In the article, Creating a Business that (Almost) Runs Itself we discussed a few of the website, software and customer service automation options. I thought it important to list many of the other areas where automation is possible, and for the lifestyle-business model ... a necessity.
A sticky point here: I'd like to quickly point out that this list is not to overwhelm you, but to give you an idea of the options you can grow into.
Please manage any overwhelm feelings that may arise. If you look at this list and it's too much, then find two things that relate to where you are right now and only learn about those two things. Focus on getting them implemented in your business, then you can pick 1 or 2 more from the list below.
LOTS OF AUTOMATION OPTIONS
There are numerous things you can automate in your business. Some things you may have already thought about or started, such as email marketing. But others you may not have thought of yet, such as auto file generation, event registration, and appointment scheduling.
- Social Media Marketing – Use software like Later.com to set up social media marketing sharing and engagement.
- Blogging – Set up your email marketing software and social media platforms using software like Zapier.com to generate applets that will automatically share any blog you publish with your email subscribers and social media platforms using the right size image and everything.
- Research – Use a combination of artificial intelligence, surveys, behavioral emails, tagging, and other tools to automatically deliver reports to you based on the criteria you set.
- Tracking and Measuring – Set up Google Analytics or platform analytics to track and measure and create automated reports. You can use Zapier.com to automatically create a document that is filed away for you to check when it’s time.
- Remarketing – Set up a pixel that automatically tells your customers when they left their shopping carts or that sends an advertisement just to them based on their behavior in your cart.
- Event Registration – Let your customers sign themselves up for your events using the tools included with platforms like GoToWebinar.com or connect software using IFTTT.com and another tech. Also, if you're using a platform like Kajabi.com you are able to build everything you need inside your account.
- Customer Care – Set up chatbots, customer questionnaires, and a self-service kiosk right on your site. Chatbots can be programmed to speak in your brand voice in a conversational manner and offer an amazing ROI (return on investment).
- Email Responses – Set up triggers within your email autoresponder software that delivers the right information that you’ve preloaded into the system to your customers just when they need it most.
- Transactional Emails – Preload all transactional emails to your autoresponder so that they’re delivered based on what your customer does.
- General Email – Set up automation in your email so that when someone signs up for your list or buys something, they get periodic emails based on their interests.
- Invoicing and Reminders – Set up your invoicing tools to generate automatic invoices based on the criteria you set up, as well as sends auto-reminders. Most bookkeeping software will do this these days if you set it up.
- Payroll – If you have employees, invest in payroll software or work with a payroll firm. They’ll provide the tools that allow your employees to enter their time and control various aspects of their pay independently.
- Storing Records and Receipts – Purchase software that enables you to take a picture of your records and receipts so that it’s always there when you need it.
- Bookkeeping – A lot of bookkeeping software today like Quickbooks.com, will automatically log your purchases and income for you. This can save hours, depending on the number of transactions you have daily.
- Customer / Client Appointment Scheduling – If you’re a coach or someone who interacts with customers and clients via appointments, let them make their own. Software like acuityscheduling.com lets your customers self-serve in more ways than one.
- Bill Paying – If you have bills to pay, you can set up automatic payments for all sorts of bills so that you don’t have to think of them every month. You can do this via your bank.
- File Backups – Everyone should be backing up all the time. Having an external drive isn’t really good enough now. Buy file storage online. It’s much safer, and set everything up so that it backs up automatically.
- Calendar Sharing – You can automate your calendar sharing by using the right type of software for your needs. For example, if you work with a team that is spread out over the country, using Google Calendar so you can all view and see will help. You can also use project management software like ClickUp.com for this.
- Email Inbox Management – Use software like boomerang.com to help you keep spam out of your inbox. You can also set up Zapier.com to organize your files for easier consumption.
- To-Do List Development – Using Zapier.com, you can turn your emails or other accounts like Slack and Trello into a to-do list with the right commands.
- Digital Product or Freebie Delivery – Set up your sales page so that when your customer signs up, they’ll receive the product automatically.
- Lead Generation and Nurturing – When your customer gets their freebie, you can automatically deliver emails that build the relationship using ActiveCampaign.com or other autoresponder services.
- Contact Management – Use a system that allows you to scan your contacts into your customer relationship management software along with tagging so that you can set up networking ops fast.
- File Creation – Set up IFTTT.com or Zapier.com to create files and add them to your Dropbox from tasks, emails, and other triggers.
- Help Desk – Use software like Freshdesk.com to set up an automated helpdesk for your customers.
- Surveying Customers – Use behavioral triggers on your website, in email, and on social media to deliver a survey to your customers.
Now that you’ve seen this list of ways to start automating, did it give you some good ideas? What do you want to automate?
If you’re not sure about how to automate something in your business, I invite you to contact me, I can help!
Please share in the Facebook group what you've learned about yourself and your business. I will be in the Facebook group every day to answer your questions and support your growth.
Till tomorrow,
Be brilliant.
Be imperfect.
And always, be you.
Melissa