Frequently Asked Questions
The Basics
What is Zap Contact?
Zap Contact™ is a managed email marketing platform built for cold email — specifically for businesses that need to send to purchased or non-opt-in contact lists. Unlike MailChimp, Constant Contact, and other mainstream platforms that prohibit purchased lists, Zap Contact is designed from the ground up to handle cold email reliably and keep your campaigns running long-term. For the full story, see our About page.
Why can't I just use MailChimp or Constant Contact?
You can try. Some customers have used mainstream platforms successfully by cleaning their lists, sending in small batches, and being very careful with their content. But these platforms explicitly prohibit purchased or non-opt-in lists in their terms of service. If they detect cold email activity — usually through elevated bounce rates or spam complaints — they will shut down your account, often without warning, and you'll lose your templates, campaign history, and contact data. Zap Contact eliminates that risk entirely.
Is cold email legal?
In the United States, yes. The CAN-SPAM Act governs commercial email and does not require prior opt-in consent. As long as your email includes a valid physical address, an honest subject line, clear identification as an advertisement (if applicable), and a working unsubscribe link, you are in compliance. Zap Contact automatically includes an unsubscribe link in every email and immediately honors all unsubscribe requests. Note: laws differ significantly in Canada (CASL) and Europe (GDPR), which do require prior consent.
Who can use Zap Contact?
Zap Contact was originally built exclusively for customers of Dr Bill's marketing lists (real estate agents, physicians, and businesses). We are now expanding to serve a broader audience. Whether you're working with a Dr Bill list or bringing your own clean contact data, Zap Contact can work for you. Contact us to discuss your specific needs.
Getting Started
How do I sign up?
If you're a Dr Bill list customer, log in to this website using the credentials you received when you requested a free sample or purchased a list. From there, choose a plan on the Pricing/Plans page and complete your profile. If you're not a Dr Bill customer, contact us to get started.
How do I import my contacts?
For Dr Bill list customers, the easiest method is to import directly from your Dr Bill account — just select the lists you've purchased and we'll handle the import and field mapping automatically. You can also manually import contacts using a CSV file through the Bulk Import feature in the Zap App. See our Importing Your Lists tutorial for step-by-step instructions.
What happens during onboarding?
Every Zap Contact customer gets a 30-minute Zoom onboarding call where we walk you through the Zap App, demonstrate the features, and help you plan your first campaign. This isn't a generic demo — we'll look at your specific list, discuss your target audience, and give you practical advice on email strategy. You can also schedule additional calls at any time.
Do I need any technical knowledge?
No. The Zap App is designed to be as easy to use as any mainstream email platform. If you've ever used MailChimp or Constant Contact, you'll feel right at home. If you haven't, that's fine too — the onboarding call and our Tutorials will get you up to speed. And if you'd rather not deal with the tech at all, we offer optional campaign management where we handle everything for you.
Deliverability & Technical
How does Zap Contact avoid the bounce and spam problems that get people shut down elsewhere?
Two things. First, every email is verified in real-time before it's sent. If an address is flagged as invalid or risky, we skip it before it becomes a hard bounce. This keeps bounce rates consistently under 2% for most campaigns. Second, we monitor campaigns to ensure email content meets quality standards and isn't triggering spam filters. Recipients can easily unsubscribe with one click, and unsubscribed contacts are immediately and permanently removed from future sends.
What is a dedicated sending domain and why does it matter?
When you sign up, we register a separate domain specifically for your email campaigns and configure all the necessary DNS records (SPF, DKIM, DMARC) for proper email authentication. This matters for two reasons: it builds a positive sending reputation specifically for your campaigns, and it keeps your primary business website and email domain completely insulated from any deliverability issues. If something goes sideways with a campaign, your regular business email is unaffected.
What kind of bounce rates can I expect?
Most campaigns report hard bounce rates under 2%. Our back-end infrastructure requires rates below 3%, and the real-time email verification catches the vast majority of bad addresses before they're sent. Dr Bill lists are guaranteed 96% accurate, and the Zap Contact verification layer pushes effective accuracy even higher.
Will my emails end up in spam?
No platform can guarantee inbox placement — that depends on many factors including your email content, your sending domain's reputation, and the recipient's email provider. But Zap Contact gives you the best possible foundation: a properly authenticated dedicated domain, verified email addresses, low bounce rates, and easy unsubscribe handling. We also provide guidance on writing effective email copy that avoids common spam triggers. See our Cold Email Sending Guide for best practices.
Does Zap Contact handle email verification, or do I need a separate service?
Zap Contact handles verification automatically. Every email is checked in real-time before it's sent — no additional service or cost required. This is one of the advantages over mainstream platforms, which often require you to purchase separate list cleaning from a third-party provider.
Campaigns & Features
What can I do with the Zap App?
Everything you'd expect from a modern email marketing platform: import and manage contacts, create email templates using a visual design editor or custom HTML, segment your list using Smart Lists (filtered groups based on any field — city, license type, brokerage, specialty, etc.), schedule campaigns to send immediately or at a specific time, use drip mode to send in batches over time, insert personalized fields (like the recipient's first name or city), and view detailed campaign reports including deliveries, opens, clicks, bounces, unsubscribes, and spam complaints. See our Tutorials for walkthroughs of each feature.
What are Smart Lists?
Smart Lists are saved filters that automatically group your contacts based on criteria you define. For example, if you bought the Florida real estate agent list, you could create a Smart List for "Miami Brokers" by filtering on City = Miami and License Type = Broker. Once saved, you can target that Smart List directly when sending campaigns — no need to re-filter each time. See the Smart Lists tutorial for details.
What is Drip Mode?
Drip Mode lets you send a campaign in batches over time rather than all at once. For example, instead of sending 10,000 emails simultaneously (which can overwhelm inbox providers like Gmail and Yahoo and hurt deliverability), you might send 500 every 2 hours over several days. This is especially recommended for larger campaigns and significantly improves deliverability. You configure the batch size and interval when scheduling your campaign.
Can I personalize my emails?
Yes. You can insert custom field values into both the subject line and body of your email. For example, "Dear {{first_name}}" or "As a real estate professional in {{city}}..." The available fields depend on which Dr Bill list you imported, but typically include first name, last name, city, state, license type, brokerage, and more.
Can I design my own email templates?
Yes. The Zap App includes a visual Design Editor (drag-and-drop) and a Code Editor for custom HTML. If you prefer to design your emails in a third-party tool, you can simply paste the resulting HTML into the Code Editor. See the Email Builder tutorial for a walkthrough.
What reporting is available?
After a campaign is sent, you can view detailed statistics including: emails delivered, opened, clicked (with link-level tracking), bounced (hard and soft), unsubscribed, and spam complaints. You can export contacts from any of these categories — for example, export everyone who opened but didn't click, or everyone who bounced, for further analysis or follow-up.
Can you manage my campaigns for me?
Absolutely. We offer optional campaign management for customers who prefer a hands-off approach. You provide the email content (or we help you create it), and we handle the import, scheduling, sending, and reporting. Many of our customers find this is the easiest way to get started, especially for their first few campaigns. Just let us know and we'll take care of it.
Pricing
How much does Zap Contact cost?
We offer two plans depending on how you send. The Monthly Plan is priced by the number of contacts in your account (starting at $40/month for up to 5,000 contacts) with unlimited sends and no setup fee. The Pay-As-You-Go Plan charges per email sent, starting at $100 which includes a dedicated sending domain and 10,000 email credits. See our Pricing/Plans page for full pricing tables.
Which plan should I choose — Monthly or Pay-As-You-Go?
It depends on how often you send. If you email your full list multiple times per month, the Monthly Plan is usually the better value because you get unlimited sends for a flat rate. If you have a large list but only target segments at a time, or you send infrequently (say, once a month or once a quarter), Pay-As-You-Go is more cost-effective because you only pay for emails actually sent. Not sure? Text or call 850-279-5420 and I'll help you figure out the right fit.
Is there a setup fee?
The Monthly Plan has no setup fee. The Pay-As-You-Go Plan has a one-time $100 starter fee which includes the registration and DNS configuration of your dedicated sending domain plus 10,000 email credits ($50 value). Both plans include everything listed on our Pricing/Plans page: full Zap App access, unlimited users, a dedicated sending domain, a 30-minute onboarding call, and unlimited support.
Are there discounts for high volume?
Yes. Monthly Plan customers save approximately 17% by paying annually. Pay-As-You-Go customers get per-email discounts on bulk credit purchases — prices drop from $0.005/email at the base rate down to $0.0025/email at the 2 million credit tier. See the Pricing/Plans page for the full discount schedule.
How does auto-refill work on Pay-As-You-Go?
When your email credit balance runs out, it automatically refills with 10,000 credits for $50. This ensures your campaigns are never interrupted mid-send. If you prefer to purchase credits in larger blocks at a discount, you can buy bulk credits instead.
Support
What if I need help?
You're not filing a support ticket into a void. Zap Contact is a one-person operation run by Bill Bailey (Dr Bill), and when you reach out, you're talking directly to me. Every customer gets a 30-minute onboarding Zoom call, and you can schedule additional calls anytime. You can also email support@zapcontact.com or call/text 850-279-5420.
Do you help with email copy and strategy?
Yes. I'm happy to review your email content, suggest improvements, and give feedback on your overall campaign strategy — including subject lines, sending frequency, audience targeting, and landing page design. I've been in the list and email marketing business for over 20 years and I want your campaign to succeed. This kind of hands-on guidance is included with every plan.
What if something goes wrong with my campaign?
Contact me immediately. Because I manage the infrastructure and monitor campaigns, I can usually identify and address issues quickly. If a campaign produces unexpected bounce rates or complaints, we'll investigate together, adjust the approach, and get you back on track. The advantage of a managed platform is that you're not troubleshooting alone.
Where can I learn more?
Check out our Tutorials for step-by-step guides on every feature, our Cold Email Sending Guide for best practices, and our About page for the full story on why Zap Contact exists and how it works.
Still have questions? Reach out at support@zapcontact.com or call/text 850-279-5420. You can also schedule a call to discuss your specific needs.