Guides
Step-by-step guides, each built around automations you can import today — with the video, the blueprint and what does not work.
New guides arrive by email, one a week: get guides by email. Pricing a setup before you build it? The Make cost calculator turns the automations you pick and a monthly volume into credits and the plan that fits.
Leads and response time
Free lead capture: a form, a Google Sheet and a Telegram alert in seconds (Tally + Make, no plugins, no CRM)Capture leads with a free Tally form, log each one in Google Sheets and get a Telegram alert in seconds. Free Make blueprints, exact fields, limits.Lead response time: what the research measured, what it does not show, and a checklist for small teamsWhat the MIT and HBR lead response studies measured, where they are weaker than usually quoted, and a seven-point speed-to-lead checklist for small teams.Connect the form your website already has to Make: webhook settings for Elementor, WPForms, Gravity Forms, Webflow and Contact Form 7Where the webhook setting is in Elementor Pro, WPForms, Gravity Forms, Webflow and Contact Form 7, what each sends, and how to test before the first lead.Track where your leads come from in Google Sheets — and catch the ones going coldA weekly count of leads by source beside last week, plus a daily alert for leads untouched for 7 days. Two free Make blueprints and the sheet columns.The best free form builder with webhooks: Tally vs Google Forms vs Typeform vs JotformWhich free form sends every submission to a Make webhook? Free-tier limits, webhooks and branding for Tally, Google Forms, Typeform and Jotform.How to get a Telegram chat ID for Make alerts (2 minutes)Telegram chat ID for a person, group (negative) or channel (-100…) via @userinfobot, getUpdates or Make's Watch Updates, plus the fix for "chat not found".Tally webhook to Make: map fields by name instead of position, and check that the request really came from your formMap Tally webhook fields in Make by label or key so moving a question cannot break the sheet, and reject requests that did not come from your form.Quote follow-up with no reply: when to send it, what to write, and how to automate both emails (free blueprints)When to follow up on a quote with no reply, what to write on day 3 and day 10, and two free Make blueprints that send both emails from a Google Sheet.
Getting paid on time
Automatic, polite invoice reminders with Google Sheets and Make: the schedule, the wording and when to stopMake checks a Google Sheet each morning, sends one polite reminder per overdue invoice and stops once paid. Schedule, wording, limits, blueprints.Payment reminder email templates: the first reminder, the personal follow-up and the final notice, with subject linesCopy-ready overdue invoice emails: a friendly first reminder, a personal follow-up, a final notice, plus replies for partial payments and disputes.When Stripe or PayPal says "paid": mark the invoice paid in Google Sheets and get a Telegram or email alert, with MakeSend a Stripe or PayPal webhook to Make: find the invoice in Google Sheets, mark it paid, thank the client, alert you in Telegram. Events, fields, checks.An invoice tracker in Google Sheets that shows who has paid: the columns, the overdue formula and an aging viewInvoice tracker columns for Google Sheets, a days-overdue formula, 30/60/90-day aging and totals, laid out so Make reminders and payments keep it current.
Appointments and no-shows
How to reduce no-shows: what the evidence says, and a free three-message reminder chainFive studies on missed appointments and what reminders change, then a free 48h / 24h / 2h reminder chain with message templates and a Make blueprint.Cal.com vs Calendly free plans for automation: webhooks, reminders and the Make connection, compared line by lineCal.com's free plan has webhooks, workflows and unlimited event types; Calendly's has one event type and no webhooks. Which to pick for a reminder chain.Cal.com + Make: send every booking to Google Sheets, then remind the client the day before (free blueprints)Send every Cal.com booking to Google Sheets with a Make webhook, in your time zone, then email a reminder the day before. Two free blueprints, every field.
Make: cost, choice and getting started
Make vs Zapier vs n8n for a small business: how each one charges, and when each one winsMake charges credits, Zapier tasks, n8n executions (or nothing self-hosted). Free tiers, learning curve and when each wins, priced on vendors' own pages.Is Make's free plan enough for a small business? The limits, our 21 automations measured against them, and when Core is worth paying forMake's Free plan: 1,000 credits, 2 active scenarios, 15-minute interval. Which of 21 small-business automations fit, and the point where Core pays off.Make credits explained: what one operation costs in six real automationsCredit, operation, scenario, bundle, polling, webhook, interval, blueprint: each defined once from Make's docs, then costed in six real automations.How to import a Make blueprint (and fix "invalid JSON" and missing-connection errors)Import a Make blueprint in six clicks, fill in the {{PLACEHOLDERS}}, connect accounts and test with Run once. Plus fixes for a file that will not import.Get an alert when a Make scenario fails: what Make already sends, the error route that tells you, and one error inbox for every scenario (free blueprint)Make emails the account owner when a scenario errors. Check those settings, add an error route, and send every failure to one Google Sheet and Telegram.
Google Sheets and Gmail as the base
Make + Google Sheets as a free small-business database: the modules, the limits and the pitfallsRun leads, invoices and tasks on a Google Sheet with Make: which modules to use, what each costs in credits, the limits that bite and the quiet mistakes.Do you need a CRM, or is a Google Sheet enough? A decision checklist, what a sheet plus Make gives you, and when to moveA checklist by leads a month, team size and stages; what Google Sheets plus Make already does; HubSpot's free-tier limits; and how to migrate.Google Sheets "Watch New Rows" not triggering in Make: 6 causes and fixesMake's Google Sheets "Watch New Rows" runs but finds nothing? Six causes — polling, blank rows, starting row, Limit, renamed tab, connection — each fixed.Fix Make's Gmail "restricted scopes" / unverified app error with a personal @gmail.com account"Not possible to use restricted scopes with customer @gmail.com accounts" in Make? Switch to the Gmail V4 module, or use your own OAuth client or SMTP.Send emails from Google Sheets automatically: on a new row, on a date or on a status, without sending twice (free Make blueprints)Three ways to send email from a Google Sheet, the three triggers that decide when, and the "sent" column that stops duplicates. Free Make blueprints.
Client work for consultants and service businesses
27 Make.com automations consultants set up for clients: what to automate first, and why (free blueprints)What to automate first for a small-business client, in what order and why: four tests, the first six compared, and 27 free Make blueprints by problem.Small business automation & lead response statistics (2026)Lead response time, late invoices, no-shows, admin time and automation adoption: small-business numbers, each with its sample, year and primary source.Client onboarding automation with Make: what to automate after the client says yes, and what to keep personal (free blueprints)What to automate when a client says yes: the kickoff email, the first task and the alert, from a quote sheet or a form. Two free Make blueprints.