How to Automate Video Creation with Zapier

In this no-code tutorial, you'll learn how to automatically generate any kind of marketing video using Zapier and Creatomate's video generation API.

Video marketing has become an integral part of modern marketing. As a matter of fact, videos often perform better than texts or images under most circumstances.

In the past, creating these videos meant hours of manual work. But with a no-code platform like Zapier and video API like Creatomate, you can now automate most of the process.

Automating video creation can be beneficial in many situations, but it's most commonly used for marketing videos and social media content. Think about posting social media videos to promote news articles, blog posts, or products, creating AI-generated faceless shorts for platforms like YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram, and sending personalized videos to current and prospective customers. You can also automate repurposing social media content, adding watermarks to videos, transcribing videos, converting images to videos, and much more.

Let's find out how by using the following dynamic video as an example:

This is just a simple video to demonstrate how the process works. Creatomate includes an online template editor that lets you design videos in any format or style you have in mind.

As we wrap up this post, I'll point you to follow-up tutorials that dive into practical applications, such as creating social media posts, personalized content, or sales outreach videos. You can also integrate generative AI to enhance your videos with voiceovers, subtitles, or background images. Stay tuned for more details at the end of this tutorial.

Prerequisites

There are many ways to automate video creation, but we'll use a straightforward approach to keep things simple. Zapier supports over 8,000 app integrations, so once you understand the basics, you can easily customize the workflow to fit your needs.

To follow along, you'll need:

• A Creatomate account: to auto-generate the videos. Create your free account here.
• A Zapier account: to set up the automated workflow.

How to create videos using Zapier?

The first step in generating videos is to create a template in Creatomate. This template serves as the foundation for all your videos. It defines the design and structure, while allowing you to change specific elements, like images, video clips, text, colors, and audio, from video to video.

Next, we'll head over to Zapier to set up an automated workflow that:

• Triggers for a new Push in Zapier's Chrome extension;
• Creatomate then automatically generates a video;
• That will be sent by mail using Email by Zapier.

Here's what the Zap will look like:

Let's get started!

1. Create a video template in Creatomate

Creatomate offers a collection of pre-designed templates that you can use right away. However, you can also customize them to your liking or create your own designs from scratch.

Log in to your Creatomate account or create a free account if you don't already have one.

Navigate to the Templates page and click the New button to open the gallery. While you can choose any template, for this tutorial, we'll use the Quick Promo template from the Featured category. Select the desired size, then click Create Template to open it in the editor:

Let's take a look at our video design and how it can be used for automation.

In the left side panel, you'll find the elements that make up our template. You should know that elements can be marked as dynamic, like Text-1, Text-2, and Video in this template. These dynamic elements serve as placeholders, allowing us to replace them with different content through our automated Zapier workflow.

You are free to customize the template in any way you wish, but that's beyond the scope of this tutorial. If you'd like to learn more about using the editor, check out this quick guide.

Now that our template is ready, let's move on to the next step: building our Zap.

2. Start your Zap with a trigger

Every Zap starts with a trigger, a specific event that kicks off the automation. This could be anything: adding a new record to your Airtable base, creating a new row in Google Sheets, or receiving a message in a Slack channel, to name just a few.

The trigger does two things: it starts the automation and provides the content for your video. This content is the data that will replace your template's dynamic elements (like text, images, and colors).

For this tutorial, I'll use Zapier's Chrome extension to keep things simple. But once you understand how it works, you can use any app that fits your needs.

Log in to your Zapier account or sign up for free if you don't already have one.

From your dashboard, click Create, then choose Zaps:

Once in the Zap editor, click the Trigger block. Search for and select Zapier Chrome extension as the app and New Push as the trigger event:

Then, click Continue.

First, install Zapier's Chrome extension using the provided link. Next, we'll add two input fields: Text-1 and Video:

When done, click Continue.

To make sure the trigger works, click Test trigger to generate some test data. Once the test is successful, click Continue with selected record to proceed to the next step:

3. Generate a video

In this step, we'll set up an action for Creatomate to generate a video using the data provided by the trigger.

Search for and select Creatomate as the app and Create Single Render as the action event. Then, select your account or sign in with your project's API key, which you can find under Project Settings in your Creatomate dashboard:

Then click Continue.

Next, select the Quick Promo template in the Template field:

Zapier will now pull in the dynamic elements and list them under Modifications. We can then map the data from the Chrome extension to the template, as shown below:

• Set Video to Zapier Chrome extension -> Fields Video
• Set Text-1 to Zapier Chrome extension -> Fields Text 1

Then, click Continue.

Click Test step to make sure Creatomate can generate a video. Once the test is successful, let's move on to the next step.

4. Process the video

At this point, Creatomate should have successfully generated a video that you can use however you like. As an example, I'll show you how to send it via email, but feel free to use any app that suits your needs. A common use case is creating video content for social media. If that interests you, here's how to post videos on Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, or as YouTube Shorts.

Click + to add another step to your Zap:

Search for and select the Email by Zapier app with the Send Outbound Email action event:

Then, click Continue.

To set up the email action, start by entering the recipient's email address. Next, create a subject line. You can use static text, dynamic data from the trigger, or both. Finally, add the video link to the Body field by inserting Creatomate → URL:

When done, click Continue.

Let's click Test step to make sure Zapier can send the email. Once the test is succesful, all you have to do is hit the Publish button to activate your Zap:

5. Test the automation

You might have noticed that clicking the URL in the test email leads to a "Not Found" page. This happens because the Chrome Extension's test data didn't include a real video file, so Creatomate couldn't generate an actual video. Now let's provide sample data so Creatomate can create a video and email it to us.

Open the Chrome extension from your list of extensions and navigate to your Zap. Let's add the following data:

• For Text-1, enter Hello World!
• For Video, enter https://creatomate-static.s3.amazonaws.com/demo/video1.mp4

Once you've inserted this data, click Send:

Sending this data triggers the Zap, which then starts running. Creatomate will automatically generate a video using the provided information. Once the video is ready, we'll receive an email with its link:

Clicking the link will take you to the video:

What's next for video generation with Zapier

You now know how to create videos using Zapier and Creatomate in its simplest form. With these basic principles, you can adapt the process to meet your own needs. Below are some suggestions on what to try next.

Template creation
In this tutorial, we used a simple demo template. For real-world applications, you might choose a more practical template from the gallery, customize it to suit your needs, or even create one from scratch. When designing a template, you can also integrate generative AI in the following ways:

• Voiceovers: convert text into speech to create AI-generated voiceovers with ElevenLabs.
• Images: generate AI images from text using DALL·E or Stable Diffusion.
• Subtitles: use Creatomate's auto-transcription feature to create animated subtitles.

Build your own Zap
Zapier supports thousands of app integrations that you can use to set up your own automations. Here are some apps you might consider using to trigger your Zap:

• WordPress, Ghost or RSS for new posts.
• Airtable or Google Sheets for new data.
• Shopify or WooCommerce for new products.
• Google Forms, Typeform, or Jotform for new form entries.

You can also use one of these apps to further process your videos:

• YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok to post on social media.
• Gmail or Slack for communication.
• Google Drive or Amazon S3 to store your videos.

Helpful tutorials
And here are some tutorials to help you get started quickly:

👉 How to Create Videos with AI Voice Overs using Zapier
👉 How to Automatically Turn Blogs and Articles into Videos using AI
👉 Auto-Generate Videos & Images in Multiple Languages with Zapier
👉 Use ChatGPT to Auto-Create Social Media Content with Zapier
👉 How to use AI to Automate Videos for Shorts, Stories, and Reels
👉 How to Auto-Create Personalized Videos using Zapier
👉 How to Auto-Generate and Send Prospecting Videos using Zapier

Happy automating!

FAQs

How do I connect Creatomate to Zapier?

Start by adding a Creatomate action to your Zap. When prompted, click Sign in to create a new connection. Then, go to your Creatomate dashboard, click the … menu in the top-left corner, select Project Settings, and copy your API key. Paste the key into Zapier's connection window and click Yes, Continue to Creatomate. Your Creatomate project is now linked, and you can start building your automations.

What kind of videos can I create?

The possibilities are endless – from YouTube Shorts to personalized messages and advertisements. You can even integrate generative AI into your workflow. Video automation works by using a template that defines your video's design. As long as your videos follow a consistent format, they can be easily automated with Creatomate and Zapier. Check out our tutorials for common use cases.

Can I design my own video templates?

Yes, absolutely! Creatomate includes a powerful online editor with all the tools you need to create almost any video design. You can start with a pre-made template from the gallery and customize it to fit your needs, or build your template entirely from scratch if you already have a specific design in mind. Just open the editor and experiment with its features to create your own templates.

For detailed instructions on using the editor, check out the Editor section in the documentation. Here, you'll find everything from basic functionality to advanced features like auto arrangement, which automatically adjusts the video length to match your content, such as AI voiceovers.

Can I use AI to create videos with Zapier?

Yes! Generative AI opens up many possibilities for video automation. Zapier supports thousands of apps, including popular ones like ChatGPT. Creatomate also provides native integrations with tools like ElevenLabs (for AI voiceovers) and DALL·E (for AI-generated images), making the process even easier.

A popular use case is creating AI-powered faceless shorts for platforms like YouTube, TikTok, or Instagram. For example, you can build a Zap that takes a video topic – from an Airtable base, for instance – and sends it to ChatGPT to generate a storyboard. This includes a title, description, voiceover text, and image prompts. On top of that, Creatomate's auto-transcription feature can generate animated, word-by-word subtitles for your videos. Check out this tutorial for a step-by-step guide on setting up this workflow.