January 2022 Summaries

Evernote offers a range of features to help users take faster and more efficient notes, including pre-made templates that can be easily customized and reused. By creating and using these templates, users can speed up their note-taking process and reduce the time spent on formatting notes. Additionally, Evernote's Zapier integration allows users to automate workflows, such as automatically creating new notes for routine tasks like meeting notes or expense filing. This feature enables users to capture notes quickly and efficiently, without having to manually add new ones. By leveraging these features, users can streamline their note-taking process and increase productivity.

Welcome to Zapier's latest product news, featuring new app integrations and updates to existing ones. Reform, a form builder with no coding skills required, has joined the platform. Workflowsoft is a work management solution that automates business processes visually. Centiment simplifies feedback collection with its survey tool across 100 countries. touchSMS enables SMS engagement with customers and employees. Arbox manages small businesses with scheduling and payment tools. EveryAction supports nonprofits with donor management and fundraising. Boulevard empowers premium salons and spas with powerful booking software. get.chat is a WhatsApp Business shared inbox solution. Parsio extracts data from emails automatically, while Ponto automates financial tasks between apps and bank accounts. Latest updates include new triggers for OnceHub and Jumpseller, as well as search actions for Orbit and attachments for Pandadoc. thanks.io can now send gift cards automatically, and BaseLinker's actions update orders directly. Deadline Funnel creates custom events and triggers workflows for ConvertHub subscribers. Circle tracks events with new triggering actions, while Trainerize updates workflows for product endings and client subscriptions.

You can view who has access to your Dropbox folders and files by opening the web app, navigating to the folder, and checking the Who has access column in the list of folders. This will show you how many members have access to the folder, along with their names. You can also remove collaborators from a shared folder by clicking the Share button and selecting Remove beside each collaborator's name. Additionally, you can view all your shared files and folders together at once by going to dropbox.com/share or clicking Shared in the Dropbox web app sidebar.

Marketing agency Sixth City Marketing used Zapier to automate lead data collection, saving hours of manual work and improving client experience. With automated updates, clients can review performance and leads in real-time, allowing for more efficient marketing strategies. By leveraging automation, Sixth City Marketing has gained back time to focus on developing unique marketing content and training new employees. The solution enabled the company to streamline lead tracking, employee onboarding, and team communication, ultimately enhancing their business operations.

JustReachOut, a startup founded in 2014, struggled with cross-team communication, particularly between sales, marketing, and service teams, leading to issues such as brand misrepresentation, trial churn, and longer issue resolution times. The company's founder discovered the importance of unified communication through an article on omnichannel contact centers, which highlighted the statistic that 72% of people expect customer service teams to know who they are and what they've purchased. To address these issues, JustReachOut implemented a unified communication model using all-in-one tools like Help Scout, which provided transparency into customer communications across teams, and software integrations such as Zapier, which connected multiple apps without writing code. By embracing these tools, the company aimed to create a consistent experience for customers and improve business performance.

The author of the text created a Wordle-like game called SHEETLE in Google Sheets, using lesser-known features such as IMPORTDATA, Recalculation and Iterative calculation to automate tasks, and Hidden ranges to condense results. The author found that by approaching the project like an art project and trying new things, they stumbled upon solutions that wouldn't have been considered otherwise. They share their experience and encourage others to try making something similar, whether it's a game or another creative project.

The talks cover various aspects of marketing, emphasizing the importance of doing something remarkable and unique in order to stand out, rather than simply shouting loudly. They also explore the challenges of consumer choice and how it affects marketers, as well as the limitations of data-driven decision making. Additionally, they discuss the value of intuition and creativity in innovation, and how universal values can be used to create a stronger impact on audiences. The talks also touch on the importance of targeting personas rather than relying on gender-based marketing, and highlight the power of advertising as a tool for change.

The author, a freelance writer and content marketer, took HubSpot Academy's free online course in content marketing to learn new skills and boost their confidence. The course was well-structured, with a focus on frameworks, systems, and processes, and covered topics such as SEO, blog post subjects, and creating a content strategy. While the author found the course helpful in preparing them for their business, they did not find it directly responsible for landing clients. Instead, they attribute their success to using the skills learned from the course to impress clients and improve their work quality. The author concludes that HubSpot Academy's certification is valuable only if used as a tool to learn new skills, rather than solely for its perceived value in boosting confidence or job prospects.

Textline is a secure business text messaging platform designed to provide high-quality customer service by facilitating fast and convenient communication between businesses and their customers. The platform was founded in 2015 by Alan Braverman and Mark Lilien, who aimed to address the issue of company phone numbers not supporting texting. Today, Textline is used by sales teams, customer support, and operations teams worldwide, offering features such as message templates, automatic replies, and file attachments. It also integrates with Zapier for automation workflows, allowing users to automate tasks and connect with other apps. By leveraging the convenience of texting, businesses can improve their customer experience and respond promptly to customer inquiries and concerns.

This content team at Slack increased its publishing frequency to multiple pieces each day across various channels after growing from two members to over a dozen, with the help of automating their transcript process using Zapier and Rev. The team previously spent 10 minutes or so on manual steps such as finding emails from Rev, logging in, downloading, converting, and sharing files, which was tedious and created a bottleneck. By creating a three-step Zap that automatically uploads videos to Rev, converts transcripts to Google Docs, and sends messages to Slack announcing the ready transcript, the team saved hours of time and eliminated manual tasks, allowing them to work more efficiently and freeing up time for other tasks. The Zapier workflow requires a paid plan and can be created in minutes with minimal testing, making it a valuable tool for teams looking to automate repetitive processes and save time.

As a security-conscious individual, creating a strong digital security stack is crucial for protecting personal information and systems. To maximize the effectiveness of security tools, it's essential to take responsibility for the "human element" - being aware of potential threats and taking proactive measures to mitigate them. By adopting a mindset of polite paranoia, being cautious when interacting with unknown sources, and staying informed about online activities, individuals can significantly strengthen their defenses. This includes creating strong passphrases, having backup redundancy for application backup codes, knowing which apps have access to other apps, monitoring device logins, and keeping operating systems and software up-to-date. By implementing these habits and principles, individuals can turn security behaviors into routines, making it more difficult for hackers to exploit vulnerabilities and maintain a stronger online presence.

Instagram's users post millions of content daily, making it challenging for businesses to keep track of valuable information. To overcome this, businesses can utilize Instagram's collection feature, which allows them to save posts for later, create custom collections, and reduce time spent searching for needed content. This feature is particularly useful for businesses looking to organize user-generated content, influencer research, hashtag tracking, and inspiration. By creating collections on Instagram, businesses can maintain a tidy feed, access an endless library of content, and avoid negatively impacting their public image.

noCRM.io is a lead management app that streamlines sales processes through sales-focused features and no-code capabilities, making it easy to connect with other tools in your tech stack. The app was founded by Sunny Paris and Güven Urganci in 2013 as a tool specifically for salespeople, placing leads at the center of the app to help them close more deals instead of just collecting data. Today, noCRM.io is used by over 11,000 salespeople worldwide to close deals, providing a 360-degree view of the sales pipeline and automating tasks such as lead capturing, call planning, and meeting reminders. The app also integrates with Zapier for workflow automation, allowing users to create custom integrations with other tools they use.

I've summarized the text for you. As a freelancer, Afoma Umezee uses subcontracting as a way to scale her business by assigning writing projects to other freelance writers and fine-tuning their work until it meets her style and standards. She automates many parts of the process using tools like templates, project management software, and Zapier integrations to streamline tasks such as hiring, onboarding, and invoicing subcontractors. By doing so, she can increase her capacity, reduce administrative time, and focus on high-value tasks. Afoma shares tips for subcontracting work, including setting clear expectations, using contracts, finding the right kind of freelancer, creating processes, and setting boundaries with clients.

When the author quit their full-time job and started freelancing five years ago, they initially saw it as a temporary career move. However, they eventually took freelancing seriously and decided to double their income from $40,000 to $80,000 within six weeks of marketing themselves. The author's success was built on a foundation of having the training, skills, and experience needed in addition to a valuable industry network. To grow their business further, the author raised their rates, dropped low-paying clients as they replaced them with new, higher-paying clients, booked regular long-term clients, specialized in a niche, set value-based pricing by project, changed their mindset from an employee to a business owner, and kept marketing themselves. With the right building blocks and consistency, the author was able to grow their business relatively fast and hit $10,000 per month within months.

Thinkific is a platform that allows creators to produce, market, and sell online courses without being bogged down by expensive fees and lost revenue. Founded in 2012 by Greg Smith, who initially created an LSAT course online, the platform has since grown to accommodate over 50,000 entrepreneurs and businesses, generating around $650 million worth of revenue for creators. With Thinkific, users can create their own courses using templates, manage content with drag-and-drop editing, and sell them on their own websites while setting pricing and keeping revenue. The platform also offers automation tools through integration with Zapier, allowing creators to automate workflows with other apps and build custom solutions.

As an agency owner, they found that onboarding can be extremely tiring due to tasks such as creating customer profiles, crafting service level agreements, plugging in customer data, and sending welcome packets. However, by automating onboarding using Zapier, they were able to complete these tasks in just five minutes. The automated process includes a 60-step sequence that covers pre-enrollment, after closing, kickoff meeting, post-kickoff, service agreement, and other critical steps. This automation helps save time, reduces manual work, and improves the overall client experience. By leveraging Zapier's tools such as Filter, Formatter, Code by Zapier, Storage by Zapier, and Path, they were able to segment clients into automation groups based on their responses, compute discounts and total amounts, determine payment status, customize service agreements, generate unique client IDs, create Google Drive folders, and send welcome emails. This automation has saved the agency 5-10 hours per client onboarded, allowing them to focus on meeting client goals and fulfilling expectations.

** As a product marketer at Zapier, I'm passionate about helping customers reach more people who could benefit from our product. To do this, we need to deeply understand the needs of different people and how we can teach them about it. Defining your market is crucial in creating products that resonate with specific audiences, and it involves understanding the total addressable market (TAM), which translates to "total addressable market." TAM helps us understand how many people could benefit from using our product or service, along with the revenue opportunity of getting those people to use and succeed with our business. By establishing your TAM, you can get a broad idea of the groups that you're trying to reach with your marketing efforts and build your business for. To find your TAM, you'll need to start with a general understanding of what qualities your target customer might have, consider demographic questions, look for publicly available data, factor in repeat purchases and risks to your market share, and err towards conservative estimates. Once you have your total addressable market, you can slice it into specific slices using market segmentation, which involves identifying the size and nature of opportunities for your business in the market. Market segments are groups of people built around shared demographics, psychographics, firmographics, purchase behaviors, preferences, awareness, or any other factor that makes sense for your audience. By identifying core market segments that can largely meet your product where it is today, you'll want to target them first, as they'll help you build momentum and capital to reach growth market segments. Market segmentation is part science and art, requiring a deep understanding of your customers' characteristics, quantitative analysis, and specialized statistics know-how. Marketing personas enrich segments by humanizing each segment with a story arc and backstory, helping you understand the wants and needs of your segments on a deeper level and revealing things like experiences, goals, and motivations. While marketing personas should be used as a data point, they're not guaranteed to reflect your current customer base. By building marketing personas, you'll gain a better understanding of your segments on a more personal level, including their wants, needs, pain points, and the context they come to your business with. Ultimately, using market segmentation and marketing personas will help you target your marketing messages and spend more intelligently and efficiently.

Trello is a Kanban-based project management tool used by the author to create dedicated project pages called boards, set up various lists (stages of a process), and organize cards (individual tasks) within those lists. To break down and track specific steps that need to be tackled within a task, the author uses Trello's checklist feature, which allows adding deadlines and different team members to each checklist item. This helps to create a systemized approach to content production, making it clear where content is in the production process and what needs to be done next. The use of checklists also adds granularity to tasks, helping to make progress visible beyond standard list stages.

At MediaPeanut, they implemented a document control system to streamline their workflow, reducing manual tasks and increasing team efficiency. By integrating automation into their process, they were able to track documents, manage signatures, job applications, and email attachments more effectively, saving time and minimizing confusion. The implementation of a document control system allowed them to establish a clear process for creating, reviewing, and distributing critical documents, ensuring that all team members had access to the necessary information in a timely manner. By leveraging automation tools like Zapier, they were able to automate tasks such as tracking signed partnership documents, organizing job application submissions, and saving email attachments, ultimately improving their workflow and reducing stress. The MediaPeanut team's experience highlights the importance of implementing a document control system and automating repetitive tasks to increase productivity and efficiency.

Automation is a valuable investment for businesses and individuals looking to save time, scale processes, and gain better insights into their operations. By leveraging automation tools like Zapier, users can streamline routine tasks, integrate with multiple apps, and build secure systems that support business growth and compliance. With the ability to automate time-consuming tasks, organizations can free up resources to focus on high-value work, improve decision-making through data-driven insights, and scale processes to meet growing demands.

I am overwhelmed by The Pile of mess in my house and feel like a failure as a clean person. I've tried various methods to tackle the problem, but they haven't worked for me. After reading a piece of writing by Saaed Jones, I realized that instead of trying to be productive or clean, I should focus on finding systems that work for who I am, rather than who I think I should be. I created a system for my laundry, starting with small improvements and making it manageable, which has led to progress and reduced stress. This approach can be applied to other areas of life, such as work or organization, by breaking down tasks into smaller, achievable steps and finding ways to make them more manageable through systems like "go-back boxes" and accountability measures. By doing so, I've made my home feel safer and more beautiful, and I'm proud of myself for taking control of my mess.

HelloSign is an app that allows users to virtually and legally sign documents or send documents out to collect legally-binding signatures. The app automates the process, allowing users to upload a document, create blank fields for signing, and send it out to request signatures. Once signed, the user receives notification and countersigns, and both parties receive an email with a copy of the signed contract. HelloSign is chosen over competitors due to its easy-to-use interface, ability to upload templates, fair pricing, flexible features, and ease of use for clients and contractors. The author uses HelloSign daily in their content writing business to streamline administrative tasks such as signing contracts, sending out W-9s, and managing digital signatures.

Using LinkedIn's search function can quickly hit its limits, but using Google as an alternative can help bypass these limits and find specific candidates or professionals by incorporating relevant keywords into a site-specific search query on linkedin.com. This approach allows users to filter and refine their searches using Boolean operators like AND and OR, providing the same level of specificity as LinkedIn's advanced search function without logging in.

I'm Plushcap, here's a summary of the text in 1 paragraph: As a security paranoid, it's essential to acknowledge that no one is immune to hackers and cybersecurity threats, regardless of their business size or type. To protect oneself, especially as a freelancer or small business owner, it's crucial to establish a threat model, prioritize resources, and implement various security tools, such as password managers (e.g., Dashlane), multi-factor authentication (MFA) solutions like Google Authenticator, virtual private networks (VPNs) like ExpressVPN, endpoint security suites from Sophos and Kaspersky, encrypted storage mechanisms, and backup solutions. Additionally, anti-theft protection tools can help limit damage in case of device loss or theft, and continuous reassessment of the threat model is necessary to stay ahead of emerging risks and evolving cybersecurity threats.

I was schooled in geometry by my 5-year-old son who told me a cylinder is a 3D rectangle. Our conversation about it led to him feeling hurt when I didn't accept his perspective, but he persisted and eventually showed me what he meant. This experience taught me the importance of seeking understanding before jumping to conclusions or imposing my own knowledge on others. It has also influenced how I approach customer support at Zapier, where I now prioritize gathering context and confirming my understanding with customers to resolve issues effectively. By taking a more curious and empathetic approach, I can avoid misunderstandings and create a safe space for people to express themselves.

Leveraging social media, particularly video content on YouTube and Instagram, can be an effective way to connect with customers. While there isn't a direct crossposting feature between the two platforms, Zapier provides an easy way to automate sharing videos between platforms without requiring manual action. To use this automation, users need to have admin access to both their YouTube and Instagram accounts. Two different ways to use Zapier's automation are to upload Instagram videos directly to YouTube or add YouTube videos as posts on Instagram, with the latter option allowing for more customization options. Additionally, using relevant hashtags and adding links between platforms can enhance the connection between Instagram and YouTube, making it easier for customers to find content across both apps.

I've summarized the key points of the text for you: Chris Mitchell, founder of Intelus Agency, started using LinkedIn four years ago to grow his business. He initially struggled with bandwidth and relationships on the platform, but eventually found a balance by automating certain tasks. To streamline his LinkedIn marketing efforts, he uses eight tools: Resume Worded for profile optimization, AnswerThePublic for content idea generation, Canva for visuals, Airtable for content management, Grammarly for proofreading, Zapier for outreach automation, Shield for analytics, and LinkedIn retargeting for advertising. By automating these tasks, Chris was able to save time and resources, while still focusing on human touch activities like leaving thoughtful comments or having meaningful conversations with prospects. He emphasizes the importance of finding an "automation sweet spot" where humans and computers work together effectively.

LinkedIn has been an essential tool for content strategists in B2B SaaS companies, facilitating client acquisition, relationship building, and credibility enhancement. However, maintaining a vibrant LinkedIn presence while managing client deadlines can be exhausting, leading to burnout from constantly switching between client tasks and personal branding. To address this, various LinkedIn marketing tools have been explored to develop a sustainable approach for lead generation and business growth. These tools include Collabwriting for saving content, Taplio for AI-powered content creation, AuthoredUp for post formatting, and others such as Dripify and HeyReach for automating outreach and building lead lists. Tools like Shield and Aware offer analytics and engagement optimization, while LinkedIn Sales Navigator provides advanced prospecting capabilities. These tools collectively help streamline LinkedIn marketing efforts, making it easier to manage content strategy, outreach, and analytics, ultimately enhancing LinkedIn effectiveness and reducing the stress associated with maintaining an active presence on the platform.

Google and Facebook ads are two powerful online advertising platforms with different strengths and unique features. Both can reach users at various stages of the sales funnel, offer vast ad placement networks, and have excellent retargeting and audience-based targeting capabilities. Google Ads excels in reaching potential customers who are ready to buy through keyword-based search or shopping campaigns, offers image-based display ads with powerful retargeting and customization features, and includes YouTube video advertising. Facebook ads, on the other hand, give access to a treasure trove of highly detailed consumer data, allowing for top-of-funnel campaigns that drive purchase intent, offering highly refined targeting options, an expansive network, and retargeting features. A full-funnel approach combines both platforms, using Google Ads for discovery, consideration, and purchase stages, and Facebook ads for top-of-funnel campaigns, retargeting, and engagement and retention strategies. By leveraging the strengths of each platform, businesses can create a robust digital sales funnel that attracts, converts, and retains more customers.

Job-hopping is evolving into a green light for Gen Z job seekers who want to leverage high demand for employees to earn a better living and develop new skills. However, it's essential to consider the pros and cons before quitting, including the impact on mental health, money, promotions, and how it appears on a resume. To overcome these challenges, it's crucial to address job-hopping in cover letters, highlight transferable skills on resumes, and research the job market demand for desired roles. While job-hopping is no longer taboo, it's still important to think carefully before making a decision.

The concept of "any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic" can be applied to lead nurturing and management, which has become increasingly complex with the rise of digital marketing in today's hypercompetitive era. Researchers report that leads encounter between five to ten marketing touches on their purchasing path, making it challenging to track engagement and touchpoints across different channels. Lead management automation, such as workflow automation tools like Zapier, can provide a solution by eliminating manual data entry and automating workflows. This enables businesses to simplify lead generation workflows, connect lead sources to lead management tools, and create automated systems for their business-critical workflows. By using no-code solutions like Zapier, businesses can automate repetitive tasks between two or more apps, manage leads from forms and registrations, nurture eCommerce customers, and scale their lead nurturing efforts with automation.

The text provides a comprehensive analysis of Google Ads and Facebook Ads, highlighting their distinct functionalities and advantages in the digital advertising landscape. Google Ads is described as a pay-per-click platform that excels in capturing high-intent users actively searching for specific products or services, often leading to immediate conversions. In contrast, Facebook Ads, part of the Meta Ads platform, is praised for its sophisticated targeting capabilities based on user demographics, interests, and behaviors, making it effective for building brand awareness and creating demand among users who may not be actively searching but are open to discovery. The article emphasizes the importance of using both platforms in a full-funnel marketing approach to cover all stages of the customer journey, from initial discovery to purchase and retention. It explains that while Google Ads is ideal for driving immediate conversions through search intent, Facebook Ads can nurture potential customers through engaging and visually-driven content. The piece also discusses the varying costs associated with each platform, noting that while Google Ads generally has a higher cost-per-click due to capturing high-intent searches, Facebook Ads can be more cost-effective for brand awareness campaigns. The article concludes by stressing the benefits of combining both platforms to optimize marketing strategies and achieve diverse business objectives.

Vocal, a publishing platform connecting creators with storytelling tools and engaged communities, faced scaling challenges as it grew from 1.2 million creators to 11 million monthly readers. To automate tedious tasks, Vocal uses Zapier to streamline processes between applications, such as updating story status in PostgreSQL and sending notifications via SendGrid. By automating repetitive tasks, Vocal's Business Intelligence team can execute more efficiently, reducing the need for additional staff members. Additionally, Zapier enables Vocal to send targeted nurture campaigns to creators by enriching their data and assigning email campaigns based on behavioral patterns. With automation, Vocal achieves three times its original work output with a reduced workforce.

You've launched a marketing campaign, but contact names are in one line, causing issues with CRM and email marketing tools. To automate data cleanup, you can utilize Zapier's automation tool, specifically the Split Text function within its Formatter tool. This allows you to transform text into a desired format without manual intervention, saving time and reducing errors. By following these steps, you can create an automated workflow that splits text at a specified separator, returning specific segments of the split text in a formatted manner, enabling easier integration with marketing platforms.

Selling branded merchandise on a non-retail website can improve branding and customer recognition, even if it's just a side hustle. Non-retail companies should limit their eCommerce efforts to avoid distraction from their main objectives. Choosing the right type of merchandise is crucial, considering factors such as target audience and product relevance. Options for sourcing products include white- and private-label products, dropshipping, and wholesale. To sell merchandise online, a platform with eCommerce capabilities is needed, which can be achieved through plugins or separate online stores. Building a separate store may not be ideal due to the need for additional steps in the checkout process.