Export Zoho CRM or Close Contacts to a Clean Email List

In Zoho CRM, export Contacts or Leads from Data Administration with Email, Secondary Email and Email Opt Out. In Close, export from the Leads page with the type set to Contacts. Set aside every opt-out, then check the rest live before you send. Both CRMs keep the opt-out on the record. The export is where it gets lost if you leave the field out.

This post covers the export and the split. To check addresses inside each CRM and write results back, see verifying emails in Zoho CRM with a Deluge function and verifying emails in Close.

Zoho CRM: export

From Zoho's export CRM data article:

1. Go to Setup > Data Administration > Export and click Start an Export. You can also open the module, click the ellipsis next to Create, and choose Export.
2. Choose Contacts (or Leads) and filter by a custom view or criteria (up to 25).
3. Choose Choose Fields and pick Email, Secondary Email, Email Opt Out, name, title and account. Add Unsubscribed Mode or Unsubscribed Time if your org has them.
4. Pick CSV and a character set, optionally set a password, and click Export.
5. When the status shows Completed in Export History, download the zip. The link lasts seven days.

Limit	Zoho's published number
Records per CSV export	200,000 from one module (XLSX: 50,000)
Exports a day	Free 10, Standard 100, Professional 250, Enterprise 500, Ultimate 1,000
Fields	Up to 200 chosen, from up to five lookup modules
Who	Profiles with the module's Export permission

Zoho CRM: split

1. Unzip, then upload the CSV to the Zoho CRM contacts to email list tool.
2. Contacts with Email Opt Out true, or an Unsubscribed Mode or Time, are always set aside. False or blank is not read as consent.
3. Tick the option to add Secondary Email as extra rows if you want them.
4. Download the send list and the set-aside file.

Field labels can be renamed in Zoho, and GDPR or HIPAA settings can change what an export contains. The notes above the result say which columns the tool found.

Close: export

From Close's exporting data guide:

1. Open Leads, or a Smart View built on the Leads tab, and filter or search. Without a filter, everything is exported.
2. Open the ... menu and choose Export.
3. Set the type to Contacts, so each person gets a row. Close says contact exports come from the Leads page, and a Smart View built on the Contacts tab can't be exported.
4. Choose CSV and Common Fields or All Fields. Close emails a download link that expires after seven days.

In Close, a lead is a company and contacts are the people under it. A Leads export gives you one row per company with the primary contact; a Contacts export gives you everyone.

Close: split

1. Upload the CSV to the Close leads to email list tool. Every contact email becomes a row, with the lead name kept as the company.
2. Cells with several addresses are split. Tick the option to read extra email columns too.
3. Unsubscribed or do-not-email values are set aside. Blank is not read as consent.

Close's export page doesn't mention unsubscribes, and its unsubscribes live with its email settings. If the notes say no unsubscribe column was found, nobody could be set aside for unsubscribing. In that case, keep your own do-not-email list and remove it from the file with the compare email lists tool.

Load the set-aside file everywhere

Both CRMs only stop their own sends. Load the set-aside file into the blocklist of every outside tool before you import the send list, and keep a master copy. The suppression list merger combines it with lists from your sequencer. Our cold email suppression list post explains how long to keep opt-outs.

Check the send list

1. Upload the send list at /verify. Every address gets a live mailbox check, valid, risky and invalid download separately, and catch-all domains are marked.
2. Import only the valid file into your sending tool.
3. Contacts often stay in a CRM for years after the person has left. Our email valid but person left the company post covers the cases a mailbox check can't catch.

What these exports miss

• Bounces from other tools. Neither CRM knows about bounces in a sequencer that doesn't sync back.
• Renamed or custom fields for consent. Add them to the export and check the notes.
• Records you can't see. Both exports respect permissions and visibility.

Where SimpleVerifier fits

Both export tools are free and run in your browser. Nothing is uploaded until you choose to check the addresses. The live check is the paid part: the first 100 checks are free with a Google sign-in on the verify page. Pro is $39 a month with the first 100,000 checks a month at full speed, then slower, never cut off, and one-time packs of 10,000 checks for $15 never expire. See pricing.