What Is Zapier? How This Automation Tool Can Save You Hours Every Week

If you've ever caught yourself doing the same repetitive task for the tenth time that week—copying information from one tool to another, manually sending a follow-up email, or updating a spreadsheet by hand—this post is for you.

There is a tool that masterfully handles all of that in the background while you focus on the work that actually lights you up (and that gets you paid!). That tool is Zapier, and once you see what it can do, you'll wonder how you ever ran your business without it.

WAIT! Before you leave because the thought of Zapier or the words automations, tech, etc., make you want to run screaming, I promise this is both worth it, and, if you read it slowly and carefully, is a lot less overwhelming than it seems.

And one of the best things about Zapier is that it ranges from free to a fairly low monthly fee (when that’s needed). So not only is it crazy useful, but it’s also financially accessible.

What IS Zapier?
(And Why Do I Love Using It?)

Very simply, Zapier is an automation platform that connects the apps and tools you already use. Things like your email marketing system, your CRM, your scheduling tool, your payment processor. It creates automated workflows between them so they can talk to each other without any manual effort from you.

Think of it like a digital assistant that lives between your tools. When something happens in one app, Zapier notices and automatically does something in response in another app. 

No manual steps, no copy-pasting, no reminders to yourself. It just runs.

Here's why I love it specifically for online business owners: you do not need to be technical to use it. Zapier uses a simple trigger-and-action model that makes sense even if you feel overwhelmed or confused by tech. And because it integrates with a crap ton of apps (like thousands), there's a very good chance it connects the tools already living in your tech stack.

The time savings alone can be significant. But beyond that, automation reduces the mental load of running a business. When the repetitive stuff is handled, you have more energy for the work that actually requires you.

What Can You Automate With Zapier?

This is the good stuff! The part where people's eyes light up. Here are some of the most common (and genuinely useful) automations online business owners set up with Zapier:

Lead and Client Management

• When someone fills out a contact form on your website, automatically add them to your email list and tag them based on what they are interested in.

• When a new client books a call through your scheduler, create a task in your project management tool and send them a welcome email.

• When someone purchases a course or program, automatically add them to the right email sequence and grant access inside your membership platform.

Email Marketing

• Tag subscribers based on links they click or forms they fill out, so your email system stays organized without manual maintenance.

• Move a subscriber from one list or sequence to another when they take a specific action (if your email platform doesn’t do this natively).

• Send yourself a notification when a new subscriber joins from a specific landing page, so you always know where your leads are coming from.

Admin and Operations

• When you receive a payment through your checkout platform, automatically update a spreadsheet or send yourself a summary.

• When a client submits an onboarding form, automatically create a project in your project management tool with pre-filled details.

• When someone cancels a subscription, trigger an internal notification so you can follow up.

Social Media and Content

• When you publish a new blog post, automatically share it to your social platforms or send a draft to your team.

• When someone mentions you on social media, get a notification so you never miss an opportunity to engage.

This is just a starting point. Once you understand how Zapier works, you start seeing automation opportunities everywhere. It can honestly get kind of addicting! 

How Does Zapier Work?

Let’s dive into the nitty-gritty! 

Every automation in Zapier is called a Zap, and every Zap has two essential parts: a trigger and an action.

The trigger is the event that starts the automation. Something happens in one of your apps, and Zapier is listening for it. For example: a new form submission, a new purchase, a new subscriber, a tag being added to a contact.

The action is what Zapier does in response to that trigger. It could be adding someone to a list, sending a notification, creating a task, updating a record, or dozens of other things.

You can also create multi-step Zaps, where one trigger kicks off multiple actions (though this is not a free offering in Zapier). For example, when someone purchases a course (the trigger), Zapier could add them to your email list, create a task in your project manager, and send you a Slack message, all at once. ✨

The best part is that once your Zap is set up, it runs automatically in the background without any ongoing effort from you. It just works. And if there is ever an issue, you receive an email, and it can help you walk through any errors so you can easily fix them.

Let's Set Up Your First Zap!

Let’s dive deeper and step-by-step this baby! Here's how to set up your very first Zap

Step 1: Trigger

Start by logging into your Zapier account (you can create a free one at zapier.com) and clicking Create Zap.

You'll be prompted to choose your trigger app. This is the tool where something will happen to kick off the automation. Search for the app you want to start with. Let's say you want to use a form submission as your trigger. Select your form tool (Typeform, Gravity Forms, JotForm, etc.) and then choose the specific trigger event, like New Form Submission.

Zapier will walk you through connecting your account and selecting which form you want to use. Once it's connected, it will pull in a sample submission so you can see what the data looks like. This is called your trigger data, and you'll use it to set up the action in the next step.

Step 2: Action

Now that Zapier knows what to listen for, it's time to tell it what to do when that thing happens. Click Add Action and choose the app where you want something to happen. Let's say you want to add the new form submission contact to your email list in Kit. Select Kit, choose the action event (like Add Subscriber), and connect your Kit account.

From here, you'll map the data from your trigger to the fields in Kit. For example, you'll match the First Name field from your form to the First Name field in Kit. Zapier uses the sample data you pulled in during the trigger step to help you see exactly what will happen. You can also add tags, assign the subscriber to a specific sequence, or customize other settings from here.

Step 3: Name and Turn On Your Zap

Give your Zap a clear, descriptive name so you can find it later. Something like "New Contact Form → Add to Kit + Tag" is much more useful than "Zap 1" when you're looking at a list of automations six months from now. (Future you will thank present you for this.)

Click Publish, and your Zap is live. From this point forward, every time someone fills out that form, Zapier handles the rest automatically. ☑️

Test it with a sample submission to make sure everything flows the way you expected. Zapier makes this easy and shows you exactly what fired and what happened in each step.

Need More Hands-On Support? Join BizMagic BFFs

Setting up your first Zap can feel exciting once you understand the logic, but sometimes having experienced eyes on your setup makes all the difference. Whether you want to troubleshoot an existing automation, build something more complex, or just make sure everything is connected correctly, that's exactly the kind of support we dig into inside BizMagic BFFs.

✨ Ready to get some automation support? Join BizMagic BFFs for tech and biz help when you need it most!