Automation Recipes

These recipes describe general trigger-and-action workflows that you can build in automation tools like Zapier, Make, n8n, or built-in automations in your apps. Exact steps, app names, and available triggers vary by tool and change over time, and some features require paid plans. Test every automation with sample data, and handle customer data responsibly and in line with privacy laws where you operate.

How to Read a Recipe

Each recipe includes:

• Trigger: what starts it.

• Actions: what happens next, in order.

• Tools: examples of apps you might use.

• Tip: a detail that makes it work better.

Build tips for every recipe:

1. Start with the trigger and one action. Test. Then add more steps.

2. Name automations clearly ("Form → Welcome email").

3. Use filters so automations only run when they should.

4. Turn on error notifications.

5. Review monthly: are they still needed and working?

Grow Your Audience

1. New Subscriber Welcome

• Trigger: someone signs up through your website form.

• Actions: add to your email tool with a tag → send a welcome email with your free resource → add a row to your subscriber spreadsheet.

• Tools: Tally or website form, email tool, Google Sheets.

• Tip: many email tools can send the welcome email themselves; use the automation only for extra steps.

2. Lead Magnet Delivery

• Trigger: form submission requesting a free guide.

• Actions: send an email with the download link → tag the contact with the guide's topic.

• Tools: form tool, email tool.

• Tip: use tags to send related content later.

3. Repurpose New Blog Posts

• Trigger: a new post is published (website RSS feed or CMS).

• Actions: create a draft social post with the title and link → add a task to your content calendar to review and schedule it.

• Tools: RSS, Notion or Airtable, social scheduling tool.

• Tip: keep a human review step before posting publicly.

Sell & Serve Customers

4. New Order Thank-You

• Trigger: new order in your store.

• Actions: add the customer to your email list (if they opted in) → send a personal thank-you email a day later → add the order to a sales tracker.

• Tools: store platform, email tool, Google Sheets.

• Tip: only add customers to marketing lists with their consent.

5. Review Request

• Trigger: order marked as delivered, or a set number of days after purchase.

• Actions: wait (delay step) → send a friendly email asking for honest feedback.

• Tools: store platform, email or automation tool with delay steps.

• Tip: ask for honest feedback; don't offer incentives only for positive reviews.

6. Booking Confirmation and Reminder

• Trigger: new booking in your scheduling tool or database.

• Actions: send a confirmation email → add to your calendar → send a reminder 24 hours before.

• Tools: Calendly/Cal.com or Airtable, email, calendar.

• Tip: include how to reschedule in every email.

7. Support Inbox Sorter

• Trigger: new email to your support address or a new contact form submission.

• Actions: create a row in a support tracker → categorise using keywords (refund, login, question) → notify you in chat for urgent ones.

• Tools: email, Airtable or Notion, Slack or similar.

• Tip: start with simple keyword filters before adding anything fancier.

Run Your Business

8. New Client Onboarding

• Trigger: client status changes to "signed" in your CRM table.

• Actions: create a project folder from a template → send a welcome email with next steps → create onboarding tasks in your project tool.

• Tools: Airtable, Google Drive, email, task manager.

• Tip: use a template folder you copy each time.

9. Invoice Reminder

• Trigger: invoice due date reached and status not "paid."

• Actions: send a polite reminder email → notify you → update status to "reminder sent."

• Tools: invoicing tool or Airtable, email.

• Tip: check your invoicing tool first; many have built-in reminders.

10. Expense Receipt Collector

• Trigger: email with an attachment arrives with "receipt" or "invoice" in the subject (or forwarded to a dedicated address).

• Actions: save the attachment to a "Receipts / Month" folder → log the date and sender in a spreadsheet.

• Tools: email, Google Drive or Dropbox, Google Sheets.

• Tip: makes tax-time much easier; still review entries yourself.

11. Weekly Sales Summary

• Trigger: every Monday at 9:00.

• Actions: pull last week's orders → calculate totals → send yourself a summary email or chat message.

• Tools: store platform, Google Sheets, automation tool's scheduler.

• Tip: keep it to three numbers: orders, revenue, new customers.

Stay Organised

12. Content Idea Catcher

• Trigger: you send a message to a specific chat channel or a note with a tag.

• Actions: add the idea to your content database with today's date and a "new" status.

• Tools: Slack or similar, Notion or Airtable.

• Tip: capture ideas from your phone in seconds.

13. Form Responses to Organised Database

• Trigger: new form response (survey, application, waitlist).

• Actions: create a record in your database → assign a status → notify you if a field meets a condition (e.g. "budget over X").

• Tools: form tool, Airtable or Notion.

• Tip: use dropdown fields in forms for clean data.

14. Weekly Database Backup

• Trigger: every Sunday night.

• Actions: export records from your database → save as a dated file in cloud storage.

• Tools: Airtable or Notion, Google Drive.

• Tip: keep the last few backups and delete older ones to save space.

15. Calendar Prep

• Trigger: every weekday at 8:00.

• Actions: get today's calendar events → send yourself a summary with times and meeting links.

• Tools: calendar, email or chat.

• Tip: add a filter to skip days with no events.

Recipe Planner

Sample product from a Fora-made demo creator page.