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Email marketing is one of the oldest and best tricks in the communication playbook, and newsletters are an excellent tool for brand awareness, audience engagement, and lead nurturing. But newsletter planning is challenging. Coming up with and delivering fresh ideas...
Oct 29, 2024
Trello is a simple project management tool that lets you manage workloads via Kanban boards. Although it gets the job done, it’s thin in the features department. For example, the platform lacks in-depth file proofing and approval capabilities that other Trello alternatives cover.
In short, unlike dedicated marketing agency software, Trello may not be the best idea for content marketing agencies or marketing teams looking to streamline creative and feedback-giving processes, especially at scale.
That’s exactly why I’ll walk you through some of the best alternatives to Trello currently available. But first, let’s see more of what Trello is about.
Trello is super easy to work with. It’s a free project management tool that lets you handle project organization tasks through customizable Kanban boards.
You can organize work under multiple columns. Each column indicates your project’s status, like “To Do”, “Doing”, and “Done”, for example. You can then track and move each task across the dashboard until completion.
This straightforward approach to project management is perfect for small teams looking to boost productivity.
However, Trello is not the best option for more complex projects. The platform lacks advanced features, like task dependencies and in-document comments or annotations. And, although the platform offers additional views like calendars, timelines, and tables, they are only available in Trello’s paid packages.
Below, we take a closer look at what Trello offers considering the most important features marketers appreciate in a project management tool.
Trello’s calendar is available in the platform’s Premium plan, which costs $10 per user per month (billed annually).
I found the platform’s calendar on par with most other content calendar tools. It’s highly intuitive and suitable for managing your content marketing strategy. Rescheduling deadlines is as easy as dragging and dropping a task on the calendar.
You can also set color-coded labels and add checklists for each task — perfect to prioritize work and leave step-by-step instructions on more complex tasks.
Trello’s filters let you sift through tasks based on team members, labels, dues dates, and task activity.
I also found the search bar super handy — you can quickly search for specific tasks by typing in their keywords.
Unlike its Kanban boards, however, Trello’s calendar doesn’t include previews of visual assets, which can make spotting specific tasks a bit tricky.
Collaborating on documents through the calendar is also a hassle. You first have to click on a task and then open up the attachment to see it in full.
Plus, you cannot leave comments directly on the files themselves. You first have to close a file, then leave feedback — it takes an unnecessary amount of clicks.
Collaborative work with Trello is simple and rather effective — except for the hiccups with in-document collaboration. You can leave comments and attachments under each task, and notify team members through mentions.
But the platform doesn’t go much further than that. Other content collaboration tools are much better suited for creative projects.
Some key collaboration features Trello lacks are in-context comments, text annotations, and suggestions. And again, collaborating on visual assets and text documents is cumbersome.
You can establish an approval process via Trello’s power-ups — a set of extra add-ons that expand on the platform’s functionalities. The approval power-up is available for both free and paid plans.
You can easily approve or reject work within task previews. You can also add multiple approvers under each specific task. But unlike other approval tools, Trello lacks multi-layered approvals, which come in handy for more organized and thorough review processes.
I also noticed that this add-on doesn’t affect the calendar’s filters — searching for tasks based on approval status would’ve been excellent.
Still, the option to establish approval processes with Trello’s free plan is an excellent addition.
Pricing: You can use Trello for free. Paid plans start at $5 per user per month (billed annually), with a 14-day free trial available for the Premium package.
Planable packs an ample set of social media management, content collaboration, and approval functionalities into an easy-to-use platform.
You can collaborate on, manage and schedule social media posts across all major social networks with Planable. Plus, the platform handles any other type of content through its Universal Content feature — newsletters, blog posts, video scripts, you name it.
Post approvals, scheduling, media library, and cross-company collaboration features in Planable
As for collaboration, you can leave feedback via real-time comments, text suggestions, and annotations. Planable’s collaboration tools also extend to visual assets — you can leave comments and check whether feedback was implemented properly through version control.
The platform’s approval tools are among its key highlights. Its customizable multi-layer approval workflows let you establish thorough review processes involving multiple team members or departments — perfect to ensure your content rolls out in the best possible shape.
Planable aims to make content collaboration as easy as possible. So let’s see how it stacks up against Trello considering the features mentioned earlier.
Planable’s calendar view is just as intuitive as Trello’s — but better. To start, Planable offers significantly more filters.
Content calendar view in Planable
You can search through scheduled posts based on content type (carousels, images, videos, GIFs, etc.), approval status, content status (scheduled, unscheduled, published as draft, ad, etc.), and authors, for example.
Filter & sort options in Planable
You can also approve content directly in the calendar view with just one click. Leaving feedback is a straightforward process too. Simply open the content preview and leave your suggestions in the comment section next to it — no extra clicks are needed.
The platform also lets you create custom color-coded labels to spot and distinguish between different campaigns, for example.
Colored labels in Planable
Most notably, Planable includes separate calendars for each of your workspaces — ideal for easily managing projects for different clients, brands, or campaigns.
Besides calendars, you also have access to feed, grid, and list views.
Planable lets you collaborate with team members through clear text suggestions, comments, and annotations. You can leave file attachments on each comment, and mark feedback as resolved to de-clutter the interface.
Collaboration on a blog post in Planable
The option to mark specific comments or complete posts as internal is a particularly nice touch. You can hide work-in-progress content away from your client’s view until it’s ready.
Client approval and collaboration in Planable
Speaking of which, you can invite clients to your workspace via email and shareable links, and assign custom roles and permissions (viewer, approver, editor, administrator, etc.).
Planable lets you pick between four approval workflow types: none, optional, required, and multi-level.
Multi-level approval workflow in Planable
No or optional approvals are great choices if you wish to skip the approval processes entirely or don’t have dedicated reviewers always on standby.
Multi-level approvals allow you to set up multiple approval layers — perfect for rigorous review processes. Content has to pass through each distinct layer before the final send-off.
For example, a post would first need approval from the lead content editor before it’s passed down to the marketing manager, while the client gives the final green light.
Pricing: Planable starts at $33 per month. There’s also a free plan available that allows you to schedule up to 50 total posts.
Drawbacks: Although Planable does include direct publishing to social networks, it doesn’t include any CMS integrations. Unlike with social posts, you’ll need to copy text from Planable and paste it into your CMS.
Both Planable’s and Trello’s calendars are straightforward. But Planable includes more features and filtering options. Coupled with the platform’s direct social scheduling, content planning is a lot more convenient.
Planable includes more team and client collaboration tools across the board, while its approval tools are significantly more in-depth. Trello also gets the job done if you’re on the lookout for a free project management tool.
Trello is the more affordable option. But Planable’s per-workspace pricing model brings larger teams better value for money.
Takeaway: Planable is the best Trello alternative for content marketing teams looking to take a more hands-on approach to content creation, planning, and review processes.
Asana is a dedicated project management solution that stands out through its workflow automation tools.
The platform’s Workflow Builder lets you set up complex automated processes, like deploying and collecting feedback forms or any other trigger-based workflows through a visual drag-and-drop interface.
Asana also includes an AI-powered assistant that automatically generates task summaries, updates project statuses, and sets goals.
Get a bird’s-eye view of all your projects via Asana’s Portfolios. Zoom in on each specific project to track ongoing tasks, or get more granular and split a particular task into multiple sub-tasks. Set up dependencies, due dates, goals, milestones, and more.
See exactly who does what and when to delegate work evenly across your organization and prevent any potential bottlenecks. Set up weekly workload limits for team members to avoid employee overworking.
Collaborate with team members through task comments. Leverage Asana’s file proofing capabilities to work on images — complete with visual annotations. Automatically turn each comment into dedicated tasks.
Pricing: Paid plans start at $10.99 per user per month (billed annually). There’s also a free version available that lets you collaborate with up to 10 team members.
Drawbacks: Although the platform includes file proofing, storage is limited to 100 MB per file.
Airtable is one of the best Trello alternatives for those who love working with spreadsheets.
The platform blends the simplicity of worksheets with advanced project management tools like task dependencies, resource allocation, and budget forecasting.
You can also take it up a notch and build fully customized workspaces through the platform’s Interface Designer — a feature that displays spreadsheet data in straightforward interactive dashboards.
For example, you can turn database records into to-do lists, interfaces with graphs and charts, and so on — all through a no-code or low-code builder.
Store all your digital assets under a unified dashboard. Organize files through color-coded labels and find the right documents with the platform’s ample filter set and file previews.
Generate marketing-specific reports. Track budget allocation, the resources you dedicate to each specific channel, as well as the results they bring like weekly sign-ups — all through visual dashboards.
Automatically assign tasks and due dates, change statuses, and more via a rule-based automation builder.
Pricing: Paid plans start at $20 per user per month (billed annually). There’s also a free package that includes up to five editors.
Drawbacks: Large pricing gaps between paid packages make scalability a challenge. The paid entry-level plan also only includes one workspace.
ClickUp is an advanced project management tool that stands out through its Whiteboards feature. You can hold brainstorming sessions and map out marketing campaigns in real time under a collaborative canvas.
The platform can then turn specific ideas into ready-to-tackle tasks directly from your whiteboard. ClickUp also includes dedicated marketing templates to kickstart campaign planning and management processes.
Set up knowledge bases and wikis to streamline internal documentation procedures. Create brand guidelines and content briefs, and store them under a unified dashboard — complete with search bars and collapsible navigation menu items.
Collaborate with team members through task or in-document comments, chats, and whiteboards. View and get involved in all conversations via the platform’s built-in inbox.
Prevent employee burnout through ClickUp’s native time tracking and workload management features. Get estimates on how long it will take team members to complete specific tasks. Set up individual, team, or company-level targets to monitor progress and spot any potential bottlenecks.
Pricing: Paid plans start at $7 per user per month (billed annually). There’s also a free version that includes unlimited projects and up to 100MB of storage.
Drawbacks: ClickUp has a rather steep learning curve due to its complexity. The platform also lacks native approval tools.
Wrike is one of the top Trello alternatives for those seeking in-depth resource management capabilities. Content marketing teams can plan and track their budgets, set priorities, as well as monitor and manage workloads for each team member within an organization.
Wrike’s AI-powered risk projection tool is particularly handy. The platform actively monitors an ongoing project’s progress to identify possible delays and provides suggestions to prevent them.
Proof files across multiple formats — JPEGs, PDFs, or Microsoft documents. Compare multiple versions of the same file to see whether feedback was implemented correctly and set up automated approval workflows.
Set up task dependencies and leverage cross-tagging to monitor and manage tasks involving separate departments that work on the same projects. Prioritize tasks, set milestones, and track their progress under unified dashboards.
Improve productivity through marketing-specific templates ranging from campaign planning dashboards and marketing calendars to creative briefs and more.
Pricing: Paid packages start at $9.80 per user per month (billed annually). There’s also a free plan available with basic features like task and sub-task management and Kanban boards.
Drawbacks: The platform lacks multi-layered approvals. Its file proofing and approval features are locked behind upper-tier pricing packages.
Monday is a solid alternative to Trello if you’re on the lookout for ample customization capabilities.
It includes access to 200+ customizable templates spread across various categories — from digital asset management and content and social media calendars to templates fit for software development projects and more.
The platform’s app marketplace also includes a huge list of third-party add-ons and integrations, perfect to extend Monday’s functionalities based on your specific needs.
Store and manage all your digital assets, be it images, videos, and PDF documents. Collaborate with team members through live annotations and track all tweaks with version control.
Group multiple projects under the same portfolio – ideal to work on various campaigns for the same brand. Get a high-level overview of all your projects, then zoom in on the details to closely monitor project progress via color-coded statuses and progression bars.
Set up to-do lists, task priorities, and dependencies. Collaborate with team members under each task through comments.
Pricing: Paid plans start at $9 per user per month (billed annually). There’s also a limited free forever plan that includes up to two users.
Drawbacks: It might take a while to customize the platform to your needs. The platform’s entry-level plans are also lackluster in the features department — they lack time tracking, workload management, and automation, for example.
Workzone is a great alternative to Trello for handling multiple large-scale projects simultaneously. For example, teams can view all tasks along with their assignees, due dates, and statuses within a unified dashboard — no need to navigate through separate tabs.
The platform’s reports also reveal everything you need to know about your projects’ overall progress, team workloads, and resource allocation.
Leave feedback via direct task comments, notes, and file attachments. Work on visuals with image markups and easily track document changes with the platform’s version control.
Track who works and what and when. Generate productivity reports and measure each teammate’s time spent on a specific task or project.
Store documents in separate folders. Leave comments, markups, and approve files directly from the asset library.
Pricing: Paid plans start at $24 per user per month.
Drawbacks: Although the platform includes approval workflows, they’re not multi-level.
Tracking projects with Basecamp is as easy as it can get. The platform includes multiple dashboards that display project progress in a highly visual format.
For example, Basecamp’s Hill Charts give a real-time overview of your project’s history, from ideation to execution and deployment. Other dashboards let you visualize projects through Timeline views or needle-based progression bars.
You can also generate reports that compile multiple dashboards within a unified overview.
Collaborate with team members through comments, direct messages, group chats, and message boards. Set up automatic check-ins to gather consistent feedback.
Organize project documents under separate folders and color-coded labels. Rearrange files via a drag-and-drop interface and collaborate on documents through real-time comments.
Set up to-do lists and manage tasks under intuitive Kanban boards. Set problematic tasks on hold so teammates can re-focus their efforts and keep the momentum going.
Pricing: Basecamp includes two pricing plans. The entry-level package costs $15 per user per month (billed monthly), while the Pro Unlimited comes at a fixed price of $299 per month (billed annually).
Drawbacks: Basecamp doesn’t include as many advanced features as other project management software options in this list — for example, it lacks approvals and dependencies.
To wrap up, Wrike and Asana are excellent Trello alternatives for larger content marketing agencies that seek to streamline workflows through advanced automation capabilities. Airtable and Monday are great project management tools if you prioritize customization options.
ClickUp’s Whiteboards are perfect for planning campaigns with your team, while Workzone is a solid choice if you manage projects at scale. Basecamp is also an excellent alternative to Trello for quick and easy project monitoring.
However, if you need a more collaborative approach to campaign planning and content creation, Planable is the best choice among all the Trello alternatives on this list.
The platform’s approval and real-time collaboration features allow for streamlined workflows for all content marketing teammates — from writers and designers to social media managers and beyond. Why not try it and see for yourself? Plan your first 50 posts completely for free!
Digital marketing enthusiast, language nerd, and content writer. Horea loves writing about SaaS and anything that involves boosting online presence – from SEO to social media, web design, and more. His content is allergic to fluff and eats research for breakfast.
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