Running a small business means sometimes we wear many hats, but that doesn’t mean we have to do everything manually. Automation saves hours, reduces errors, and helps us keep our businesses running smoothly—even when we’re not glued to our desks. I’m sharing my favorite tools to automate repetitive tasks, so you can focus on the other important parts of your business.
Here are my top 5 tools for automation:
1. Zapier
Coming in as number 1, and it’s not a surprise if you know me! I love Zapier. It connects all my favorite apps and automates workflows without having to do any coding. It does things like saving email attachments to a dedicated Google Drive, syncing a new CRM with your email marketing platform, creating a new shared Google Folder, or automatically updating Google Sheets or Docs with triggers. Everything is handled in the background and I don’t have to think about it!
2. Mailchimp
Mailchimp is SO versatile. Many email newsletter platforms offer similar functionality, but Mailchimp is my personal workhorse. Gone are the days are writing targeted marketing emails one at a time. Mailchimp allows you to automate email campaigns, segment your audience, track email results and can even send your audience through dedicated marketing funnels at the click of a button. Set up welcome sequences, abandoned cart emails or even newsletters than run themselves!
3. Trello
One of the aspects of small business that can get out of control quickly is project management. Trello is project management software that allows you to organize tasks, set deadlines, and communicate with your team members. You can automate task assignments and updates with app integrations so you won’t miss a thing!
4. HootSuite
As a small business owner, chances are you have more than one social media account running at a time. Running all these accounts can be utterly time consuming. Hootsuite allows you to schedule posts across multiple platforms, keeps you updated on your engagement, and analyze your posts performance all in one spot. Simply schedule the content and let it be!
5. TidyCal
One of the most time consuming aspects of small business can be scheduling appointments and follow ups. Tidycal allows clients and potential leads book a meeting with you based on your availability without any need for back and forth emailing.
Automation doesn’t have to be a scary, intimidating mountain to tackle. With the correct tools, you can really cut down on the amount of time you are doing repetitive tasks. Start with one or two of these and watch how much smoother things run!