Can I integrate FlippingBook Online with other apps?

Note! This article contains information on one of the complex FlippingBook Online features. If you feel like it might be difficult to understand, even from a video below, or you’d like to see how it works before upgrading, feel free to book a meeting with one of our specialists.

You can integrate FlippingBook with other apps using our API, or using Zapier. This article introduces Zapier. If you want to use our API instead, kindly refer to our introductory API article or our API docs for developers.

Zapier is an online automation tool that connects all kinds of different apps. You can use it to connect Gmail to Slack, Google Sheets to MailChimp, and thousands of others, including FlippingBook Online!

If something happens in one app (for example, you receive an email in your Gmail account), then with Zapier, you can make something else happen in another app (for example, get a notification on Slack saying “New email - better check soon!”).  If that sounds a bit abstract or difficult, then have a look at the video first. It takes 3 minutes, but can save you hours and hours of work!

In this article, we will tell you about:

• What you can do with Zapier integration
• What you need
• How Zapier Works
• How to create a Zap with FlippingBook Online?

What you can do with Zapier integration

Before we go into the details, let’s have a look at a few examples of what you can achieve with Zapier integrations.

Lead capture form

When your readers leave their emails in the lead capture form, Zapier can run different tasks for you, such as:

• Export leads directly to your CRM (Salesforce, Hubspot, Freshsales, and many others).
• Send welcome emails to your readers (using Gmail, Outlook, MailChimp, and many others).
• Send you a notification on Slack about a new lead.
• Add the data to a Google Sheet.

New publication notification

When you create a new flipbook in FlippingBook Online, Zapier can automatically:

• Send messages to a contact list (via Slack, Gmail, MailChimp, CRM, etc.).
• Share the publication on your Facebook page.

Trackable links

A trackable link is a special type of link which you can create and send. Connecting it with Zapier will result in an instant notification being sent to Slack every time the reader uses this link to open your publication.

Create publications automatically (Enterprise only)

When you upload a PDF file to your Dropbox, for example, or to a specified folder in Google Drive, your file can be automatically converted into a flipbook. And you will get a link to your publication sent to you by email/Slack/etc.!
Note that this is only possible for clients on the Enterprise plan. (The other examples above are possible in Advanced and Team plans too.)

What you need

To start using integrations, you will need the following:

• A FlippingBook Online account with Advanced, Team, or Enterprise plan
• A Zapier account: Any plan
• Some tech skills: You don’t have to be a full-blown software developer, but some honest advice: you need to be a bit tech-savvy. If you’re not, it is probably better to find someone who can help you.

If you have all of the above, contact our Customer Support to set up your Zapier integration. We will invite you to our Zapier app (it’s by invitation only) and provide you with an API key. This key is used once to connect your FlippingBook Online account with Zapier.

How Zapier Works

Zapier is based on Zaps that connect two (or more) apps that you use. A Zap is basically a piece of software that you instruct to look at one app and wait for something specific to happen in that app. For example, look at FlippingBook Online and wait until one of your readers leaves their contact information. This is called the trigger. When the trigger occurs, the Zap will perform an automatic action that you specified in one of your other apps. And you can use data from the triggering app! For example, you can send a notification message to your Slack account with the email address of your lead and which publication they were looking at.

FlippingBook Online supports the following triggers for your Zaps:

1. New Publication (triggers when a new publication is created after you upload a new PDF in FlippingBook Online account)
2. New Lead (triggers when someone leaves their email address in the Lead capture form)

We also support actions that Zapier can perform in your FlippingBook Online account after another app triggers something. Zapier can start these actions in FlippingBook Online: 

1. Create Publication (make a publication from a specified PDF, give it a name and description - Enterprise only)
2. Customize Publication (change title, description, or password of an existing publication)

Create your first Zap with FlippingBook Online

The basic steps to create a ‘Zap’ that either reacts to something in FlippingBook online or does something in it are: 

1. Open Zapier
2. Click “Make a Zap”
3. Name your Zap
4. Choose your Trigger App.
5. Choose your Trigger Event and follow the prompts to connect your accounts.
6. Choose your Action App. Then choose your action

Let’s create an example of Zap that sends all new leads from FlippingBook Online publications to your Gmail: 

1. Go to My Zaps and press Make a Zap!
   
   
   
2. Give your Zap a name and select the FlippingBook Online App (Press Shift+Refresh if it doesn't show up in the list of apps straight away)
   

   
   
   

3. Choose the Trigger event, which in our case is New Lead - we want to receive an email when a new lead signs up.

   
4. Now specify the FlippingBook Online account. If this is your first Zap, then after entering your email address, you will have to enter the API-key that you should have received from us. 
   

   
   
   

5. Next, you could add a search step (for example, if you were only interested in leads from a particular publication). In our case, we are interested in all leads, so we will leave this blank and just press Continue. 
   

   
   
   

6. The trigger-part is now set up! You can test it or skip.   
   

   
   
   

7. Now set up the action to happen when a new lead registers in FlippingBook Online. In this example, we want to send an email to ourselves, so choose Gmail as the target App.
   

   
   
   

8. In the Action Event, we choose Send Email.
   

   
   
   

9. Next, select the Gmail account to send the email with, and log in if required. The first time, you will have to grant access so that Zapier can perform tasks in your Gmail account on your behalf. 
   

   
   
   

10. Now configure the email. Type your own email address in the To-field, and fill in other fields as required. 
    

    
    
    

11. We want the Body-field to include the specific data that our reader has entered in the Lead capture form. To include fields from the Lead capture form, press on the Insert a Field button. In the example below, we have already inserted fields for the lead's first and last name and are now about to insert the email address that they left.
    

    
    
    

12. All done, you can now send a test mail to yourself and finish your Zap. Don't forget to turn it on on the final screen. Every time someone enters data in the lead capture form in one of your flipbooks, you will receive an email!
    

    

This is just one of the many wonderful things that you can achieve with Zapier integrations. We wish you good luck in exploring other possibilities to make your life easier!

IMPORTANT NOTE: We here at FlippingBook know all the ins and outs of FlippingBook Online. We have close communication with our developers. This helps to make sure we’re up-to-speed on all changes and updates. We don’t have the same kind of link with Zapier’s teams, and they might change the flow of their service without letting us know. We can provide assistance with the FlippingBook Online side of things. If you need support on any Zap-related questions, Zapier has a great knowledge base to help you.