App tips

Here's how to get to the Mac emoji keyboard, so you can add ✨way too many ✨emoji to everything you write.

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How to open the emoji keyboard on a Mac

We are GIF-obsessed at Zapier, and we use GIPHY to send GIFs in Slack. But if you don't need all the bells and whistles you get with GIPHY—captions, sound, the works—there's a built-in way to add a GIF in Slack.

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How to send a GIF in Slack

Google now offers built-in newsletter templates and the ability to send emails to multiple individual recipients without a BCC. Here's how it works.

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How to send an email newsletter in Gmail

Everyone keeps telling me to go outside! take a walk! get some fresh air! But here's the thing: I like being inside. I like sitting. I'm perfectly happy opening a window for my daily dose of fresh air.

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How to join a Zoom meeting by phone—and why you should

You want to send an email, just not right now. No problem—it's easy to schedule an email in Gmail. Maybe you're responding to work emails at an embarrassing hour and don't want the recipient to know.

How to schedule an email in Gmail

Here's how to delete messages in Slack—plus some other options for when you get send-happy.

How to delete Slack messages

Google Docs lets you collaborate on documents; Gmail doesn't really let you collaborate on emails. That's kind of weird, right? 

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How to email a Google Doc

Best apps

These Mailchimp alternatives will help you find the right email marketing tool for your needs.

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The 9 best Mailchimp alternatives in 2024

Google Docs offers an autocorrect feature: It's called Automatic substitution. Here, we'll walk through how to set up and use it, as well as when it might be particularly useful.

How to turn on (and off) autocorrect in Google Docs

People get fussy if you don't respond to emails quickly, so if you're out of office, even just for a day, you need to let them know.

How to set an out of office message in Gmail

Find large files in Google Drive, Gmail, and Google Photos to free up storage space.

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How to free up space in your Google account

You can still use Zoom in Google Calendar, and you can even make it the default if you're a Google Workspace user.

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How to add Zoom to Google Calendar (and make it the default option)

Everyone seems to find themselves fumbling with hyperlinks in Slack, but it's almost magic how easy it is. There are two main ways to do it.

How to hyperlink in Slack

Adding columns and rows in Google Sheets is a two-click process. Open your spreadsheet, and follow along below to see how it's done. How to Add columns in Google Sheets Step 1: Click anywhere in the column that's next to where you want your new column.

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How to add columns or rows in Google Sheets

Google Docs pageless view means no more page breaks—and a little more flexibility.

How to remove page breaks in Google Docs with pageless view

Marketing tips

Writing a blog post shouldn't be a matter of filling out a template—that's a recipe for disappearing into the internet content landfill. But using a template for a blog post brief is a great way to make sure your writers have all the information they need.

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How to write a content brief (with template)

That Zoom blur background is everywhere. It prevents your coworkers from seeing the mess or other variation of chaos behind you—and it only makes your hair look vaguely weird.

How to blur your background in Zoom—and the case for not doing it

Use this Google Sheets to-do list template to organize your tasks in the app you already use every day. 

Why Google Sheets should be your to-do list (with template)

If you're on your way to being a Slack power user, these five features that will change the way you work.

5 advanced features for Slack power users

Zapier initiatives

Hi. We're just a blog, standing in front of a content creator, asking them to write for us. Translation: we want you to contribute to Zapier Blog.

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Guest posting on the Zapier blog

Productivity tips

I'm guessing there's some psychological or economic phenomenon that explains this (commitment device comes to mind), but here's why putting some tasks on my calendar works for me.

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Some tasks belong on your calendar, not your to-do list

I'm at almost constant inbox zero. In part, it's because I'm good at organizing my inbox and replying promptly (and I'm modest, to boot). But it's also because I use the Gmail snooze feature to keep for-later emails out of sight and out of mind.

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Why I snooze my emails

Business tips

These business leaders survived the economic downturn of the pandemic. Here's what they think is coming next.

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3 business leaders share their predictions for the future of small businesses

These business leaders survived the economic downturn of the pandemic. Here's how this one is different—and not so different.

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How to survive a recession: Business leaders weigh in

I can't remember the last time I clicked plain old Send on an email. And it's not because I'm neglecting my inbox—I'm actually at inbox zero and have very strong opinions about emailing people back. It's because I schedule almost all my emails.

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Why I schedule all my emails—and you should too

I panicked when I thought Chrome took this feature away, but it turns out they just hid it. Here's how to restore tabs on Chrome.

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How to restore tabs on Chrome

If you're using LinkedIn to recruit or do lead gen, you should pay for it. But sometimes, you need a one-off way to bypass the search limit. Here's how.

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How to search on LinkedIn with no limits

I've been working with freelance writers for over a decade, and while I'm still improving my workflow, there are a few things that I'd recommend to anyone just starting out with freelancers—or anyone thinking about overhauling their process.

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How to find and work with freelance writers

How we work at Zapier

We're the Zapier Blog, and we're here to make you more productive, help grow your business, and show you how automation means more than robots taking over the world. Justin Pot, Staff Writer Justin explains technology, and has for over a decade.

About us

Customer stories

At the beginning of the pandemic, Rhiannon Menn was feeling helpless. She was looking for a way to support the families in her community while still following stay-at-home orders and keeping her family safe.

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How a one-woman nonprofit scaled to deliver thousands of meals to people in need

Vicki Saunders is a successful serial entrepreneur, and she knows all too well the biases against women that are built into venture systems. Women receive 2.2% of available funding, Vicki shared with us.

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How SheEO uses automation in their quest to create a $1 billion fund to support women-run businesses

When Justin Samuels saw the incredible community reaction to the civil injustices going on across the U.S., he was inspired. But when he tried to take action, he felt like something was missing.

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How a team of volunteers is working to restore wealth to Black communities

Jaz Broughton has been running her  for two years, but entrepreneurship is second nature for her. Both of her parents are multi-passionate entrepreneurs. She had her first business cards at 11. She sent her first invoice at 13.

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How a full-time tech worker manages and grows her booming side hustle

Pia Beck just turned 26, and she's already running her own successful business. Through , Pia helps other women do what she did: create the business and life they want—and leave an impact.

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How a female entrepreneur helps other female entrepreneurs streamline their businesses

In 2016,  somehow found herself with two master's degrees—an MBA and one in sports management—and zero jobs.

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How a freelancer automated her client onboarding and grew her business

 L. Michelle Smith is a writer. But she's also a speaker, a podcast host and executive producer, a consultant, a brand partner, and an executive coach. It's a lot to juggle, yes, but it's also what ended up saving her business.

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How a leadership development advisor went from corporate America to successful business owner

Justin Blase has always been fascinated by automation. When he first started using Zapier for a previous employer over five years ago, he realized it would be a game-changer for him. With a background mostly in marketing, he didn't have coding skills.

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How a marketer built an eCommerce business that runs almost entirely on automation

Google Drive's search is powerful for obvious reasons. But just like with Google's web search, if there are enough relevant results, it can take some serious wading to find what you're looking for.

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Find things faster in Google Drive with these 4 features

There was once a time when responding to emails didn't occupy its own double block on your schedule. But endless email is the reality now.

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4 time-saving Gmail settings you didn't know you needed

Lee Easton's company, AeroVision, has been fortunate—they haven't taken much of a hit during the economic downturn caused by the COVID-19 crisis.

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How an Oklahoma entrepreneur showcases small business successes

In mid-2017, Josh Gross decided he wanted to throw a pizza party for his team. The catch: his company, digital product agency , is a completely distributed team.

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How a digital studio's side project turned into a remote work phenomenon

It's tempting to say yes to every work request that comes your way—and that instinct makes sense. You might feel empathy for a coworker who needs your help. You might want to please the people paying your salary.

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Use this tech trick to help you say no

It's become commonplace to digitally ignore each other. And we have so many ways to do it—phone calls, texts, social media. But at work, everyone's favorite way to ignore people is through email.

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Just email the person back. It's really not that hard.

Remote work tips

Our recent work-from-home report showed that two-thirds of folks who were forced to work remotely would prefer to be in the office.

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Want to keep working from home? Here's how to ask.

Right now, working from home means adhering to a ridiculously strict schedule.

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Beyond 9 to 5: A glimpse into some unusual work from home schedules

Nora Abousteit started  about three years ago. The idea was to bring people together through making—anything from calligraphy to glass etching to watercoloring and beyond.

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10 rules for bringing your offline classes online

Local businesses are all about the personal touch: they know your weird coffee order or greet you by name—and pronounce it correctly—when you walk in the door. Even when new customers come in, they make them feel like regulars.

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These small businesses are keeping things personal during social distancing

We can all agree that social distancing is necessary for the health of our communities, but it's been catastrophic for many small businesses that rely on in-person activities to thrive.

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5 strategies resourceful small businesses are trying during social distancing

Recently, video conferencing tool Zoom started a monthly virtual background contest. Remote workers from around the world vie for the prestigious title. In March 2020, Zapier's own Ben Peter won the contest. This is his story.

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How to win at Zoom backgrounds, from a first-place winner

When you can't get peppermint mochas with your team or share every thought that pops into your head with the person at the desk next to yours, how do you stay connected with your coworkers?

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Use automation to create moments of fun in your remote or hybrid team

Remote work comes with a unique set of challenges—the least of which involves remembering to put pants on. As a fully distributed team at Zapier, we've perfected the art of communicating, collaborating, and even getting to know each other remotely.

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New to remote work? Try these automated workflows.

Women in remote work face plenty of the same issues as women in a typical office, including the very real gender pay gap that exists no matter where you work.

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The benefits of remote work for women

Automation inspiration

I used to have a sticky note on my desktop where I'd write down everything that annoyed me in a given week. Freelancer bailed? Wrote it down. Coworker mansplained something? Wrote it down.

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How to automatically keep track of almost anything

There are over 3,000 universal emoji. Seems like a lot, but if emoji is its own language, then we're basically toddlers when it comes to speaking it. For starters, most English-speaking adults know about 42,000 words.

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A brief history of emoji and how we use them at Zapier

We're all drowning in email. And if you're spending 15 minutes on every reply, no productivity system is ever going to save you. Not inbox zero, not batching, not turning off notifications—nothing. Your only hope is retirement.

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No Email Should Take More than Five Minutes to Write

Summer rental season is in full force: Families are taking their summer vacations, millennials are looking for their next adventure, and couples are booking their yearly getaway. As an Airbnb host, it's an exciting time, but it's also overwhelming.

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Automate Airbnb and Other Property Management Workflows with Zapier

App tutorials

Google Docs is Google's take on word processing. Like all of Google's apps, it lives in the cloud, which makes it easy to share and collaborate on documents—even in real time.

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How to Use Google Docs

Negotiating salary is uncomfortable. But if you don't do it, it could cost you $1 million over the course of your career. So as unnerving as it may be, it's worth it. Unfortunately, there's no magic formula for how to negotiate salary.

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8 Salary Negotiation Tips from Recruiters in Tech

Let's get something straight: I'm not about to tell you that you need to be a parent to be a good manager. I'm also not about to tell you that your employees are anything like children. (If they are, stop reading and go take care of that problem.

Deb Tennen

Deb's articles

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