02: How To Create An Easy Content Workflow

Today, we are going to cover the main reason you may be struggling with content creation: organizing your content.

To get the best benefit of this episode I suggest cutting out some time to set up your computer and walk through it with me, because I am spilling the tea.

I am going to show my top suggestion for content planning and organization, and it's FREE. I'll also walk you through a  step-by-step process for your content planning so this never becomes a headache again.

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Chapters

• 1:40 What's The BEST Tool For Content Organization? (IMO)
• 2:04 How Does Asana Work?
• 9:45 FREE Resource: DIY Content Repurposing Booklet

Transcript

Laura: [00:00:00] Hello there, Travel Creators! Welcome back to the Travel Creator Podcast. I'm Laura, and I'm a content developer for Travel Content Creators. Man, can we get a little counter for how many times I'm going to say that in this season? Today, we are going to be diving in talking about how you can create a content organization system that you will actually use. 

Laura: There are so many tools out there that you can use to organize and manage your content. And I'll admit, I've been one of those people who sees a new tool, or a new system, or somebody's using something, and I sign up for it immediately, and I use it for a few weeks,  and then I go back to the good old pen and paper.

Laura: But then I realized that there will always be another software and there will always be another website to remember the login for it's not about finding the latest and greatest tools. It's about finding what works for you. [00:01:00] It's kind of like, okay, I bought this car, this car works and it works for me and what I needed to do and I see this new car and I'm not just gonna go buy that new car just because I think it will work better. It's like no, we're just we're gonna use what works for us So it can be a tough pill to swallow, but sometimes the ugliest platforms out there might be the ones that work best for you and the ones that you'll actually use and you can own that. So if you're a Google Sheets organized my content creator person, it's okay you own that, that's alright.

Laura: We'll get you a name tag. Now, of course, I'm not gonna lead you down the hole of ugly platforms to organize your content with, but I will be leading you towards the one that I love and use every day, and it's visually quite pleasing. That platform is called Asana.  Now, in a perfect world, Asana would be paying me some money to say all these nice things I'm about to say about their software, but they are not.

Laura: That also [00:02:00] means you'll get my real opinion of everything it has to offer and how it really works. Alright, I recommend using Asana because visually, you can move cards around so easily. When I mention cards in this episode I'm talking about the individual tasks or little movable sections that you'll write your content on and that you can open and see all of your lovely content in.

Laura: Asana calls them tasks. I call them cards. I'm sorry. It also works really well with Google Suite, so Asana like links nicely with docs, sheets, etc. There's also so many things you can toggle, so you can add a person who's responsible for the tasks.

Laura: It even has real time editing that doesn't suck. So it's really great when you are working with a team or, like, working side by side next to someone. Highly recommend. You can also set a due date, and each card has a checklist feature at the bottom that you can cross off tasks that happen for every single piece of content, like proofreading, hopefully, or maybe graphic creation.

Laura: You can even [00:03:00] assign a deadline. Each card a priority, if that makes you feel better. You can also either view the board with these cards, these tasks, in like columns, or as a table. I never choose to look at it as a table. I always use the board. It feels much easier and a little less overwhelming. Asana also has a wonderful tag system that I'll explain more about in a second.

Laura: And my favorite part is that the app is chef's kiss, beautiful and easy to use. Now that I've completely sold you, here's how you can set up a content organization system You will actually use, by the way, I've been asked this before. I'm doing this all on the free version of Asana I don't pay for it and I haven't found a reason I need to yet I think that if you're operating with a larger team or you need to share it with a couple of people you need to upgrade to their 10 a month plan.

Laura: Anyway, after you've created an account, I recommend starting this process on your computer, it's just a bit easier to see everything nice and large. So, [00:04:00] we're gonna hop into Asana and add a column going across the top for each platform you share content on. In Asana, they call them sections, so if you're looking at the board, you'll scroll all the way to the right and hit the add section button.

Laura: Asana calls them sections, I call them columns, the platforms you'll show up on should create columns for should include all of the social networks. You're posting on and if you have things like a newsletter make that a section as well.

Laura: If you have a blog do the same thing I also recommend creating a section or column for each platform you want to show up on. So let's say that you're on Instagram right now and YouTube and you want to start putting your travel guides on Pinterest, go ahead and add Pinterest as a column or section to your sheet , You'll see that as you start using the sheet and having this system that it is in essence a content repurposing system actually.

Laura: So it really makes it easier to start sharing content on other platforms because you'll see, Oh, I have this post [00:05:00] that I shared on Instagram. Let me just switch up the dimensions of the graphics and edit the caption and get it scheduled for Pinterest. It also keeps you a little bit motivated because you can see already ahead like, Oh, I have all these ideas for content I can just share on Pinterest right here.

Laura: Okay,  diving back in. You've got your column set up, now we're going to create four more columns. I know, I'm sorry. You're going to name them original continuos. ideas for review, to create, and to schedule. These columns will help you organize any new content ideas you have as well as where they are in the creation and repurposing process.

Laura: My hot tip here is to put those four extra columns to the far left of the columns that name the platforms you're sharing content to. So when you open the sheet on the far left, you'll see original content ideas, ideas for review, to create, to schedule, and then Instagram, YouTube, wherever you're showing up.

Laura: I find this just more intuitive to drag the cards from left to right. So here's how [00:06:00] to use this sheet. When inspiration strikes, you're going to add your new ideas to your original content ideas column. So when you're scrolling on the gram, and you see a piece of content that you want to take a spin on, and steal, like, an artist from, add it to your original content ideas column.

Laura: The ideas for review column are content ideas that you're excited about, but just need, like, a little bit more brainstorming. So, you'll treat your original content ideas column as a dumping ground for all your ideas. And then your ideas for review column are the best ideas, or the ideas that you've pulled from the original content column that you're most excited to work on next, the next time you're creating content.

Laura: Your cards in your to create column are your lowest hanging fruit. So this section is the home to all of the pieces of content that shouldn't take you very long to create and you've already got a few good ideas or notes for them. Maybe you already have a caption in mind or even like on screen text for your next reel.

Laura: The cards in your to schedule column are pieces of [00:07:00] content that you have yet to decide where they best fit in your marketing strategy. So you might have a killer piece of content, but you're not sure if it should first be a blog post or an Instagram post. These cards can go here. If you're struggling to decide, I'd go with whatever feels intuitive.

Laura: So some people think video forward when they're creating their content and some people are just better at like long form blog writing first. Another bonus tip for you, some of my clients like to add an to edit column,  this is where they house cards with content that they haven't finished yet.

Laura: So for example, they might have a short form video that they're halfway through editing. It's stuff like that that they need to come back to goes in the to edit. Because you're a creative. I know that inspiration strikes when inspiration strikes, and it's usually never when you're in front of your computer.

Laura: that's where the Asana app comes in so handy and I think is really key to helping you stay consistent with using this system. It makes it super easy to whip open and drop your ideas and notes in, [00:08:00] and it helps eliminate the random Apple Notes that I know that you have, or the random alarm set on your phone to like write something down because I have been there too.

Laura: To help you keep your cards organized, I recommend setting up each card in the same way. I like to open up the description area of the card, which is just the big old typing space and put in the title of the content I'm working on. If I'm repurposing this content from another platform, I'll include a link to that piece of content if it's a destination.

Laura: Based piece of content I'd recommend, including the time of year that makes most sense to share about that place, as well as any notes you have about the piece. My favorite part of Asana are the tags, these are little color coded marks that help you keep track of exactly what stage of creation a piece of content is in.

Laura: To set them up, open any card and hit, ironically, the tab key to open the tags panel. I like to color code my tags so that I know what the heck is going on just at a single glance. [00:09:00] I'll tell you what I use so you can steal them, please. So, I use green for posted content, so if I have a piece of content on  in the Instagram column, and it has a green tag on it I know that piece of content has already been published on Instagram.

Laura: Purple is for content that is in progress or content that's currently being developed. Red is for blocked content, this is content I'm either waiting for someone or something for to finish. Blue is for not started content, that's kind of self explanatory. Okay friends, you've done it. Does it feel good?

Laura: And if you're listening to this while you're driving, schedule some time in your calendar to come back to this. I promise it will save you. I want you to know that the system you've just set up is exactly what I recommend my content repurposing clients to use. And if you want to take this a step further, I know I've been kind of teasing in this, your content repurposing system, but I have a totally free DIY content repurposing booklet for you to use.

Laura: It'll walk you through how to know what's repurposing, how to set your goals, and a lot [00:10:00] more. It's eight pages of good stuff to set you up on your content repurposing journey. And part of those eight pages is setting up the system that we just did. So you're honestly 50 percent there, you can snag it in the show notes below or at TravelContentWriting.com

Laura: And if you didn't hate this, I'd encourage you to send it to a fellow creator. And if you're really feeling it, you can even give it a rating! Okay, thank you for your time. Okay, my fellow creators, I will talk to you all later.

Laura: You're still here? I just wanted you to know. Every week, I send a newsletter called the Content Compass.

Laura: I share many case studies on travel creators who are crushing their content. It's like new, innovative things these creators are doing, and I break it down to show what they're doing successfully and how you can apply it to your own content.

Laura: I've got a link in the show notes if you'd like to subscribe, it's also free. Can you just tell I really want you to do [00:11:00] well and enjoy all these cool places? Okay friends, I will see you soon.