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Bulks is where Hunter actually pays for itself. Find emails for 500-5,000 names in 30-60 minutes. This walks through the CSV format, processing time, credit math, and the cleanup pass.
Who this is forSDRs and growth teams running outbound campaigns with 500+ prospects. If you already have a list of names + companies and need verified emails, Bulks is the workflow.
What you'll need
Step 1
Required columns: first_name, last_name, and either domain (e.g., stripe.com) or company_name (e.g., "Stripe"). Pass domain when possible — more accurate.
In Sheets or Excel, create a CSV with columns: first_name, last_name, domain.
Domain > company_name for accuracy. If you only have company name, Hunter infers domain but accuracy drops 10-15%.
Clean before upload: remove duplicates, fix obvious typos, normalize company names (e.g., "Stripe Inc" → "Stripe").
Save as CSV (not XLSX).
Cap at 50,000 rows per upload (Hunter limit). Above that, split into multiple uploads.
Step 2
Hunter → Bulks → Email Finder → upload CSV → map columns → confirm credit cost.
In Hunter, click Bulks → Email Finder.
Upload your CSV.
Hunter shows column mapping. Verify: first_name → First Name, last_name → Last Name, domain → Domain.
Confirm the credit cost (shown at the top). 1 search credit per row, regardless of whether an email is found.
Click "Start." Processing begins.
Step 3
Hunter processes ~100-200 rows/minute. A 1,000-row file takes 10-15 minutes. A 10K-row file takes ~1-2 hours.
Stay in Hunter or close the tab — Hunter emails you when processing completes.
Open the Bulks page to monitor progress (rows processed, ETA).
During processing, Hunter is hitting external sources + verifying. Speed varies by domain freshness.
Step 4
Once complete, download the result CSV. Includes original data + email + confidence + verification status per row.
Bulks → Email Finder → Recent → Download.
CSV columns: original data + email + confidence_score + verification_status.
Open in Sheets. ~70-85% of rows will have a found email. The rest will be blank or low-confidence.
Step 5
Filter: confidence ≥ 80 + verification = Valid. That is your send-safe list.
In Sheets, filter the result CSV:
1. Remove rows with blank email.
2. Filter confidence ≥ 80%.
3. Filter verification_status = Valid.
Save as the "send-safe" list.
A typical 1,000-row input returns ~700 found emails, ~600 above 80% confidence, ~500-550 Valid after verification. The cleanup reduces total volume but raises deliverability from ~70% to ~96%.
Step 6
Native export to Lemlist, Smartlead, Instantly, HubSpot, Salesforce. Or CSV export.
In Hunter, save the Bulks result to a Leads list.
From the Leads list, click Export → choose destination (CRM or outreach tool).
Or download as CSV and import to your outreach tool directly.
Tag the list with the source campaign for tracking.
Common mistakes
Skipping the verification cleanup pass
What goes wrong: You send to all 700 found emails. 100 bounce. Bounce rate 14%. Sender reputation tanks. Future sends land in spam.
How to avoid: Always filter to Valid + 80%+ confidence before sending. The cleanup pass is non-negotiable.
Uploading dirty CSVs
What goes wrong: Duplicates run twice. Typos return no result but cost credits. Bad company names get bad domain inference. ~10-20% wasted credit spend.
How to avoid: Clean CSV BEFORE upload: dedupe, fix typos, normalize names. 20 min upfront saves credits.
Using company_name instead of domain
What goes wrong: Hunter infers domain from name. Accuracy drops 10-15%. More rows return no result or wrong-company emails.
How to avoid: When possible, pass domain. Use a tool like Clearbit or a manual lookup pass to fill domains first.
Running Bulks without checking credit balance
What goes wrong: You upload 5,000 rows. Have only 2,500 search credits. Hunter processes 2,500 and stops. You did not get what you paid for in attention.
How to avoid: Check credit balance before uploading. Top up if needed. Hunter does not warn during upload.
Not tagging the source list for the outreach tool
What goes wrong: Lists get mixed up. You cannot track which campaign came from which Bulks run. Performance analysis is impossible.
How to avoid: Always tag exports with campaign name + date + ICP. Track in your CRM or outreach tool.
Recap
Done — what's next
How to use Hunter.io Email Finder for a specific person
Read the next tutorial
Hand it off
Running one Bulks job is a task. Running weekly Bulks jobs across 10K+ prospects, with proper segmentation and follow-up, is a job. A vetted specialist will own the pipeline. From $14-16/hr.
See specialist rates
50,000 rows per upload. Above that, split into multiple files.
~1-2 hours typically. Varies by domain freshness and Hunter's current load. Hunter emails you when complete.
No — Hunter processes every row. If you upload duplicates, you pay credits twice. Dedupe before upload.
Yes — Bulks → recent job → Cancel. But credits already used (for already-processed rows) are not refunded.
Normal for small companies or executive titles. ~15-30% no-find rate is typical. If higher, your input data is dirty or your ICP has poor Hunter coverage — try domain search first, or supplement with Apollo.
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