Zapier is a website that offers a platform for automating workflows by connecting different apps and services. You can use Zapier to create custom workflows, called Zaps, that perform tasks for you based on triggers and actions.
For example, you can create a Zap that automatically sends an email to a new lead from your CRM, or a Zap that adds a new row to a spreadsheet whenever you receive a payment. Zapier supports more than 6,000 apps.
Pricing
Here is what you get for the free version:
| Free Version | Description |
|---|---|
| 5 Zaps | You can create up to 5 automated workflows that connect your apps and services. |
| Single-step Zaps | Each Zap can only have one trigger and one action. |
| 15-minute update time | Zapier will check for new data to start your Zaps every 15 minutes. |
| Core features | You can access the basic features of Zapier, such as the no-code editor, the AI-powered Zap builder, and the drafts. |
Zapier Uses Cases for Entrepreneurs and Small Business Owners
The number of automation possible is infinite! But here are a few automated marketing tasks that are beneficial for small business owners and entrepreneurs:
| Use Cases | Explanation | Specific Example |
|---|---|---|
| Lead Management | Zapier can automate lead management, ensuring leads get personalized outreach immediately and are added to the right tool for continued communication | A small business can use Zapier to ensure that leads generated from a form submission receive immediate, personalized outreach, and are added to the appropriate CRM for continued nurturing |
| Email Marketing | Zapier can automate email marketing, reducing manual tasks like tracking leads and managing email subscriber lists | A small business can use Zapier to automate the collection and management of email subscribers, reducing manual tasks and freeing up time for other important work |
| Social Media Management | Zapier can automate social media management, creating tickets from social media mentions or creating Trello cards from new Facebook Page messages | A small business can use Zapier to automate the creation of customer service tickets from social media mentions, ensuring quick response times and improved customer service |
| Data Analysis and Reporting | Zapier can automate data analysis and reporting, improving work performance and achieving business goals | A small business can use Zapier to automate data analysis and reporting, improving work performance and achieving business goals |
| Sales Process Automation | Zapier can automate sales processes, improving sales workflows and deal management | A small business can use Zapier to automate sales processes, improving sales workflows and deal management |
| Workflow Automation | Zapier can automate workflows, helping small businesses accomplish routine and repetitive tasks automatically | A small business can use Zapier to automate workflows, such as task creation and sending custom notifications, freeing up time for more important work |
| Customer Support Automation | Zapier can automate customer support, allowing customers to receive faster, stronger, and more well-rounded support across multiple platforms | A small business can use Zapier to automate customer support, such as creating new Zendesk tickets from parsed emails, ensuring quick and comprehensive customer service |
| Lead Nurturing | Zapier can automate lead nurturing, leveraging data to increase conversion rates | A small business can use Zapier to automate lead nurturing, such as sending an email with a calendar scheduling link to a lead who starts a free trial, increasing conversion rates |
| Event Marketing | Automating invitations, registrations, and follow-ups for business events. | A small tech company automates sending invites and follow-up emails for a webinar series they are hosting. |
How to set up my Zapier Account
1. Sign up for a Zapier account
Sign up here:
2. Use the platform guide to build your first automation
You can start with a beginner’s guide for building automation from scratch:
Or send the support team a message, if you prefer to talk to someone:
3. Discover popular automations
3.1. Find the tool you wish to integrate
You can start by searching for the tool you want to integrate. For example, Gmail:
3.2. Select the 2nd tool you want to integrate
You will get a list of all possible integrations for Gmail:
Literally, 100’s of integrations are possible.
Or, just look up the 2nd tool you want to integrate with Gmail:
In this instance, we’re using WooCommerce, as we want to integrate our email services with the e-comm store!
3.3. Choose from the most popular automations between the tools you chose
You are not innovating with Zapier. There are many predefined and well-tested automations that you can choose from:
Zapier has a subset of tools they have created to help integrate various tools in a way that is more productive and useful. In this example, we are using a mid-tool between Gmail and WooCommerce called Append Entry and Schedule Digest in Digest by Zapier.
The full automation looks like this:
The tool that is activated before the Gmail will pick contact details from WooCommerce shopper’s list, and use it to generate an email template via Gmail:
3. Sign in to your Tool account with Zapier
make sure to sign in to the tools that you want to be integrated as that is what Zapier needs to be able to execute on your behalf:
The same goes for the Gmail account:
4. Use Zapier Ai to help build custom integrations
If you’re not able to find the right integration, try the Ai solution to help you with that:
the Ai will create the Zap for you, and list the detailed steps:
If all looks good, just hit the ‘try it’ to transfer it into an actual Zap function where you can edit the details further:
Click on each of the steps to verify what is the trigger, and what are the instant actions taken in Google Excel Sheets and Gmail.
Make sure the events are what you are looking for.
Pro Tip for using Ai to build Zaps
You may prompt Chat Gpt 3.5 for small business Zap ideas to generate a list of Zap ideas for your business:
You can even go more specifically into your needs and get a better, more precise, Zap idea.
5. Create conditions
Most of the time there will be special cases where you would not want the automation to run. For this special situation you may alter the automation by adding another step in which you will make this condition apply:
Add the step:
Choose what best fits the condition, it is time-sensitive, or content-specific:
In this case, we want to filter out from this automation all social media posts that contain the hashtag #webdesign – as these aren’t relevant to our audience in Reddit:
Use Zapier GPT Bot to help you
1. Activate the Zapier GPT Bot
Zapier has built a Zapier GPT Bot who can assist you efficiently in building various automation and zaps based on your specific needs:
The GPT Bot interacts with zapier’s database which is an updates source of zaps and automation functions that are very useful:
2. Start with generic questions
You can ask broad question that is always better to kickstart te conversation with:
3. Dive deeper into your tool integrations and automations
Then you can dive into specific needs as in the example below where we’re trying to integrate Gmail and Publer – automation between emails and social media posts:
These are the recommendations:
Very useful as you can always get a variety of options and ideas whenever you’re brainstorming marketing automation possibilities with your existing marketing tools.
4. Get help with your Zapier package
Other than automation, you can also ask question regarding your package, and general options that are available to you:
As you can see, it answers the question telling me that I can create up to 5 Zaps using my free package. It also expands beyond the question helping me understand what I can get with the paid version:
The mult-step Zaps are very popular – these are 3 or more tools in combination that can used to automate a great variety of marketing campaigns. The more steps, the better it gets, and more creativity is required.
5. Debug problematic Zaps
At times zaps won’t work, use this GPT Bot to help you debug your issue:
Simply upload the screenshot and ask it to help:
Initially, it will study the image and break down what’s in the uploaded image:
Once done, it gives recommendations for potential fixes:
You may try these top to bottom, and if you run into additional challenges, just type in and let it assist you:
and it goes on to provide the full process of the specific fix:
And when it comes to creativity and options, this GPT Bot is your go-to assistant for building the most optimized marketing automation system for your small business!
