Does a prospect need an account to claim a gift from my Smartlead email?

No. They open the link, pick a gift, confirm their email with a 6-digit code and enter a shipping address. They never see a price.

What happens if the merge fields don't fill in?

The link still works. An unfilled variable is ignored, so the prospect sees the plain claim page and types their own name and email. Send yourself a test to catch it before the sequence goes out.

Can a prospect change the email in the link?

Yes. The email in the link is only a prefill. Whoever claims confirms the address they type with a code, and your link's rules (one gift per email or company, the claim cap) still apply.

Does putting the link in a sequence count as sending gifts?

No. Personalizing a link creates nothing and costs nothing. A claim counts toward the link's cap, and you're charged only when a gift is accepted.

Can I use my own column names?

Yes. If your CSV mapped first names to a custom field, use that field's variable in place of {{first_name}}.

Add a gift link to Smartlead campaign steps

Put a personalized GG Link in a Smartlead campaign step with Smartlead's {{email}} and {{first_name}} variables: a copy-paste template, where to paste it, how to test it and how claims are tagged.

3 min readUpdated October 23, 2026

A GG Link is one link that anyone can open to claim a gift from Gia's Giraffes, within the budget you set. Put it in a Smartlead campaign step with Smartlead's own merge fields, and each prospect gets a claim page that greets them by first name, with their email already filled in. Every claim is tagged with your campaign, so you can see which campaign step it came from. Setup takes about two minutes, and it works on the Free plan.

The template

Smartlead's lead variables are {{email}} and {{first_name}}, as mapped when you upload your CSV. Paste this link into your campaign step, with your-link replaced by your own link (the dialog below writes it for you):

https://www.giasgiraffes.com/l/your-link?e={{email}}&n={{first_name}}&c=Q4%20outbound

e fills in the prospect's email. They still confirm it with a 6-digit code before they claim.
n greets them by first name.
c is your campaign tag. Only you see it. Spaces are written as %20.

A short email step to start from, ready to paste:

Hi {{first_name}},

Thanks for taking a look at what we do. As a thank-you for your time,
pick a gift on us from small independent brands. You choose what arrives.

Pick your gift: <your link from above>

<your name>

What you need

A Gia's Giraffes account (Free or Pro) with one active GG Link. To make one, open GG Links → New GG Link, then set the budget, the headline and how many people can claim.
A Smartlead account where you can edit campaign steps.

Copy the link in Gia's Giraffes

Open GG Links and find your active link.
Click Copy link with merge fields.
Under Tool, pick Smartlead.
Type a Campaign tag, for example "Q4 outbound". It defaults to the link's name.
Click Copy link.

The Copy link with merge fields dialog with Smartlead chosen: the campaign tag and the link with Smartlead's variables for email and first name

Paste it into Smartlead

In Smartlead, open the campaign → Sequence and pick the step.
Write the email, or paste the template above.
Select the words to link, click the link button and paste the link.

Use the preview with a real lead. Both variables must be filled in the link before you start the campaign.

See who claimed, by campaign

Every claim lands on the link's card in GG Links, tagged with the campaign you typed:

The card reads, for example, "12 claims · 3 campaigns". Open it for the count per campaign; claims without a tag are listed as "No campaign".
See who claimed shows each claimant with a Campaign column and a campaign filter.
On Pro, the leads CSV has the same Campaign column.

The tag is only for you. Your prospect never sees it.

Automate it with Zapier (Pro)

With a Pro API key, the Gia's Giraffes Zapier app can do two more things. The app is in private beta: ask us for the invite.

A link per lead. Trigger: Google Sheets → New Spreadsheet Row, or Smartlead's new-lead trigger where your plan has it. Action: Gia's Giraffes → Personalize GG Link for a Contact. Action: Smartlead → Add Lead to Campaign with a custom field gg_link set to the Personalized URL. The step then uses {{gg_link}}.

A claim moves the lead. Trigger: Gia's Giraffes → GG Link Claimed. Action: Smartlead → Update Lead Category (Interested) for the Recipient Email, or pause the lead in the campaign. A claim state of awaiting_approval means the link waits for your OK in Gia's Giraffes first.

Free and Pro

Free: one active GG Link with up to 5 claims. You can still put that one link in a sequence to any number of prospects, personalized for each.
Pro: unlimited GG Links with up to 500 claims each, the leads CSV, the API and the Zapier app. $19.99 per user per month, with a 14-day free trial.

On either plan you pay only for gifts that are accepted, and the recipient never sees a price.

FAQ

Does a prospect need an account to claim a gift from my Smartlead email?: No. They open the link, pick a gift, confirm their email with a 6-digit code and enter a shipping address. They never see a price.
What happens if the merge fields don't fill in?: The link still works. An unfilled variable is ignored, so the prospect sees the plain claim page and types their own name and email. Send yourself a test to catch it before the sequence goes out.
Can a prospect change the email in the link?: Yes. The email in the link is only a prefill. Whoever claims confirms the address they type with a code, and your link's rules (one gift per email or company, the claim cap) still apply.
Does putting the link in a sequence count as sending gifts?: No. Personalizing a link creates nothing and costs nothing. A claim counts toward the link's cap, and you're charged only when a gift is accepted.
Can I use my own column names?: Yes. If your CSV mapped first names to a custom field, use that field's variable in place of {{first_name}}.

Something missing? Ask us and we’ll add it to the guide.

Put a gift in your next sequence

GG Links are free to start on Gia’s Giraffes. You pay only for gifts that are accepted, and the price includes shipping and tax.

Start free