Has anyone tried using Zapier before?
Hey guys,
Lately I have been noticing a lot of traction around the software Zapier. So I wanted to give it a test run and see if it might help me with ruttl. 👀
It seems to be quite useful but I, for some reason, am finding it difficult to use. I tried creating a sample zap to understand what happens by connecting google sheets with typeform. However, it didn't work the way I thought it would. 🙄
Has anyone had any experience of using Zapier for their product? I would love to read some use cases of this software. 🤔
Here are some questions that you can answer for me -
- Is Zapier useful for SaaS products?
- If you did, how did you use Zapier yourself?
- Did you find any better alternative solutions instead of Zapier?
- Are you still using it?
- What platforms did you connect through zaps? Details would be appreciated for sure!
P.S - If you have worked with something else similar to Zapier, I would be eager to hear your experiences as well! Feel free to share in the comments down below 👇
Have a great day ahead!
Harsh 💯
We use it on a day-to-day basis. It has become an integral part of our SaaS business.
Following are the use-cases.
You can automate a lot of things in your business using Zapier.
Feel free to DM me if you need any help.
@ashitvora Thank you so much for the use cases. I'll keep these on my list :)
I did a tweet thread about setting up a simple use case with Zapier:
GoogleSheets > Zapier > Daily Tweet
@MartyLindsay Thanks for sharing the tweet! I've got some great insights after reading it 😄
We're automating quite a lot of workflows with Zapier in the startup I work in.
Some examples: Cold emailing tool (we use lemlist) / CRM (Hubspot) -> Whenever an email we found for a prospect "bounces", its corresponding property is updated in Hubspot.
Likewise, if the contacts "unsubscribed", we have a specific zap as well updating the status of the contact on hubspot
I have no experience with this one but if you're looking for something cheaper than Zapier, I believe you should check n8n out :) .
https://n8n.io/
The use case with updating unsubscribed lists is actually pretty neat. Might help me optimize that process more effectively rather than having my team mate update it every time.
Thanks for sharing your experience @ViceCaz!
n8n looks pretty interesting actually. I'll give it a go very soon. 🤔
I love Zapier, and use it extensively in both of my businesses!
I use it for wiring up purchase events to other platforms, saving data to spreadsheets for easy reporting/record keeping, even building small app/workflow prototypes sometimes!
In fact, it's become one of the first things I check when I'm signing up for a new SaaS, to see if they have Zapier integrated and which triggers/events they support. Knowing that I can treat the different services I use as building blocks, and wire them together without having to write or maintain code, is a HUGE time saver.
Sometimes I use it to automate tasks to save time, but far more often, I use it to automate tasks to reduce human error. For instance, adding or updating a lead or customer to a CRM or customer activity spreadsheet automatically, rather than needing to remember to add them or update them when something happens elsewhere in our system.
Curious what didn't work the way you expected between Typeform and Google Sheets? That might not be the best example either, especially since Typeform has a native Google Sheets integration.
@alexhillman Thank you so much for this detailed response! 👋
It actually makes a lot of sense to automate CRM management to reduce human errors. I've had a fair share of errors on my part with it too haha. Get's really complicated once the number of prospects and clients start taking off. This might be a good use case for my agency. 👀
For the type form and google sheet integration, whenever I tried testing the zap it kept giving me an error. I didn't realize what was going on but yesterday, I spent some time checking out tutorials. That's when I found out that there was small error inside the type form where I was calling/fetching a previous element (first name) 😫
Once I fixed it and did a test submission, it seemed to work out decently enough. You rightly said it - They are natively integrated! 💯
I've used Zapier before. It works perfectly but only if the integration is available in their little app market. If it isn't there, then that's when things start getting complicated. Unlike Integromate, Zapier doesn't have an API or webhook option from what I can tell, so you're basically screwed in that case when using Zapier.
Ahh that's a big one I guess.
It's the first time I am hearing about Integromate. I'll surely give it a try.
Thanks for sharing that, @Sewellstephens!
Your welcome
Zapier has been around for years, actually; similar services I tried are Integromat and Automate.io; IFTTT has some resemblance too, though with a different focus in mind. All in all, not having much to automate as of today, I've just used them recreationally, but I've read of people making a living out of integrations created with these services.
Yeah I've seen IFTTT quite a lot too on the internet. But their free plan doesn't offer a lot of custom automations. So, I tried checking out zapier.
Haha, yeah given the fact how tough it is, I'm sure many people can make decent living helping others with such automations! 👀
Zapier was the first integration I made for Moderation API, and it was also where my first customer came from :)
If you already have an API for your product it's incredibly easy to get started - think I got the first version set up in an hour.
Still haven't built an API for ruttl but I might do that very soon in the future to integrate with other design apps. Thanks for sharing this idea! 💡
n8n - it's open source-ish and you can run it yourself
That's great! I'll surely give it a go
I haven't used Zapier. But, I have used pipedream. I find it highly customizable. It has some cool features like HTTP trigger, which Zapier doesn't have. If you have a technical background, you will love pipedream. You can connect with many apps out of the box and can add your action for any service if the need arises as that part of their solution is open-sourced. Also, their free plan is very generous.
Although I'm not very technical person, I just checked out HTTP trigger. It seems really cool! I'll surely check out pipedream @vicke4. Thanks for sharing your experience!
Hi, Zapier does have a webhook-based input, which I think is the same as the pipedream HTTP trigger?
Regards,
Andy
With Pipedream HTTP trigger, you can send a custom JSON response which was crucial for the project I'm working on. But, Zapier doesn't support that yet according to one of the Zapier senior developers.
Ah, understood. Yes, the lack of a response is key for some projects.
Yes, zapier is great for a number of reasons, falls short in the long run (most of the time).
If you are not a coder it is a great alternative to make things work, however, if you are a coder you'll find yourself spending way much longer time building custom integrations (and paying for each one of them) vs writing a simple app webhook.
But! Even if you are a coder zapier is great for quick integrations and tests.
I've heard my developers say the same thing regarding web hooks. Do you think zapier can be used for something like website analytics or user data?
Probably not the best tool, zapier is gr8 for automation of certain tasks, for instance when a client sends you an email zapier will then create a card on the Trello board that you specify.
These types of simple integrations.
Ahh okay got you!
Thanks for clarifying it out 😄