Why You Shouldn’t Overlook Generic Email Addresses in Email Marketing
When planning a cold email marketing campaign, most marketers focus on personalisation - finding the right person, with the right job title, and reaching out directly to them. And while that approach makes perfect sense, there’s another type of contact that’s often overlooked but can be equally valuable: the generic email address.
Think of addresses like info@, sales@, enquiries@, or office@. Traditionally, these have been dismissed as “too general” or “too corporate,” but in reality, they can play an important role in ensuring your message actually lands and gets read by the right people.
In this blog post we look at 4 key reasons to not give generics a miss in your next email campaign...
1. Job Changes Are More Frequent Than Ever
We’re in a period where people are changing jobs and roles more than ever before and some industries experience particularly high turnover. That means the carefully built list of named contacts you’ve been nurturing might not be as reliable as it once was.
A message sent to a named contact could easily bounce back, or worse, vanish into an inactive inbox. But a generic email address remains stable - even as individuals move on. It’s monitored, maintained and often automatically rerouted within the business, ensuring your email continues to reach someone on the inside.
2. Multiple People Can See (and Act On) Your Message
Unlike a personal inbox, a generic address is often monitored by several people within a business. Take our enquiries@, for example - it’s received by Directors, the Sales Manager and the Marketing Manager.
That means your email doesn’t just depend on one person opening it; it can catch the attention of multiple key decision-makers. In some cases, this wider visibility can increase your chances of generating engagement or sparking an internal discussion.
3. Generic Addresses Often Suit Certain Industries
Some industries naturally lend themselves to shared inboxes - golf clubs being a good example. We recently built an email list of golf club contacts and found that a large portion of them use generic addresses such as info@ or manager@.
For businesses like these, there isn’t one specific person you should be targeting - responsibilities often overlap, and decisions are made collectively. In this context, a generic email is not a compromise - it’s often the most effective way to reach the people who matter.
4. Combine Generic and Named Contacts for Best Results
Of course, that doesn’t mean you should abandon personalised outreach altogether. The best approach is often a blend of both - using named contacts where possible, while also including generic addresses to ensure coverage and continuity.
This combination means you’re less likely to lose contact when someone leaves a company, while still benefiting from the personal touch that comes with individual outreach.
In Summary
Generic email addresses shouldn’t be dismissed as impersonal or ineffective. In today’s fast-moving business landscape, they can add resilience and reach to your campaigns - ensuring your message finds its way to an active inbox, even when roles and responsibilities shift.
By targeting generics alongside named contacts, you can create a more robust, reliable, and ultimately more successful cold email strategy.