and get their email. 

Why you need to outsource list building

If you are looking for someone’s email address, chances are that you are looking to reach out to them for email marketing or outbound lead generation purposes. 

In these cases, it could also mean that you are not simply looking for the email address of a single person.

Chances are that you are building a prospect list for your cold email campaign. Here are the reasons why you may want to outsource it all (list + lead generation/email marketing).

Lack of time or resources (It will cost you a lot)

Finding someone’s email may be easy. But building a high-quality email list can be a complex and time-consuming process for you. Even if you find it fun, soon enough, it’ll become daunting, and you’ll find yourself wasting important hours building lists. 

It requires a lot of effort to research, identify and target the right audience and then acquire and manage leads.

Outsourcing list building allows you to focus on other important areas of your operations, such as product development, marketing, and sales, while still building your list.

Expertise (we have it, you don’t)

An outsourced list-building service will have more experience and expertise in acquiring and managing leads than your in-house team — We will be more able to build you a higher quality and more targeted list.

They will have specialized tools and methods for finding and targeting the right audience, and they may also have a better understanding of compliance and legal requirements for acquiring and managing leads.

Cost-effectiveness (We will cost you less)

Outsourcing list building can be more cost-effective than hiring an in-house team or building the list on your own.

Take Nerdy Joe, for example. Working with us means you choose a specific product you want (i.e., x number of leads). We charge you for exactly that, and you get your results. 

If you have an in-house team, it means you will have to pay out salaries, which can be more costly for your business. Outsourcing eliminates the need to pay for employee salaries, benefits, and other overhead costs associated with an in-house team. 

On top of that, outsourcing can provide business access to specialized tools and technologies that would be cost-prohibitive to purchase or maintain in-house.

Scalability

Outsourcing allows for the list-building process to be scaled up or down depending on the needs of your business. 

For example, during a busy season, you may need to acquire a large number of leads quickly, while during a slow season, you will need to scale back the list-building efforts. 

Outsourcing allows you to adjust the list-building process as needed without committing to a long-term in-house team (and still paying huge salaries). It’s like we said, you choose what you want, we charge you for it, and give it to you. 

High-efficiency

Outsourcing list building will allow you to focus on your core business activities and operations, while the outsource team will provide you with a high-efficiency list-building service. 

We will take care of the whole process of building and maintaining the list, which will free up time and resources for your business.  As a bonus, we also keep up with the latest techniques, trends, and technologies in list building, which will benefit your business in the long run.

Why you need to work with Nerdy Joe for list building and lead generation

The best thing about us is that we are your one-stop shop list building and lead generation service. 

We talk with you to discuss and understand your product and its target market. Then we identify the personas, build quality email lists, reach out to them, and market your product for you. 

The way we work, when we hand you over the prospects (or to your sales team), all you have to do is sell — we already took care of all the marketing.

Here is specifically what you get when working with us.

Specify the results you want, and pay for it — not for the jobs to be done

Most outbound lead generation services don’t charge you for the results or the ROI you get. They:

• charge you for the jobs to be done, meaning you pay them to send X amount of emails per month. 

e.g., You pay $500, and we’ll build a list of 250 prospects per month.

• charge a flat fee per month to do lead generation for you, and they’re vague as to what the results will be. 

e.g., You pay $3,000, so the outbound lead generation service provider can run lead generation campaigns for you, and the results are just a matter of “it depends.”

• Etc

At Nerdy Joe, we know that there are jobs to be done to get your company leads. To be fair, that’s part of every agency’s lead generation process. We don’t just charge you for the job.

Instead, you pay for the ROI (return on investment) you get.

That means that we charge you by the number of meetings we book for you or the number of high-quality leads we send you instead of the number of prospects we add to your campaign list.

Our goal is to fill your pipeline with quality leads so that your sales teams can spend less time on monthly emails and more time on closing deals. 

We think like this because it is evident to us that every business looking to increase sales cares more about filling their pipeline with quality leads than the number of emails their sales teams send per month.

As simple as that.

When you start working with us, our outbound lead generation experts only lead with metrics that matter:

• Number of meetings booked.

• Number of “YES” and positive replies.

• Lead to close rate.

Not the usual open rate, clickthrough rate, bounce rate, etc.

Our emails aren't mass-produced — they are personalized

If you’re frequent on Twitter, you’ve probably read one of these before.

• “Send 1000 cold emails a day.”

• “Use ChatGPT to flip some personalized first lines.”

• “Buy 10,000 contact data from LeadsEngines and send 1000 emails a day.”

Granted, doing this could bring you some results. The things that there’s a big difference between the quality of leads you will get and that of someone who sends emails that are personal, relatable, and timely.

Personalization and relatability make people reply to you even when your timing is not great.

Here’s an example of where we reached out to a Global VP of Marketing, but the timing wasn’t great. Still, she took the time to reply and communicate an appropriate time when it makes sense to touch base.

Personalization is what makes people who are averse to cold outreach reply to your cold email.

Here’s an example where we reached out to a VP of Marketing who has historically blocked or reported SPAM to anyone who’s sent him a cold email.

Here’s another example where we pitched a Head of Marketing, and here’s the response. 

Contrary to what gurus suggest, most of our outbound lead generation campaigns are run towards 10 or 15 people, not 1000. That’s because we believe that the best sales strategy is to build trust and relationships. 

All our data is manually built — we don't use bought or scraped information

We don’t build our campaign data manually because we’re old school or like working hard.

We simply don’t use client data or purchase data when running outbound lead generation campaigns because this data is rarely accurate. 

For example, using ZoomInfo or Lusha, it’s easy to find prospect data using filters like the following: 

• Company is in the crypto trading industry, 

• 50 to 500 employees,

• Raised capital,

• Based out of Austin, Texas,

• Uses AWS for hosting and Magento.

Now, as much as you want to personalize your cold emails, what can you do with this data?

So, instead of relying upon this type of data, we go one step further and ask questions like the following:

• What does your ideal customer look like?

• Which category of clients has the highest lifetime value?

• Tell me about one client you closed in an easy way.

• Tell me about the category of clients that churns the fastest.

• Tell me about the top 3 objections that constantly pop up during sales calls.

• Etc.

We use the answers to these questions to identify your ICP and buyer persona. 

And you can tell this type of information makes the difference between: 

“Our target is series A crypto trading companies,” 

And

“Our ICP is a VP of Partnership at a crypto trading company, and his main pain points are that he struggles to close partnership deals with influencers, he does not know how to reach out to influencers. He often refers to TikTok and Gumroad’s blog to get insights as to how to influencers think.” 

Once we have a clear understanding of who the ICP is, we proceed to manually build our list, and that’s what we use to run our lead generation campaigns.

No long-term commitments 

Unlike most outbound lead generation services that require you to commit to a 3 to 6-month retainer, working with us means you get results starting from Month 1. And if you’re happy, you can renew your subscription.

Nerdy Joe is a subscription business, and you only renew your subscription if you’re satisfied with the service. 

You know exactly what you get 

Nerdy Joe’s offerings and pricing are clear — you choose a plan based on your budget and needs, and you know exactly what you get at the end of the month.

• No “it depends on a lot of factors.”

• No “Your account manager swallowed the key to his office and couldn’t work.”

If you have product-market fit and are solving a problem that most people have, it is almost everything we need to get you results.

But if you’re still figuring out who your solution is best for, then we’re probably not going to be of help.

Key takeaways

• Social media platforms, search engines, email lookup tools, and directly asking for an email address are all effective methods for finding email addresses. You can also use either a contact form or an opt in form to collect email addresses from people.

• Be sure to use multiple methods to increase your chances of success. Also, it's important to be specific and professional in your search terms and to respect the person's privacy when asking for their email address.

• Outsourcing list building can be a cost-effective and efficient way for you to build a high-quality list and increase conversions. By outsourcing list building, you can save time and money, improve ROI and lead generation, and do cold outreach more effectively.