Earlier this week on ninjaforms.com we took a look at how to automate Ninja Forms form submissions using Zapier. Today I’d like to share with you how to automate Trello cards. This idea struck me as I was wishing there was a way to auto-remind myself about the different articles that I write each week. As I write more and more, it gets easier and easier for this task or that to slip through the cracks. I imagine the same is true for many of you as well, so I’m sharing my solution!
Now, Trello has a great system for prompting you when a card is due. Just set a due date and time, and 24 hours prior Trello will ping you with a notification on your phone and via Gmail. But, this requires a card to be set up in the first place. For tasks I do each week like the WP Ninjas Friday Roundup, having a card that automatically appears at the beginning of each week with all the relevant data about that task, including due date, is really convenient. Read on for how to set that up!
Automate Trello!
Things you need:
You need a Trello board obviously, and you need to choose a list that you want your automated card(s) to appear in. You can see in the screenshot above where I’m having my automated cards appear in my “On Deck” list. Once you have that squared away, just log into your Zapier account dashboard and follow the steps below!
Setting Up the Trigger
1) Click “Make a Zap!” In your Zapier account dashboard
2) Scroll down and choose “Schedule” as your Trigger App, under Built-In Apps. Continue.
3) I want my card to appear weekly, so I’m choosing “Every Week” here. Save + Continue.
4) Choose the Day of the Week and the Time of Day here. I want my card to appear every Monday at 8am. Click “timezone settings” under Time of Day and make sure your timezone info is correct. Continue.
5) Let Zapier run its test, then Continue.
Setting Up the Action App
1) Choose Trello as your Action App.
2) I want to create a card, but you’re certainly not limited to that. Save + Continue.
3) Connect and authenticate your Trello account. Save + Continue.
4) Set up your Trello card using the option provided. You can literally customize every aspect of the card. I add a label, member, and due date to mine. The due date took me a few minutes to figure out, but it’s stupid simple once you get it. I want this card due every Wednesday at 8am, so I just type “Every Wednesday 8am” into the field. Zapier is smart. Thanks, Zapier.
5) Let Zapier run its test, which will put a test card with the info you entered into your target list on your Trello board. Click Finish, name your Zap, and don’t forget to turn it on! You’re done!
We all have enough to do in the course of a day to not fool with repetitive tasks that can be automated for us. Zapier is an amazing tool for doing just that, so look for more along this same lines coming to wpninjas.com and ninja forms.com soon. As nice as it is to automate Trello, this is just the tip of the iceberg in terms of what can be done for you with automation. Please let me know in the comments if there’s any specific automations you’d like to read about, too. Don’t be a stranger, and happy blogging!
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