An advantage of Trello is its adaptability and ability to be personalized. Although Trello is highly effective for organizing tasks and projects, it does not have a built-in editorial calendar feature. Nevertheless, by using ingenuity and incorporating other tools, it is possible to integrate an editorial calendar into Trello for more efficient management of content creation processes.
Why Use an Editorial Calendar?
Before we dive into the details of how to add an editorial calendar option to Trello, let’s quickly discuss why using an editorial calendar is crucial for effective content management.
An editorial calendar provides a visual overview of your content creation process. It helps you plan and organize your content in advance, ensuring you consistently publish high-quality content. Additionally, an editorial calendar allows you to schedule and track the progress of your content, making it easier to collaborate with team members and manage deadlines.
Step 1: Create a New Board
To start, create a new board in Trello specifically for your editorial calendar. You can name it “Content Calendar” or anything that resonates with you. This board will serve as the foundation for organizing your content creation process.
Step 2: Add Lists and Cards
Within your newly created board, add lists to represent different stages of your content creation process. Common lists might include “Ideas”, “In Progress”, “Pending Review”, and “Ready to Publish”. These lists will serve as your content pipeline, allowing you to visualize the progress of each piece of content.
Next, add individual cards within each list to represent specific content pieces. Each card can include important details such as the title, due date, assigned team members, and any relevant attachments or checklists.
Step 3: Customize with Labels and Due Dates
To add more depth and personalization to your editorial calendar, utilize Trello’s labels and due dates features.
Labels can be used to categorize your content by topic, type, or any other relevant taxonomy. For example, you might have labels for “Blog Posts”, “Videos”, “Infographics”, or even “Social Media”. Using labels helps you quickly identify the type of content you’re working on and better manage your content mix.
Due dates allow you to assign deadlines to your content pieces. Setting due dates ensures that you stay on track and meet your publishing schedule. You can also use the “Calendar” power-up in Trello to view your editorial calendar in a calendar format, providing a more holistic view of your content schedule.
Step 4: Integrate with External Tools
If you want to take your editorial calendar to the next level and integrate it with external tools, you have a few options. Some popular integrations include:
- Trello Calendar Power-Up: This power-up allows you to view your Trello cards with due dates in a calendar format, making it easier to manage your content schedule.
- Trello Butler Power-Up: Butler allows you to automate actions within Trello. You can create commands to automatically move cards between lists, assign due dates, and much more.
- Zapier Integration: Zapier connects Trello with hundreds of other apps, allowing you to automate workflows and streamline your content creation process.
Integrating Trello with these tools can enhance your productivity and provide additional functionality to your editorial calendar.
Conclusion
Adding an editorial calendar option to Trello can greatly streamline your content creation process. By creating a dedicated board, customizing it with lists, cards, labels, and due dates, and integrating it with external tools, you can effectively manage your content workflow and ensure a consistent publishing schedule.
Remember, the key to successful content management is planning and organization. With Trello and a well-designed editorial calendar, you’ll be able to stay on top of your content creation and deliver valuable content to your audience.