Part 2
Lever 2 — AI Workflows
Module 4
Module at a Glance
Reading Time
15–20 minutes
What You’ll Walk Away With
Two live automated workflows running in your own accounts — one built in Zapier, one in Make.com — plus a clear framework for identifying and automating any repetitive task in your business.
L2M4.1
The Automation Mindset
Before you touch Zapier or Make.com, you need a specific way of looking at your work.
Every time you do a repetitive task — copy something from one place, paste it somewhere else, send the same type of message again, reformat information for a different platform — ask yourself one question:
“Does this task have the same inputs and the same outputs every time it runs?“
If yes, that task can be automated. And if it can be automated, doing it manually is a choice — not a necessity.
Always Busy
Works harder every month as they grow. Manual effort scales with output — more content, more tasks, more hours.
Built Systems
Works smarter — their systems scale with the business while active hours stay flat. Growth doesn’t mean grinding more.
L2M4.2
How Automation Tools Work
Automation tools like Zapier and Make.com work on a simple logic: If this happens, do that. Every automation has two parts:
Part 01
Trigger
The event that starts the automation.
→A new subscriber joins your email list
→A new form submission arrives
→A new post is published on your WordPress site
→A specific time of day arrives
→A new row is added to a Google Sheet
Part 02
Action(s)
What happens automatically when the trigger fires.
→Send an email · Create a document · Post a message to Slack
→Add a row to a spreadsheet
→Generate text using AI (via OpenAI or Claude API)
→Post to social media
💡
Zapier connects to 6,000+ apps. Make.com connects to 1,000+. Almost every tool you use — WordPress, MailerLite, Google Drive, Canva, Slack, Gmail, Notion — can be connected and automated.
Zapier
Setup + 2 Live Automations
L2M4.3
Setting Up Your Zapier Account
1
Create your account
Go to zapier.com and sign up for a free account.
2
Connect your most-used apps
In your Zapier dashboard, go to My Apps and connect:
Google (Gmail + Drive + Sheets)
WordPress
MailerLite
Any daily tools
Each connection uses OAuth authentication — you’ll be redirected to the app to confirm.
3
Understand the free tier limits
5
Zaps (automations)
100
Tasks per month
1-step
Zaps only (trigger → one action)
Free tier is enough to start. Upgrade to Starter ($19.99/month) when you need multi-step Zaps or higher volume.
L2M4.4
First Zapier Automation: New Subscriber Backup
Triggers every time someone new joins your email list and automatically logs their details to a Google Sheet.
Why this matters
Email platforms can change pricing, get acquired, or have deliverability issues. A Google Sheet backup of your subscriber list is insurance — a list you own independently of any platform.
Building the Zap
MailerLite → Google Sheets
Step 1
Create Zap
In Zapier, click Create Zap.
Step 2
Set Trigger
Search for and select MailerLite (or your email platform). Event: Subscriber Added to Group. Connect your account, select your subscriber group, and test the trigger — Zapier will pull a sample subscriber to confirm it’s working.
Step 3
Set Action
Search for and select Google Sheets. Event: Create Spreadsheet Row. Connect your Google account and select (or create) a Sheet called “Subscriber Backup”.
Map the fields: Name → Name column · Email → Email column · Date Subscribed → Date column.
Step 4
Activate ✓
Click Test Action to confirm it creates a row correctly. Click Publish Zap. Every new subscriber is now automatically logged to your Google Sheet — forever, without any manual work.
L2M4.5
Second Zapier Automation: New Post → Promotion Reminder
Triggers every time you publish a new WordPress post and automatically sends you a notification with the post title and URL.
Why this matters
Simple, but eliminates the “I forgot to share that post” problem entirely. Eliminates the “I forgot to share that post” problem — and includes a built-in prompt to take action immediately.
Building the Zap
WordPress → Gmail
Step 1
Set Trigger
App: WordPress. Event: New Post. Connect your WordPress site. Filter: Post Status = Published.
Step 2
Set Action
App: Gmail (or Slack). Event: Send Email.
To:your email address
Subject:“New post published: [Post Title]” (use dynamic field)
Body:“Title: [Post Title] | URL: [Post URL] | Published: [Post Date] — Remember to share on social media and send to your email list.”
Step 3
Activate ✓
Test and activate. Now every time you publish, you get an immediate reminder with the post details — and a built-in prompt to promote it.
Make.com
Setup + 1 Live Scenario
L2M4.6
Setting Up Your Make.com Account
Make.com handles more complex workflows than Zapier’s free tier — with a free tier that includes 1,000 operations per month and multi-step scenarios from day one.
Zapier vs Make.com
Zapier:Linear step-by-step builder. Best for simple 2-step automations.
Make.com:Visual flowchart interface. Each app is a node, arrows connect them. Better for complex multi-step workflows.
Free Tier
Operations/month1,000
Multi-step scenariosIncluded ✓
Paid plans from$9/month
💡
Go to make.com, sign up, then go to Connections in the left sidebar and connect the same apps you connected in Zapier — Google, WordPress, MailerLite, etc.
L2M4.7
First Make.com Scenario: Content Repurposing Pipeline
A multi-step workflow that takes a new blog post and automatically generates social media content using AI.
What it does
New WP post
→
Fetch content
→
AI generates captions
→
Saved to Google Doc
→
Email you the link
Building the Scenario
Module 1
WordPress
Trigger
In Make.com, click Create a new scenario. Click the + icon and search for WordPress. Select Watch Posts trigger. Connect your site and set to trigger on Published posts only.
Module 2
OpenAI
AI Step
Click + and search for OpenAI → Create a Completion. Connect your OpenAI account (API key from platform.openai.com/api-keys). In the prompt field, use:
“You are a social media content creator. Take this blog post and create:
1) A Twitter thread (opening tweet + 4 follow-up tweets)
2) A LinkedIn post (under 300 words)
3) An Instagram caption with 5 hashtags.
Blog post title: [map Title from WordPress]
Blog post content: [map Content from WordPress]
Use a conversational tone.”
Module 3
Google Docs
Save Output
Add a Google Docs module: Create a Document.
Title:“Social Content — [Post Title] — [Date]” (use dynamic fields)
Content:Map the AI output from Module 2
Folder:Select or create a “Social Content” folder in Google Drive
Module 4
Gmail
Notify
Add a Gmail module: Send an Email.
To:your email address
Subject:“Social content ready: [Post Title]”
Body:“Your social content has been generated and saved here: [link to Google Doc from Module 3]”
Step 5
Activate ✓
Click Run Once to test with your most recent post. Review the output in Google Drive. If it looks good, activate the scenario. Total active time per post: 10 minutes instead of 30.
L2M4.8
The Automation Audit
The two automations above are examples. The real value of this module is teaching you to identify automation opportunities across your entire business.
Run this audit once — then update it quarterly.
Open a Google Doc and list every task you do regularly. For each task, answer: How often does it happen? How long does it take manually? Does it have consistent inputs and outputs? What apps are involved?
💡
Tasks that happen frequently, take more than 5 minutes, and have consistent inputs and outputs are your highest-priority automation candidates. Start with the top 2–3 that save the most time per week.
Common High-Value Automations
Task
Trigger
Action
Tools
Back up new subscribers
New subscriber added
Add row to Google Sheet
Zapier + Sheets
Notify yourself of new posts
Post published
Send email / Slack message
Zapier + Gmail
Generate social content
Post published
AI generates captions → saved to Drive
Make + OpenAI + Docs
Welcome new clients
Payment received
Send onboarding email
Zapier + Gmail
Track affiliate clicks
Weekly schedule
Pull Pretty Links data → log to Sheet
Make + Sheets
Repurpose email to blog
Email sent
AI rewrites as blog post → draft in WordPress
Make + OpenAI + WP
Module Summary
Here’s What We Covered
- ✦The automation mindset: if a task has consistent inputs and outputs, it can be automated — doing it manually is a choice
- ✦How automation tools work: trigger → action logic connecting 1,000–6,000+ apps
- ✦Setting up Zapier: account setup, connecting apps, free tier limits (5 Zaps, 100 tasks/month)
- ✦First Zapier automation: new subscriber → Google Sheet backup (insurance against platform changes)
- ✦Second Zapier automation: new post published → email notification with promotion reminder
- ✦Setting up Make.com: visual scenario builder, free tier with 1,000 operations and multi-step workflows included
- ✦First Make.com scenario: new post → AI generates social content → saved to Google Drive → email notification
- ✦The automation audit: a repeatable framework for finding every high-value automation opportunity in your business
Next up Lever 2, Module 5: AI for SEO and Keyword Research