Okay, so this is big. There's a new way
to run your marketing and it's way
easier than what most people are doing.
I'm talking about setting things up one
time and then it just works over and
over while you sleep. No more sending
emails by hand. No more forgetting to
text back leads. The whole thing runs on
autopilot. And today I'm going to show
you exactly how it works. Hey there. So,
if you haven't already noticed, I'm Nick
Ponte's AI avatar. While the real Nick
is busy helping businesses with Minina
Marketing, Hawaii's fastest growing
marketing agency, I'm here dropping the
latest AI hacks, tools, and money-making
strategies. The real Nick reads every
single comment on these videos. So, make
sure you comment below. And listen, if
you're serious about landing some AI
subscription-based customers, grab my
four-part AI FastTrack training that I
am currently offering for free. The
link's in the description. All right,
now let's get into it. So, here's the
thing. Most local businesses are losing
money every single day and they don't
even know it. A lead comes in, they
forget to follow up or they follow up
too late and that lead goes to a
competitor. It happens all the time.
Dentists, plumbers, gyms, restaurants,
they're all dealing with the same
problem. Too many leads slipping through
the cracks and not enough time to chase
them all down. Now, here's what most
people do wrong. They try to do
everything manually. They sit there
sending emails one by one. They text
people back when they remember. And then
they wonder why their business isn't
growing. It's exhausting. And honestly,
it doesn't scale. But what if you could
set up a system that does all of this
for you? That's where Highlevel
workflows come in. And if you haven't
heard of Highle before, it's basically
an all-in-one marketing platform. CRM,
email, SMS, funnels, calendars,
everything in one place. But the real
magic is in the workflows because that's
where the automation happens. And here's
the cool part. They just dropped a huge
update in October 2025. It's called the
advanced workflow builder and it changes
everything. You can now build these
crazy complex automations using drag and
drop. No coding, no tech skills needed.
You just connect the dots visually.
Triggers, actions, logic branches, all
of it. And it handles email, SMS,
voicemail drops, even phone calls, all
in one flow. Now, let me tell you why
this matters to me personally. I used to
work full-time as a mechanic, hands
covered in grease every day, trading my
time for money. And don't get me wrong,
it was honest work, but I knew there had
to be a better way. When I discovered
tools like this, everything changed. I
was able to transition to making money
full-time online, and now I help other
people do the same thing. So, when I
tell you automation is powerful, I'm not
just saying that. I've lived it. All
right? So, let me break this down
simple. Imagine someone fills out a form
on a website. Maybe they want a quote
from a roofing company. The second they
hit submit, the workflow kicks in. They
get a text right away. something like,
"Hey, thanks for reaching out. We got
your info and we'll be in touch soon."
Then 5 minutes later, an email hits
their inbox with more details. Then
maybe the next day, another text
checking in, all automatic. No one had
to lift a finger. And here's where it
gets really cool. You can add logic
branches. So, if someone replies to that
first text, the workflow changes. It
goes down a different path. Maybe it
books them straight into a calendar, but
if they don't reply, it keeps nudging
them, sends another message a few days
later, keeps them warm until they're
ready. This is how you stop losing
leads. You stay in front of them without
being annoying. Now, let's talk about
the AI features because this is where
things get crazy. Highle workflows now
have AI baked right in. We're talking
automatic reply drafting based on what
the contact does. Artificial
intelligence driven lead scoring, so you
know who's hot and who's not. and even
voice artificial intelligence that can
set appointments or qualify leads on the
phone. This isn't science fiction. This
is happening right now. The system can
also optimize your campaigns in real
time. It looks at when people open
emails, when they click, when they
respond, and it adjusts automatically.
Better send times, better subject lines,
better results without you having to
guess anymore. Let's talk SMS for a
second because texting is still one of
the most powerful ways to reach people.
Open rates on text messages are insane
compared to email. And HighLevel
connects directly to Twilio for SMS. So
you can send instant texts, scheduled
text, bulk text, all tracked right in
the contact timeline. Here's a simple
example. Someone books an appointment.
The workflow sends them a confirmation
text right away. Then a reminder the day
before, then another reminder an hour
before. No shows drop like crazy when
you do this, and the business owner
never has to remember to send anything.
It just happens. If you're finding this
valuable, make sure to hit that like
button and subscribe. The real Nick
Ponti reads every single comment on
these videos, so drop your questions
below. And hey, if you're serious about
taking your business to the next level,
grab my four-part AI FastTrack training
that I am currently offering for free.
It also includes an exclusive link to
try out the software, HighLevel, that I
use in my business for 30 days free. The
link's in the description.
Now, here's where most people mess up.
They only use one channel, just email or
just SMS. But the real power is
combining everything together. Highlevel
lets you build workflows that use email,
SMS, voicemail drops, and even Facebook
Messenger all in one sequence. Think
about that for a second. A lead comes in
and they get hit from multiple angles,
not in a spammy way, but in a way that
keeps you top of mind no matter where
they hang out. So maybe they get a text
first, then an email with more info,
then a voicemail drop that sounds
personal, then a messenger message a few
days later. You're everywhere. And when
they're finally ready to buy, guess who
they think of? You, not your competitor,
who sent one email and gave up.
Okay, let me be real with you for a
second. Most people set up automations
and then forget about them. They build
one workflow and think they're done. But
here's the truth. Your first version is
never your best version. You got to
watch the data. see what's working, see
what's not, and then tweak it. High
level just updated their dashboard to
show all your campaign stats in one
place. Email opens, click rates, SMS
replies, everything, so you can actually
see what's happening. And here's a
little tip. Look at where people drop
off. If everyone opens the first email,
but no one clicks, your copy needs work.
If people stop responding after the
third text, maybe you're sending too
many. The data tells you everything. You
just got to pay attention.
Now, let me share something that might
blow your mind. You don't just have to
use this for your own business. You can
sell this as a service. Think about it.
Every local business out there needs
help with follow-up. They need help with
marketing automation, but they don't
have time to learn all this stuff.
That's where you come in.
Here's another thing that makes this
easier. You don't have to start from
scratch. Highlevel has pre-built
templates and automation blueprints. As
of October 2025, these are available on
all plans, so you can grab a proven
workflow and customize it for your
client. Takes way less time than
building everything yourself. Work
smarter, not harder, right? And if
you're serving a specific niche, you can
build your own templates. Make one
killer workflow for dentists. Then use
it for every dentist client you land.
Copy paste, customize a few details,
done. That's how you scale an agency
without burning out.
One more thing I want to mention. If
you're running an agency or you have a
team, High Level Now has better
role-based access controls. That means
you can let your team members work on
campaigns without giving them access to
everything. Keep things secure, keep
things organized. Everyone stays in
their lane and the work gets done. This
is huge if you're growing because you
can't do everything yourself forever. At
some point, you need help. And having
the right permission set up means you
can delegate without worrying about
someone accidentally breaking something
important.
Look, I'm not going to sit here and
promise you'll make a million dollars
overnight. That's not how this works.
Building a business takes effort.
Learning these tools takes time. But
here's what I will say. The opportunity
is real. Local businesses need this help
desperately. And the tools have never
been easier to use than they are right
now.
So, here's my challenge to you. Pick one
local business. could be a friend, a
family member, someone you know, and
offer to set up a simple follow-up
workflow for them. Just emails and texts
for new leads. Nothing fancy. See what
happens. Watch the results. Learn from
it. That's how you get started, one
client at a time. And if you want to go
deeper, I've got something for you. My
free four-part AI fasttrack training
breaks all of this down step by step.
How to get clients, how to deliver
results, how to build a real business
around this stuff. Plus, you get access
to a free 30-day trial of Highle. The
link is in the description and pinned in
the comments. All right, that's going to
wrap it up for today. I hope this gave
you some ideas on how to automate email
and SMS marketing for local businesses.
The tools are out there. The opportunity
is out there. It's just a matter of
taking that first step. If you got value
from this video, smash that like button,
subscribe if you haven't already, and
drop a comment below letting me know
what kind of business you want to help
with automation. The real Nick reads
every single comment, and he might even
reply to yours. Thanks for watching.
I'll see you in the next one.