Super complicated workflows and approval processes are frustrating and time-consuming. Even worse, using an email chain of 30+ emails long to document and track causes important steps to be missed.
Of course, finding a system that works best for you and your team and clients is vital. As a freelance writer and social media manager, I have found that Airtable offers a solution that can send notifications, provide a seamless approval process and house all collateral in one place.
In this blog, I will share how I use these key components in my business.
If business systems and workflows aren’t your jam, check out this blog instead: 3 Reasons Bible Time is Part of My Daily Routine.
What is Airtable?
Airtable is a web-based platform that is often used for marketing and product operations but can be used for nearly anything.
Think of it kind of like an advanced spreadsheet on overdrive.
And in my use (my team of just me), I am barely scraping the surface. However, it has impacted the efficiency of my business and how I interact with my clients.
Notifications
One of the things I love about Airtable is that you can set up automations to notify someone when a task is completed or when it is their step in the process.
Here’s an example: after writing an article and marking it “Ready for Review,” the reviewer gets an email—AUTOMATICALLY—saying there is a task ready for them.
Here’s another way I’ve used the notifications: every Monday, key players receive an email detailing the deliverables from last week.
Approval Process
My first social media client was managed entirely in Google Sheets, which was great for laying a foundation to understand what was important. BUT—it was time-consuming, tedious and required way more hands-on than I had time for.
When I got more clients and transitioned all to Airtable, I was floored at how easy it was to build each table, link tables and create a workflow.
Each client is built to their specific needs, but the approval flow is the icing on the cake. There is no more going in 5 times to see if there were changes.
I know exactly what step we are on. I mark it “Ready for Review,” when the client reviews it, it is marked “Approved.” If there are any questions or notes, each record has a chat box where we can communicate directly on that specific piece of content.
Collateral in One Place
This is another thing I love about Airtable. I can add the Canva graphic or photo directly into the record. The copy is there; the image is there; if I need a link, it’s there.
A client can see exactly what their social media post will look like in the grid view. The image is displayed with the caption underneath.
This is not an inclusive list of the cool features found in Airtable. But these 3 features have made my workflow for my business and working with clients much more efficient.
There are tons of templates to get you started within Airtable, or you can create your own. If you want to try it FREE—you can check it out here.
I would also note that I do not use Airtable for my task tracking, project management, to-dos, etc. I prefer Monday for that—I’ll spill the tea on that system in a future blog.
