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Dovetail Scripts
Dovetail Scripts

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Collect leads in a Google Sheet with a free Apps Script webhook (no Zapier)

#automation #googlesheets #javascript #webdev

Zapier and Make are fine tools, but paying a monthly fee to move a form submission into a spreadsheet stings when you have ten leads a month. A Google Apps Script web app gives you a free HTTPS endpoint that writes submissions straight into a Google Sheet. Here is the whole thing.

The endpoint

Open a sheet, go to Extensions > Apps Script, and paste:

const SECRET = 'change-me';

function doPost(e) {
  const p = e.parameter;
  if (p.token !== SECRET) {
    return json({ ok: false, error: 'bad token' });
  }
  const email = String(p.email || '').trim();
  if (!/^[^@\s]+@[^@\s]+\.[^@\s]+$/.test(email)) {
    return json({ ok: false, error: 'bad email' });
  }
  SpreadsheetApp.getActiveSheet()
    .appendRow([new Date(), String(p.name || ''), email, '', '']);
  return json({ ok: true });
}

function json(obj) {
  return ContentService.createTextOutput(JSON.stringify(obj))
    .setMimeType(ContentService.MimeType.JSON);
}
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Then deploy it: Deploy > New deployment > type "Web app" > Execute as "Me" > Who has access "Anyone". Copy the URL ending in /exec.

The form

Any HTML form can post to it:

<form action="YOUR_EXEC_URL" method="POST">
  <input name="name" placeholder="Your name">
  <input name="email" type="email" required placeholder="you@company.com">
  <input type="hidden" name="token" value="change-me">
  <button type="submit">Send</button>
</form>
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Each submission lands as a row: timestamp, name, email, plus two empty columns (status, sent_at) that an auto-reply script can use later.

Honest caveats

  • The token in a public page is visible in the source. It stops drive-by bots, not a determined human. For anything sensitive, add real spam protection (a honeypot field helps too).
  • "Anyone" access means anyone with the URL can post. That is the point of a lead form, but do not reuse the same script for private data.
  • Apps Script caps concurrent executions and daily runtime. For ordinary lead volumes you will never notice; for a launch-day spike, test first.

Where this goes next

Once leads land in the sheet, the auto-reply script from my earlier post answers them within minutes, and the follow-up script bumps the quiet ones after 48 hours.

All three pieces - the webhook, the auto-reply, and the follow-up - are packaged with editable email templates and a 10-minute setup guide in the LeadReply Kit. The kit is mock-tested sample code, so read it before pointing it at real leads.

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