$ man clay-wiki/clay-to-platforms

Clay is the enrichment and orchestration layer. It doesn't send emails. It doesn't send LinkedIn messages. It qualifies, scores, and routes contacts to the right platform for execution. The routing decision isn't random and it's not one-size-fits-all. The right platform depends on the contact's email provider, their seniority, their industry, and the campaign's risk tolerance. Getting this wrong means poor deliverability, wasted spend, or worse — getting your domains burned.

PATTERN

This is the core routing logic for every campaign I build. It starts with the MX record (see the HTTP column entry for how to pull these). The rules: Google Workspace domains → Instantly. I have Google-only sending infrastructure in Instantly. Google-to-Google deliverability is the highest-reliability path for cold email. Microsoft 365 domains → HeyReach for LinkedIn outreach. I can't reliably deliver cold email to Microsoft domains from my Instantly setup. LinkedIn is the better channel for these contacts anyway — Microsoft-heavy companies tend to be enterprise, and enterprise responds better to LinkedIn. Enterprise-security domains (Proofpoint, Mimecast, Barracuda) → proceed with extreme caution. These companies have aggressive spam filtering. Consider Woodpecker or Smartlead for security-conscious sending. Or route to LinkedIn. Other/Unknown → evaluate case by case. Small providers, custom mail servers, or regional providers might work with email or might not. Test small batches first.

PATTERN

Instantly integration: (1) In Clay, add an Instantly push column. (2) Map fields: email, first_name, last_name, company, custom variables (icebreaker, pain_point, competitor_mention — whatever your email template uses). (3) Set conditions: only push rows where MX_classification = "Google" AND score >= qualifying threshold AND crm_match = false. (4) Assign to the correct Instantly campaign based on persona tier or campaign segment. Key detail: push to Instantly after ALL enrichment and scoring is complete. Don't push partial records. If the icebreaker column hasn't finished running, wait. Instantly needs complete data to personalize the emails.

PATTERN

HeyReach integration for LinkedIn: (1) Export qualified contacts from Clay as CSV or push via API. (2) Include: LinkedIn URL (required), first_name, company, persona_tier, and any personalization fields. (3) Route to HeyReach when: MX = Microsoft, or the contact is C-suite/VP level (regardless of MX), or the campaign strategy is multi-channel and LinkedIn is the primary touch. (4) Set up HeyReach campaign with connection request + follow-up message sequence. LinkedIn works best for enterprise, senior contacts, and relationship-first outreach. If someone's a VP at a Fortune 1000 company, a LinkedIn connection request from a real person feels more appropriate than a cold email. That's the channel logic.

Instantly and HeyReach cover 90% of scenarios. But edge cases exist: Woodpecker — when the prospect's domain has enterprise security (Proofpoint, Mimecast). Woodpecker handles email sending with more deliverability controls and warming options that work better against aggressive filters. Smartlead — similar use case to Woodpecker, sometimes preferred for specific regional deliverability. Also useful when you need multiple mailbox rotation at scale. The platform choice is never agnostic — it depends on the scenario. Don't pick a platform because you like it. Pick it because the data says it's the right channel for this contact.

PATTERN

The most effective campaigns don't pick one channel — they coordinate across channels. The pattern: (1) Route Google MX contacts to Instantly for email Day 1. (2) Route the same contacts to HeyReach for a LinkedIn connection on Day 3. (3) Email follow-up on Day 5. (4) LinkedIn follow-up on Day 8. Clay enables this by pushing the same contact to multiple platforms with different timing. The key is coordination — don't send email and LinkedIn messages on the same day. Stagger them. It should feel like organic multi-touch, not a synchronized attack. Tag each contact in Clay with which platforms they've been pushed to, so you have a single source of truth for campaign orchestration.

ANTI-PATTERN

Never push contacts to outreach platforms before they're fully qualified and scored. I've seen people connect Clay to Instantly and push every enriched contact immediately. No scoring. No persona verification. No CRM check. The result: emails go to people who don't match ICP, people already in the pipeline, and people at companies that are too small or too large for the offer. That's not GTM engineering — that's spam with extra steps. The flow is always: source → CRM lookup → enrich → score → qualify → THEN route. Routing is the last step, not the first.

PRO TIP

Routing contacts to Instantly or HeyReach is the last step in Clay — but the infrastructure those platforms sit on determines whether your emails land. Domain provisioning, DNS records, inbox provider splits, warmup schedules, sending limits, and mailbox rotation all matter. See the Email Infrastructure Guide at /knowledge/email for the complete sending infrastructure breakdown.