In the second post in this series, I wrote about finally making real use of Story Origin, setting up my welcome sequence, auto-posting, and starting a Facebook page. For this post, I’ll discuss the shiny tools I’m using to stay organized and keep the train moving.

I’ll start with the tool I’m using to keep this work organized- Trello. I didn’t want to spend a lot of time learning a new tool, but I am a list person, keeping a list and crossing off tasks really helps move me along in a project. But I wanted something I could set up quickly that would also stay free.

I’ve been using Trello for several weeks now and it is checking those boxes for me. I did not spend a lot of time on setup. I googled ‘Trello board for authors’ and used the template that came up.

The paid version would offer more options, but for now, I am content to use the board and organize my cards with my to do list, blog plan, newsletter plans, and the tasks that are completed (I love looking down the list of things I’ve already done).

Some writers are using Trello to outline their novels! Check out this video on outlining with Trello if you are interested in that. Or, if you like a basics video, you can check out this basic setup video. I don’t expect to need to branch out the paid subscription, because the free version covers everything I need, and keeping to a list is helping me with my goals.

Auto-posting

Scheduling my social media posts was an absolute must because I have a different full-time job and can only dedicate bursts of time for social. As we all know, consistency is key, and scheduling means I can make all of my posts on the weekend and schedule them through the week (which makes it possible).

But there are so many choices when you are looking for a social media management tool and I did not want to dig into them all. I checked out a few top 10 lists (that were overwhelming) and tried out one that seemed like it would meet my needs. 

That tool was Later.

So, yeah, it got me through my first week of scheduling posts. Pro: you can schedule up to 30 posts on each profile in a month and can have 6 profiles linked on the free account. That is a lot of access for free. It has a calendar layout where you pull the image in and add in the text. Con: But I wanted to be able to make Twitter posts without an image and that feature is not supported. Also, I didn’t love the calendar format; dragging and dropping the images then creating the post after the image.

I was interested in the analytics that shows the best time to post based on user trends on different media, but that is a pay account feature and after a week of using Later it felt like real work to use their format and I didn’t want to set up a paid account. So, I went back to google. 

And I found Buffer. 

Buffer had come up in the previous searches but I got the sense that it was an older kid on the block and maybe not keeping up. I’m glad I gave them a chance because the first night I dove in I scheduled all of my posts for the week in an hour and it felt painless! So far, I’ve added images to all of the posts I’ve scheduled with Buffer, but posting without an image is possible. I like that I can start with the text first and add the image last, maybe it’s the writer in me, but I like starting with words first.

Side note: You can schedule posts directly on Twitter and Facebook also lets you schedule posts for a business FB page and insta account. I haven’t done it there because- why? I can schedule them all in one place with Buffer. Buffer has a linear weekly view that just works better for my mind. A con is that Buffer does not have a good free offering, their $15 a month option is great though and covers everything I’ll need. They have a robust and extremely pricey analytics tool that I will not be purchasing, but the analytics included in the $15 version is enough for now.

Well, up can only schedule and post directly with their paid subscription for $119 a year. I am still in the 30-day trial. I used the scheduler a few times while I was still exploring options in my Later phase. It was painless and I did not have any size restrictions that I get from both Later and Buffer if I opt for story posts (so that’s great). I scheduled it from the calendar and it sent when it should have. Perfect.

I just don’t think I need a paid subscription now that I’ve found Buffer. I still make posts in Canva, but the free version is likely all you need for that unless you want access to some of their premier photos or templates. I do like that I can have several folders with the paid version, but that’s not really worth a hundred bucks a year. So, free will do for Canva. But if you don’t use it, you really should. It’s quick to pick up and sometimes even a bit fun.

Here’s a video on how to use Canva in 10 minutes.

In recap, our time is precious and many writers feel like marketing is a chore (same!) so we need tools that make it easier. These are the ones I’ve tried and the ones I’m sticking with for now to keep me organized and to keep this book marketing train moving. Let me know in the comments if you use any of these or if you’ve found something even better!

- Until next time!