Resources · Make integration

Amazon SNS Make integrationAutomate Amazon SNS with Make.

Can an alert leave Amazon SNS when something happens in another tool? Yes: the Amazon SNS Make integration gives you 11 modules, 9 actions and 2 searches, to publish messages and manage topics without code. This guide connects your AWS keys and walks you through a first scenario.

Try the Amazon SNS integration on MakeSee the 11 modules

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What you can automate

What can the Amazon SNS Make integration do for you?

The integration lets Make, a no-code automation tool, act on Amazon SNS for you: publish a message to a topic, text a phone number, create or tidy topics and subscriptions. You build a scenario, which is a chain of modules where each module is one brick (an action or a search) of one app, and Make runs it for you.

Alerts that reach people without anyone copying them. When a form, a CRM or a database records something important, Send a Message pushes it to an SNS topic, to a mobile platform endpoint, or as an SMS straight to a phone number. Everyone subscribed to that topic hears about it.

Topics created as your projects appear. A new client or a new product line can get its own channel: Create a Topic opens it, Create a Subscription adds the right address to it, and Update a Topic adjusts it later. Nobody has to open the AWS console for it.

A clean inventory of who receives what. List Topics and List Subscriptions return every item they find, so you can write them into a sheet or check them before sending. If you are still learning the editor, the Make training covers these patterns step by step.

What the integration does not do: it has no trigger, so Amazon SNS cannot start a scenario by itself. Another app, or Make's schedule, has to start the run. The same app often has an n8n node too; the n8n vs Make comparison helps you pick the tool. For plan details, see Make pricing.

Connect

How do you connect Amazon SNS to Make?

  1. 01

    Prepare your AWS access key

    You need an active AWS account with the right permissions. In the IAM console, click your User name, open the Security credentials tab and click Create access key. Copy both values shown on screen and keep them somewhere safe.

  2. 02

    Add a module and open the connection

    In your scenario, add any Amazon SNS module, then click Create a connection. A connection is your AWS account linked to Make once and reused by every Amazon SNS module afterwards. You can give it a clear name in Connection name.

  3. 03

    Paste the credentials and save

    Paste the two values you copied from IAM into the connection window, or follow the instructions on screen, then save. Once the connection works, Make can list the topics and subscriptions of your account inside the module fields.

First scenario

Build your first scenario with Amazon SNS

GoalWhen a new record lands in another app, Make checks the target topic in Amazon SNS and publishes a message to it.

  1. 01

    Create the scenario and its starting point

    From the Scenarios page, create a new scenario and click the +. Since Amazon SNS has no trigger, pick the trigger of the app where the event happens, such as a new row or a new form entry.

  2. 02

    Add Get a Topic

    Click the + on the right of the first module, search Amazon SNS and choose Get a Topic. Click Create a connection if needed, then pick your topic from the list Make shows.

  3. 03

    Add Send a Message

    Add Send a Message after it. Map the topic returned by the previous module, then write the message using data from the first app, for example a customer name or an order reference.

  4. 04

    Test with Run once

    Click Run once. Make runs the scenario one time, and you can open each module to read the bundles it received. A bundle is one item passed along, here one record. Check that the message arrived.

  5. 05

    Schedule and switch it on

    Set the schedule on the first module, which is every 15 minutes by default, then switch the scenario on. Each module run on a bundle counts as one operation on your Make plan.

Modules

What each Amazon SNS module does

Amazon SNS gives you 11 modules. For each one: what it does for you, when to reach for it, and what to watch out for.

Amazon SNS1

Create a Subscription

Action

In Make“Creates a new subscription.”

Adds a new subscriber to an existing topic, so that the address or endpoint you choose starts receiving everything published there. It saves you from adding people by hand in AWS.

When to use it
a new teammate joins the on-call group in your HR tool, and the scenario signs them up to the alerts topic right away.
Watch out
the topic has to exist first, so pair it with Get a Topic or Create a Topic earlier in the flow.
Amazon SNS2

Create a Topic

Action

In Make“Creates a new topic.”

Opens a brand new SNS topic, the channel that subscribers listen to and that messages are published into. You get a fresh channel without touching the AWS console.

When to use it
each time a new client project starts in your project tool, so that project has its own notification channel from day one.
Watch out
run it with Run once before activating, because a scenario that fires often could create many topics you then need to clean up.
Amazon SNS3

Delete a Topic

Action

In Make“Deletes a topic.”

Removes a topic from your account, which also stops that channel from carrying any further messages. Useful to keep your SNS setup tidy once a project is over.

When to use it
a project gets archived in your tracking tool and its dedicated channel should disappear with it.
Watch out
a deletion cannot be undone from Make, so add a filter before this module and test on a throwaway topic first.
Amazon SNS4

Get a Subscription

Action

In Make“Gets a specified subscription.”

Reads the details of one subscription you point to, and hands them to the next module as a single bundle. It answers the question of what a given subscription looks like right now.

When to use it
before changing a subscription, to read its current settings and decide in a filter whether an update is needed at all.
Watch out
it targets one subscription only; to browse several, List Subscriptions is the better choice.
Amazon SNS5

Get a Topic

Action

In Make“Gets a specified topic.”

Fetches one specific topic and passes its details along, so later modules can use it without you retyping anything. It is a quick way to confirm the channel you are about to use.

When to use it
right before Send a Message, to make sure the target topic is the right one and map it cleanly.
Watch out
if the topic was deleted, this step fails, so check the error in the run history before blaming the sending module.
Amazon SNS6

Make an API Call

Action

In Make“Performs an arbitrary authorized API call.”

Lets you call any endpoint of the Amazon SNS API from your scenario, with the same connection as the other modules. It covers whatever the ten ready-made modules do not.

When to use it
you need an SNS operation that has no dedicated module here, and you have the AWS documentation for that request open.
Watch out
this module asks you to build the request yourself, so it suits someone comfortable with APIs more than a first scenario.
Amazon SNS7

Send a Message

Action

In Make“Sends a message to an Amazon SNS topic, a text message (SMS message) directly to a phone number, or a message to a mobile platform endpoint.”

Publishes a message in one of three ways: to a topic, as an SMS text sent straight to a phone number, or to a mobile platform endpoint. This is the module most scenarios end on.

When to use it
an order fails payment in your shop, and the support team needs a text or a push to act before the customer leaves.
Watch out
each run on a bundle counts as one operation, so a list of many records sends many messages.
Amazon SNS8

Update a Subscription

Action

In Make“Updates an existing subscription.”

Changes a subscription that already exists instead of deleting and recreating it, so the subscriber keeps receiving messages with the new settings you apply.

When to use it
a contact changes role in your CRM and their subscription on an alerts topic has to follow that change.
Watch out
Make's listing does not detail which settings you can edit, so open the module in Make to see what it offers before planning your flow.
Amazon SNS9

Update a Topic

Action

In Make“Updates an existing topic.”

Edits a topic already in your account, keeping its subscribers in place while you adjust how the channel is set up. No need to rebuild the channel and invite everyone again.

When to use it
a project gets renamed or reorganized in your management tool, and its SNS channel should reflect it.
Watch out
use Get a Topic first when you are unsure which topic the scenario will touch, then map that result here.
Amazon SNS10

List Subscriptions

Search

In Make“Retrieves a list of subscriptions.”

Returns the subscriptions of your account, each one as its own bundle, so you get a full picture of who listens to which channel.

When to use it
to fill a spreadsheet with every subscriber and review access when someone leaves the company.
Watch out
as a search module it can return zero, one or many items, and every module placed after it runs once per item, which adds operations.
Amazon SNS11

List Topics

Search

In Make“Retrieves a list of topics.”

Retrieves the topics in your account and outputs them one bundle each, which gives you an inventory of your notification channels in a single step.

When to use it
before creating a topic, to check whether a channel with that purpose already exists and avoid duplicates.
Watch out
an empty result stops the modules that follow, so decide what your scenario should do when nothing comes back.
Need help

Need help automating Amazon SNS with Make?

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FAQ

Amazon SNS and Make: frequently asked questions

01Is the Amazon SNS Make integration free?
Yes, on the Make side. Amazon SNS is a standard app, so it works from the Free plan. That plan allows 2 active scenarios, runs no more often than every 15 minutes, stops a run after 5 minutes, and caps files at 5 MB and data transfer at 512 MB. Paid plans such as Core, Pro, Teams and Enterprise lower the interval to 1 minute and count usage in credits. Amazon SNS itself is billed by AWS under its own pricing, which this page does not cover.
02What do you need to connect Amazon SNS to Make?
An active AWS account with the right permissions and an access key. Create the key in the IAM console under your user name, in the Security credentials tab, then copy the values shown on screen. In Make, add any Amazon SNS module, click Create a connection, optionally name it, and paste those values. The connection is then reused by every Amazon SNS module in your scenarios, so you only do this once.
03Can Amazon SNS start a Make scenario in real time?
No. The Amazon SNS app in Make has no trigger module, so it cannot start a scenario on its own. Two options remain. You can open the scenario with an instant trigger from another app, which calls Make through a webhook as soon as something happens there. Or you can use a scheduled trigger of another app, which Make checks on the scenario's schedule, every 15 minutes by default. Amazon SNS modules then act further down the flow.
04What if the Amazon SNS module you need is missing?
Use Make an API Call. It lets the scenario call any endpoint of the Amazon SNS API with the same connection, which covers operations the 11 listed modules do not. You write the request yourself, so keep the AWS documentation open. Note also that the Make documentation for this app warns it was generated with AI from the official Amazon SNS docs, so check important details directly with Amazon when something behaves unexpectedly.
05Should you use Make or n8n for Amazon SNS?
It depends on the tool your team already uses. Make offers 11 Amazon SNS modules, including Make an API Call for anything else, inside a visual editor where each run is counted in operations. The same app often has an n8n node as well. Compare which operations each tool covers for your use case, how the connection is set up, and which editor your team finds easier to maintain, then choose on those criteria.
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