Email marketers often hold the data for a campaign in a spreadsheet: first names, product recommendations, offer amounts, event dates or client-specific details. Turning each row into a unique image that appears correctly when the email is opened used to require a developer or a lot of manual work.
OKZest’s Zapier integration lets you keep the visual template in the no-code editor and let a simple Zap supply the data. The result is a personalized image URL that works in Mailchimp, Klaviyo, ActiveCampaign or any ESP that accepts a custom image URL.
Why open-time images matter for this workflow
Most personalization tools generate the image once and store a static file. With OKZest the image is rendered when the email client requests it. That means:
- You can update the design or fallback text after the campaign has been sent.
- Missing data falls back cleanly instead of showing a blank or broken field.
- You are charged for images served (usually close to reported opens), not for every email sent.
This is useful when the spreadsheet changes or when you need to correct a campaign after it has already gone out.
What you need
- An OKZest account (free plan includes 500 generated images with a small “Made with OKZest” badge; paid plans remove the badge and add higher volume).
- A design already built in the OKZest editor with the merge tags you want (for example
{{first_name}},{{offer}},{{product_image}}). - A Zapier account.
- A Google Sheet (or any other Zapier-supported source) that contains one row per recipient and columns that match your merge tags.
All paid OKZest plans include the API and Zapier connection; there is no separate integration tier.
Step-by-step: Google Sheets to personalized image
Create or open the design in OKZest
Add the dynamic text or image layers and set a fallback value for each field. Test the design with sample data so you know the layout looks right.Copy the personalized image URL pattern
From the design’s share or embed options, copy the base URL that includes the query parameters for your merge tags. Zapier will fill those parameters.Create a Zap
- Trigger: New or Updated Spreadsheet Row in Google Sheets (or “New Row” if you prefer).
- Action: Webhooks by Zapier → Custom Request (or the dedicated OKZest action if you prefer the guided version).
Map the Sheet columns to the corresponding merge-tag parameters in the URL.
Optional second step: send the image
You can continue the Zap into Mailchimp, Klaviyo, ActiveCampaign, Slack or a CRM so the finished image URL is stored or attached automatically. Many marketers simply collect the URLs back into the same Sheet and paste the column into their ESP merge field.Test with a few rows
Run the Zap on a test row, open the resulting image URL, and confirm the text and images appear correctly. Then turn the Zap on.
Because the image is generated on open, you do not need to regenerate every URL if you later tweak the design in OKZest.
Common patterns email marketers use
- Welcome or onboarding sequences: Sheet columns hold first name and a recommended next step; the image shows a personalized header.
- Product or offer updates: Columns contain product name, price or discount; the image layer swaps the product photo and overlay text.
- Event or webinar reminders: Date, time and attendee name come from the Sheet; the image can also include a simple countdown-style text if you design it that way.
- Agency client programmes: One Sheet (or one tab) per client, with brand-specific fallbacks. Team roles in OKZest let designers and account managers work on the same templates while clients stay read-only.
Where this fits with other tools
Orshot recently added the ability to send rendered images, carousels and videos straight to Buffer for social scheduling (available on every Orshot plan). That is useful if your workflow is primarily social posting. For email-first teams the more direct path is usually a dynamic image URL inside the ESP, which is what the Zapier + OKZest combination produces.
NiftyImages, Bannerbear and Hyperise also support various automation routes. OKZest’s approach stays no-code first for the majority of email marketers: design once, map fields in Zapier, drop the URL into the email template. When you later need AI assistants to discover designs or build URLs, the same account already has an MCP server that works with Claude, ChatGPT and other MCP clients.
Pricing reminder
You pay for images served, not emails sent. Free accounts receive 500 generated images (with the watermark). Paid plans start at the Micro tier and scale with volume; every plan includes the API, Zapier and MCP access. Check the current pricing page for exact allowances and the auto-purchase credit option.
Next step
If you already have a campaign spreadsheet and an ESP that accepts custom image URLs, you can try the flow today. Create a free OKZest account, build one design with a couple of merge tags, and connect it to a test Zap. No credit card is required for the free plan.
Start for free on OKZest — 500 watermarked images, no credit card.