You found a lead that’s perfect. Everything lines up — their company size, their pain points, their budget. You can practically see the deal closing in your head.

But there’s one problem: you can’t find their email address.

Maybe you’re stuck dealing with a gatekeeper who won’t let you through. Maybe their LinkedIn profile is locked down tight. Or maybe you just need that one missing email to complete your lead list before you hit send on your campaign.

Whatever the reason, the first step in any sales journey is getting the correct email address. And if you’re stuck wondering how to find it, this guide will walk you through the most useful methods — from the obvious to the obscure.

Let’s get into it.

Quick Breakdown: How to Find an Email Address

Here’s the roadmap:

1. Use an email finder tool (the fastest method)
2. Check if your existing sales tools already include email-finding features
3. Look at their social media profiles for contact information
4. Check the company website (especially the About and Team pages)
5. Search for personal websites or hobby-related sites
6. Use advanced Google search operators to guess and verify the address
7. Try alternative search engines like DuckDuckGo or Bing
8. Use the Wayback Machine to find old versions of websites with contact info
9. Dig deep into their digital footprint — trademarks, patents, domain registrations, press releases

And if all else fails? Just ask.

Now let’s break down each method.

Method 1: Use an Email Finder Tool

This is the fastest method. If your lead has any sort of online presence, an email finder tool will likely track them down.

Email finder tools work by scanning databases, social profiles, company websites, and public records to locate verified email addresses. The best ones don’t just find emails — they verify them too, so you’re not sending messages into the void.

Why verification matters:

If you’re sending cold emails at scale (and you should be), accuracy is everything. Even a 5-10% bounce rate can tank your deliverability. Your emails start landing in the Promotions tab. Or worse — the spam folder.

That’s why you need a tool that triple-checks every address before handing it to you.

How to use email finder tools:

Most tools offer:

• Chrome extensions — Find emails as you browse LinkedIn or company websites
• Bulk search — Upload a CSV of leads and get verified emails back
• Google Sheets integration — Use formulas to pull emails directly into your spreadsheets

Pricing:

Most email finders charge per verified email. Expect to pay anywhere from $0.10 to $0.50 per verified address, depending on the tool and volume.

Some tools offer free trials with 10-50 credits. Use those to test accuracy before committing.

The downside?

These tools aren’t free. But if you’re serious about sales, they pay for themselves fast. One high-value deal makes up for months of subscription costs.

Method 2: Check Your Existing Sales Tools

Before you invest in a new tool, check if your current stack already includes email-finding features.

A lot of B2B contact databases and cold outreach platforms come with built-in email finders. The accuracy? It varies. But it’s a good starting point.

Which tools include email finders?

Here are a few examples:

• Cold outreach platforms — Many include email discovery as part of their lead generation features
• Sales intelligence tools — Platforms like ZoomInfo, Apollo, and Lusha offer contact databases with email addresses
• LinkedIn automation tools — Some let you scrape emails from LinkedIn profiles (though you’ll want to verify them separately)

The catch:

Most sales teams end up investing in an additional email verifier anyway. When you’ve spent hours building a robust lead list, the last thing you want is to discover that 10-20% of those emails are invalid.

You want backup. And you want accurate backup.

Pro tip:

If you’re using a cold outreach tool like Instantly, Lemlist, or Smartlead, check if they integrate with email finders. That way, you can discover and verify emails without leaving your workflow.

Method 3: Check Their Social Media

Depending on the person and the platform, you might find their email address publicly listed on social media.

How to find an email address on LinkedIn:

LinkedIn is the best place to start. Here’s how:

1. Go to their profile
2. Look for a hyperlinked text that says “Contact info”
3. Click it

If they’ve made their email public, you’ll see it there.

No luck?

You have two options:

1. Send a cold DM — Craft a short, value-driven message and ask for their email
2. Send a connection request — Personalize it, mention why you’re reaching out, and include a reason they’d want to connect

Once you’re connected, you’ll have better access to their contact info.

What about other platforms?

Every platform has a contact section. Check it. If the person is comfortable displaying their email publicly, it’ll be there.

Examples:

• Twitter/X — Some users include their email in their bio
• Instagram — Business accounts often list contact info
• Facebook — Check the “About” section on personal or business pages
• GitHub — Developers sometimes list emails in their profiles or commit histories

Worst case? You have to cold-DM them. It’s not ideal, but it works if you’ve got a strong hook.

Method 4: Check the Company Website

Not all companies publicly list employee email addresses. But some do — especially smaller companies or founder-led businesses where the CEO wants to appear approachable.

Where to look:

• About page — Small companies often list team members with contact info
• Team page — Sometimes includes individual emails or a general format (e.g., firstname@company.com)
• Contact page — Larger companies usually have a generic contact form, but smaller ones might list direct emails
• Press or media pages — PR contacts are often listed here

What about contact forms?

If you’re targeting a senior stakeholder at a large company, the contact form will probably route you to a catch-all inbox (like info@ or support@). Not ideal.

But if you’re reaching out to a small business or an individual, the contact form might actually land you in the right inbox.

Pro tip:

Once you know the company’s email format (e.g., firstname.lastname@company.com), you can guess other employees’ addresses and verify them with a tool.

Method 5: Look for Personal Websites or Hobby Sites

Everyone has side projects. Maybe they run a blog. Maybe they’re the secretary of their local baseball league. Maybe they have a portfolio site showcasing their design work.

And those sites? They often include contact information.

How to find personal sites:

Do a Google search with their name plus relevant keywords:

• “Jane Doe graphic design portfolio”
• “John Smith Denver woodworking”
• “Sarah Johnson Texas little league secretary”

You might find:

• Personal blogs with contact pages
• Portfolio sites with email links
• Community organization pages listing their role and contact info

Other places to check:

• Academic profiles — If they’ve published research, their contact info might be in the byline or author bio
• GitHub or similar platforms — Developers often list emails in their profiles or commit histories
• Medium or Substack — Writers sometimes include contact info in their bios

Bonus:

If you find their niche username (like a Reddit handle or GitHub profile), search for it on Google. You might discover other platforms where they’re active — and more vocal about what frustrates or excites them.

That’s gold for hyper-personalization.

Method 6: Use Advanced Google Search Operators

Google doesn’t typically index email addresses because they’re considered sensitive information. But you can use advanced search operators to bypass those limitations.

Step 1: Guess the email format

Most companies follow a standard format:

• firstname.lastname@company.com
• firstname@company.com
• firstnamelastname@company.com
• first.last@company.com

Once you guess the format, Google it to see if it appears anywhere online.

Important: Always verify the address before sending an email. If you guess wrong once or twice, no big deal. But if you do this constantly, your deliverability will tank.

Step 2: Use search operators

Here are the most effective ones:

1. Exact phrase search — Use quotation marks to search for an exact email address:

“john.doe@company.com”

2. Site-specific search — Search a specific domain for email addresses:

site:company.com email

site:company.com john.doe@company.com

3. Filetype search — Look for emails in PDFs or Word docs:

filetype:pdf “john.doe@company.com”

filetype:doc site:company.com contact

4. Wildcard search — Use an asterisk (*) to replace unknown parts of an email:

john.doe*@company.com

john*@company.com

These operators help you uncover emails buried in press releases, conference materials, whitepapers, and other public documents.

Method 7: Try Alternative Search Engines

Google has its algorithms. But other search engines work differently.

Even if Google is blocking certain information, engines like DuckDuckGo, Bing, or Brave Search might display it.

Why this works:

Different search engines prioritize different sources. Bing, for example, indexes some LinkedIn profiles more thoroughly than Google does. DuckDuckGo doesn’t filter results based on your search history, so you might see different results.

How to use this method:

Run the same search on multiple engines:

• Google
• DuckDuckGo
• Bing
• Brave Search
• Yandex (if targeting international leads)

You’d be surprised how often a different search engine reveals contact info Google hides.

Method 8: Use the Wayback Machine

Back in the day, people were less cautious about displaying their email addresses online. There wasn’t as much spam as there is today.

So if you’re targeting someone who’s been at a company for a long time (or you’re trying to contact an individual), plug the website URL into the Wayback Machine.

How it works:

The Wayback Machine archives old versions of websites. You can see what a site looked like 5, 10, or even 20 years ago.

And older versions of company websites? They often included full team directories with email addresses.

What to look for:

• About Us pages
• Team pages
• Contact pages
• Press or media pages

Pro tip:

This method works especially well for:

• Long-tenured employees
• Founders or CEOs
• Small businesses that have been around for years

If their email was ever publicly listed, the Wayback Machine probably has it.

Method 9: Dig Deep Into Their Digital Footprint

If you’re at the point where going down the internet rabbit hole sounds like a good idea, here are some advanced tactics.

1. Trademark and patent filings

If your lead is an entrepreneur or inventor, their contact information might be in public trademark or patent records.

Check:

• USPTO (United States Patent and Trademark Office)
• WIPO (World Intellectual Property Organization)

2. Domain name registration records

If they own a website, check WHOIS records. Domain registrations often require real contact information.

Tools like Whois.com or DomainTools let you search domain ownership records.

3. Business directories

Check:

• Industry-specific directories
• Local business directories
• Chambers of Commerce
• Professional association member lists

4. Press releases

Companies publish press releases when they launch products, raise funding, or announce partnerships. Those releases sometimes include contact info for media inquiries.

Search:

• PR Newswire
• Business Wire
• Company newsrooms

5. Government websites

Check government databases for:

• Business licenses
• Professional certifications
• Contractor registrations
• Grant applications

These records often include contact information.

When to use this method:

You’re not going to do this for every lead. But if you’re targeting a high-value prospect (like an ABM account), this level of digging will help you find their email and understand what makes them tick.

Method 10: Just Ask for the Email Address

If all else fails, reach out via the channel you can find them on (usually LinkedIn) and ask.

This isn’t bad news. You’ll just need a strong position statement and proof of your worth.

How to ask without being annoying:

Don’t send a generic “Quick question” message. Those get ignored.

Instead:

1. Find common ground — Shared connections, interests, or recent posts they’ve made
2. Lead with value — Share something relevant and interesting (a case study, an insight, a tool)
3. Make it easy — Ask for their email in a casual, non-pushy way

Example:

“Hey [Name], saw your post about [topic]. I recently helped a company in [their industry] solve [specific problem] and thought you might find the results interesting. Happy to share more if you’re open to it — what’s the best email to send it to?”

Good offers open doors. And they get email addresses.

Other Resources for Finding Email Addresses

Most of the time, you’ll find a valid email using:

• A good email finder
• Social profiles
• Company pages
• A bit of search wizardry

But for high-value leads, it’s worth going further — digging into old archives, niche directories, or personal projects.

The goal isn’t just to “get an email.”
It’s to get the right email, then send the kind of message that actually gets a reply.

Happy hunting — and may your bounce rate stay low and your reply rate high.