How much of an Internet business can be automated? What tasks should never be automated? And just how important is automation in the modern online business?

Those are great questions, and as luck would have it, they also happen to be today’s topic… (seriously, what are the chances?!?).

PS: This discussion was not automated.

Dean says:

If this discussion was a fight, it would be the equivalent of me going up against an army armed only with a goose and a semi-defrosted meat pie…

You see, James is a systems ninja, whereas I tend to be more scattered, spontaneous and dare I say…. a little unorganised at times (blush).

So it is fair to assume that automation and I have never really hit it off as much as I would have liked… sure, we glance at each other from across the room, occasionally have a little fumble behind the bike sheds, and once, she even showed me her source code… but I have never been able to crack it.

That said, I am well aware of the importance of automation… here are some reasons why automating part of your business, tasks and processes is so powerful:

An Automation in Time Saves Nine

Ok, that doesn’t make any sense, but it sounds good.

What I am trying to say is that any task that can be automated is going to save you time, which is a good thing for many reasons.

Systems Don’t Procrastinate

Let’s say that I ask my email software to send out a follow-up email at 3pm tomorrow… there is little to no chance that my email software will end up watching YouTube videos of monkeys falling out of trees and forget to do it.

PS: Those monkeys are frickin hilarious.

Multiple automation is like having your own army working for you

Or in other words… stuff gets done. In my opinion, stuff getting done is the single most important factor in business success. Mind blowing hey?!?

If I don’t have to do it…. then it IS Automated

I would love to take credit for this golden nugget of genius wisdom, but it was actually a piece of advice from my friend Ryan Deiss. It doesn’t make a great deal of difference if a piece of software is doing something or you have someone at the other side of the world doing it for you, as long as YOU don’t have to do it, and it gets done correctly.

I learned this lesson very late on in my business career, but for any creative thinkers, creators, starters, idea people etc… this may be the most important thing you ever hear…. ready? Here goes: Many entrepreneurs are great starters… Outsourcers and automation are great finishers.

This has transformed how I work of late… trust me, there is no greater feeling than going to the beach during a rare UK heatwave, and finding upon your return that your business has grown whilst you were away.

What NOT to Automate

One thing I will never automate is anything related to relationship building.

So, for example… social media.

Trying to automate social media is a bit like sending a mannequin to a cocktail party.

The gray area here is having things setup so that your Tweets automatically appear on Google Buzz/Facebook etc… which I have dabbled with, and I know James is a fellow-dabbler.

It’s Schramko Time

Speaking of James… I am really keen to hear what James has to say on this topic… so I will hand over to him, and then add some additional thoughts to the end of this article, perhaps taking the cool stuff that James says and then putting my spin on it and claiming it as my own

See ya in a minute.

PS: Seriously, hold on tight, the Schramko Express is going to go into overdrive now.

No pressure James.

James says:

Automation has allowed me to scale my business without having to do everything myself. There are different types of automation so lets have a look at my favorite automations and then I’ll divulge what I think should not be automated….

Automation with Software

There are several software tools I use to gain a time advantage. Whilst I could list many such as online backups, RSS syndication systems etc , here are three of the best:

Software example one: Websites. I used to build some red hot search engine friendly websites step-by-step. The process would take me a few hours to complete and I would have a pretty awesome site at the end of it. Then I hired a programmer to make this process 100% automated. He created a ’script’ that did each step all by itself (like a macro) until the site was launched. Now I can build a website in about 3 minutes. (including buying a domain name and setting up hosting!

Software example two: Autoresponder emails. When you set up a training course online it is often handy to schedule modules at set intervals. A ten week course can be pre-loaded into a professional email sending service and you set and forget. I equate this to a ‘marble run’. You set the website up to collect the email address, then the system takes over. Product paid and delivered on autopilot. (Is this the BEST business in the world?)

Software example three: Being able to automate the deletion and filtering of incoming emails is my number one automation savior. Without the ability to screen off the crap I would be burdened with a mountain of emails to manually sort through. Every time I get a new email that I did not need to get I crack open the ‘filter messages like this’ and tell it EXACTLY where to go next time (includes the ability to send canned responses to common requests)….

Automation with Humans

The lovely thing about having a team of outsource helpers is the passive aspect. Support is a MUST outsource part of business if you want to scale and if you are using a strategy that involves buyers. (Don’t laugh since some businesses are very passive – domaining / publishing for example).  If you sell software or services then you will need  LOT more support than information products.

Human  example one: As an affiliate I often use the ‘buy with bonus’ selling method so bonus fulfillment can be automated with the clever use of a help desk claim process. Even with the help desk you can pre-answer the most common queries with template answers.

Human  example two: When I do a new blog post my outsourcer will automatically bookmark it, create three unique articles for directories to gain backlinks to the blog post and create a press release. This is an arrangement I set up once and it happens on complete autopilot. Over time the compound effect of this boost has driven my other blog to the top spots for keywords I am chasing and a constant daily newsletter sign-up tally.

Human  example three: Each week a friend of mine reads through every post in my coaching forum and makes a summary of it. He compiles the highlights into a concise newsletter for broadcast to members. This is a standing arrangement for every week. I enjoy reading the newsletter even though I did not create it!

What you should NOT automate….

manual task one: Twitter and Facebook. I feel strongly about this. Who do these social media spammers kid when they send shit out every few minutes all day long with inane quotes and self promotions. Every self appointed ’social media expert’  Tom Dick and Larry preach the hyped up ‘make money on autopilot with social media in just 3 minutes a week’ game but the party is over.

Social media platforms are weeding this out and the REAL money is in building contacts and REAL relationships. I use no automation for facebook or twitter  other than a tickbox on my blog that will post a tweet when I post to my blog. I do automate the syndication of the feed FROM these sites but that is a different thing altogether. I am NEVER sending canned messages to people.

manual task two: Broadcasts for your email list (as opposed to courses). This is something I used to do incorrectly. Now I write all broadcasts manually and craft them to be fresh, relevant and timely. When you do this by hand you can connect better with the client and you don’t risk unfortunate timing or unsubscribes. Keep it real!

My best tip, and I have saved it until last…

The ultimate automation. For EVERY task / process check that you even need to do it at all. Rather than let software or someone else to do it, perhaps it should never be done at all. Less is more….

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