# Email lead capture

> Let Ghost find genuine enquiries in your connected Gmail or Outlook inbox and add them to your Pipeline, with suggested stages, alerts and strict privacy rules.

Source: https://www.growwithghost.io/docs/pipeline/email-capture/

Not every lead comes from LinkedIn. If you've [connected Gmail or Outlook](https://www.growwithghost.io/docs/getting-started/connect-email), Ghost can read your inbox for real enquiries (contact-form submissions, pricing questions, introductions) and bring them into your [Pipeline](https://www.growwithghost.io/docs/pipeline/overview).

## Turn it on

You need a mailbox connected in **Campaigns → Outbound Config → Email Account** first. Ghost reads that mailbox directly: there's no forwarding or BCC address to set up.

Go to **Pipeline → Settings → Email lead capture** and switch on **Capture leads from my inbox**. It's off by default, and once on it only reads email that arrives after you switched it on. To catch recent enquiries, click **Scan last 30 days**.

## What Ghost picks up

- Website contact-form submissions. Ghost uses the enquirer's details, not the form tool's.
- Requests to talk, for a quote, pricing or a proposal
- Referrals and introductions
- Replies from people already in your Contacts or Pipeline

Ghost ignores newsletters, receipts, notifications, cold pitches, recruiters, your colleagues and anything sent from your own domain.

## Suggested leads

New enquiries appear in **Suggested leads from email** at the top of the Pipeline board, each with a one-line summary, a suggested stage and any budget mentioned.

| Button | What it does |
|--------|--------------|
| **Add** | Creates the contact (or matches an existing one) and adds the deal |
| **Dismiss** | Hides this suggestion |
| **Always ignore** | Ignores that sender, or their whole domain, from now on |

Switch on **Add confident leads automatically** to skip the review step for clear-cut enquiries. Anything Ghost is less sure about still waits for you.

## Emails from existing contacts

When someone in an active campaign emails you, **their sequence stops** in all your campaigns, the same as a LinkedIn reply. Out-of-office messages, bounces and other auto-replies are ignored.

When someone already in your Contacts emails you, the email is added to their conversation history and they're added to the pipeline: as **Qualified** if they're asking for a call, meeting or proposal, otherwise as a **Lead**. Deals never move backwards.

## Alerts

- **Email me when a new enquiry arrives**: on by default.
- **Daily task email at 8am**: if you've turned it on, it includes how many enquiries are waiting.

## Privacy

- New mail is checked automatically through the day.
- For emails Ghost ignores, it keeps only the sender, subject and a short snippet, and deletes them after 7 days.
- Suggestions you dismiss are deleted after 30 days.
- Full email text is kept only for emails linked to a contact or deal.
- **Delete captured email data** in Settings removes everything captured. Your deals stay.

## FAQ

### Does Ghost read all my email?

Ghost screens mail that arrives after you turn email lead capture on (or the last 30 days if you click **Scan last 30 days**). Emails that aren't enquiries are reduced to sender, subject and a snippet, then deleted after 7 days. Full text is only kept for emails linked to a contact or deal.

### Can I stop Ghost suggesting someone?

Yes. Click **Always ignore** on their suggestion to ignore that sender or their whole domain.