No-code automation

Zapier, Make.com, and n8n are no-code automation tools. They connect the apps you already use, so that work you would otherwise do by hand happens by itself. Creatomate has an official integration for each of them.

How it works

In each tool, you build a workflow: a chain of steps. The first step is the trigger: something that happens in one of your apps, such as a new row in Airtable or a new product in your online store. Every step after it is an action that does something with that content.

Trigger

New row in Airtable

The content comes in

Action

Create a video or image

with Creatomate

Action

Post to social media

Instagram, YouTube, …

In the workflow above, a new row in Airtable is the trigger. Creatomate is the first action: it turns the content of the row into a video. The second action posts the video to social media. It could just as well save it to a folder or send it by email.

The Creatomate step works the same way in all three tools. You pick your template, and its dynamic elements appear as fields. You fill those fields with content from the earlier steps. Every time the workflow runs, a new video is made.

Which tool to use

Zapier is the easiest to start with. A workflow, called a Zap, runs from top to bottom. For each step, you choose an app and what it should do. Zapier also connects to the largest number of apps.

Make.com shows a workflow, called a scenario, as a map of connected steps. A scenario can split into different paths or repeat a step for every item in a list. It takes a little longer to learn. In return, it's more flexible.

n8n is the most flexible of the three and the closest to programming. You can add a few lines of code wherever you need them. You can also run it on your own server. It suits teams that are comfortable with some technical setup.

If your team already uses one of these tools, use that one. Your template stays the same whichever tool fills it in.

Tutorials