Create Contacts using your Lead Email Address (Email Parsing)

Purpose: Turn lead notification emails into Sure Send contacts automatically, without an integration or a spreadsheet.

Before You Begin

Every user in Sure Send has a personal lead capture email address in the format [email protected]. Find yours on your Profile page.

Anything sent to that address is read automatically and turned into a contact.

Two things to know before you rely on it:

• It is a one-way inbound address, not a mailbox. There is no inbox to log into and no two-way email on that address.
• Parsing creates the contact. It does not route it. Assignment, stage, and automations are handled by Lead Flow rules. Set those up first. See Lead Flow below.

Steps

1. Open your Profile page and copy your lead capture email address.
2. Give that address to your website provider or lead source as the notification recipient. You can also forward lead emails to it manually.
3. Send one test lead from an outside email address (see the note under Limitations).
4. Confirm the contact appears in All People.
5. Set up a Lead Flow rule for that source so future leads get assigned and staged automatically.

Three Supported Formats

Sure Send tries three methods in order and stops at the first one that works. You do not choose the method. It is determined by how the incoming email is built.

1. HTML meta tags (most complete)

The highest-fidelity option. Give this to a website provider or developer when you have the choice. It is the only format that captures custom fields, timeframe, full property address, and MLS number.

html

<meta name="lead_version" content="1.0" />
<meta name="lead_name" content="Jane Smith" />
<meta name="lead_email" content="[email protected]" />
<meta name="lead_phone" content="555-867-5309" />
<meta name="lead_source" content="https://yourdomain.com" />
<meta name="lead_type" content="Buyer" />
<meta name="lead_timeframe" content="3_6_months" />
<meta name="lead_message" content="Interested in the downtown listing" />
<meta name="lead_property_address" content="123 Main St" />
<meta name="lead_property_city" content="Denver" />
<meta name="lead_property_state" content="CO" />
<meta name="lead_property_zip" content="80203" />
<meta name="lead_mls" content="12345678" />
<meta name="lead_$custom_field_name$" content="custom value" />

Timeframe accepts these exact values only: 0_3_months, 3_6_months, 6_12_months, over_1_year, just_browsing

Custom fields use the format lead_$fieldname$. The name must match a custom field that already exists on your team. Names that do not match are ignored without an error.

2. HTML body (most common)

This is what happens with most third-party lead notification emails. Sure Send scans the email's structure for labeled fields and pulls what it recognizes.

There are no platform-specific parsers. Every provider goes through the same logic, so a vendor's email works or does not work based purely on how cleanly it is labeled.

Labels Sure Send recognizes:

Data	Labels
Name	name: full name: contact name:
Email	email: e-mail: email address:
Phone	phone: phone number: tel: mobile: cell:
Source	source: website: listing:
Lead Type	type: category: lead type:
Property	property: address: interested in:
Message	message: comments: notes: inquiry:

3. Plain text (manual entry)

Use this format to add a lead by typing an email yourself.

Name: [First and Last Name]
Email: [[email protected]]
Phone: [555-555-5555]
Source: [Where the lead came from]
Type: [Buyer / Seller / Inquiry / Contact Request]
Address: [Property address if applicable]
Message: [Notes or comments, 10 to 500 characters]

Rules:

• Labels must be spelled exactly as shown.
• Not every field is required. Include what you have.
• At minimum, include a name plus either an email or a phone number.
• The subject line does not affect parsing. It can say anything.

Field Reference

Not every field works in every format. Use this table to check before committing to a setup.

Field	Meta tags	HTML body	Plain text
First and Last Name	✅	✅	✅
Email	✅	✅	✅
Phone	✅	✅	✅
Source	✅	✅	✅
Lead Type	✅	✅	❌
Message	✅	✅	✅
Property street address	✅	✅	✅
Property city, state, zip	✅	❌	❌
Timeframe	✅	❌	✅
MLS number	✅	❌	❌
Custom fields	✅	❌	❌

How some fields are stored:

• Lead Type becomes a tag on the contact, not a field.
• Message becomes an Inquiry event on the contact's timeline, not a note. It must be between 10 and 500 characters or it is dropped.
• MLS number is stored on the lead event, not on the contact record.

Lead Flow Does the Routing

This is the part people miss most often.

Email parsing cannot assign a contact to a user or a pond, and it cannot set a stage. Parsed contacts arrive unassigned, in your first active stage.

Assignment, stage, and automation enrollment are handled by Lead Flow rules, which key off the contact's Source.

Because of that, always include a Source value in your incoming emails. When no source is found, Sure Send falls back to "Lead Email," and every lead lands in the same undifferentiated bucket.

The reliable setup is:

1. Build a Lead Flow rule for each source you expect.
2. Make sure every incoming email carries that source.
3. Let Lead Flow handle assignment, stage, and automations.

Limitations

Names with apostrophes or mid-word capitals are not recognized. Names like O'Brien and McDonald will not parse, and neither will names in ALL CAPS. The contact is still created from the email or phone, just without a name.

There is no duplicate checking. Email parsing does not match against your existing contacts. The same person submitting twice creates two records.

Emails from your own domain are filtered out. Testing by emailing yourself from your work address will not create a contact. Use an outside address for tests.

Custom fields only work with HTML meta tags. Standard notification emails and plain text emails cannot populate custom fields.

City, state, and zip only work with HTML meta tags. Other formats capture the street address only.

Choosing a Format

If you are	Use
Working with a website developer or provider who can customize the email	HTML meta tags
Receiving standard notification emails from a lead provider	HTML body, no setup needed
Adding a lead by hand or forwarding from another system	Plain text template

Troubleshooting

Problem	Cause	Fix
No contact was created	Email went to the wrong address, or it came from your own domain	Check the address on your Profile page. Test from an outside email address.
Contact created without a name	Name has an apostrophe, a mid-word capital, or is in ALL CAPS	Known limit. Add the name manually.
Source shows "Lead Email"	No source label was found in the email	Add a Source: line, or a lead_source meta tag.
Custom fields are empty	The email is not using HTML meta tags	Custom fields require the meta tag format.
Contact is unassigned	Parsing does not assign contacts	Set up a Lead Flow rule for that source.
Message did not appear	It was under 10 or over 500 characters	Keep messages within that range.
Duplicate contacts	Parsing does not deduplicate	Merge the records manually.