Help Center

Capture Leads by Forwarding Emails

Forward email is also known as Email Redirect. It is managed from the Sources page in the Marketing dashboard.

Forward email lets you send inbound contact emails to a unique LeadCenter address. This can include messages from website contact forms, marketplaces, referral platforms, seminar registration tools, and other sources.

LeadCenter reads each forwarded email, creates or matches a contact, and attributes it to the selected source.

How Forward Email Works

1. Generate a unique forward email address for a source or campaign. The address will look similar to leads-3qzekl67@oryxmail.com.
2. Configure your email provider to forward matching messages to that address.
3. LeadCenter creates a contact or adds the message as a note to an existing contact.

The contact is attributed to the source associated with the forward email address. The contact's Medium and Channel are set to Email Redirect automatically.

Before you begin, create at least one source. Sources are created using the Add source button in the header of the Sources page.

Step 1: Generate a Forward Email Address

Each source or campaign can have one forward email address, and each address belongs to only one source or campaign.

1. In the Marketing dashboard, open Sources.
2. Find the source or campaign you want to use. Parent sources expand to show their child campaigns, so you can generate an address at either level.
3. Select the three-dot button at the left of the row, then select Generate forward email.

Generate an address from the row menu. Existing addresses appear in the Forward email column.

The address is created immediately. There is no form to complete and nothing to save, and the page reloads with the message “Successfully generated the contact campaign email.”

The address then appears in the Forward email column with a copy icon; sources without one show a dash. Select the copy icon to copy it, and LeadCenter confirms with “E-mail copied successfully!”

Forward email addresses cannot be changed, regenerated, or removed from the interface. Email support@leadcenter.ai if an address needs to be changed.

Step 2: Set Up Forwarding at Your Email Provider

Configure your email provider to forward the relevant messages to the address you copied:

• Google Gmail: Automatically forward Gmail messages to another account
• Microsoft Outlook / Office 365: Turn on automatic forwarding in Outlook on the web
• Yahoo / AT&T Mail: Enable automatic email forwarding in Yahoo Mail

Use a forwarding rule that matches only the messages you want LeadCenter to capture. For example, restrict the rule by sender or subject so unrelated messages are not forwarded.

Forwarding configured by your IT team at the mail-server level also works. LeadCenter can recognize its assigned address when the address appears in the To, Cc, or Bcc field.

Step 3: Test the Setup

1. Send or trigger a real or sample contact email to the inbox you configured.
2. Confirm that your email provider forwarded the message to the LeadCenter address.
3. Open Contacts and find the new or existing contact.
4. Open the contact and select Notes from the left sidebar.
5. Confirm that the forwarded email appears as a note.
6. Verify that the contact's Source matches the source associated with the forward email address.

You can also confirm attribution from the Sources page. The Active Contacts column for each source links directly to its contacts.

What LeadCenter Captures

Standard forwarded emails capture the sender's name and email address. Phone numbers, mailing addresses, and other information in the message body require a custom email parser.

The full email is saved as a note on the contact and attributed to System. The note includes the From, To, and Subject information above the message body.

Forwarded Messages

When the subject begins with Fwd: or FW:, LeadCenter looks inside the message for the original sender. It uses that person as the contact instead of the person who forwarded the message.

Bounce Messages

Messages from a mailer-daemon@ or postmaster@ address are ignored and do not create contacts.

Custom Email Parsers for Enterprise Customers

Enterprise customers can request custom email parsers that capture specific information from the email body and place it in the appropriate contact fields. This can include:

• First and last name
• Phone number
• Mailing address
• Asset level
• Event registration details

LeadCenter supports custom parsing for several common contact vendors and seminar platforms. Email support@leadcenter.ai to ask whether a vendor is supported or to request a custom parser.

Best Practices

• Use restrictive forwarding rules. Forward only contact emails, never personal messages.
• Use one address per source or campaign. Create separate campaigns and forward email addresses when you need to track them separately.
• Do not rely on attachments. Attachments from forwarded emails are not saved.
• Document your setup. Forwarding rules must be re-created if you change email providers.
• Test after making changes. Repeat the test whenever you update inbox rules, forwarding settings, or email signatures.

Frequently Asked Questions

Will a forwarded email update an existing contact?

Yes. LeadCenter checks for an existing contact with an email address matching the sender. This includes primary and secondary email addresses.

If a custom parser captures a phone number, LeadCenter also uses that information when checking for a match. When an existing contact is found, the email is added as a note instead of creating a duplicate.

Team members with contact notifications enabled receive a “New message from...” email and a push notification linking to the contact.

Are attachments saved to the contact?

No. LeadCenter captures only the text and HTML content of the email. Information contained only in a PDF, spreadsheet, or other attachment is not captured. When possible, configure the sending platform to include contact details in the email body.

What happens if my forwarding rule creates a loop?

Email providers generally protect against forwarding loops. Configure the rule to forward outside your domain and only to the assigned LeadCenter address.

Can one forward email address be attributed to multiple campaigns?

No. Each address is tied to one source or campaign. Generate a separate address for every campaign you want to track independently.

Can I delete or regenerate an address?

Not from the interface. Email support@leadcenter.ai.

How accurate is standard email parsing?

Standard parsing captures the sender's name and email address only. Anything else requires a custom parser, available to Enterprise customers.

What happens when a contact email comes from a no-reply address?

If the message has a Fwd: or FW: subject, LeadCenter looks for the original sender in the message body. If the original sender cannot be identified, the contact is created using the no-reply address. A custom parser can capture the correct email address from a supported message format.