Build Your First Automation in 15 Minutes (Zapier Tutorial)

You've heard automation can save you hours. But where do you actually start?

This guide walks you through building your first real automation in 15 minutes. By the end, you'll have a working system that runs without you.

What We're Building

A lead capture automation that:

• Captures form submissions
• Adds leads to a spreadsheet
• Sends you a Slack notification
• Sends the lead a welcome email

This exact automation saves my clients 5+ hours/week.

What You'll Need

• Zapier account (free tier works)
• Google account (for Sheets and Gmail)
• Slack (optional, can use email instead)
• 15 minutes

Step 1: Create Your Zapier Account

Go to zapier.com and sign up. Free tier gives you 100 tasks/month - plenty to start.

Once you're in, click "Create Zap" in the top left.

Step 2: Choose Your Trigger

The trigger is what starts your automation. We'll use a form submission.

• Search for "Typeform" or "Google Forms" or "Tally"
• Select "New Entry" or "New Response"
• Connect your form account
• Select the specific form you want to use

Pro tip: Don't have a form yet? Tally.so is free and takes 5 minutes to create one.

Click "Test Trigger" to make sure it works. Zapier will pull in a sample submission.

Step 3: Add to Google Sheets

Now we'll log every submission to a spreadsheet.

• Click the "+" to add a step
• Search for "Google Sheets"
• Select "Create Spreadsheet Row"
• Connect your Google account
• Select your spreadsheet and worksheet
• Map the form fields to spreadsheet columns

Example mapping:

• Column A (Name) → Form field "Name"
• Column B (Email) → Form field "Email"
• Column C (Date) → Use Zapier's built-in timestamp

Click "Test Action" to confirm it works.

Step 4: Send Yourself a Notification

You want to know when leads come in, right?

• Click "+" for another step
• Search for "Slack" (or "Gmail" if no Slack)
• Select "Send Channel Message"
• Connect Slack and choose your channel
• Write your message:

New lead! 🎉
Name: {{name from form}}
Email: {{email from form}}
Submitted: {{timestamp}}

Test it. You should see a message pop up in Slack.

Step 5: Send a Welcome Email

Make a great first impression automatically.

• Click "+" again
• Search for "Gmail"
• Select "Send Email"
• Configure:

- To: {{email from form}}

- Subject: "Thanks for reaching out, {{name}}!"

- Body: Your welcome message

Sample email:

Hi {{name}},

Thanks for reaching out! I received your message and will get back to you within 24 hours.

In the meantime, here are some resources you might find helpful:
[Link to your best content]
[Link to FAQs]

Talk soon,
[Your name]

Step 6: Turn It On

• Click "Publish" in the top right
• Name your Zap something clear like "Lead Capture - Form to Sheet + Notify"
• Toggle it ON

That's it. Your first automation is live.

Test the Full Flow

Submit a test entry to your form. Within a minute:

• ✅ Row appears in Google Sheets
• ✅ Slack notification arrives
• ✅ Welcome email sent

If something breaks, Zapier's error logs will tell you exactly what went wrong.

Common Beginner Mistakes

1. Not Testing Each Step

Always test before adding the next step. Finding issues early is way easier.

2. Using Personal Email for Business

Create a dedicated email for automations so replies don't clutter your inbox.

3. Forgetting to Turn It On

Zaps start in "off" mode. You have to publish and toggle them on.

4. Over-Complicating

Start simple. Add complexity later.

5 More Easy Automations to Try Next

Once you've got the basics, try these:

1. Calendar to Task

Trigger: New calendar event

Action: Create task in Todoist/Asana with event details

2. Email to Spreadsheet

Trigger: Email matching search (e.g., "invoice")

Action: Log to spreadsheet for tracking

3. Social Mention Alert

Trigger: New Twitter/LinkedIn mention

Action: Slack notification + log to sheet

4. Payment Received

Trigger: Stripe payment

Action: Send thank you email + update CRM

5. Meeting Reminder

Trigger: 24 hours before calendar event

Action: Send prep email to attendees

Level Up: Multi-Step Zaps

Free Zapier only allows 2 steps. Upgrade to add:

• Filters - Only run if conditions are met
• Paths - Different actions for different scenarios
• Delays - Wait before taking action
• Formatters - Transform data between steps

The Bigger Picture

This one automation saves maybe 30 minutes per lead. If you get 20 leads/month, that's 10 hours saved.

Now imagine 10 automations running. That's a full work week back every month.

The key is starting. This 15-minute investment creates leverage that compounds.

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Want More Automation Ideas?

Download our 60 Automations Checklist - 60 high-impact automations across 6 business areas, organized by difficulty.

Or take the AI Readiness Assessment to get a personalized automation roadmap for your business.