What’s the difference between role-based and named contacts?
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Most cold email lists mix both types, and knowing the difference affects your legal exposure and your reply rates.
Role-based addresses represent departments or functions: info@company.com, sales@company.com, support@company.com. Multiple people might monitor them, or they route to a queue. Under UK PECR (Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations), these are classed as corporate subscriber addresses, which gives you more flexibility for unsolicited B2B contact. The tradeoff: personalization is harder, response rates are typically lower, and they're more likely to use catch-all configurations that make them difficult to validate accurately before sending.
Named addresses identify specific individuals: jane.smith@company.com, j.smith@company.com. These respond better to personalized outreach. Under GDPR, named contacts are identifiable individuals, so you need a valid lawful basis before reaching out. In many EU contexts, senders rely on legitimate interests, but it's not automatic protection and your legal team should sign off on it.
Most cold outreach targets named contacts because the reply rates justify the additional compliance work. Role addresses are easier to find but harder to convert.
If you're sending to a mixed list, segment by type before writing copy. Named contacts need personalization. Role addresses need directness about who you're actually trying to reach inside the company. The legal treatment differs too, so knowing your list composition before launch matters.
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