Zapier Introduction

Few things these days radically change the environment for technology application in our daily lives.  That may not be a bad thing. But when an innovation happens that can significantly change how we work and the efficiencies of life then it’s important we stay tuned to those changes.  Zapier is one of these epic shifts in technology that we’re pleased to now have a robust integration for Cause Machine.  

What is Zapier

You can read all about this on your own but here’s how we explain this.  For years, if you wanted to integrate two systems together, someone would have to perform a significant custom solution to have System A talk to System B.  Those projects were never simple. Zapier came along and said, “Wait! Why don’t you all just talk to us and we’ll translate the data between each of your systems?”.  What was so brilliant about this idea is the power if created for us normal folk to tie out systems and data together for a more powerful result.  

How does it work?

Each system you use has a repository of data.  For example, in Cause Machine you have member data, transaction data, and activity data on your members.  Many of you also use other systems like HubSpot, MailChimp, Infusionsoft (now Keap), Salesforce, or any number of other options. Zapier has integrations with 1400+ platforms so that you can have one platform share data to another.  Here’s an example. Let’s say you want to have Active Campaign create a record and begin an email campaign for someone who creates a membership in your community. Zapier allows you to create these workflows so that a trigger is created when someone creates an account that can automate any number of things in Active Campaign.  

How would I start utilizing this integration?

First, don’t touch the technology!  What?! First you need to have a plan for what other tools you are using, why you are using them, and how you want Cause Machine to integrate with them.  We recommend you think first about nurturing your members and how you can best guide and care for them. Here are a few examples:

• New members receive an introduction email series
• Members who go beyond creating a membership and make another purchase should be commended
• Individuals who download a lead generator (usually a free PDF resource) should be guided to their next step
• Members who cancel their memberships are sent a questionnaire 

The list is endless, literally!  What you need to consider is how you best what to guide and take care of your audience.  Many other tools like Active Campaign, HubSpot, Salesforce, etc. have CRM type tools that may never exist on Cause Machine.  This is why this integration is so powerful to help you have all of your community engagement from Cause Machine sync with your CRM tools on the backend with ease.  

What information could I pull from Cause Machine?

Cause Machine has over 40 end points or triggers returning hundreds of data points.  Some of these are (but not limited to/subject to change):

• Name
• New Membership
• Changed Membership
• Cancelled Membership
• Successful Membership Payment 
• Failed Membership Payment
• Updated User Profile
• User Logged In
• New One-time Donation
• New Recurring Donation 
• Cancelled Recurring Donation
• Successful Recurring Donation Payment
• Failed Recurring Donation Payment
• Attendee Registered for Event
• Course Purchased
• Course Module Completed
• Course Completed
• Applied for Job
• Inquired about Job
• Joined Group
• Left Group
• Blog Subscribed
• Blog Unsubscribed
• Newsletter Subscribed
• Newsletter Unsubscribed
• Posted a Story
• Requested Lead Generator
• Posted a Content
• Purchased Product

Where can I learn more about the Cause Machine API?

Please review our API documentation here.

I’m ready to start, what are the steps to get started?

Start here to create a Zapier account or connect your Zapier account to Cause Machine.

We hope these tools can help you better engage your audience and expand your impact.  Enjoy all they have to offer!