Almost all online businesses are actively using at least a few web management tools to help keep things running smoothly. There aren’t too many “all-in-one” services that do anything that a micro-biz would need. Most of us use email of course, maybe Evernote, perhaps Basecamp, FreshBooks and Mailchimp too—but they are all separate services. But, what if there was a way to automatically move information from one to another? Think of the time it would save…
Enter Zapier. Zapier is similar to IFTTT in concept in that the user and create their own “recipes” (read my previous post about IFTTT here) – but Zapier focuses on user-created connections between web services (“Zaps”) rather than linking actions based on specific types of information. Zapier will create connections between AWeber and Highrise, Twitter and Infusionsoft, or GoToWebinar and Google Contacts… it’s up to you. “Zaps” are very customizable, with conditional filters and other options available, depending on the services being linked.
Zapier offers connections for up to 134 services, but many higher-end apps (such as Basecamp Next and Infusionsoft) are only included in a premium subscription, which begins at a very reasonable $15/month. If you just want to try it out, a very robust free option should do fine.
What are some “Zap” examples? I was easily able (within minutes) to create the following automated connections:
- Highrise contact profiles are automatically updated with invoicing & payment updates from Freshbooks (SUPER handy!)
- A new Highrise contact is automatically copied to my Google Contacts
- When someone schedules a meeting, I get a text message alert.
Zapier polls your connected services for new data periodically (every 15 minutes for free and basic accounts; every 5 minutes for Business accounts) – and transfers the data you requested. As you are building your Zaps (which is really easy) – you get options to test with real data before using it. With all the services it works with, almost anyone can make use of Zapier. Free accounts get a very generous 100 actions per month. Advanced users would find it more than worthwhile to upgrade, though.
Click here to check out Zapier.com.