A Beginner's Guide To Zapier (2020 Edition)

Zapier is an absolute game-changer for anyone looking to save time and streamline their workflows. Whether you’re running a business or managing personal projects, Zapier connects your favorite apps and automates repetitive tasks—no coding required.

Fun fact: Zapier has saved me 189,170 minutes of work time—that’s roughly 17 weeks!

If you’re new to automation or want to level up your productivity, here’s what this post will cover:

• How Zapier works: The key concepts of triggers and actions.
• Setting up your first Zap: A step-by-step guide to automating YouTube video projects.
• Practical tips for beginners: How to spot automation opportunities in your daily tasks.

By the end of this guide, you’ll have a simple workflow up and running that creates a Google Drive folder, a script in Google Docs, and a Google Calendar event—all triggered by a single action in Airtable. Let’s dive in!

Understanding Zapier: Triggers and Actions

At the core of Zapier are two key concepts:

• Triggers: The event that starts the automation.
• Actions: The steps Zapier takes after the trigger occurs.

For example, in today’s project, we’ll automate three tasks when a video idea is moved to the "Up Next" stage in Airtable:

1. Create a Google Drive folder.
2. Generate a Google Doc for the script.
3. Schedule a Google Calendar event for the publishing date.

Let’s set up the workflow!

Step 1: Automate Folder Creation in Google Drive

To get started:

1. Open Zapier and create a new Zap.
2. Set Airtable as the trigger app and select the “New Record in View” trigger event.
3. Choose your Airtable base and select the "Up Next" view.
4. Test the trigger to ensure Zapier pulls the correct record.

For the action:

1. Choose Google Drive as the app and select “Create Folder.”
2. Connect your Google account and select a parent folder (e.g., “YouTube Videos”).
3. Use dynamic data from the Airtable record to name the folder (e.g., the video title).
4. Test the action, and you’ll see a new folder in your Google Drive!

Step 2: Automate Script Generation in Google Docs

Next, we’ll automate the creation of a Google Doc for your script:

1. Add another action to your Zap and choose Google Docs.
2. Select the “Create Document from Text” action event.
3. Use the video title to name the document (e.g., “How Zapier Works - Script”) and pre-fill it with headers like “About This Video” and a to-do list for production tasks.
4. Save the document in the Google Drive folder created in Step 1.

Step 3: Automate Scheduling in Google Calendar

Finally, let’s schedule the video’s publishing date:

1. Add a new action to your Zap and choose Google Calendar.
2. Select the “Create Detailed Event” action event.
3. Map the publish date field from Airtable to the event date in Google Calendar.
4. Include details like the video title in the event summary.

Why Zapier Is a Game-Changer

Zapier simplifies workflows and saves time by automating repetitive tasks. Here are some other ways you can start exploring automation:

• Sync data between Airtable and Webflow for seamless project management.
• Trigger Slack notifications for real-time updates.
• Automate email notifications for new form submissions.

Looking to dive deeper into automation? Check out these related guides:

• How to Automate Your Marketplace with Make.com
• How to Use Airtable Webhooks with Webflow + Memberstack + Stripe

Final Thoughts

Zapier has become an essential tool in my day-to-day workflows. From managing YouTube projects to automating complex business processes, it’s a tool that offers incredible value to anyone looking to save time and boost productivity.

If you haven’t tried Zapier yet, I highly recommend checking it out (Get started with Zapier). Trust me—it’ll change how you approach work and automation!

Have any questions or workflow ideas? Drop them in the comments—I’d love to hear about the Zaps you’re building.

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