Overview

If you've tried other AI tools and felt like there was always a gap — you had to copy and paste everything between your apps, manually hand Claude the context, pull the information yourself — Connectors are the answer to that.

A Connector is what gives Claude authorized, live access to the tools you already use. Once it's in place, Claude isn't just answering questions about your business. It's working inside it.

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What a Connector actually does

Think of it as a live bridge between Claude and an external app.

You authorize the connection once. From that point on, Claude can reach inside that tool — reading data, taking action, saving results — without you doing the moving.

• A Gmail Connector means Claude can search your inbox, read specific threads, and draft replies in your voice
• A Zoom Connector means Claude can pull meeting summaries and find recordings automatically
• A Google Drive Connector means Claude can find files, save new ones, and organize folders

One connection. Real access. No more copying and pasting information between tools.

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Why Connectors matter for Skills

Connectors and Skills are designed to work together. You'll learn about Skills in the next section — but here's the relationship to keep in mind as you go.

The Skill file tells Claude what to do. The Connector gives Claude the ability to actually do it.

• Without a Gmail Connector, a student welcome Skill can't reach your email drafts
• Without a Zoom Connector, a post-session workflow can't pull your recordings

Skills are the instructions. Connectors are the access. You need both for a full workflow to run.

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Where to find Connectors

Browse the full directory at claude.ai/connectors. You can also access them inside Cowork under Customize → Connectors.

The directory shows you what each Connector can do — what it reads, what actions it can take — before you connect anything.

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How to install one

• 1

  Go to claude.ai/connectors — or in Cowork: Customize → Connectors → +

• 2

  Find the app you want to connect

• 3

  Click Connect and review what it can access

• 4

  Authorize access when prompted — Claude walks you through it

• 5

  You're done — that app is available in any Skill or conversation immediately

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Using Connectors in a conversation

Once installed, you activate a Connector per conversation using the + menu or by typing /. If a Connector is set to Auto, Claude loads it automatically when it recognizes it's relevant.

You stay in control. You can disconnect any Connector at any time from your settings — and you choose which ones are active in each conversation.

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Going further: Zapier MCP

If an app you use isn't on the native list, Zapier MCP connects Claude to over 8,000 tools — far beyond what's available by default.

If you use Kit (ConvertKit), Kajabi, or any platform that isn't listed natively, there's a good chance Zapier MCP can bridge the gap.

How to set it up

• 1

  Go to zapier.com/mcp and click Start Building

• 2

  Add the apps you want Claude to access

• 3

  Copy the server URL

• 4

  In Cowork, go to Customize → Connectors → Add Custom Connector

• 5

  Name it "Zapier", paste the URL, and click Allow

Once that's in place, Claude has access to everything you connected through Zapier.

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A few things to know

Overview

Claude can help you run your business in ways that go well beyond answering a prompt. It can welcome new students, plan your content, draft your emails, outline your courses, and run entire workflows automatically — without you starting from scratch every time.

But most people never get there. They open Claude, type a question, get a decent answer, and move on. And then they wonder why it doesn't feel that different from everything else they've tried.

What they're missing is Skills.

This section breaks down what Skills are, why they matter, and how they turn Claude from a general-purpose AI into something that actually knows your workflows and runs them for you.

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The simple version

A Skill is a saved workflow.

You describe how you want something done — the steps, the format, the tone, the outcome. Claude learns it. From that point on, one prompt triggers the whole process.

Think about how much you re-explain yourself every time you ask an AI tool for help. "Here's my voice. Here's my student. Here's what I'm trying to do." A Skill removes all of that. You explain it once, and it's locked in.

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What's inside a skill

Four things. All in plain text.

A Skill is just a text file called SKILL.md. Nothing technical about it. If you can write instructions for a new team member, you can write a Skill.

• The goal — what this Skill is supposed to accomplish
• The steps — the exact process, in order
• The tools — what apps or integrations to use
• Edge cases — what to do if something doesn't go as expected

That's it. One file. The whole process lives inside it.

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A real example

Here's one you can picture using tomorrow.

Imagine a YouTube Repurpose Skill. Every time you publish a new video, this Skill:

• 1

  Pulls the transcript from your video

• 2

  Identifies the key points and the one main takeaway

• 3

  Drafts three pieces of content — an email to your list, a social post, and a community discussion prompt

• 4

  Saves all three to a folder in your Google Drive, ready for your review

You set it up once. Claude handles all four steps every time you publish — same format, same voice, no starting from scratch.

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More examples for course creators

• Course Outline Builder — give Claude your topic and ideal student, it structures a full module-by-module outline with learning outcomes
• Launch Email Sequence — describe your offer and your student's transformation, Claude drafts the full sequence in YOUR voice and tone — every time
• Community Post Planner — give Claude the month's theme, it plans 30 days of posts
• Student Check-In — drafts a mid-course nudge for students who haven't logged in recently
• Sales Page First Draft — Claude builds a draft from your course details, in your voice

Each of these would take a lot of back-and-forth prompting without a Skill. With a Skill, it's one prompt and the output is exactly what you need.

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Two ways to trigger a skill

• 1

  Slash commands — you type / and a specific command. /welcome-student kicks off the welcome workflow. /course-outline starts the outline builder. When you type /, Claude shows you every Skill that's available.

• 2

  Auto trigger — you just describe what you need in plain language and Claude figures out which Skill applies. "I need to welcome a new student who just enrolled in my content planning course." Claude reads the message, recognizes the match, and runs the workflow. No command needed.

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The easiest way to build one

"I love how this turned out. Can you turn this into a Skill so it runs the same way every time?"

Claude takes everything it just did, writes the Skill file, and saves it. You didn't plan anything. You just worked, liked what you got, and said: remember that. That's the most natural way to start.

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Why this matters

Without Skills, you're re-training Claude every single conversation. With Skills, you train it once — and it stays trained.

The more Skills you add, the more Claude starts to feel like a team member who knows your business. Your voice. Your formats. Your standards. The way you like things done.

Every Skill built inside The Collective can be installed directly into your system. You add it once and you're running the same workflow.

Overview

Understanding how Skills work is one thing. Having one running in your system is something else entirely. This section gets you there — step by step, no technical knowledge required.

By the end, you'll have triggered a Skill and seen what it produces. Once you've done it once, adding more is the same process every time.

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How skills are organized

A Skill is just a folder with one file inside.

Here's the structure:

The SKILL.md file is where all the instructions are stored. Claude reads it automatically whenever a matching request comes in. You never need to open or manage these files directly.

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Where to find your skills in Cowork

Click Customize at the top left of Cowork, then click Skills. You'll see two sections:

• Example Skills — pre-built Skills included with Cowork
• Your Skills — anything you've added yourself

Click on any Skill to read what it does before you trigger it. It's helpful context, especially when you're getting started.

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Method 1: Install from The Collective

This is the fastest way to get started.

The Skills inside The Collective are built specifically for course creators. Installing one takes less than a minute.

• 1

  Download the Skill file from the resources within The Collective

• 2

  Open Cowork then click on Customize > Skills. Click the + sign > Create a Skill > Upload a Skill

• 3

  In the chat box type: "Create a skill from this. Ask me any clarifying questions before finalizing to ensure that this skill is tailored to me and my business."

• 4

  Claude adds the Skill automatically

No file management. No folders to navigate. Paste and go.

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Method 2: Have Claude build one for you

There's a Skill Creator already loaded in Cowork. It knows exactly how Skill files need to be structured.

Just describe what you want:

Claude reads the Skill Creator instructions, builds the entire Skill — folder, file, and all — and saves it in the right place. Check Customize → Skills when it's done and you'll see it there.

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Using your skill

Slash command: Type / and you'll see your available Skills. Select the one you want and hit enter.

Plain language: Describe what you need. "Draft a welcome email for my new student who just enrolled in my course on content planning." If there's a matching Skill, Claude will use it automatically.

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What happens when it runs

The Skill may ask follow-up questions before it starts. This is intentional — it's built into the instructions. A welcome email Skill might ask for the student's name. A course outline Skill might ask what transformation you're promising. These questions make the output more accurate and personal.

Then Claude follows the steps, uses whatever apps are connected, and delivers the result.

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Adjusting a skill

Skills aren't permanent. They're meant to evolve as your business evolves.

• Tell Claude to update it: "That's close, but I want all welcome emails to mention my private community. Update the Skill."
• Edit the file yourself: Open the SKILL.md in any text editor (like the Notepad app). It's plain text — change whatever you want.

Overview

Skills and Plugins are related, but they work differently. This is one of the first things people get confused about, so let's clear it up before you go any further.

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The simple comparison

Think of it this way:

• A Skill = one recipe. It does one specific thing, really well.
• A Plugin = a full cookbook. It comes with dozens of recipes, organized by category, all ready to use the moment you install it.

You'd build a Skill when you have a specific workflow unique to your business. You'd install a Plugin when you want a complete set of capabilities added to your system in one move.

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Skills: one workflow, one file

You already know this from the last two sections. A Skill is a single SKILL.md file inside a folder. It has instructions for one specific task.

Some examples:

• A Skill that writes student welcome emails
• A Skill that builds a course module outline
• A Skill that drafts your monthly community content plan
• A Skill that generates launch email copy from your offer details

Each one has its own folder, its own file, and does one focused thing. You trigger it with a command or plain language.

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Plugins: a bundled system

A Plugin is a package that contains multiple Skills — plus commands, connectors, and sometimes pre-built automations — all bundled together and installed as one unit.

Think of it as a folder of folders. The Plugin itself organizes everything inside. Each Skill inside the Plugin still lives in its own subfolder, exactly the way individual Skills do. The Plugin is just the wrapper that makes them installable as a single thing.

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Pre-built plugins available now

Claude Cowork has pre-built Plugins you can install with one click. A few examples:

• Cowork Essentials — 30+ Skills for content creation, research, email drafting, and productivity
• Marketing — SEO, campaign planning, competitive analysis, and content creation
• Design — design critique, accessibility audits, UX copy

For you, the Skills found in The Collective are your most relevant starting point — they're built specifically for your type of business and the problems you're actually solving.

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When to use which

Use individual Skills when:

• You have a workflow that's unique to how you run your business
• You want full control over the instructions
• You're building something from scratch that nothing pre-built covers

Use a Plugin when:

• You want a fast way to add a full set of capabilities at once
• You want to give a team member or VA your exact workflow system
• You find a pre-built Plugin that covers what you need

Overview

Everything we've covered so far still requires you to initiate it. You open Cowork, type a command, and Claude does the work. That's already a time-saver — but there's another layer.

What if Claude could do that work without you being there at all?

That's what Scheduled Tasks are. You set the time, Claude runs the Skill — automatically, on whatever cadence you choose. Daily, weekly, monthly. You decide.

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What a scheduled task is

A Skill set to run on a schedule.

The concept is simple:

• The Skill knows what to do
• The Schedule knows when to do it
• You don't touch it again

Instead of opening Cowork every morning to draft your student check-in emails, you schedule it for 8am and it's done before you sit down. Instead of manually building your weekly content plan on Sunday evenings, you schedule it for Friday afternoon and it's waiting for you.

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Real examples for your business

Student engagement check-in (weekly)

Every Monday, Claude checks your enrollment list, identifies students who haven't logged in for 7 days, and drafts a personalized re-engagement email for each one. You review and send. You wrote the instructions once — it runs every week without you doing anything.

Community post drafts (monthly)

At the start of each month, Claude generates a full set of community post drafts based on your current theme. You edit and approve. Done in 10 minutes instead of a full afternoon.

Morning Brief (daily)

Every morning, Claude checks your calendar, your emails, and your project management system then sends you a brief so you know how your day is shaping up.

Launch email queue (during active launches)

During a launch, Claude queues the next email draft the morning before it's due to go out. Nothing falls through the cracks when you're in the middle of everything else.

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How to set one up

Method 1 — Ask Claude directly (the easiest way)

Just tell Claude what you want scheduled:

Claude creates the Skill (if it doesn't exist yet) and sets up the schedule. That's the whole process.

Method 2 — Use the Scheduled Tasks panel

On the right side of your Project interface, you'll see a Scheduled Tasks section. Click it to create tasks manually, see everything that's running, view the history of past runs, and run a task immediately to test it.

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A few things to know

• Your computer needs to be on. Scheduled Tasks run through the Claude desktop app. If your computer is asleep when a task is scheduled to run, it'll run the next time you open the app.
• Test before you schedule. Every task has a "Run Now" button. Use it before you set it to run automatically — so you can see exactly what Claude produces and adjust anything that's off.
• Start with one. Don't try to automate everything at once. Pick one task you do regularly and start there. Once you see how it works, build from there.

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The formula