Underutilized Tools Series: Zapier (the best automation tool)

Finding the right tools for your business can be intimidating, especially if you’re not tech-savvy, and it’s easy to miss the game-changers among all the time wasters.

There are a few that stand out as incredible tools that are underutilized- everyone should have them. They help take a business from zero to hero in no time. 

Zapier is an all-in-one automation tool that will help you connect and integrate multiple platforms and steps that you’d like to take across a ton of different software. It is the middle man so you don’t have to perform actions manually. 

What Is Zapier?  

Zapier is an online tool that helps you automate more repetitive tasks by creating pathways between your favorite apps that wouldn’t be there otherwise. 

Through Zapier, the apps can talk to one another and work together to complete your tasks. 

Here’s how it works: you select a trigger (like someone purchasing a product through Thrivecart), choose a primary action (adding that email to your Convertkit Account), add a secondary action (like sending that email a personal message), and let it go. 

Now, whenever someone activates the trigger you established, your Zap will automatically pull that information and complete the specified actions on your behalf.

Cost

You will need a subscription to connect some apps or create complex Zaps. However, Zapier offers competitive pricing that will fit every budget. 

The most popular plans are:

• Free
• Starter 
• Professional
• Team

The Free plan is $0/ month and includes 100 tasks, single-step automation (one trigger and one action), and a no-code editor.  

The Starter plan is $19.99/ month and includes 750 tasks, multi-step Zaps (one trigger, unlimited actions), filters and formatters, versions, and everything in the free plan. 

The Professional plan is $49/ month and includes 2k tasks, unlimited premium apps, autoreplay, custom logic with paths, and everything in the starter plan. 

The Team plan is $69/ month and includes Unlimited users, premier support, shared app connections, live chat, and everything in the professional plan. 

How to Use Zapier

Once you’ve settled on a subscription, it’s time to get into the meat of Zapier’s automation. 

Zapier works with over 6k apps, so it can get overwhelming when you’re trying to figure out what to use it for. 

So, here are some examples. 

• You can have Zapier gather group responses on Facebook into an Excel sheet for easy lead generation. 

• You can use Zapier to take client emails from forms and other documents and add them seamlessly into your marketing system. 

• Zapier can organize your email by automatically sorting incoming mail by keywords and subjects. 

• You can automate your newsletters by connecting Zapier to your marketing system (like Mailchimp) and your email list. 

These are just a few ways you can use Zapier, and since it works with over 6,000 apps, the combinations are endless! 

What are the Benefits?

How much time do you spend organizing emails into your spreadsheet? How many hours do you spend searching your social media for relevant comments and information? 

Well, that time can be yours again with Zapier. 

Zapier may be the best-kept automation tool, and it comes with benefits that can help your business grow exponentially. 

Some of them include: 

• Saving valuable time (up to two+ hours a day!)
• Streamlining processes
• Connecting the apps you use the most (marketing, email, socials, payment, etc.)
• Helping make decisions
• Keeping team members in the loop

These are just a few of the benefits Zapier provides, and they can vary based on the job you need Zapier to do. 

Final Thoughts

Zapier is an online automation process that saves time and effort by taking all the repetitive tasks and turning them into automated masterpieces.

However, it will take some time to set up and make sure everything is connected properly. But, once you have everything working as it should, you can put it away and forget about it- forever.