Learn how to automate your newsletter creation using Make.com, ChatGPT, and Google Sheets. Save time by pulling content from RSS feeds, summarizing articles, and organizing it for easy editing and publishing—all with step-by-step instructions.
How to Automate Your Newsletter with Make.com, ChatGPT & Google Sheets
If you’re in digital marketing, content creation, or just running weekly newsletters, you know how time-consuming it can be to curate, summarize, and format content manually. What if we told you there’s a way to automate most of this process, freeing you up to focus on strategy and creativity?
This guide will walk you step-by-step through setting up a simple, yet powerful automation using Make.com (formerly Integromat), ChatGPT, and Google Sheets to automatically source, summarize, and organize article content for your newsletter.
Let’s dive in.
Tools You’ll Need:
– Make.com account
– RSS feed URL (example: Search Engine Journal)
– OpenAI API (ChatGPT)
– Google Sheets
– Google Docs (Optional)
Overview of the Automation Workflow
The automation performs the following tasks:
1. Retrieves articles from an RSS feed.
2. Extracts and parses article content to plain text.
3. Uses ChatGPT to generate a primary text and summary.
4. Records all outputs in a Google Sheet.
5. Allows manual approval of selected content.
6. Pushes approved content into a Google Doc or any other final destination.
Let’s break it down module by module.
Step 1: Set Up the RSS Feed Module
– Create a new scenario in Make.com.
– Add the “RSS” module.
– Choose the “Retrieve RSS Feed Items” action.
– Input the RSS feed URL (e.g., from Search Engine Journal or another relevant source for your niche).
– Optional: Limit the number of articles pulled (e.g., 5) to make testing easier.
Step 2: Fetch Article Content with HTTP Module
– Add an “HTTP” module.
– Action: “Get a File”
– Connection: Leave default or as configured.
– For the URL, pull the article link (URL) from the RSS feed item output.
– Tip: Make sure you’re selecting the correct field — typically the main URL under the author field.
Step 3: Convert HTML to Text with Text Parser Module
– Add a “Text Parser” module.
– Action: “HTML to Text”
– Input the data from the HTTP module — this will convert messy HTML into clean, readable text.
Step 4: Use ChatGPT to Create Useful Content
Now comes the real magic—let’s use AI to extract value from the raw article.
Module 1: Create Primary Text
– Add the ChatGPT module (Make’s Create Completion module).
– Choose the GPT-4 model (optional: use 3.5 for faster/cheaper results).
– Prompt GPT to generate a compelling summary or intro paragraph, for example:
Example Prompt:
“`
Ignore any metadata and interface guidelines. Analyze the following article content and craft a professional primary text that introduces the article in 1–2 sentences.
“`
Module 2: Generate Article Summary
– Add another ChatGPT module for summarizing.
– Use a prompt similar to:
Example Prompt:
“`
Extract the core content from the text below. Ignore navigation menus, sidebars, ads. Analyze the article and provide a clear 2–3 sentence summary.
“`
Step 5: Store Results in Google Sheets
– Add the “Google Sheets” module.
– Action: “Add a Row”
– Input the spreadsheet ID and select the target Sheet.
– Assign the following columns:
– A: Article URL
– B: Primary Text (from ChatGPT)
– C: Summary (from ChatGPT)
– D: (Optional) Approval Field (to be used later)
This gives you a centralized sheet to review articles and decide what to include in your final newsletter.
Step 6: Add Manual Approval via Google Sheets
– Manually add a new column “Approved?” in your Google Sheet.
– You’ll use this column to mark articles you want to include in the newsletter.
Step 7: Filter Approved Content and Push to Google Docs
– Add another “Google Sheets” module.
– Action: “Search Rows”
– Filter rule: Column D = TRUE or Approved = “Yes”
– Add a “Google Docs” module to push only the approved content to a Doc.
– Repeat this step each time you finalize your newsletter.
Optional Customizations
– Add other AI tools like MidJourney for generating images.
– Use Perplexity AI to expand articles into longer summaries or blurbs.
– Integrate with Gmail or Mailchimp to send newsletters directly.
– Schedule the scenario to run daily or weekly for up-to-date content.
If you’d like help building a custom solution for your team or business, feel free to reach out to our team at ClickTrust—we’re happy to help.
