What are repetitive tasks?

Examples in different areas:

Marketing:

• Scheduling social media posts.
• Sending marketing emails.
• Creating performance reports.
• Entering data into spreadsheets.
• Monitoring campaigns.

Sales:

• Customer prospecting.
• Lead qualification.
• Creating proposals.
• Negotiating prices.
• Customer service.

Administration:

• Document organization.
• Invoice issuing.
• Bill payments.
• Bank reconciliation.
• Contract typing.

How to Automate Repetitive Tasks?

Automating repetitive tasks is not only possible but also accessible, thanks to a variety of tools and software designed to optimize processes in different areas of a company. Discover how innovative tools and software can help you eliminate tedious work and free up your time for more strategic and creative activities.

How to Automate Repetitive Tasks?

• Robotic Process Automation (RPA): Bots automate repetitive tasks on desktops and software, such as typing, pasting, clicking, and web navigation. RPA software, like UiPath, Automation Anywhere, and Blue Prism, are capable of mimicking human actions, executing repetitive tasks more quickly and accurately.
• Project management: Tools like Trello, Asana, Airtable, and Monday.com organize tasks, set deadlines, and track progress. Perfect for managing projects and teams.
• Marketing automation: Platforms like Mailchimp, HubSpot, and ActiveCampaign automate email marketing campaigns, landing page creation, and lead nurturing. Essential for optimizing your marketing strategies.
• Scripts and macros: Native tools in software like Excel and Google Sheets automate simple and repetitive tasks. Great for automating calculations, formatting, and data manipulation. Ferramentas nativas em softwares como Excel e Google Sheets automatizam tarefas simples e repetitivas. Ótimo para automatizar cálculos, formatação e manipulação de dados.

Remember: Automation is an ongoing process. Monitor the results, adjust the settings, and explore new possibilities to optimize your time and productivity further.

Examples of Success in Automating Repetitive Tasks

Automating repetitive tasks is not just a theoretical concept but a reality that already benefits companies of different sizes and segments. Here are some real examples of how automation freed up creative and strategic time, boosting growth and productivity:

2. Sales Company:

Problem: The manual process of customer prospecting and lead qualification was slow and ineffective, limiting the sales team’s growth.

Solution: The company adopted an automation tool for:

• Prospecting potential customers through specific filters.
• Qualifying leads based on predefined criteria.
• Sending personalized automated emails to nurture leads.

Result:

• 20% increase in the number of qualified leads.
• 50% reduction in time spent on prospecting and qualification.
• 15% increase in sales.

3. Services:

Problem: Manual organization of documents and invoice issuing was tedious and error-prone, consuming time and resources.

Solution: The company implemented an automation software for:

• Organizing and storing documents digitally.
• Automatically issuing invoices based on predefined data.
• Reconciling bank accounts and generating financial reports.

Result:

• 15% reduction in administrative costs.
• 50% increase in administrative team productivity.
• Elimination of manual errors in invoice issuance.

These are just a few examples of how automating repetitive tasks can bring concrete benefits to companies of different sizes and segments.

Get inspired by these stories and explore the potential of automation to free up your creative and strategic time, boosting your business’s growth and productivity!

Automation: The Key to the Future of Business

Automating repetitive tasks is no longer an option but a necessity for the success of companies in today’s competitive world. By eliminating tedious manual work, businesses can free up time and resources to focus on more strategic and creative activities, driving innovation, growth, and productivity.

The benefits of automation are proven:

• Cost Reduction: Automation can significantly reduce operational costs, freeing up resources to be invested in other areas of the business.
• Increased Productivity: By automating repetitive tasks, employees can focus on higher-value activities, increasing team productivity.
• Quality Improvement: Automation can reduce human errors and ensure consistent quality of processes.
• Greater Agility: Automation allows companies to respond more quickly to market changes and customer demands.
• Improved Customer Service: Automation can help improve customer service, automating tasks such as answering frequently asked questions and solving simple problems.

If you haven’t started automating tasks in your business yet, now is the time to start!

Here are some tips to help you:

• Identify tasks that can be automated: Start by identifying the repetitive tasks that consume time and resources in your business.
• Choose the right tool: There are various automation tools available on the market. Choose the tool that best fits your needs and budget.
• Implement automation gradually: Start by automating simple tasks and gradually move on to more complex tasks.
• Train your employees: It’s important to train your employees so they can use automation tools effectively.
• Monitor the results: Monitor the results of automation to ensure you are achieving the desired objectives.

By investing in the automation of repetitive tasks, you are investing in the future of your business.

Start today to unlock your company’s potential!

The post Automating Repetitive Tasks To Free Up Creative Time first appeared on Caipirinha Digital

The digital era has brought about a revolution in how we perform our daily tasks. With the advancement of technologies, no-code has gained prominence for allowing the creation of customized solutions without the need for programming knowledge. One of the main innovations in this scenario is automated workflows. In this article, we will explore the concept of automated workflows and understand how they can impact productivity in the no-code world.

What are automated workflows?

Automated workflows are processes that allow tasks to be executed automatically, without human intervention, using no-code tools. These tools simplify the creation and implementation of automations, allowing even those without programming knowledge to create efficient solutions to optimize their activities.

Advantages of automated workflows

1. Time and effort savings: By automating routine and repetitive tasks, you can save time and effort, allowing professionals to focus on higher value-added activities.
2. Error reduction: Automation minimizes the possibility of human errors, ensuring greater accuracy and quality in processes.
3. Increased productivity: With task optimization and the elimination of bottlenecks, automated workflows can significantly increase team productivity.
4. Flexibility and scalability: No-code solutions allow the creation of customized and adaptable automations that can be easily adjusted and scaled according to business needs.

Popular tools for creating automated workflows

Several no-code tools are available on the market to create and manage automated workflows. Some of the most popular include:

1. Make: A solution that offers integrations between applications and the creation of automated scenarios visually.
2. Zapier: A platform that allows integrating and automating tasks between different applications, creating “zaps” that connect services and automate processes.
3. Airtable: A no-code database platform that allows automations to manage and manipulate data efficiently.

Exemplos

To help better understand what automated workflows are and how they can be useful in various areas, let’s now look at three simple and practical examples. With these examples, you will have a clearer idea of how workflows can optimize tasks and processes, reducing time and costs, as well as increasing productivity and efficiency.

2. An automated workflow can be used in e-commerce to send personalized thank-you emails after a purchase has been completed. The flow can be programmed to send a personalized thank you message, including details about the customer’s purchase, such as items bought and expected delivery date. This not only helps to improve the customer experience but also saves time and effort for the team, who do not have to manually send these emails.
3. In a digital marketing agency, an automated workflow can be created to manage the content creation process. This flow can include sending briefings to writers, content review, client approval, and publication. With an automated workflow, all the steps of this process can be tracked and managed in one place, saving time and ensuring that everyone involved is aligned.
4. In a human resources department, an automated workflow can be used to manage the hiring process. This can include initial resume screening, interview scheduling, sending follow-up emails, and collecting feedback from interviewers. With an automated workflow, it is possible to streamline the entire hiring process, saving time and allowing the team to focus on other important tasks.

With the advancement of technology and the increasing need for agility and efficiency in processes, automated workflows have become a valuable solution for companies and individuals seeking to optimize their daily tasks.

Throughout this article, we have seen how process automation can bring various benefits, from saving time and resources to reducing errors and improving productivity. With the right tools and proper understanding, it is possible to create efficient and customized automated workflows to meet the needs of each business or project.

If you are thinking of implementing automations in your processes, be sure to delve deeper into the subject and seek best practices to achieve success in your journey. To learn more about how to create automated workflows, follow Caipirinha Digital, where I frequently address this topic and share practical tips and examples to help you optimize your processes efficiently and without complications.

The post What Are Automated Workflows? first appeared on Caipirinha Digital

Managing multiple social media accounts can be a challenge, but with the help of Make and the WordPress plugin Uncanny Automator, you can easily sync your posts. In this article, we will explore how to set up a scenario in Make that automatically monitors your blog and, upon detecting a new post, publishes the content to social media in an automated fashion. This makes it easy to promote your content, save time, and ensure that your social media accounts are always up-to-date with the latest blog posts.

We will show you how to publish to LinkedIn and Instagram at the same time, but you can add any social media network you want that fits your marketing strategy. This way, you can expand your reach and maximize the impact of your publications.

In addition, we will cover the configuration of error handlers to ensure that the automation continues to function even if errors occur in one of the actions. This solution can be adapted to include other social networks and further optimize your digital marketing strategy.

Step 1: Create a New Scenario in Make

If you don’t already have an account on Make, don’t worry: it’s easy to get started. Visit the Make website and sign up for free. After logging in, you will have access to the main dashboard to create your automation scenarios. If you have any questions or encounter difficulties, check out this detailed guide to start using Make efficiently and easily.

After logging in to your main Make dashboard, click on the button Create a new scenario to begin building your automation.

Step 2: Set Up the Trigger Module: Webhook

A webhook is a tool that allows communication between different systems over the internet. In this case, you can set up a webhook in Make to automatically receive data from a plugin that we will install in WordPress.

3.1 – Click on the module that appears on the page (a circle with a +) to add an initial module.

In the window that appears, type Webhook in the search bar and select the Webhook module.

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3.2 –

3.2 – Click on Custom webhook (INSTANT)

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3.3 – Click Add to configure the new webhook.

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3.4 – Choose a name for your connection and click Save.

The name can be anything that helps you identify the connection later if needed.

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3.5 – After saving the connection, a new webhook URL will be generated.

This URL will be used to transmit data from your WordPress site to Make. To copy the URL, click on the link Copy address to clipboard.

It’s important not to close this screen, as we will return to this scenario later. We recommend keeping the Make site open in your internet browser to facilitate the process.

Step 3: Install the Uncanny Automator Plugin on Your WordPress

The Uncanny Automator plugin is a good solution for sending data from published articles automatically to Make in an immediate and automated manner. It allows you to create processes that connect to different applications and services, including Make, ensuring that data from your blog is sent effortlessly whenever a new article is published. This saves time and resources, ensuring that your automation works efficiently and without complications.

3.1 – To install the Uncanny Automator plugin, go to the Plugins page in your WordPress dashboard and click on “Add New”. Then, type “Uncanny Automator” in the search bar. When the plugin appears, click on “Install Now” and then “Activate”. Ready, the plugin is now installed and ready for use.

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3.2 – In the menu on the left, click on Automator and then on Setup Wizard. Then, follow the instructions to create a new free account.

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3.3 – Click on Connect your free account and then fill out the form to create a new account. The free version is sufficient for what we need here.

3.4 – After setting up your account, click on Return to Dashboard to return to the main Uncanny Automator dashboard.

Step 4: Create a New ‘Recipe’ in Uncanny Automator

Now we will create a new recipe in Uncanny Automator. The idea is to send data to Make (with the help of webhooks) when a new blog post is published.

4.1 – In the plugin menu, click on Add new to start a new recipe. This will open a new page and ask you to choose a recipe type.

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4.2 – Here, you should select the option Logged-in users and then click on Confirm.

We choose ‘Logged-in users’ because a new post can only be published by users who have an account on WordPress. In this way, we are informing Uncanny Automator that our recipe can only be triggered by users who are connected to the site.

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4.3 – Now, enter a title for the recipe. It will be used only as a future reference and can be whatever you want.

4.4 – Next, you need to define a trigger for our recipe. In this case, we want the publication of a new article on the blog to be the trigger.

Blog articles are a native feature of WordPress and can be found in the integration with WordPress itself. Therefore, select WordPress in the “Trigger: select an integration” option.

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4.5- A list of trigger options will open. At this moment, select the option A user publishes a post.

This will cause our recipe to be triggered automatically whenever a new article is published on the site.

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4.6- Now it’s time to configure what you want to share on social networks. If you want to share all new posts, you can leave it as it is (Any Taxonomy).

If you want to share content only from a specific category, you will need to configure the Taxonomy and Term options. For example, if you want to share blog posts from the “News” category exclusively, select “Category” in the Taxonomy option and “News” in the Term option.

4.7- Click Save to save the trigger.

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4.8- Now just configure the Action: Click on Add action.

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4.9- In the list of plugins and web applications, select Make to configure the action that will send the new post data to Make.

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4.10- Select the option Send data to Make webhook

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4.11- In the URL field, you need to paste the Make webhook URL that we copied in Step 2.

You can leave the Request Method and Data Format fields as they are.

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4.12- Configure the fields in the Body session.

To pass data between WordPress and Make, you need to organize the data in key-value pairs. Here, the key represents the label of the data and the value is the dynamic content in the form of tokens.

In the case of this automation, my intention is to create a small post with the summary of my blog for dissemination on social networks. I only need the following pairs:

• title text Post Title
• main_image text Post featured image URL
• url text Post URL
• summary text Post Excerpt
• For this part to work you need to write a good post summary in the optional summary part when you are writing the post. If you are not used to writing this part, I recommend starting, as it will be very useful for you to promote your post.
• full_post text Post content

Step 5: Send a Test from Uncanny Automator to Make and Publish the Recipe

Before saving the setup, it is necessary to send a test of data to Make.

5.1- With Make open in another tab, click on Send Test to send a sample of data to Make.

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5.2- If you left the Webhook creation screen open, the red data waiting button should have been replaced by Successfully determined. Now, you can click “OK”.

If you closed that screen earlier, click on the Webhook module and then on “Redetermine data structure“. Then, repeat the previous process of “Send test“

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5.3- Finally, return to the Uncanny Automator tab and click on the Save button to make your action active.

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5.3- After configuring the trigger and the action, you need to make your recipe active.

To do this, you need to click on the toggle option in the Recipe box and change from Draft to Live.

Now your recipe is active. So, whenever a new blog post is published on your WordPress site, Uncanny Automator will send key/value pair data to Make.

Step 6: Add a Router Module in Your Make Scenario

The Router module in Make is a powerful and versatile tool that allows executing multiple independent actions within a single scenario. In this case, I recommend using the Router to ensure that even if an error occurs in one of the social network actions, the others continue to be executed without interruptions. This ensures greater stability and efficiency in the workflow we are creating, allowing multiple tasks to be executed in parallel, keeping the process running smoothly.

6.1- Add a new module by clicking on the + next to the module we just set up

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6.2- Type Router and select the Flow Control option.

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6.3- Select the Router

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6.4- The module is added and automatically two paths are added. If you need to add more, just click on the + that appears in the center of the circle when you hover the mouse over it.

For this exercise, we will only connect Instagram and LinkedIn, so two paths are enough for us.

If you accidentally created an extra path, right-click on the one you want to delete and click Delete Module.

Step 7: Connect LinkedIn to Make

In this next step, we will connect LinkedIn to Make so that you can automatically post to your professional account whenever a new post is published on your blog. By integrating LinkedIn with Make, you are optimizing your content-sharing process and ensuring a more consistent and effective presence on the platform, reaching your target audience and generating greater engagement with your content.

If you already have your accounts connected to Make skip to step 8.

7.1- Select the LinkedIn module.

You can add the new module by clicking on the gray module, typing LinkedIn, and selecting the corresponding option.

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7.2- We will add a link-style post. For this, select Create a Text Post.

In this case, I will add the blog call from my user profile (USERS). But if you want to add it to the Organization’s page, select the item related to the publication in the ORGANIZATIONS part.

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7.3- Click Add.

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7.4- Select a connection name of your choice and click Save.

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7.5- You may need to provide your LinkedIn login credentials to allow Make to connect to your account. Follow the instructions on the screen to log in and authorize the connection.

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7.6- Authorize Make to make the necessary changes in LinkedIn by clicking Allow.

It’s important to remember that by authorizing Make to make the necessary changes to your LinkedIn account, you are granting permissions for it to post on your behalf. Make sure you are aware of this before clicking “Allow”.

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7.7- Ready. Your LinkedIn is connected.

Step 8: Configure the LinkedIn Module

Now, we will proceed to the action of configuring the LinkedIn module, linking the values that come from the webhook module. This way, we will ensure that all the necessary information is sent correctly from the webhook to the LinkedIn module, ensuring an appropriate and well-structured publication when the new content is shared on the platform.

8.1- To map the fields, you should click on the blank space next to the field name in the LinkedIn module, and in the window that opens, click on the star tab to select the corresponding field that comes from the webhook module. Repeat this process for all fields that need to be mapped.

Considering the Uncanny Automator fields that we configured earlier:

• Content: A text to draw attention to the article. For example:
  New on the blog!
  Don’t miss the chance to stay updated and expand your knowledge!
• Visibility: Public. So that it is a public post.
• URL: url field of the Webhook module.
• Title: title field of the Webhook module.
• Description: summary field of the Webhook module.

Step 9: Connect Instagram to Make

8.1- Select the Instagram for Business module.

You can add the new module by clicking on the gray module, typing Instagram, and selecting the option for Instagram for Business.

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8.2- Select the option Create a Photo Post.

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8.3- Click the Add button to link the application to your respective social network account.

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8.4- Select a name for your connection and click Save.

It is important to give a clear and easily identifiable name to the connection so that it can be easily located if any changes or queries are needed in the future.

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8.5- You will be redirected to the page where you will need to enter your Meta credentials or confirm your profile if you are already logged in.

This is to give access to your Meta Business Suite account.

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8.6- It’s time to grant permissions for Make to access and manage your postings on these platforms.

Click Continue.

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8.7- Ready, it’s connected! To confirm, in Page you have a list of all the pages and Instagram accounts connected to your Meta Business Suite account.

Step 10: Configure the Instagram Module

We will map all the information received by the webhook to the Instagram module. This will ensure that the data from your blog, such as title and photo, are correctly used when creating the publication on Instagram, ensuring that the integration works efficiently and the information is displayed correctly.

9.1- To map the fields, click with the mouse on the corresponding space and, in the box that opens, select each of the corresponding fields in the tab with the star. This considering the fields of Uncanny Automator that were configured earlier.

• Caption: the caption of your photo. To simplify, I would put “summary” and add some phrases like: Learn more in the new article we just published on our blog. Link in bio.
• You can add #hashtags and @mentions.
• User Tag: if you want to mention another user in the photo. All posts will carry the same mention.
• Location ID: if you want to search and add some location. Attention: all posts will carry the same location you add here.

Step 11: Error Protection

Now, to finish, a simple step. We will configure two additional modules to ensure that, if an error occurs during automation, the process is not interrupted. Errors can occur if, for example, the article is published without a photo, or if it has some format that is not supported by Make or the social networks.

For this, we will add “Error Handler” modules to our configuration. These modules are essential to keep automation running smoothly and avoid unwanted interruptions in case of possible failures.

10.1- In each of the social network modules we just added, right-click and select Add error handler.

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10.2- For this case, configure the action Ignore.

By configuring the error handler “Ignore” in the Instagram and LinkedIn modules, if an error occurs in one of the modules, the other action in the Router route will continue to be executed without interruption. This allows the automation to proceed even if an error occurs in one of the social network publication actions.

Result

Congratulations! Now you have an efficient automation that, every time you publish an article on your blog, it will be automatically shared on Instagram and LinkedIn.

By implementing this solution, you optimize your time and ensure that your content reaches a wider audience, improving the visibility of your blog and increasing the chances of engagement and conversion. This successful automation is an example of how the integration of different platforms and tools can boost your content marketing strategy and enhance your results.

With this automation, you can add as many social networks as needed to meet your marketing strategy. Remember that all the steps mentioned can be optimized and adjusted to further improve your marketing strategy. The process we created is basic, but offers enough flexibility to be refined according to your specific needs.

The post How to automatically post your blog content to social media first appeared on Caipirinha Digital

Make is a platform that helps automate tasks and processes across various applications and systems. This means you can create a series of actions that will be performed automatically, without the need for manual intervention. It’s like having an assistant that does everything for you!

By automation, I mean using software to perform tasks that would normally be done by humans. A simple example is when you set your phone’s alarm to ring every day at the same time. You don’t need to remember to set the alarm every night, as your phone does it automatically for you. Automation helps simplify repetitive tasks so you can focus on other important things.

How to Create a Make Account?

If you don’t have a Make account yet, the first thing you need to do is create one. I advise you to create an account to test some concepts that I mention here and see for yourself what these things are. Don’t worry about the price, as it’s free! There are paid plans, but the truth is that the free plan gives you more than enough to experiment.

The account creation process is quite simple. You just need to fill in your details or proceed with access using a Google, Facebook, or GitHub account. I will put the step-by-step below, as I know you love it.

2 – Complete your details (or sign up with a Google, Facebook, or GitHub account).

The first thing you need to do if you don’t want to speed up the registration using a Google, Facebook, or GitHub account is to complete your details. They are:

• Email.
• Password (must contain at least 9 characters, including upper and lower case letters, numbers, and a special character such as @, #, $).
• Your name.
• Country.
• Hosting region. There are two options, the United States or Europe. Choose the one closest to where you live. In my case, living in Europe, it would be EU. From Brazil, the best is US (United States).
• Select the first checkbox for terms of service and privacy policy.
• The second checkbox is optional, as it’s about the newsletter. If you want to receive the newsletter, select this box.

3 – Click on the “Sign up for FREE” button.

4 – Your account has been created.

But before you enter, you need to validate your email.

5 – Validate your email.

You will receive an email for validation. When you receive it, just click on the “Verify Email” button.

6 – Log into your account with the email and password you chose.

If you created your account using Google, Facebook, or GitHub, you need to log in using the appropriate buttons. Here is the link to the login page.

7 – Answer questions about your work and your company and click “SEND”

The questions are about your role and the industry you work in, as well as the size of your organization. The last two questions are OPTIONAL.

8 – Done! You have finished creating your account.

Your account is now ready to be used, and best of all, it’s free!

How Much Does Make Cost?

Make offers different pricing plans, including a free version and paid ones with additional features. The free plan allows you to have up to 2 active scenarios (or workflows) with a limit of 1,000 actions per month, and a lower number of available modules.

Paid plans start at $9 per month and offer more advanced features, such as unlimited automation and additional modules. However, prices may vary depending on the chosen plan, whether the payment is annual or monthly, and the number of resources you need. The platform also offers a discount for annual payments. Here is the price table with monthly payment.

In my experience, the free plan is perfect for testing and getting used to the tool. Once you start applying it professionally, the Core plan at $10.59 is sufficient for an average operation (I pay monthly, but if you know you will use the tool all year round, it pays to renew annually).

Additionally, if you use all 10,000 operations (which is not difficult), you can buy more operations at a low cost.

Basic Concepts of Make

Ready to understand some key concepts of Make? Below you will find some definitions and explanations of the most important terms and features of the digital automation platform. With this information, you can better explore the possibilities of the tool and use its full power to design, build, and automate tasks and workflows.

Modules

Modules are the building blocks that make up an automation scenario, including apps, which are the tools that Make can connect to perform tasks. There are various types of modules, such as actions, searches, triggers, repeaters, and aggregators. Each module serves a specific function.

For example, the “get” module is used to retrieve information from an application, while the “send” module is used to send information to an application.

Make and Integromat

You’ve probably heard a lot about Make and Integromat and might be a bit lost about what is what. Don’t worry, I’ll explain.

Recently, Make merged with the automation platform Integromat, becoming one and assuming the name Make. This means that now Make users have access to all the features of Integromat, including a wide variety of integrations with applications and services, in addition to being able to continue using Make’s intuitive and easy-to-use visual interface. With this union, users can enjoy an even more complete digital automation experience.

Integromat was known for its sophisticated automation and integration technology, with advanced features like conditional logic, data transformation, and much more. Now, with the integration of Make, these powerful features are available to all users, even those without technical experience. The union of the two platforms creates a comprehensive solution for digital automation, allowing businesses of all sizes and sectors to automate their processes and workflows efficiently and easily.

In summary, Make is an automation platform that helps you save time and effort by automating tasks and processes across various applications and systems. With a visual interface and easy-to-use modules, you can create custom scenarios that help simplify your routine and increase your productivity.

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