Tutorial
Make Tutorial: How to Create Your First Automation Workflow
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Make Tutorial: How to Create Your First Automation Workflow
Make makes it possible to connect different applications and automate repetitive tasks through visual workflows. Instead of manually transferring information from one application to another, you can create a scenario that performs these actions automatically.
In this tutorial, you’ll learn how to create a basic Make automation from scratch, connect applications, configure a trigger, map data, add an action, test the workflow, and activate it.
What You Need Before Starting
Before creating your first Make automation, you should have:
A Make account
At least one application you want to automate
Access to the connected application
A clear idea of the repetitive task you want to automate
For your first workflow, choose something simple.
For example:
New Google Sheets Row → Send Email
This is easier to understand than starting with a complicated multi-step workflow.
Step 1: Create Your Make Account
Go to the official Make website and create an account.
After signing in, you’ll reach the Make workspace where you can create and manage automation scenarios.
Make provides a Free plan, so you can start building workflows without immediately subscribing to a paid plan. (make.com)
Step 2: Create a New Scenario
From your Make dashboard, create a new scenario.
A scenario is the workflow that tells Make what should happen automatically.
You’ll see the visual scenario builder where you can add applications and connect different modules.
Step 3: Choose Your Trigger
Every automation needs something that starts it.
This is called the trigger.
For example:
New Row in Google Sheets
could be the trigger for your workflow.
Other possible triggers include:
New form submission
New customer
New order
New email
New CRM record
Scheduled event
Webhook
The available triggers depend on the application you’re connecting.
Step 4: Connect Your Application
Select the application you want to use as your trigger.
For example, choose Google Sheets.
Make will ask you to connect your Google account and provide the required permissions.
Once the connection is successful, select the spreadsheet and worksheet you want to monitor.
Step 5: Configure the Trigger
Configure the trigger according to your workflow.
For example:
Google Sheets → Watch New Rows
You may need to select:
Spreadsheet
Sheet
Starting point
Other available settings
Save the configuration once the required information has been entered.
Step 6: Add an Action
Now add another module after your trigger.
This module will determine what happens when the trigger occurs.
For example:
Google Sheets → Gmail
The workflow becomes:
New Row in Google Sheets → Send Email
You can choose the application and action that match your requirement.
Step 7: Connect the Second Application
Connect the application that will perform the action.
For example, if you’re sending an email, connect your Gmail account.
Make will ask for the necessary authorization before allowing the workflow to interact with the connected application.
Step 8: Map Your Data
Data mapping tells Make which information from the trigger should be used in the next step.
Suppose your Google Sheet contains:
Name
Email
Company
You can map the information into the email action.
For example:
Name → Email Recipient Name
Email → Recipient Email
Company → Email Content
This allows information to move automatically from one application to another.
Step 9: Write the Action
Configure what you want the second application to do.
For an email workflow, you could configure:
To: Customer Email
Subject: Welcome to Our Company
Message: Hello Customer Name, thank you for contacting us.
Now the information from your spreadsheet can automatically be inserted into the email.
Step 10: Add a Filter
Filters are useful when you only want the automation to run under certain conditions.
For example:
New Row → Check Status → Send Email
You could configure the filter so the email is sent only when:
Status = New
This prevents the automation from sending emails for every row.
Step 11: Add Multiple Actions
Make allows you to continue adding actions to the same scenario.
For example:
New Lead
↓
Add Lead to CRM
↓
Send Welcome Email
↓
Create Sales Task
↓
Notify Sales Team
This is where Make becomes useful for more advanced business automation.
Step 12: Use a Router
If your workflow needs different paths, you can use a router.
For example:
New Lead
↓
Router
→ High-value lead → Sales Team
→ Low-value lead → Marketing Team
→ Existing customer → Customer Support
Routers allow one workflow to follow different paths based on conditions.
Step 13: Test Your Scenario
Before activating your automation, run it once using test data.
Check whether:
The trigger works
The correct information is received
Data is mapped correctly
Filters work properly
Actions are completed
No unwanted duplicate actions occur
Testing is an important step before using an automation with real business data.
Step 14: Check the Execution
After running the scenario, review the execution details.
Make provides information about what happened during the workflow.
Check each module to confirm that the information moved correctly from one step to the next.
If something failed, identify the module causing the problem and correct its configuration.
Step 15: Schedule the Scenario
Depending on the type of workflow, you can configure when the scenario should run.
You can use scheduling options appropriate for your workflow, or use an instant trigger such as a webhook when supported.
The correct schedule depends on how quickly the automation needs to respond and how often new information is expected.
Step 16: Activate Your Automation
Once everything works correctly, activate your scenario.
Your workflow can now automatically perform the configured actions according to its trigger and schedule.
For example:
New Lead → Make → CRM → Email → Notification
can run without requiring someone to manually perform every step.
Example: Simple Lead Automation
Let’s create a practical example.
Goal
Automatically process a new lead.
Workflow
Google Forms → Google Sheets → Make → CRM → Email
When a new lead submits a form:
The response enters Google Sheets.
Make detects the new row.
Lead information is retrieved.
The lead is added to the CRM.
A welcome email is sent.
The sales team can receive a notification.
This turns a repetitive manual process into an automated workflow.
Example: Ecommerce Order Automation
Another workflow could be:
New Order → Check Order Value → Update CRM → Notify Team
You can use a filter to identify high-value orders.
For example:
Order Value > $500
→ Create priority task.
This allows businesses to automatically prioritize specific orders.
Example: AI Automation
Make can also be used to add AI into workflows.
For example:
New Customer Message → AI Analysis → Classify Request → Route to Team
AI could help classify the message as:
Sales
Support
Billing
General Inquiry
The result can then determine which workflow path should be used.
Make supports AI applications and AI Agents for more advanced AI-powered workflows. (make.com)
Tips for Building Better Make Automations
Start Simple
Don’t create a 20-step workflow as your first scenario.
Use Clear Names
Give scenarios and modules descriptive names so they are easier to manage.
Add Filters
Filters help prevent unnecessary automation runs.
Test Before Activating
Always test workflows before using them with important business data.
Monitor Errors
Regularly check failed executions and fix problems quickly.
Avoid Duplicate Workflows
Make sure multiple scenarios aren’t accidentally performing the same action.
Protect Important Data
Only send the information required for each workflow and use appropriate permissions.
Common Make Automation Mistakes
Choosing the wrong trigger
Mapping incorrect fields
Forgetting filters
Not testing the scenario
Creating duplicate workflows
Using unnecessary modules
Ignoring failed executions
Building overly complicated scenarios too early
Not monitoring credit usage
Final Verdict
Make provides a flexible way to automate repetitive business processes using visual workflows.
For beginners, the easiest way to start is with a simple two-step automation:
Trigger → Action
Once you understand the basics, you can add filters, routers, multiple actions, webhooks, APIs, AI tools, and AI Agents to create more advanced workflows.
The most important process to remember is:
Choose Trigger → Connect App → Map Data → Add Action → Test → Activate
Start small, test carefully, and expand your scenarios as your automation needs grow.
