“Should I Learn Automation? What If I’m NOT Techy or A Developer?”

If you’re a “non-techy” person (designers, copywriters, etc.), you might be wondering if automation make sense for you to pursue.

It might feel intimidating or overwhelming, or feel like a million-hour side quest that’s not worth it.

Ultimately, everything you do for list-building that you can accomplish with automation can ALSO be accomplished through other means, and each have their pros and cons.

TL/DR: It’s Probably Worth a Dabble

My TL/DR tip is that I think almost everyone will benefit from going through this module and the Make 201: Using Zach’s “🫑 Beginner” Make Templates module. Even the un-techy folks.

But if you try, and it feels too overwhelming to you, it’s 100% optional, and you can totally decide to hit the “abort” button.

(After all, Thomas, the 7-figure cold outreach pro who I partnered with on this course, doesn’t do any automation stuff at all and has VAs do literally everything, and he still makes it work.)

The reason I think it’s worth at least trying is that blending automations with ChatGPT unlocks some really cool data with minimal technical complexity (more on that in the next lesson) at a very low Cost Per Lead (CPL). (Often under $0.01)

There’s No One “Right Way” Here

Most list-building tasks fit into one of the following 4 buckets; each with their pros and cons.

There’s no “right way,” just right-for-you or not-right-for-you.

So if you make an informed decision not to do automation stuff, there’s no need to feel FOMO.

Automated Through a Make.com Automation

“Pick Your Poison” Reality: Automations offer high-volume processing at a low cost and can be a powerhouse once they’re running smoothly. But expect regular troubleshooting, downtime risks, and a steep initial time investment. For those ready to deal with occasional breakdowns, automations are powerful but require ongoing care.

Delegated to a VA

“Pick Your Poison” Reality: Hiring a VA saves you the time spent setting up complex automations and adds flexibility since VAs can adapt to shifting project needs. However, you’re trading technical challenges for management tasks, including hiring, training, and quality control. With a VA, it’s more about people management than setup, but oversight will be essential.

Delegated to a Scraper Person

“Pick Your Poison” Reality: Scraping experts can capture precise data at scale, saving time and boosting accuracy, especially for complex, high-volume needs. However, the initial cost can be high, and also a bit inflexible for rapid pivots, as every change to the desired data set means they need to scrape it again. There can also be maintenance involved if you plan to scrape a lead source on an ongoing basis, where they might change their website structure and mess up the scraper. This choice works well if you need custom data at scale and don’t mind relying on a specialist to keep things running.

Purchased from a Leads Database / Lead Enrichment Tool

“Pick Your Poison” Reality: Lead databases offer instant, hands-off access to large volumes of data without setup or maintenance. But you’ll often pay a premium per lead and sacrifice customization, which can affect lead quality and relevance. It’s a quick solution that’s less hands-on but also sometimes doesn’t build deep skill in the list-building process and has you dependent on databases to build lists, causing you to feel powerless if the databases aren’t getting you what you need, or the campaigns to their leads aren’t working well.

How Far Down the Rabbit Hole Should You Go?

• Basics Are Valuable: Learning basic automations (like using my templates) can free up time and allow you to manage repetitive tasks without needing to hire a VA.
• Intermediate/Advanced: If you’re not techy, you don’t need to go this deep. Advanced automations often involve debugging and maintenance that non-developers might find frustrating.
• Backup Option: Anything we do with Make automations can be done by a VA. The cost difference sometimes isn’t huge, especially with simple tasks. Even when it’s a huge multiple of a CPL difference, the actual cost difference might be minimal.
  • e.g. $0.01 CPL vs. $0.05 CPL might sound huge, but the cost difference for 2,000 leads is $20 vs. $80. And if automations are a huge headache for you, it might be worth “paying $60 to not have to learn this shit” for now 😉

Bottom Line: Is It Worth Learning?

• For Non-Techies: Stick to the basics. Understanding how to use existing templates will give you a good ROI without needing deep technical skills.
• For Advanced Users or Those Who Want Total Control: Go deeper if you’re willing to handle the complexity of debugging and custom builds.
• Alternative: Hiring a VA is often just as efficient and flexible, especially for non-techy folks who prefer to avoid troubleshooting.