Role Account
Also known as: Role-based email, functional address
A role account is an email address managed by a job function or a group rather than a specific person, such as admin@ or support@.
Role accounts (like admin@, support@, sales@, or info@) are addresses assigned to a department or function. They are often shared by multiple people or routed to a helpdesk.
In email marketing, sending to role accounts is risky. These addresses are frequently scraped from websites by bots, meaning they often end up on purchased lists. Furthermore, because they are not owned by a single person, it is unclear who "opted in" to receive marketing.
High bounce rates and low engagement are common with role accounts, so many B2B senders suppress them to protect their deliverability reputation.
Related Terms
Triggered Email
A triggered email is a message your system sends automatically when someone does something specific, like signing up, leaving items in a cart, or reaching a milestone. It goes to one person based on their action instead of going to your whole list at a fixed time.
Learn more →Disposable Email(Burner email)
A disposable email is a temporary address created for a single use, often to sign up for a service without revealing a real address.
Learn more →Email Alias(Plus Alias)
An email alias is a version of your email address that still delivers to the same inbox. It lets you create different addresses for signups and tracking without managing more accounts.
Learn more →Email Appending
Email appending is when you use a third party to add email addresses to your existing customer records based on other details like name or postal address. It is risky because these people did not ask to hear from you, which often leads to spam complaints and poor deliverability.
Learn more →