grunt work with Zapier, Make & IFTTT in minutes.
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Table of Contents
- Why Automations Trump Manual Tasks
- Our Recipe Framework & Scoring
- Quick-Pick Recipe Matrix
- Recipe Spotlights & Deep-Links
- Anatomy of an Automation (Triggers + Actions)
- Cost Calculator: Tasks, Operations & Quotas
- Common Pitfalls (and Fixes)
- Beginner FAQ
- Browse Recipes → Index & Filters
- Next Steps & Power-User Playbooks
1 Why Automations Trump Manual Tasks
| Pain Point | Manual Workflow | Automated Workflow |
|---|---|---|
| Publish blog → tweet headline | Copy URL, open X, paste, schedule | Zapier Auto-Tweet fires in two seconds |
| New lead → CRM update | Download CSV, import to HubSpot | Make Scenario writes to CRM, sends Slack ping |
| Voice memo → meeting notes | Transcribe, format, email | IFTTT Applet pipes memo to Notion + Whisper API |
Result: 4–8 hours saved per week, fewer copy-paste errors, and rapid scaling when your side-project gains traction.
2 Our Recipe Framework & Scoring
Every recipe ships with:
- Trigger – when it fires
- Core Action(s) – what happens next
- Enhancements – optional steps (AI enrich, format, filter)
- Rollback – how to undo or disable safely
Scorecard (out of 10):
| Metric | Weight | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Setup Ease | 35 % | from template → live in <10 min |
| Free-Tier Fit | 25 % | runs ≥ 500 events/mo for $0 |
| Reliability | 20 % | tested for 30 days, 0 failures |
| Scalability | 10 % | handles 5× volume with minor edits |
| Monetisation Hook | 10 % | ties into affiliate/product upsell |
Badges
🟢 Plug-and-Play 🟡 Mild Curve 🔴 Advanced Tweaks
3 Quick-Pick Recipe Matrix
| Recipe | Badge | Build Time | Core Stack | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Auto-Tweet New Blog Posts | 🟢 | 8 min | Zapier + RSS | Content creators |
| Email Summary Digest (Daily) | 🟡 | 12 min | Make.com + GPT-4o | Busy professionals |
| Voice Note → Notion Page | 🟢 | 7 min | IFTTT + Google Drive + Whisper | Students & podcasters |
| Lead Magnet Delivery + Tagging | 🟡 | 10 min | Zapier + MailerLite | List-builders |
| Slack Stand-up Recap w/ AI | 🟡 | 15 min | Make.com + OpenAI | Remote teams |
4 Recipe Spotlights & Deep-Links
4.1 Zapier Auto-Tweet New Blog Posts
/automation-recipes/zapier-auto-tweet/
- Trigger: RSS item in feed
- Action 1: Format with GPT “Hook” prompt
- Action 2: Post to X via Zapier native app
- Free Tier: 100 tasks/mo → ≈ 100 posts (good for new blogs)
- Upsell Hook: link to our Writesonic review for headline A/B testing
4.2 Make Scenario – Email Summary Digest
/automation-recipes/make-email-summary/
- Trigger: Gmail label “Digest”
- Iterator: Loops messages, feeds GPT-4o summariser
- Action: Sends single daily email to your inbox
- Cost: ≈ 0.25 operations/email; free plan covers 500 ops/mo
4.3 IFTTT Applet – Voice Note to Notion
/automation-recipes/ifttt-voice-note/
- Trigger: New file in Google Drive folder (Android/iOS mic)
- Webhook: Sends audio to Whisper API for transcription
- Action: Creates Notion page with text & audio link
- Latency: 20–40 s ; perfect for idea capture
4.4 Zapier Deep Dive (Master Template)
/automation-recipes/zapier-deep-dive/
- A modular blueprint showing filters, paths, loop-through-items, storage, and GPT formatting steps.
- Use it to chain multiple AI calls without blowing task count.
5 Anatomy of an Automation
cssCopyEdit[Trigger] → [Optional Filter] → [Formatter / AI Enrich] → [Primary Action] → [Notification / Log]
Example:
pgsqlCopyEditNew Typeform Response
↳ Filter: score ≥ 7
↳ GPT-4o: personalize thank-you email
↳ Gmail Send
↳ Google Sheets log row
We diagram every recipe using Make.com’s visual mapper—download PNG or duplicate scenario.
6 Cost Calculator: Tasks, Operations & Quotas
| Platform | Free Tier | Overage Price | Typical Use Case Cost (per 100 runs) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Zapier | 100 tasks/mo | $0.02/task | $2 |
| Make.com | 1 000 ops/mo | $9 for 10 K | ~$0.90 |
| IFTTT | 2 applets free | Pro $3/mo (unlimited) | $3 |
Rule of Thumb:
- Zapier = fastest set-up, pricey at scale.
- Make = cheapest bulk ops, learning curve.
- IFTTT = best for simple two-step mobile automations.
7 Common Pitfalls (and Fixes)
| Problem | Cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Double posts/tweets | Multiple RSS items per tag | Add Zapier Filter “Title starts with” |
| Exceeding Gmail quota | 500-send/day cap | Switch to SendGrid API block in Make |
| Long audio transcription delay | Large file sizes | Record at 64 kbps mono or chunk via FFmpeg |
| Zap turned off automatically | 3 consecutive errors | Enable Auto-Replay or refine error filter |
8 Beginner FAQ
Q: Do I need paid plans for all tools?
A: No. Ninety percent of starter workflows stay under free quotas. We flag paid breakpoints in each recipe.
Q: How secure are my API keys?
A: Stored encrypted on Zapier/Make servers. For extra safety use env vars in our GitHub secrets guide.
Q: Can I stack multiple AI calls?
A: Yes—use our Loop & Enrich pattern in the Zapier Deep Dive template.
(more FAQ entries in each recipe page)
9 Browse Recipes → Index & Filters
Filter by: Platform • Skill Level • Build Time • Category (Marketing, Ops, Content, Personal).
View options: Card grid | Table | CSV export.
10 Next Steps & Power-User Playbooks
- Duplicate a Recipe – start with Auto-Tweet or Voice → Notion.
- Pair with a Template – e.g., feed summaries into the Notion Project Dashboard.
- Dive into the Zapier Deep-Dive – learn filters, paths, storage to build multi-step flows.
- Join the Friday Automation Clinic – live Discord session for Q&A and teardown.
Launch automations today—focus on creation, not copy-paste.
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