Where can you source data for cold email?

Data sourcing for cold email spans a spectrum from highly compliant to legally questionable.

More compliant sources:

Your own network and introductions

Trade show attendees (where consent for follow-up was obtained)

Inbound inquiries that didn't convert

Published business contact information (with appropriate context)

Commercial data providers:

ZoomInfo, Apollo, Clearbit, Lusha aggregate business contact data

Quality and compliance practices vary widely

Request documentation of data collection methods

Verify their compliance claims independently

Higher risk sources:

Scraped data from websites or social platforms

Purchased lists from unknown vendors

Compiled lists without clear provenance

Data aggregated from multiple unverified sources

Key principle: You are responsible for how you use data, regardless of how the provider obtained it. Under GDPR, you need your own lawful basis for processing. The vendor's claims don't transfer to you automatically.