Automation - 6 tools I use to automate my online business

Automation is the queen of online business.

There are only so many hours in the day. If I never have to rewrite an “I need your payment” email again EVER! That would make my heart smile.

Automation helps creative entrepreneurs and small business professionals create more freedom in their online business. Eliminate some of the mundane steps that are required to run our business smoothly but take up A LOT of time.

Check out these tools I use to automate my business:

Squarespace

This may seem obvious to some, but having a website really takes away some of the task that you need to get your message to the world. Imagine if we were still in the phone book era and every time some one was looking for a Photographer they went and searched the yellow pages. The only thing they will know when they dial your number is that you take pictures. Having a website that clarifies your message weeds out some of the people who don’t need your service. Plus it educates the ones who do, making it easier for you to close the deal.

HoneyBook

Honeybook is my CRM of choice. I love it for a number of reasons, but as far as automation goes it has changed the game! Every time a client is moved to a different place in the “pipeline” they receive an email explaining the process. This keeps my clients in the loop and prevents me from rewriting the same email 1000 times. My favorite automation feature with Honeybook is the payment reminders. Prior to Honeybook I sent invoices via PayPal and once a month I had to go through ALL the invoices and write an email to tell them their balance and when payment was due. This was a half a day task that sucked the life out of me… I don’t like being a bill collector. Honeybook sends automatic emails to my clients to remind them that their payment is coming up and how they can pay. I love it. Try Honeybook for free and get 50% off your first year with my referral link.

Mailchimp

I recently set up a welcome email series in Mailchimp. Every time someone downloads my opt in and joins my email list the welcome campaign email is triggered. Before I set up the welcome messages it was more likely that you would date your celebrity crush in this lifetime than receive an email from me after signing up LOL. I know terrible! But now I get to love on every potential client who gets on the list, and even if I take a day off or get super busy with life, that email campaign is nurturing my potential clients for me.

Acuity Scheduling

There is nothing more annoying than going back and forth with someone trying to figure out the best time for us to get together. Acuity eliminated the back and forth by allowing me to accept online bookings. I set my availability and now my clients can choose the day that works best for their schedule. This smooth transaction makes doing business so much easier. Acuity is integrated with Squarespace for FREE! PLUS Acuity integrates with ZOOM so you can automatically set up the zoom chats to go with your meeting time (how many times have you forgot to set up or send the zoom link for your meeting… never again!).

Planoly

Planoly is an end to end Instagram visual management platform. They help brands and influencers and creative entrepreneurs manage their content and marketing campaigns for Instagram. If you have ever wanted a PRETTY Instagram this changes the game! I can schedule all my post for Instagram, make sure that the visual grid is still in tact, and it automatically post. Talk about reaching your audience while you’re sleeping! I love it.

Zapier

This little gold mine has really changed the game for me. Zapier is an automation platform that is designed to connect several of the apps and tools we use to do business. Whatever system you’re using I bet you can use a Zap to connect it to the other system. You get to use 5 zaps for free. My top 2 zaps are: 1. Acuity to Google Contacts - creates a Google contacts from new Acuity Scheduling appointments (that way their name is number is saved in my phone without me putting it there). 2. HoneyBook to Google - Creates a folder on my Google drive when we start a new project in HoneyBook. This help me keep my clients files organized.