Send Embers leads to Zapier

Zapier puts an Embers lead into tools Embers has no destination for: a sheet, a sequencer, a CRM other than HubSpot. You point a signed Embers webhook at a Zapier trigger, check the signature, and map the fields.

Before you start

• A Zapier plan that includes Webhooks by Zapier, and Code by Zapier if you will verify signatures.
• Somewhere for the lead to go once Zapier has it.
• A free endpoint slot. An Embers account can have up to 10 webhook endpoints.

Connect Zapier

1. Open Set up Zapier

   In Embers, open Integrations in the sidebar and choose Set up on the Zapier row. A side sheet, Set up Zapier, opens with three steps.

2. Copy a hook URL from Zapier

   The sheet’s first step: “In Zapier, start a Zap with Webhooks by Zapier, then Catch Hook, and copy its URL.” Copy the hook URL, not the address of the page you are on.

   If the Zap will verify signatures, as below, choose Catch Raw Hook instead of Catch Hook. Catch Hook parses the body before your steps see it, and the signature only matches the exact bytes Embers sent.

3. Add the endpoint

   The second step: “Paste the URL here. Embers sends it every new lead.” Paste it under Webhook URL and choose Add endpoint. Embers creates an endpoint named Zapier, subscribed to New ICP lead (lead.created) only: one event per newly qualified lead, carrying the engagement that qualified them.

   The sheet then shows the signing secret once, with Copy, and says Zapier does not need it. Copy the whsec_ secret now if you will verify signatures; it is not shown again.

4. Send a test so Zapier records the shape

   The third step: “Send a test, then map name, company and email in your next Zap step.” While Zapier waits for a request, choose Send test. The sample arrives as webhook.test with data.is_test set to true and a lead shaped like a real one, so Zapier records the fields and your filter can drop the sample later.

   The row now reads “Sending to Zapier” with Manage, which opens the Webhooks page. Edit the endpoint there to add New engagement (lead.engagement.added), which fires each time an existing lead engages again; add it only if the Zap handles repeats of the same person.

5. Verify the signature in a Code step

   This step needs Catch Raw Hook. Add Code by Zapier with Run JavaScript. Under Input Data, map body to the raw body, id, timestamp, and signature to the webhook-id, webhook-timestamp, and webhook-signature headers from the trigger, and paste the signing secret as secret. Then use this code:

   const crypto = require('crypto');
   
   const key = Buffer.from(inputData.secret.replace(/^whsec_/, ''), 'base64');
   const expected = crypto
     .createHmac('sha256', key)
     .update(`${inputData.id}.${inputData.timestamp}.${inputData.body}`, 'utf8')
     .digest();
   
   const age = Math.abs(Date.now() / 1000 - Number(inputData.timestamp));
   const verified =
     age <= 300 &&
     String(inputData.signature || '')
       .split(' ')
       .some((entry) => {
         const received = Buffer.from(entry.split(',')[1] || '', 'base64');
         return received.length === expected.length && crypto.timingSafeEqual(received, expected);
       });
   
   const event = verified ? JSON.parse(inputData.body) : {};
   const data = event.data || {};
   
   output = {
     verified,
     event_id: inputData.id,
     type: event.type || '',
     is_test: data.is_test === true,
     lead: data.lead || {},
   };

   Add Filter by Zapier after it: continue only if verified is true, and is_test is false once the Zap is live. Verify webhook signatures explains each part of the check.

   While you build, the trigger’s sample may be more than five minutes old, so the step reports verified: false. Send a fresh test from Embers (Send test in the endpoint’s … menu on the Webhooks page) and test the step again.

6. Map the fields

   Map from the Code step’s lead output, or from data.lead in the trigger if the Zap uses Catch Hook without the check. The webhook payload reference lists every field; these are the ones most Zaps use:

   Field	Use it for
   linkedin_urn	The key to find or update a person. Stable when a vanity URL changes
   name	Full name. There is no first or last name field
   title, company	Role and employer
   score, icp_confidence	Both 0 to 100, as in the app
   icp_reason	One sentence on why they matched
   contact.email, contact.phone	Only when contact.included is true

   There is no grade field. Derive it from score the way lead scoring does: A at 80 or above, B at 60, C at 40, D at 20, F below that.

What reaches the Zap

A lead event fires when the person qualifies: a score above zero, an ICP match or a manual approval, and a company that is not blocklisted. Delivery rules do not filter webhooks, so add Zapier filters for anything narrower.

Delivery is at least once, so the Zap can see the same event twice. Deduplicate on event_id for exact repeats and on linkedin_urn for the person.

Troubleshooting

The Zap runs twice for one person. Either the same event was retried, or a lead.created was followed by a lead.engagement.added. Filter or deduplicate on event_id and linkedin_urn.

verified is always false. The Input Data is not the raw body (use Catch Raw Hook, not Catch Hook), the secret was rotated, or the sample is older than five minutes.

Embers paused the endpoint. The Zapier row reads “Paused” with Fix. Zapier answered with a 4xx, or eight attempts failed over about 6.3 days. Follow a webhook endpoint is paused.

Email and phone are empty. Contact fields carry only what Embers has stored, and only on a paid plan after the trial. See reveal a lead’s email and phone.

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