Onboarding a New Client's Email List: A First-Week Checklist for Agencies

Treat a new client's list as an intake, not a file to upload. In the first week: keep the original, file the working copy under the client's workspace, clean the obvious junk, verify it, split by result, and get the client to agree in writing on what is sent and what is held back. Doing it in that order means the first campaign goes out on a list you can defend.

Day 1: receive and keep the original

Save the file exactly as the client sent it, with the date and who sent it. Everything after this works on a copy. If the client later says "you lost half my leads", the original is the answer.

Note the source: built by you, exported from the client's CRM, bought from a data provider, or collected from events. The source tells you how risky to expect the list to be, and it goes in the client report later.

Day 1 to 2: basic cleanup

Before spending checks, do the free part. Our guide to cleaning a list before verifying it covers it:

• Remove blank rows and rows with no address.
• Split cells that hold two or more addresses, as in multiple emails in one cell.
• Drop exact duplicates.
• Keep the client's own columns (company, owner, source). You will need them to segment later.

Day 2: file it under the client

On the Agency plan, client workspaces let you file each list under a client and filter history and exports by client. Create the workspace first, then upload, so the list never sits in a general pile next to another client's data.

Day 2 to 3: verify

Upload to the verify page. Each address comes back valid, risky or invalid with a reason. Export the three groups separately.

Day 3 to 4: split and decide

Result	Default plan	Note for the client
Valid	Send in the first campaign	These are the addresses the verifier could confirm
Risky	Hold back, then split by type	Catch-all and role addresses need their own plan. See what to do with catch-all emails
Invalid	Never send	Sending to these is what hurts the client's domain

Write the plan down: which groups go in which campaign and in what order.

Day 5: client sign-off

Send the client a short summary: source, rows received, rows checked, the valid, risky and invalid split, and what you plan to send. If you are on the Agency plan, a branded report does this in one link. For what to include, see how agencies report verification to clients.

Day 5: set the re-verify date

Lists age. Put a date on the calendar to verify again before the next campaign. The routine is in reverify leads older than 30 days.

What to keep in the client file

• The original export and the cleaned copy.
• The verification date and the valid, risky and invalid counts.
• The agreed send plan and who approved it.
• The re-verify date.

Next step

If you run lists for several clients, one plan with a workspace per client keeps this checklist the same every time. See the Agency plan or compare plans on pricing.