Is It Safe to Send Emails to Role-Based Email Addresses?

During your email lead generation, you will collect different types of email accounts including role-based email accounts. While it is advisable to send emails to deliverable email accounts by an email validation service, it is debatable if it is safe to send marketing emails to role-based email accounts.

What is Role-Based Email Account?

As the name says, role-based email accounts are associated with a particular role like sales, editor, admin, etc. A role-based email account is not associated with one single person, but with a group of peoples or a department.

Types of Role-Based Email Accounts?

As said role-based accounts are associated with a particular department, the role-based email accounts start with admin@, editor@, sales@, inquiry @, etc. Here is the complete list of role-based email account by sub-categories.

Role-Based Emails By Broadcast

Broadcast emails go to many or a group of people. Example of broadcast emails - support@, all@, team@

Role-Based Emails By Position

Role-based emails by position has a high chance of delivering to an individual, but an individual might change due to change of job. Example of role-based emails by position - admin@, ceo@, editor@

Role-Based Emails By Testing

Such emails are not available publicly but are reserved for internal testing. Example of role-based emails by testing - test@, demo@, asdf@

Role-Based Emails By Compliance

Compliance based emails are for handling compliance related grievances Example of role-based emails by compliance - spam@, abuse@, compliance@, complaints@

Is It Safe to Send Marketing Emails to Role-Based Email Accounts?

Role-based email accounts are always an issue for the marketers as role-based email accounts are known for hindering the email deliverability rates. Here are the risks associated with role-based email accounts for sending marketing emails.

Mailchimp Says: Some of these types of addresses are associated with high bounce rates and spam complaints, so Mailchimp blocks them from your import.

Spammers Paradise

Role-based email accounts are easiest to find and one can even guess the role-based email accounts easily. Role-based email accounts are available publically, generally on the contact us page.
Marketers with the high volume of role-based email accounts in their email list are suspected of using a harvested email list by ESPs.

Hard to Show Permission

As a role-based email account is associated with a group of people or a department, it is harder to show explicit permission of each recipient.

Explicit permission is required by email marketing laws and best practices.

Ending on a Blacklist

Various blacklist services like Spamhaus treats marketing emails sent to role-based email accounts as spam. Because such role-based email accounts are either harvested or used without the explicit permission of recipients.

Higher Complaints And Low Engagement Rates

Role-based email account not only increases the risk of spam complaints but also pulls down the overall engagement rates of your marketing campaigns.

Majority of the email service providers like MailChimp maintains a suppression list of role-based email accounts meaning emails will not be sent to such email accounts for maintaining email deliverability rates and protecting senders reputation.

Sending marketing emails to a few role-based email accounts that are known to engage with your email campaigns should be fine. Remember, if there is a high volume of role-based email accounts you must remove the inactive emails to keep a healthy email deliverability and engagement rates.