Clay to Instantly/Smartlead Activation
Push enriched, verified leads from Clay directly into an active Instantly or Smartlead campaign. No CSV export, no manual re-import, no data loss between steps.
Integration Context
Clay to Instantly/Smartlead: direct push, no CSV export
Clay enriches and verifies across 150+ providers. Instantly and Smartlead send at volume. Without a direct connection, teams export a CSV, clean it manually, re-import it, then build the campaign. The native destination integration eliminates every one of those steps: verified leads push into an active campaign the moment enrichment completes, with all custom variables mapped as personalization tokens.
Clay's native Destinations feature (covers both Instantly and Smartlead) starts on the Starter plan ($134/mo annual). Webhooks and HTTP API calls require the Teams plan ($499/mo annual). Instantly API V2 is available on all paid plans. Smartlead API is available on all plans.
How It Works
The integration flow, step by step
| Step | What happens | Tool | Method |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Leads enter Clay from a data source (Sales Navigator, CSV, webhook, or CRM sync) | Clay | Native import or webhook |
| 2 | Clay runs waterfall enrichment and verifies emails (SMTP, catch-all, disposable filters) | Clay | Native enrichment columns |
| 3 | Filter column excludes unverified or out-of-ICP leads before the push fires | Clay | Conditional column filter |
| 4 | Clay pushes qualifying leads to the target campaign in Instantly or Smartlead with mapped fields | Clay to Instantly/Smartlead | Native Destination integration |
| 5 | Lead enters the active sequence and personalization tokens populate from Clay fields | Instantly / Smartlead | Automated on lead arrival |
Clay's native Destinations connector (Starter, $134/mo) covers the standard Instantly and Smartlead push. Triggering the push via HTTP API call or webhook requires the Teams plan. Confirm your activation method before selecting a plan.
Setup
5-step setup: Clay to Instantly or Smartlead
Prerequisites: Clay on Starter or above. Instantly on any paid plan with an active campaign ready to receive leads, or Smartlead on any paid plan with a campaign created.
- Step 1: Build and verify your lead list in Clay
Import leads from Sales Navigator, CSV, CRM, or webhook, then run email verification columns (SMTP validation, catch-all detection, disposable filtering). Add a filter column that evaluates to true only for verified ICP leads before the push fires.
- Step 2: Add an Instantly or Smartlead destination in Clay
Open the Destinations panel in your Clay table, select Instantly or Smartlead, and authenticate with your API key. In Instantly: Settings then API. In Smartlead: API Settings section. Paste the key and confirm the connection.
- Step 3: Map Clay fields to lead and campaign fields
Select the target campaign and map at minimum: Email, First Name, Last Name, Company Name, plus any Clay custom variable columns used as personalization tokens in your sequence steps. Variable names are case-sensitive: the Clay column name must exactly match the label in Instantly or Smartlead.
- Step 4: Configure the filter condition and trigger
Set "Only push rows where" to your verification filter column in the destination settings. Choose a scheduled daily run over real-time push: batching prevents volume spikes and ensures enrichment completes before the push fires.
- Step 5: Test with a small batch and confirm lead arrival
Trigger a manual push on 3 to 5 test rows. In the Leads tab of your target campaign, confirm every mapped field is populated, including all custom variables, before running the full batch.
If the destination runs while enrichment columns are still processing, rows push with empty or unverified emails. Require a non-empty verified email status in the filter condition. Never trigger the push on row creation without a verification gate.
Clay Teams supports scheduled recurring table runs. Set the enrichment table to refresh daily or weekly and pair it with the destination. New leads matching your ICP filter push automatically on each run, no manual trigger required.
When It Breaks
5 failure points and how to fix them
Common Questions
Clay + Instantly/Smartlead: common setup questions
Both are native Clay destinations available from Starter ($134/mo annual). Zapier is only needed for secondary downstream actions like Slack notifications or CRM record creation alongside the campaign enrollment.
Five items: verified emails on all rows, ICP filter column active with at least one row evaluating to true, valid API key authenticated, field mapping confirmed for all custom variables, and a 3-5 row test push passing in the campaign Leads tab with all fields populated.
Agency example: a daily Clay table enriches hiring managers from job postings and pushes AI-personalized leads into Instantly each morning. RevOps example: inbound form fills scored in Clay push to a Smartlead campaign within minutes of submission.
Both tools deduplicate by email address within a single campaign; a second push of the same address is ignored. Cross-campaign deduplication is not automatic: build a dedup check on the email column in Clay before the destination runs if that is a requirement.
Yes. Clay supports multiple destinations on a single table. Use separate filter columns per destination to route by ICP tier: Tier 1 accounts to Smartlead, Tier 2 to Instantly, for example.
Integration ready. Start sending from verified Clay leads.
Instantly starts at $37.6/mo (annual) and includes unlimited email accounts. Free to start, no credit card required.
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