Connect Clay to Instantly: a step by step guide
Clay to Instantly integration: the API key, the campaign ID, variable mapping, and pushing only verified leads into a campaign. Follow the guide here.
Connecting Clay to Instantly takes an API key and a campaign ID. Generate the key in Instantly’s integration settings, add it as a connection in Clay, then point a Clay column at a named campaign and map your fields. From then on, verified leads flow into the sequencer without a CSV in the middle.
This guide covers the setup in order, including the two settings that cause almost every failure.
Why connect Clay to Instantly at all?
Because the alternative is exporting a CSV, re-importing it, and re-mapping columns every time the list changes. That is manual work that also introduces errors, and errors in a lead file become wrong personalization in a live campaign.
Wiring the two together removes three things: the export step, the risk of pasting data into the wrong column, and the delay between a lead qualifying and a lead being contacted.
What do you need before you start?
Three things, in this order:
- A Clay account with your leads already in a table.
- An Instantly plan with API access. The API key lives behind the plan, so check yours exposes one before you build anything around it.
- A campaign that already exists in Instantly. Clay selects it by name, so it has to be there first.
Create the campaign now if it does not exist. In Instantly, open the campaigns section, add a new campaign, and give it a name you will recognize in a dropdown later.
How do you generate the Instantly API key?
In Instantly, open Settings, then Integrations, and generate a new API key. Copy it somewhere safe before you leave the page.
How do you connect the two accounts?
In Clay, open the connections tab and add a new account.
- Give the connection a name you will recognize later, not the default.
- Paste the API key.
- Save, and wait for the confirmation that the key worked.
A failure here is almost always a partially copied key or one that has since been regenerated. It is worth fixing now rather than debugging it later through a column that silently returns nothing.
How do you set the campaign ID?
This is the step that quietly breaks the integration. The campaign ID tells Clay which campaign receives the leads, and without it they go nowhere you can see.
In the Instantly column settings in Clay, find the campaign ID field, click refresh fields so the newest campaigns load, then select your campaign by name.
The refresh matters. Clay caches the campaign list, so a campaign you created five minutes ago will not appear until you ask for it again. If leads are not arriving, this is the first thing to check.
How do you map variables and custom fields?
Variables are what make personalization possible on the Instantly side. Map the standard fields first:
- First name
- Last name
Then add custom fields for anything your copy references: company name, phone number, a URL, whatever your ICP research told you matters. Each custom variable is a name plus the Clay column that fills it.
How do you stop invalid emails entering the campaign?
Use run settings so the Instantly column only fires when verification passed.
- Open run settings on the Instantly column.
- Set the condition to run only when the email verification column returns a valid result.
- Point it at whichever verifier you use.
Now invalid addresses stay in the table and never reach the sequencer. This is the same principle as the MillionVerifier setup: filter before you send, because bounces cost sender reputation and reputation is far harder to rebuild than a list is to filter.
What to check before you launch
Run through four things before the first send:
- Variables and custom fields map to the columns you think they do.
- The campaign ID points at the right campaign.
- Run settings gate on valid emails only.
- A single test row lands in Instantly as expected.
Push one row, look at it inside Instantly, and confirm the personalization rendered. One row costs nothing to check and catches every mapping error that would otherwise reach a few thousand people.
Where this fits
The integration removes the manual steps between a qualified lead and a live sequence: no exports, no re-mapping, no gap between qualifying and contacting.
What it does not do is decide how much each inbox sends, or what happens after a reply arrives. That is sending-tool territory, and our Plusvibe guide covers how we handle account limits, campaign caps, and reply routing once leads are flowing.
Frequently asked questions
How do you connect Clay to Instantly?
Generate an API key in Instantly under settings and integrations, then add it as a new account in Clay's connections tab. Clay tests the key on save. Once connected, an Instantly column in Clay can push leads straight into a named campaign.
What do you need before setting up the integration?
A Clay account, an Instantly plan that includes API access, and an existing campaign in Instantly to push leads into. Create the campaign first, because Clay needs to select it by name when you set the campaign ID.
Why are leads not appearing in the Instantly campaign?
Almost always the campaign ID. If it was never set, or the campaign was created after Clay last loaded the field, leads go nowhere visible. Refresh the fields in Clay, reselect the campaign by name, and re-run a single row to confirm.
Should you validate emails before pushing leads to Instantly?
Yes. Set the Instantly column to run only when the verification column returns a valid result, so invalid addresses never enter the campaign. Bounces cost sender reputation, and reputation is far harder to rebuild than a list is to filter.