Web services can automate parts of your podcasting workflow, even when you're not online! Here are my favorite web-based automation tools.

The premise of “automation” (versus automatic actions)

Many tools can do things automatically. But all of the following tools are focused on automation, that is, automatically doing many things for you and not only a single task.

Automation may have a learning curve, but the ultimate result will make up for it!

Zapier (https://theaudacitytopodcast.com/zapier) or IFTTT (https://theaudacitytopodcast.com/ifttt)

No conversation about automation is complete without mentioning either Zapier (https://theaudacitytopodcast.com/zapier) or IFTTT (https://theaudacitytopodcast.com/ifttt) (If This Then That). Both services will monitor a myriad of sources and trigger actions based on customizable criteria.

IFTTT (https://theaudacitytopodcast.com/ifttt) is free, fairly simple, and limited to a single action.

Zapier (https://theaudacitytopodcast.com/zapier) is a paid service and offers more powerful automations and multiple actions.

Here are some examples of things you could automate with either tool:

* Automatically send a text message whenever someone buys something from your online store.

* Automatically crosspost content from one platform to another.

* Receive data from other services and automatically reformat and route it somewhere else.

* Automatically do almost anything you want with your latest podcast reviews (via a paid My Podcast Reviews (https://theaudacitytopodcast.com/mpr) account).

Email service providers

Building an email list for your podcast is helpful for many things: engagement, marketing, education, and much more (https://theaudacitytopodcast.com/13-ways-to-use-an-email-list-for-your-podcast-tap198/) (episode 198). These automations could be a series of emails or other processes based on subscriber activity.

For example:

* Write a series of emails to automatically send every week for a year. Then, every new subscriber starts at the beginning and never misses the same great content everyone else gets.

* Automatically send an email to a subscriber based on their activity on your site (or lack thereof). This can get them more engaged or connect them with other stuff they wanted.

* Automatically segment your subscribers based on almost any criteria. With that, you can ensure only the right people receive the right messages.

* Automatically deliver special offers or resources you give away.

Here are my favorite email service providers, and what I would recommend them for.

* ActiveCampaign (https://theaudacitytopodcast.com/activecampaign): This is my new favorite email service provider! ActiveCampaign (https://theaudacitytopodcast.com/activecampaign) makes powerful automations easy. Plus, it has website activity-tracker unmatched by anyone else! I haven't found anything other platforms do that ActiveCampaign (https://theaudacitytopodcast.com/activecampaign) can't do better.

* ConvertKit (https://theaudacitytopodcast.com/convertkit): This is the cool new kid on the block. ConvertKit (https://theaudacitytopodcast.com/convertkit) simplifies automations with a single list.

* Aweber (https://theaudacitytopodcast.com/aweber): This may be the industry-standard tool for email newsletters and autoresponders. Their reputation and delivery is high, and they provide fantastic support.

* MailChimp (https://theaudacitytopodcast.com/mailchimp): Get started for free with an email list up to 2,000 subscribers or 12,000 emails a month. I think MailChimp (https://theaudacitytopodcast.com/mailchimp) is the easiest-to-use provider and offers simple automation options (though it seems more is coming).

Wavve (https://theaudacitytopodcast.com/wavve)

I don't think podcast audio has a “viral” problem, but there are times you may want to share a snippet of great value from your podcast. Putting this in video makes it available to and stand out more on visual platforms, like Facebook, YouTube,