Mighty Marketing Mojo

Tag: Trello

  • Saving Time in Trello with Butler Automations

    Saving Time in Trello with Butler Automations

    Saving Time By Learning Automation Hacks and Tips Using Trello’s Butler Tool

    I love Trello. I’ve used it for many years – all on the awesome free plan – and think it’s a great tool for productivity, organizing ideas, planning out content and more. I even created a course on using Trello in your solopreneur business, Mightier Marketing with Trello. Then I created a 10-day challenge to get right into using Trello in your business. I’m ALL IN on Trello!  But I also don’t know every in, out, and feature –  I could use features better. The built-in automation tool from Trello, called Butler, is a feature that I’m not using and need to learn more about. Thankfully there are lots of sources and videos to show ways to use Trello’s Butler!

    Screenshot Trello Butler feature for task automation

    The basics of what is Butler in Trello

    Butler is the built-in tool (not a Power-Up, add-on or integration) that lets you simply automate some actions, tasks, or workflows in boards. Butler is available for all user levels and account types (yes including free).

    You create commands and Butler does the work, to save time from doing tasks manually. Create commands or automations for boards, at the card level, based on calendar or scheduled intervals, or because some other action happened. As easy as it is to just drag-n-drop things in Trello, Butler takes care of those tedious clicks and drags.

    As much as I love Trello, Butler and its commands has always left me a little mystified. So I went looking for some simple examples of Butler at work.

    Video Demonstration of Creating Automations Using Butler

    This short 15-minue video from Simpletivity helps explain Butler, starting with telling us that Butler is best for automating repetitive tasks inside of Trello.

    For example, if you have a standard, left-to-right Trello board for current projects  (i.e. ToDo, Doing, Done), then instead of manually dragging items from To-Do to Done and changing the due date, you could automate it with Butler.  Or what if when you checked off a due date as complete, the card auto-magically moved to the Done list?! Butler can do it.

    Video shows creating a rule and an action trigger for when a card is moved to Done the due date is also checked off to show green and complete.  Don’t forget to hit the green + button to add an action and then hit SAVE when done.

    I loved how simple these steps were. I learned the Butler steps in the first 4 minutes of the video!

    Another example shown to use Butler is adding lists on a regular schedule – e.g. adding new task list for each day or week. This automation starts from the calendar option inside of Butler, not the rules area. I like knowing what these different sections mean.

    This simple video of examples using Butler can help us all take our Trello use to another level without special skills or a big learning curve.

     

    If you want my guide to Trello – check out my Trello Tips 101.

  • Trello for More Organized Marketing and 3 Alternatives

    Trello for More Organized Marketing and 3 Alternatives

    I Keep Coming Back to Trello After Trying Top Alternative Planning Tools

    Yes, I’m a pretty unabashed Trello fan and longtime user. Well, I’ve been using it since at least 2014, so that’s a LONG time in tech time! 😊 I’ve tried a lot of planning and project tools but Trello is the one I return to because of ease, simplicity, flexibility and it’s FREE! I like Trello so much I’ve created my own mini-course to help my fellow solopreneurs use it to get more organized in their marketing so they can more consistently do the work that attracts clients.

    Why I’ve Checked Out So Many Planning + Project Tools

    But by now you know I’m a geek, a techie, and a researcher. I try nearly ALL the tools. Back when I wrote a regular tech tools column for a print newsletter and did monthly tech training webinars, I was always hunting for options. My solo pal Scott once asked me during a webinar why I tried so many tools, especially if I loved Trello and used it most. I’ll tell you same thing I told him and my audience back then …

    Because my brain and your brain work differently, so a tool that’s great for how I think and work may not be so great for you. As a researcher and a trained info pro, I’m compelled to research and then show you your options.🤓

    So, I keep my eye out, test tools, and tell you what’s cool or not. What YOU need or how YOU work could be different from me. That’s cool and I respect that. But flexibility is a big reason I like Trello so much and recommend it to others. Why might you want an alternative though?

    What Are Some of the Top Alternatives to Trello

    You may want something with a more prominent calendar, visual tracking for goal progress, or linear task tracking (Asana). Maybe you’re like my consultant pals who work on longer-term projects with big B2B clients and need teams and Gantt charts for timelines (Teamwork). You might like the combo of to-do list + calendar in a mobile app (TickTick). And maybe good ‘ol Google Calendar is enough for you.

    Asana Project Management project task timeline example
    Asana’s project task list main view

     

    Teamwork Projects Gantt Chart timeline sample
    Teamwork has Gantt chart timelines for projects

    Some of these tools – like Asana and Teamwork seem more oriented for teams (especially those inside of larger organizations) – so we solopreneurs may not use half their features. Honestly, that’s true of Trello as well – it has a lot of add-ons that are very software/developer oriented. Oh well. There’s a place for those types of tools – and with some work, a solo can make them work.

    Both Asana and Teamwork feature examples of use cases in how their users get the most of those tools. Ahem – it’s just good sales and marketing to show off real examples and case studies of how your tool works! 😉

    Super-powered to-do lists like TickTick, or ToDoist can be cool – but what if we want to attach graphics for social media projects, brainstorm, collaborate, or something other than remember ‘to do’?

    TickTick to-do list app
    Hah! Putting my Trello training to-do in TickTick

    And as easy-peasy as Google Calendar is (love color-coding) – we need more than just a calendar. (besides – you can connect Google Cal to Trello!)

    Google Calendar color-coded example

    What About Other Alternatives to Trello?

    There are as many project management tools out there as people it seems! Many, many more than the 3 or so listed here (looking at you Zoho, Podio, Basecamp, MS Project and a dozen more)!

    Alternative project management tools Basecamp Zoho Podio

    In the past I checked out Zoho Projects for a nonprofit I worked with. I wanted to like Zoho – because it has a tool for everything! Email, CRM, surveys, projects, invoices, etc. But back then, all the tools were meh or over-complicated. A quick look recently says it could be worth checking out again – but still seems more than most solos want or need. For my library conference nonprofit we paid for Basecamp for two years (after using Trello for 3+). Some folks loved its simple design, some were ambivalent, but by year two the team wasn’t using it consistently. That’s a big fat NO for me. We’ve since switched back to Trello and G-Suite for everything. And some consultant pals I know swear by Microsoft, including Sharepoint, for doing all their planning and collaboration. I get it – Microsoft still ‘owns’ a lot of headspace inside corporations. Use what already works for you and your clients.

    Time management, productivity and projects are HOT topics so it’s natural that software folks have created a TON of tools – each one claiming to be the holy grail. I admit it – searching for the one “perfect” tool is part of why I keep searching and testing! I KNOW better and yet I keep looking. 😄

    I also KNOW that Trello isn’t perfect and is missing some things. It has Power-Ups and add-ons that are suited for enterprise and software developers, not so much consultants and coaches. But I ALSO know that there’s no one single ‘best’ tool – so I’ve doubled down on using the easiest-for-me tool that I’ve known for years.

    Trello.  I’m sticking like a virtual Post-It to Trello!

    I believe that Trello is the easiest to get started with and is flexible in how it’s setup and is used by different people. That simplicity mixed with power is why I’ve done webinars and live chats about Trello.  I like Trello so much I created my Mightier Marketing with Trello training course and also the 10-day Kick Your Biz in Gear with Trello Challenge. I want to share what I’ve learned and how I use Trello with my other busy solopreneurs so they can get it to work for them. So, they can do more in less time, market more consistently, and pull in awesome clients more consistently.

    Whichever tool you choose to use – use it consistently. Use it to keep yourself – and your marketing – on track and moving forward. Keep your thoughts clear, your actions simple and repeatable. You’ll find your mojo that way.

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