17 Zapier tool ideas you haven’t built yet

One of the massive problems Zapier users face is not knowing what to build.

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Most people don’t know what to do with the possibilities of a bucket of LEGO bricks spilled out on the table. They freeze up.

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What should I build and how should I build it?

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Today, I’ll give you the answers to both questions. I’m going to give you 17 tool ideas you could build in Zapier along with how to build them using my Bones-Skin-Brain (BSB) framework.

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By the end of your scroll you’ll have idea and execution tied together with a nice orange bow.

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First, the how.

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The Bones-Skin-Brain framework

Over the past year I’ve built ~8.5 new tools per month using Zapier. There’s only one way my busy little brain has been able to do this—through a friendly framework.

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I call it the Bones-Skin-Brain framework. BSB for short or “how one builds in reference to the body” if you’re into longer titles that sound important. 

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Just like a person, every Zapier tool has bones, skin, and a brain. 

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Bones

These provide structure and give each major part of the body its holding power. 

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Skin

Skin serves the senses. You touch and see the skin. 

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Brain

It provides direction and allows the bones and skin to move and interact with the world.

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In Zapier, Tables are bones, Interfaces are skin, Zaps and the 7,500+ apps they interact with are brains. 

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Allow me to serve you a large spoonful of ideas to give you a taste of how the BSB framework applies.

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17 Zapier tool ideas (with the BSB framework)

I have a list of 38 ideas for what I’d like build next. There could easily be a hundred more. 

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Here are just 17 of my tool ideas and how you could build them today:

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1. Attendance and Leave Manager
   1. Bones (Tables): people, days, time-off requests, reports
   2. Skin (Interfaces): dashboard, check-in/out, request form, reporting dashboard
   3. Brain (Zaps): recording check-in/out across time zones, leave balance calculation, leave approval workflow, alerts and notifications, reporting
2. Appointment Scheduler
   1. Bones (Tables): people, appointment details, call types, availability schedules
   2. Skin (Interfaces): appointment dashboard, booking form, availability list,  
   3. Brain (Zaps): availability checker, booking workflow, alerts and notifications
3. UTM Builder
   1. Bones (Tables): campaigns, UTM parameter templates, generated URLs, users
   2. Skin (Interfaces): UTM builder form w/templates, generated URL view
   3. Brain (Zaps): URL generation, shortening, and validation, analytics platform integration and report generation, AI reporting insights
4. Agency Content Approval
   1. Bones (Tables): content, users, comments and feedback
   2. Skin (Interfaces): content submission form, approval dashboard, feedback input
   3. Brain (Zaps): approval workflow, notifications and reminders, version control, feedback workflow
5. Creator Publishing
   1. Bones (Tables): posts, publishing schedules 
   2. Skin (Interfaces): Content editor, media library, scheduling dashboard 
   3. Brain (Zaps): Content scheduling, publishing workflows, notifications
6. Content Creation Hub
   1. Bones (Tables): tasks, team members, content
   2. Skin (Interfaces): project dashboard, task list, media library, content submission form
   3. Brain (Zaps): task assignment/notifications, deadline reminders, approval workflows, publishing
7. Support Ticketing
   1. Bones (Tables): tickets, customers, articles
   2. Skin (Interfaces): ticket submission form, agent ticket dashboard, customer portal
   3. Brain (Zaps): ticket routing/assignment, response templates, AI suggestions, reply publishing, status updates
8. AI SEO Meta Generator
   1. Bones (Tables): webpages
   2. Skin (Interfaces): SEO meta generator form
   3. Brain (Zaps): AI-generated meta content, SEO recommendations
9. Subscription Manager
   1. Bones (Tables): subscriptions, payment details, reports
   2. Skin (Interfaces): subscription dashboard, new subscription form
   3. Brain (Zaps): renewal reminders, reporting
10. Online Course
    1. Bones (Tables): courses, feedback, quizzes, students
    2. Skin (Interfaces): course dashboard, lesson pages, quiz forms
    3. Brain (Zaps): progress tracking, quiz grading, bookmarking, payment and access
11. Meetup Event Organizer
    1. Bones (Tables): events, attendees, venues, schedules, RSVPs
    2. Skin (Interfaces): event creation form, event list, attendee list, RSVP form
    3. Brain (Zaps): RSVP tracking, event reminders, attendee communications
12. Public Feedback Board
    1. Bones (Tables): feedback posts, users, comments
    2. Skin (Interfaces): feedback submission form, feedback board, comment list
    3. Brain (Zaps): feedback moderation, notifications, sentiment analysis, upvoting system
13. Freelancer Management
    1. Bones (Tables): freelancers, contracts, projects, invoices
    2. Skin (Interfaces): freelancer portal, project management view, contracts and documents, invoices
    3. Brain (Zaps): contract generation, project assignments and status changes, payment processing, notifications
14. Document Sharing
    1. Bones (Tables): documents
    2. Skin (Interfaces): document upload form, document list, sharing settings
    3. Brain (Zaps): access control, version control, tracking, notifications
15. Goal Tracker
    1. Bones (Tables): goals, progress, milestones
    2. Skin (Interfaces): goal creation form, progress dashboard, milestone tracker,
    3. Brain (Zaps): progress tracking, milestone reminders, goal recommendations
16. Sales Outreach
    1. Bones (Tables): leads, emails, logs
    2. Skin (Interfaces): lead dashboard, email composition form
    3. Brain (Zaps): automated email sending, lead scoring, notification and reminders
17. Landlord Property Manager
    1. Bones (Tables): properties, tenants, rental agreements, maintenance requests
    2. Skin (Interfaces): property dashboard, tenant portal, maintenance request form
    3. Brain (Zaps): rent/other reminders, maintenance request process, lease renewal alerts, tenant communication

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This list gives you the outline, but it’s up to you to decide how each of these tools integrates with various tech stacks. You’ve got 7,500+ apps to pick and choose from. You also have the ability to embed anything directly into each tool’s interface.

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Where there are limitations in Zapier’s products, plug in a third party app. But as Zapier continues to release features, you’ll soon be able to save more time and money by consolidating.

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Time to build.

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The Bones-Skin-Brain chatbot

Do you have any ideas of your own or want to see how an actual app is made using the Bones-Skin-Brain framework?

I added a way for you to go to my homepage, tell the chatbot your idea, and get the BSB.

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I hope you find it helpful.

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To recap:

• Use the Bones-Skin-Brain framework to breakdown any tool idea you have.
• Grab an idea from my list and build!
• Need custom help? Try the BSB chatbot for your own ideas or to continue learning.

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That’s all for this week!

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Happy Building,

Bryce