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Clay integration

Community leads as rows in Clay

Needle sends each lead to a Clay webhook source as a flat JSON object - one column per field. Enrich it in Clay, then push it to your outbound tool from there.

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How it works

  1. Step 1

    Save a brand and turn on Auto Search

    Add the problem phrases, competitors, and communities you care about. Needle reruns the search on your schedule.

  2. Step 2

    Add a webhook source in Clay

    In the Clay table, add a Monitor webhook source and copy its webhook URL.

  3. Step 3

    Test and enable in Needle

    Paste the URL under Alerts & Integrations → Clay and click Test and enable. The test row (event = "test") shows Clay every column name; delete it afterwards.

  4. Step 4

    Enrich and route

    Add enrichment columns to the table, then send rows that qualify on to your outbound tool or CRM from Clay.

Why teams send Needle leads to Clay

Available on the Growth plan and up.

  • Columns, not JSON

    The flat payload maps one key to one column, so there is nothing to parse.

  • Enrichment where it belongs

    Needle finds the conversation; Clay is where you look up who is behind it and whether they fit.

  • The honest route to outbound

    lemlist and Instantly need an email. Clay is where a community lead can get one - or not.

Columns Clay receives

The flat LeadEvent v1 variant. Empty values arrive as null. lead_tier is "hot_lead" or "worth_engaging".

Clay columnFrom the event
schemaschema
eventevent
event_idevent_id
occurred_atoccurred_at
brand_idbrand.id
brand_namebrand.name
lead_idlead.id
lead_platformlead.platform
lead_urllead.url
lead_authorlead.author
lead_titlelead.title
lead_excerptlead.excerpt
lead_posted_atlead.posted_at
lead_tierlead.tier
lead_scorelead.lead_score
lead_relevancelead.relevance
lead_intent_typelead.intent_type
lead_evidencelead.evidence
lead_matched_termlead.matched_term
lead_competitor_mentionslead.competitor_mentions, joined as "A, B"
lead_dashboard_urllead.dashboard_url

Checked 2026-10-30

  • Clay: you add a "Monitor webhook" source to a table and copy its URL. A webhook source accepts up to 50,000 submissions; the count persists after you delete rows. Enterprise auto-delete or passthrough tables lift the limit. Source

Getting Needle leads into lemlist or Instantly

Needle has no native lemlist or Instantly integration. This is the route we recommend instead.

  • Why there is no direct integration

    Both tools need an email address to create a lead. Community posts carry a username, not an email, so Needle has nothing it could send them.

  • Look for an email in Clay

    Run Clay enrichment on the author, post, and any linked profile. Expect many rows to come back without one: most community posts do not say who the author is or where they work.

  • Push from Clay

    Send rows that found an email on to lemlist or Instantly from Clay, through Clay’s integration for that tool if it has one, or an HTTP API column. Check Clay’s current integration list for your tool.

  • Keep it relevant and lawful

    Only email people where that is lawful and expected, and reference what they actually asked. Often the better first touch is a reply in the thread itself.

When Clay is the wrong choice

  • Your next step is a reply in the thread

    Enrichment adds nothing if you plan to answer on Reddit or Hacker News. Use Slack alerts and Needle’s reply drafts.

  • A long-running, high-volume brand

    A Clay webhook source stops at 50,000 submissions, even if you delete rows. Plan to switch to a new source when you get close.

  • You only need a list

    Google Sheets or Airtable keep a lead log without a Clay table.

Frequently asked questions

Setup, limits, and every platform are covered in the docs.

Which Clay URL does Needle accept?
Any public https URL. We could not confirm a fixed host for Clay webhook URLs from Clay’s docs, so Needle does not restrict it. Paste the URL Clay shows for the webhook source.
Is the request signed?
Yes. Every request carries X-Needle-Signature, as with the custom webhook. Clay stores the row either way, so treat the webhook URL as a secret: anyone who has it can add rows.
Will Clay get an email for each lead?
Not from Needle. The payload has the author’s username, the post, and its link. Whether enrichment finds an email depends on what the author has made public.
Does Clay get one request per lead or a digest?
One per lead. Needle sends one request per hot or worth-engaging lead after each Auto Search run - at most 25 per destination per run - and never sends the same lead to the same destination twice within 30 days. Runs follow the interval you set per brand: every 4 to 24 hours on Growth, as often as hourly on Scale.
Which plan includes Clay?
Clay is available on the Growth plan and up. The 7-day free trial lets you try it first.
Does Needle reply or post for me?
No. Needle finds and ranks conversations and can draft a reply for you to edit. You decide whether to respond, and you post it yourself.

Connect Needle to Clay today

Send ranked buyer threads to Clay on your Auto Search schedule, so the conversations worth replying to land where your team already works.

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