Resources · Make integration

Clay (clay.earth) Make integrationAutomate Clay (clay.earth) with Make.

Tired of copying new contacts into Clay by hand? The Clay (clay.earth) Make integration gives you 2 actions, both about contacts. This guide is for people who keep their network in Clay and shows how to link the account and build a first scenario that fills it for you.

Try the Clay (clay.earth) integration on MakeSee the 2 modules

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What you can automate

What can the Clay (clay.earth) Make integration do?

The Clay (clay.earth) Make integration lets another tool write contacts into Clay without you retyping them. In Make, you build a scenario, the automation itself, out of modules, the bricks of that automation. Clay brings two of them, and both are actions: one saves a contact, the other edits one that already exists.

A cleaner address book after events. A registration tool or a form receives a new attendee; Create or Update a Contact places that person in Clay, so nobody has to paste names after the event.

Details that stay current. When someone changes jobs or email in your CRM, Update a Contact carries the new value over to the matching person in Clay. The Airtable Make integration works well as the source if your team tracks people in a base.

One record for leads from many places. Point several sources at the same Create or Update module and your Clay network grows from every channel at once.

Clay has no trigger in Make, which means Clay itself cannot start a scenario. The start comes from another app or from the scenario clock. Make also says its own documentation for this app is limited because little public information exists, so testing each module on a real contact matters more than usual. The same app may also exist in n8n; the n8n vs Make comparison explains how the two tools differ, and Make training covers the editor from the start.

Connect

How do you connect Clay (clay.earth) to Make?

  1. 01

    Add a Clay module

    In your scenario, add one of the two Clay modules, then click Create a connection. A connection is your Clay account linked to Make once; every Clay module in your scenarios reuses it afterwards.

  2. 02

    Name the connection

    This field is optional, yet useful. A name such as the account owner or the workspace tells you, months from now, which Clay account a scenario writes into, especially when a colleague also connects theirs.

  3. 03

    Authorize and save

    Follow what Make shows next: either approve Make on the Clay page that opens, or paste the key Clay gives you. Then click Save. The module fields unlock as soon as the connection works.

First scenario

Your first scenario with Clay (clay.earth)

GoalWhen a new person arrives in another app, Make saves them as a contact in Clay (clay.earth).

  1. 01

    Create the scenario

    Open the Scenarios page, create a new scenario and click the +. Pick the app where new people show up first, such as your form tool, and choose its trigger.

  2. 02

    Add the Clay module

    Click the + on the right of that first module, search for Clay (clay.earth) and choose Create or Update a Contact. Link your account with Create a connection.

  3. 03

    Map the person

    Fill the Clay fields with data from the first module. Each person that module passes along is a bundle, one item flowing to the next module, so one bundle becomes one contact.

  4. 04

    Test with Run once

    Click Run once to run the scenario a single time. Read the bundles each module received, then open Clay and check the contact looks the way you expected.

  5. 05

    Schedule and switch on

    Set the schedule on the first module; a new scenario checks every 15 minutes by default. Then switch the scenario on so it keeps working without you.

Modules

What the Clay (clay.earth) modules do

Clay (clay.earth) gives you 2 modules. For each one: what it does for you, when to reach for it, and what to watch out for.

Clay (clay.earth)1

Create or Update a Contact

Action

In Make“Create a contact in Clay.”

This module writes a person into Clay, so a lead captured anywhere ends up in your network without copy and paste.

When to use it
right after a form, a registration or a new CRM record hands Make a name and an email address.
Watch out
Make's documentation does not explain how the module decides between creating and updating. Run it once on someone already in Clay and look for a duplicate before you switch the scenario on.
Clay (clay.earth)2

Update a Contact

Action

In Make“Updates an existing contact in Clay.”

Here you edit a person Clay already knows, which keeps a phone number or a job title in step with the tool where it changed first.

When to use it
choose it over Create or Update a Contact when the person must already exist and a new record would be a mistake.
Watch out
each run changes a real contact. Test with Run once on your own record before pointing it at the whole network.
Need help

Need help automating Clay (clay.earth) with Make?

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FAQ

Clay (clay.earth) and Make: frequent questions

01Is the Clay (clay.earth) Make integration free?
Yes, Clay (clay.earth) is a standard app in Make, so it works on the Free plan. That plan allows 2 active scenarios, a scheduled run at most every 15 minutes, 5 minutes per execution, files up to 5 MB and 512 MB of data transfer. Each module run on one bundle counts as one operation, the unit Make tracks on your plan. Paid plans lower the interval to 1 minute and remove the cap on active scenarios. Your Clay subscription is a separate matter.
02What do you need to connect Clay (clay.earth) to Make?
You need a Clay account and a Make account. Make's documentation lists no special prerequisite for this app and gives no dedicated connection guide, so the generic path applies: add a Clay module, click Create a connection, optionally name it, authorize Make on the Clay page or paste the key Clay provides, then save. If Clay asks for something you cannot locate, check with Clay directly before guessing a value.
03Can Clay (clay.earth) trigger a Make scenario in real time?
No, because Clay has no trigger module in Make. Nothing in Clay can start a scenario by itself. You have two ways around it. Start the scenario with a trigger from another app, for example the form or CRM where people appear first. Or rely on the scenario schedule on the first module, which runs every 15 minutes by default and down to 1 minute on paid plans. Clay then comes in as the action.
04What if the Clay (clay.earth) module you need is missing in Make?
It depends on what you need. This app has only two modules, Create or Update a Contact and Update a Contact, and no Make an API Call module to reach other parts of Clay. Make also says its documentation for Clay is limited by the lack of public information. If your use case goes beyond contacts, look at whether another app in your stack can hold that data, or ask the team for help.
05Should you use Make or n8n for Clay (clay.earth)?
It depends on the tool you already run. Both platforms often cover the same apps, and on the Make side Clay offers exactly two contact actions with no trigger. If your team already builds scenarios in Make, adding Clay there keeps everything in one editor. If your automations live in n8n, check whether a Clay node exists there before moving. The deciding point is where the rest of your workflow sits, not the app itself.
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