sales-skills/sales-ontraport

Ontraport Platform Help

Step 1 — Gather context

If references/learnings.md exists, read it first for accumulated platform knowledge.

1. What are you trying to do?

   • A) Build a REST API integration — sync contacts/objects, read transactions, manage records
   • B) Subscribe to a webhook — react to object created, form submitted, tag added/removed, product purchased, transaction added
   • C) Configure a module inside Ontraport — CRM pipelines, Campaign Builder automation, email/SMS, order forms, dynamic CMS pages/membership
   • D) Pick a plan — Basic vs Plus vs Pro vs Enterprise (note: per-contact pricing)
   • E) Fix a problem — learning curve, cost/overage escalation, email editor, deliverability
   • F) Something else — describe it

2. Where does data need to flow? Stay inside Ontraport / sync to a CRM or warehouse / drive an external app — this decides API vs webhook vs Zapier.

Skip-ahead rule: if the user's prompt already provides enough context, skip to Step 2.

Step 2 — Route or answer directly

| If the question is about... | Route to... | |---|---| | Choosing a CRM across vendors (Ontraport vs Keap vs HubSpot…) | /sales-crm-selection {question} | | Email-marketing strategy and sequences | /sales-email-marketing {question} | | Email deliverability / inbox placement | /sales-deliverability {question} | | SMS marketing strategy / compliance | /sales-sms-marketing {question} | | Membership-site / course structure and retention | /sales-membership {question} | | Checkout / order-form / upsell conversion | /sales-checkout {question} | | Affiliate / partner-program design across tools | /sales-affiliate-program {question} |

When routing, give the exact command, e.g. "This is a CRM-selection question — run: /sales-crm-selection {your question}".

Step 3 — Ontraport platform reference

Read references/platform-guide.md for the full reference — the module map (API/webhook/UI-only), per-contact pricing and plan limits, the object/contact/transaction data model with JSON shapes, and quick-start recipes (create a contact via the objects API; subscribe to a new-sale webhook; page through objects with range/start).

Read references/ontraport-api-reference.md for the API — base https://api.ontraport.com/1, the Api-Key + Api-Appid auth, the object model (objectID, /objects, /object, /objects/meta), pagination (range/start/listFields/sort/condition), the 180-requests/minute limit, and the webhook event list.

Answer the user's question using only the relevant section. Don't dump the full reference.

Step 4 — Actionable guidance

Focus on the user's specific situation:

• Everything is an object. The API is object-oriented, not one-endpoint-per-resource. Each record type has a numeric objectID (Contact = 0); you operate through /1/objects (+ objectID) rather than /contacts. Call GET /1/objects/meta to discover the objectIDs in the account.
• Auth with two headers. Send Api-Key and Api-Appid (both from Administration → Integrations) in headers — never in the URL or body.
• Paginate with range + start. List calls cap at 50 per page; loop with start offset, and pass listFields to fetch only the fields you need. Complex queries use a JSON condition.
• Throttle to 180 requests/minute. It's a rolling limit — read the rate-limit response headers and back off before you hit it.
• Use webhooks for events (new sale, tag added, transaction added) instead of polling — subscribe via the API and check Administration → Integrations → Webhook Logs to debug.
• Set pricing expectations early. Ontraport is per-contact — the bill climbs with list size and overages stack. Suppress/clean inactive contacts so you don't pay for dead weight.

If you discover a gotcha, workaround, or tip not covered in references/learnings.md, append it there.

Gotchas

Best-effort from research (2026-06) — review these, especially plan-gated features and pricing, which change frequently.

1. Steep learning curve is the #1 complaint. Powerful but not intuitive — budget real ramp time and lean on Ontraport University. Don't promise plug-and-play.
2. Per-contact pricing escalates. The bill grows with contact count and overages stack unpredictably (users report ~$600/mo at ~43k contacts). Below ~$10k/mo revenue it can cost more than it returns — flag this when someone's evaluating it.
3. The object model trips up first-time API users. There's no /contacts resource — it's /1/objects?objectID=0. Discover objectIDs via GET /1/objects/meta before coding.
4. Email editor is a "fake" drag-and-drop. Reviewers find it clunky and the template library smaller than email-first tools. Set expectations for heavily-designed emails.
5. 180 requests/minute, rolling. Bulk syncs need throttling + backoff; watch the rate-limit headers.
6. Send credentials in headers only. Api-Key/Api-Appid in GET params or POST body is a security risk Ontraport explicitly warns against.
7. Deliverability is mixed in reviews — authenticate the sending domain and keep complaint rates low.

Related skills

• /sales-crm-selection — CRM comparison and selection (Ontraport vs Keap, HubSpot, GoHighLevel, Attio, and others)
• /sales-email-marketing — Email/SMS campaign and sequence strategy
• /sales-deliverability — Inbox placement, domain authentication, spam avoidance
• /sales-membership — Membership-site and course structure, pricing, retention
• /sales-checkout — Order-form, upsell, and payment conversion optimization
• /sales-affiliate-program — Designing and running an affiliate/partner program (Ontraport has native partner programs)
• /sales-do — Not sure which skill to use? The router matches any sales objective to the right skill. Install: npx skills add sales-skills/sales --skill sales-do -a claude-code

Examples

Example 1: Sync new signups into Ontraport as contacts (developer/automation)

User says: "From my app I want to create a contact in Ontraport via the API. What's the call and how does the object thing work?" Skill does: Explains the object model (Contact = objectID 0) and shows POST https://api.ontraport.com/1/objects with Api-Key + Api-Appid headers and a body of objectID=0 plus the contact fields (Recipe 1 in references/platform-guide.md). Notes discovering objectIDs via GET /1/objects/meta, upserting to avoid duplicates, and the 180/min limit. Result: User understands the objectID model and has a working create-contact call.

Example 2: Fire fulfillment the instant someone buys (developer)

User says: "I want a webhook when someone purchases, not a polling job on transactions." Skill does: Points to subscribing a webhook via the API on the product-purchased / transaction-added event, describes the JSON payload and Api-Key/Api-Appid header auth, and explains responding 2xx fast + deduping (Recipe 2). Notes Webhook Logs (Administration → Integrations) for debugging and the 10,000-entry log cap. Result: User has an event-driven webhook instead of a cron.

Example 3: Is Ontraport going to get expensive as I grow?

User says: "I'm at 5k contacts now but expect 50k next year. Will Ontraport's price blow up?" Skill does: Explains per-contact pricing and overage stacking (Plus/Pro tiers, +$46/user), gives the ~$600/mo-at-43k data point as a reality check, and suggests list hygiene to control cost. If they're really weighing vendors, routes: "To compare across CRMs — run: /sales-crm-selection Ontraport vs alternatives at 50k contacts." Result: User gets a realistic cost trajectory and a path to a vendor comparison.

Troubleshooting

API returns 401 Unauthorized

Symptom: Requests fail even with valid-looking credentials. Cause: Missing/misplaced Api-Key or Api-Appid header (sent in URL/body instead of headers), or the wrong App ID. Solution: Send both Api-Key and Api-Appid as request headers (generate them under Administration → Integrations). Confirm you're hitting the https://api.ontraport.com/1 base. Use the interactive Live API doc to validate the credentials before debugging your code.

"I can't find the contacts endpoint"

Symptom: There's no /contacts route in the API. Cause: Ontraport's API is object-based — contacts are objects, not their own resource. Solution: Use /1/objects with objectID=0 for contacts (GET to list, POST to create, PUT to update, DELETE to remove). Run GET /1/objects/meta to list every object type and its objectID. Use range/start to paginate and listFields to limit returned fields.

Hitting the rate limit (429)

Symptom: Bulk operations start failing. Cause: You've exceeded 180 requests per minute (rolling). Solution: Read the rate-limit response headers and throttle below 180/min; on 429, back off exponentially with jitter. Batch with range (up to 50 records/call), request only needed listFields, and queue large migrations rather than firing them in a tight loop.