Imagine this:
You’ve identified the perfect B2B lead on LinkedIn, a potential client who could help you reach this month’s sales quota. But there’s one crucial piece missing — their email address.
But how do you find emails from LinkedIn?
Without it, that golden opportunity remains frustratingly out of reach.
But don’t worry — we’re sharing eight effective strategies to find someone’s email on LinkedIn.
8 ways to find emails on LinkedIn
Here, you’ll find actionable ways to get LinkedIn email addresses in less than a few minutes.
Let’s start 👇
1. Use Cognism’s Chrome Extension
With the right technology, getting emails from LinkedIn becomes a piece of cake. Technology like Cognism can help you find email addresses that aren’t publicly visible (but still in a GDPR-compliant way!).
This is the easiest way to find a prospect’s email, but it requires a subscription. There are several paid email finder Chrome extensions for LinkedIn—we don’t suggest using a free extension, as many of them pull data from your contacts to supplement the tool's database.
Our favourite is the Cognism browser extension, which directly integrates with LinkedIn and works across all corporate websites.
With just a few clicks, you can extract the email addresses and direct dials of LinkedIn users.
Once you’ve subscribed, you only need to follow a few simple steps to start using it.
1. Download the extension
Go to the Chrome Web Store and search for the Cognism Chrome Extension. Click the “Add to Chrome” button to download and install the extension.
2. Activate the extension
Once you’ve installed the extension, navigate to the LinkedIn profile of the person whose email address you want to find.
3. Use the Extension
While on the LinkedIn profile, click on the Cognism icon in your browser toolbar to activate the extension.
4. Scan the profile
The Cognism extension will automatically scan the LinkedIn profile and attempt to uncover hidden contact details, such as email addresses.
5. View results
After scanning the profile, the extension will display any uncovered email addresses. You can review these results to see if the desired email address is among them.
6. Connect
Once you’ve extracted the email from LinkedIn, you can use it to contact the person via email for networking, business inquiries, or other purposes.
2. View their LinkedIn profile
Visit the LinkedIn profile of the person you’re trying to contact. Navigate to the profile by using LinkedIn’s search bar. Once there, check the “Contact Info” section.
Some individuals list their email addresses here directly.
If available, copy the LinkedIn email address.
Remember, while this is one of the easiest ways to find an email address on LinkedIn, it holds many downsides:
- Limited success rate: many users don’t include business email addresses.
- Lack of scalability: manual checking is slow and inefficient.
- Incomplete information: users often omit business email addresses.
- Risk of inaccuracy: profiles may have outdated or incorrect information.
- Privacy concerns: some users may prefer not to share email addresses publicly.
3. Send a message on LinkedIn
If you struggle to get email addresses from LinkedIn, consider contacting prospects directly via a connection request or message (no premium account is needed!). This approach can be more personal and practical in building connections.
Here’s how to how to find someone’s email on LinkedIn using this method:
Tailor your message
Tailor your message to reflect a genuine interest in the person’s profile or work. This can help establish a stronger connection and make your outreach stand out.
Introduce yourself
When reaching out on LinkedIn, make sure to craft a strategic introduction. Mention any common connections, shared interests, or relevant industry insights to establish rapport.
Pitch
Instead of just asking for their contact details, consider delivering a brief pitch or explaining the value of further communication via email. This will make the request seem more reasonable and less intrusive.
Follow up
Consider a polite follow-up if the prospect doesn’t respond to your initial message. Reference your first LinkedIn message and reiterate the value or reason for your outreach. Persistence, when done respectfully, can often lead to a response.
Check Facebook and X
While LinkedIn messaging is effective, it’s also worth considering other contact methods. If the prospect is active on different social media platforms, such as X or Facebook, you might also try reaching out on these channels.
Diversifying your approach can increase the chances of making a connection.
4. Send an InMail
Direct messages won’t always work — you can’t target users outside your network. In this case, you should try InMail, LinkedIn’s native feature.
Follow these steps to get a response to your InMail and the contact’s email address.
In your InMail:
- Briefly introduce yourself.
- Explain your reason for contacting them.
- Politely request their email address for further communication.
Step 1: Start with a clear subject line
Make your subject line compelling and relevant, indicating the content of your message.
Examples include “Quick Question About Connecting” or “Request for Contact Information.”
Step 2: Personalise your greeting
Address the recipient by name and mention a specific detail from their profile.
For example, start with “Hi [Name]” or “Hello [Name],”.
Step 3: Introduce yourself briefly
Begin your message with a brief introduction. Explain who you are and why you’re reaching out.
For example, “My name is [Your Name], and I am a [Your Job Title] at [Your Company].”
Step 4: State your purpose clearly
Explain the reason for your InMail directly.
For instance, “I would like to discuss collaboration opportunities and prefer to do so via email,” or “I’m interested in your work at [Their Company] and would love to continue the conversation via email.”
Step 5: Highlight the benefits
Articulate why it would be beneficial for them to share their email.
You might say, “Discussing via email could streamline our communication,”.
Step 6: Include a call to action
End with a clear and specific request. Here are some examples:
- “Could you please share your email address?”
- “Would it be possible to continue this conversation over email?”
Step 7: Polite closing
Conclude your message politely and include your contact information.
For example:
- “Thank you for your time. I look forward to your response.”
- “Best regards, [Your Name].”
5. Take a guess and try to verify it
If direct methods don’t work, educated guessing can help.
Here are some ways you can tweak your guesses and get LinkedIn emails:
Common email formats
Use common email formats such as first.last@company.com, first_initial.last@company.com, or first@company.com.
These formats are frequently used in professional settings and may align with the user’s email address.
Company domain
If you know the user’s company, research its domain name (e.g., company.com). Combine the user’s name with the company domain to form potential email addresses (e.g., john.doe@company.com).
Verify email validity
Once you have a guessed email address, verifying it is crucial to ensure it reaches the intended recipient.
Use an email verification tool to check if the guessed email address is deliverable and actively used.
Or you can skip all these steps and subscribe to Cognism’s Diamond package, which includes verified mobiles and emails.
Consider contextual cues
Consider any available contextual cues from the user’s online presence, such as their job title, industry, or previous email patterns.
These cues can help refine your guessing strategy and increase the likelihood of success.
Test multiple variations
Multiple variations of the guessed email address are generated based on different formats and contextual cues. Test each variation using email verification tools to identify the most accurate and valid option.
6. Export your connection list and enrich it
Exporting and enriching your connection list for bulk email finding can be very effective for extracting emails from LinkedIn. LinkedIn allows you to export your connections as a CSV file.
Here are the exact steps you should follow:
Step 1: Export connections
Log into your LinkedIn account, click “My Network,” and click “Connections.”
Select “Export contacts” from the dropdown menu and choose the desired settings (e.g., all connections, CSV format).
Step 2: Download CSV
After you click “Export contacts,” you’ll be directed to the Privacy settings page, where you should make a request. You’ll have to wait a bit for bigger databases of contacts.
Step 3: Enrich with Cognism
Upload the CSV file to Cognism for data enrichment. Initiate the enrichment process to add additional information, such as email addresses and job titles.
Here’s how you can do it:
Step 4: Review and export
Review the enriched data for accuracy and completeness. Then, export the enriched data from Cognism in your preferred format (e.g., CSV).
Step 5: Secure handling
Handle all data securely and comply with data protection regulations such as GDPR.
7. Use a B2B email finder tool
Explore specialised online tools designed for finding B2B email addresses.
While many of these services require a subscription, their effectiveness, especially for large-scale outreach campaigns, can justify the investment.
A LinkedIn email finder like ZoomInfo, Cognism and RocketReach are reputable options.
One key benefit of using B2B email finder tools is their ability to provide accurate and reliable email addresses.
Some tools utilise techniques such as web scraping, data aggregation, and email verification, to ensure the validity of the obtained email addresses.
Cognism does not scrape emails; all contact data is GDPR and CCPA-compliant.
Some tools offer additional features beyond basic email-finding capabilities, such as bulk email verification, integration with CRM systems, and lead enrichment.
When using B2B email finder tools, it’s essential to prioritise compliance with data protection regulations and respect individuals’ privacy. Ensure that the tool you choose adheres to relevant laws and guidelines, such as GDPR, and handles personal data responsibly.
Not all of them meet the requirements for GDPR compliance. Rely on the tools that do follow them — Cognism should be your top candidate for an email finder as it’s compliant with GDPR and offers global email coverage.
8. Combine Sales Nav and Cognism
For an extra edge, combine LinkedIn Sales Navigator’s advanced search functionalities with a tool like Cognism.
Sales Navigator allows you to target specific profiles based on detailed filters such as industry, company size, and job title.
Once you’ve refined your search, use Cognism to uncover hidden email addresses within those results.
This powerful combination allows for a highly targeted approach and can significantly increase your chances of finding accurate LinkedIn email addresses.
Once you’ve refined your search, use Cognism to uncover hidden email addresses within those results. This powerful combination allows for a highly targeted approach and can significantly increase your chances of finding accurate contact information.
CTO and Co-Founder @Moonhub
Better results with Cognism
If you’re wondering how to find someone’s email on LinkedIn, the answer is Cognism.
Cognism provides easy access to business emails and mobile numbers cleaned against do-not-call lists in EMEA, APAC, and the US.
The browser extension allows you to tap into Cognism’s GDPR-compliant database as you are:
- Browsing corporate websites.
- Prospecting using LinkedIn or LinkedIn Sales Navigator.
- Managing contacts and accounts in your CRM or sales engagement tool.
Start finding LinkedIn emails now. Click the banner to book a demo!
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