# Verify your list with EmailShield

> What EmailShield is, why you should verify every list before sending, and how it protects your domains.

Source: https://docs.maildeck.co/leads-verification/emailshield/

**EmailShield** is a list cleaner. Before you send, it
checks every address on your list and removes the ones that don't exist, bounce or are risky. Think of it as a
spell-check for emails. It's a sister product of Maildeck, at [emailshield.co](https://emailshield.co).

Verifying your list is the cheapest way to protect the domains your inboxes live on.

## Where it fits in your stack

Every cold email setup has four parts. EmailShield is part 4, the last check before anything is sent.

| Part | What it does | Tool |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Infrastructure | The inboxes and domains you send from | Maildeck |
| 2. Sequencer | Sends your campaigns and follow-ups | Instantly, Plusvibe, Smartlead, EmailBison, Manyreach |
| 3. Leads & enrichment | Finds the right people and their work emails | [LeadSonar](https://docs.maildeck.co/leads-verification/leadsonar/) |
| 4. Cleaning & verification | Removes bad and risky addresses before you send | **EmailShield** |

## Why verify before you send

When you email an address that doesn't exist, the email **bounces**: it comes back undelivered. Email providers like
Microsoft and Google watch your bounce rate. A lot of bounces tells them you're sending to a list you didn't check,
which is what spammers do. Your **sender reputation** drops, more of your emails land in spam, and in bad cases the
domain ends up on a **blacklist** (a public list of senders that many mail servers refuse or filter).

The domain is the expensive part to lose: it took weeks of [warmup](https://docs.maildeck.co/deliverability/warmup/) to get it ready to send.
Verifying the list first costs far less than replacing a burned domain.

> **Caution: Keep bounces low**
> Our guides use a rule of thumb of a bounce rate under 5%. If a campaign goes above that, pause it and clean the list
> before sending more.

## How it helps

- **Fewer bounces, so your domains stay healthy and out of spam**
- **You only pay to send to people who can actually receive it.** Every bad address wastes a slot in your inboxes'
  daily sending limit.
- **It also watches your domains for blacklists and warns you early**

## What it does

- Multi-port SMTP verification on every address (it asks the recipient's mail server whether the mailbox exists,
  without sending an email)
- Catch-all, disposable and role-account detection (see [List hygiene](https://docs.maildeck.co/leads-verification/list-hygiene/) for what these
  are)
- Bulk list uploads with downloadable results
- Blacklist monitoring for domains and IPs, with alerts
- DMARC report analysis and deliverability monitoring
- Inbox and spam placement testing
- Clean REST API and webhooks for your own stack

## How to use it in your workflow

1. **Build your list.** With LeadSonar, emails already come verified by EmailShield. If you got the list somewhere else,
   go to step 2.

2. **Upload the list to EmailShield** and let it check every address.

3. **Download the results** and keep only the addresses marked safe. Decide what to do with risky ones such as
   catch-alls (see [List hygiene](https://docs.maildeck.co/leads-verification/list-hygiene/)).

4. **Import the clean list into your sequencer** and start your campaign.

> **Tip**
> Not sure if you need it? Ask Maya in the app "Why should I verify my list?"

## Getting started

EmailShield has its own account and its own pricing, which you'll find on its site. In the Maildeck app it's listed in
the sidebar under **Verification**.

- [Open EmailShield](https://emailshield.co): Clean your first list at emailshield.co.

## Next

  - [List hygiene habits](https://docs.maildeck.co/leads-verification/list-hygiene/): Catch-alls, bounces, unsubscribes and fresh lists.
  - [Common errors](https://docs.maildeck.co/deliverability/common-errors/): What to do when bounces or spam go up.