🚀 Automate the Tools You Already Use
Once you've mastered capturing inputs with webhooks and sending emails, the next step is connecting your core tools — like Notion, Airtable, and Slack — to automatically route and store data.
This chapter will teach you how to use API integrations in n8n to pass data across your stack — all without writing custom backend scripts.
🔧 What You'll Build
We'll extend the lead capture workflow from Chapter 2 and integrate:
- Notion — to log leads in a structured database
- Airtable — to create a spreadsheet-like CRM
- Slack — to ping your team the moment a lead arrives
You can mix and match any combination depending on your workflow — n8n makes it modular.
🛠️ Prerequisites
Before you begin:
- You should have a working webhook workflow (from Chapter 2)
- Accounts on Notion, Airtable, and Slack
- Basic data structure created in each tool:
- Notion database with fields like Name, Email, Message
- Airtable base with similar columns
- Slack channel ready to receive messages
🔗 Step 1: Connect to Notion
Add a Notion node to your workflow. If it's your first time:
- Create a new Notion integration from Notion's API dashboard
- Share access with the database you'll write to
- Paste the integration token into n8n's credentials
Once authenticated:
- Select your Notion database
- Map fields from your webhook data to the Notion columns
- Example: {{$json["email"]}} → "Email" column
Test the node and confirm a new entry appears in Notion.
🔗 Step 2: Update Airtable with Lead Data
Add an Airtable node. To connect:
- Generate a personal access token
- In n8n, create Airtable credentials using this token
- Choose your base and table
In the node settings:
- Choose "Create" as the operation
- Map fields as needed (name, email, source, timestamp)
- Use expressions like {{$json["name"]}} to pull in data
Run the node and check your Airtable base — you should see the row appear instantly.
🔗 Step 3: Send a Slack Notification
Now, let's alert your team when a new lead lands.
Add a Slack node:
- Set up OAuth credentials (or paste in a legacy bot token if your workspace allows it)
- Choose the Send Message operation
- Pick your channel (e.g., #sales-leads)
🧠 Tips for Cleaner Workflows
- Use the "Set" node to rename or reshape incoming data before passing to tools
- Add conditional logic if you want to filter who gets added where (e.g., only @gmail.com go to Airtable)
- Add a delay or rate limit node if your tools have API quotas
- For security, don't hardcode secrets — use n8n's credential manager
📦 Extending the Workflow
From here, you can take things further:
- Add a GPT-based summarizer before storing data
- Push leads into your CRM via webhook or API
- Auto-assign tasks in ClickUp or Linear for follow-up
- Send calendar invites or follow-up emails as part of the flow
You now have the ability to fully automate your intake pipeline, turning manual tracking into a system.
🔜 Next Chapter
Now that you're comfortable with API-based automation, it's time to level up your reliability.
In Chapter 4, you'll learn how to handle errors, timeouts, triggers, and build scalable, production-grade workflows.
👉 Continue to Chapter 4: Error Handling, Triggers, and Scaling Your n8n Flows