IN THIS ARTICLE:
What is a catch-all email address?
A catch-all email address, also known as an accept-all address, is configured to receive all emails sent to a domain, regardless of whether the specific mailbox exists. For example, if a company has a catch-all address set up for @company.com, emails sent to any address at that domain—such as [email protected] or even [email protected]—will be accepted.
How does it work?
Woodpecker integrates with Bouncer, an email verification service, to validate email addresses before sending campaigns. This integration helps identify invalid or undeliverable addresses, reducing the likelihood of bounces.
Catch-all email verification helps ensure you don't miss any potential prospects due to a bad reputation. Better validation results in fewer bounces and a better domain reputation. When verifying emails, we can identify valid ones (Deliverable) and categorize some as Risky or Undeliverable.
A catch-all email address does not equal a spam email address. If a given address has been set as a catch-all, it will count under verification.
The default setting for all users is “Balanced – send to deliverable and risky catch-all emails,” which you can see in the campaign settings.
All the options available and what they do:
Only verify - do not send to catch-all emails: this setting will only verify your prospects by Bouncer, and not send any emails from a campaign to them.
Maximum - send only to deliverable catch-all emails: this setting will detect any catch-all emails that are safe to contact and send them emails from your campaigns.
Balanced - send to deliverable and risky catch-all emails: this setting will detect any deliverable and risky catch-all emails, meaning the ones that probably exist but can still result in bounces.
None - send to all catch-all emails, including undeliverable: this setting will detect all catch-all emails, and contact them, which can result in the most bounces.
Tip: If you’re using a fresh domain to send cold email campaigns or you’re rebuilding the domain reputation, consider using the “Maximum” setting.
You’ll also see your choice in the summary of your campaign.
After starting the campaign, if some prospects are verified as catch-all emails, they will be assigned the Paused status. There are three options for this status: Paused (Deliverable), Paused (Risky), and Paused (Undeliverable).
In the TO CHECK tab of your campaign, you’ll see how many addresses were assigned which status. You can hover over each circle and see the information about such statuses and what can happen if you send them to these addresses.
You can then decide to change the setting for each of these statuses. After selecting another setting for catch-all emails, you must confirm your choice in the popup window. If you loosen the settings completely from “Maximum” to “None”, prospects in the To Check tab will be contacted/put into the sending queue.
Prospects view
All prospects marked with Paused status can be checked in the Prospects tab of a campaign. Filter them out with the “Status” criteria and choose the one you’d like to see. You can then manually change their status to “Active” if you wish to do so there.
FAQ
Q.: What's the difference between deliverable and risky catch-all emails?
A deliverable catch-all email belongs to a domain where the server is configured as a catch-all (accepting emails to any address) but actively accepts and processes emails without rejecting them. This means the domain is functional, and emails sent to it are likely to be delivered to the recipient, though it’s still unclear whether the specific email address exists. The risk of bounces is low, as the server reliably handles incoming messages.
A risky catch-all email, while also tied to a catch-all domain, is less reliable. The server may accept the email initially but later bounce it or silently discard it if the address doesn’t exist. This introduces a higher level of uncertainty and increases the risk of damaging your sender's reputation if too many emails bounce or go unengaged.