Every time we build a new piece of software to help run Priceonomics, we incorporate it into Content Tracker, our dashboard for managing and optimizing content that anyone can use.

Most of the features are free to use, so we encourage you to create a free dashboard for your blog.

Lately, we’ve been getting more organized about our content creation process. What are the articles we’re working on? When will they be published? Does everyone on the team know what’s going on?

Getting more systematic has been important because we’re creating content with more partners. Through our Data Studio, we work with companies to create data-driven articles and blog posts, and our freelance writing program is growing. That’s a lot of people and articles to manage.

At the same time, we’re increasingly running our business on Slack. It’s how we let each other know what we’re working on and the progress we’re making.

So, today, we’re announcing a new, free feature in Content Tracker. It’s an editorial calendar that can help you manage the content creation pipeline and send you notifications about project deadlines in Slack or by email.

The main view is a calendar that shows when you have an upcoming article. Each highlighted day is a day when you have something scheduled to publish. There’s also a table of all the articles you’re planning on publishing.

If you click on any date in the calendar, Content Tracker will highlight the articles you have scheduled to be published that day. The table also displays details like the author of the article and a link to the draft.

Content Workflow Tools

When you add an article to the calendar, you can specify several deadlines. The only deadline you need to have is an “estimated due date.” But you can add deadlines for finishing a rough draft, assembling resources, or getting feedback. These set of deadlines approximately resemble the process we use at Priceonomics.

Content Tracker will automatically turn these deadlines into a chart showing the process and the various steps.

When you add an article to the calendar, you can also specify when and how you’d like to receive notifications. You can get reminders about upcoming deadlines via Slack or email.

When you add a new article to the calendar, Content Tracker will send a notification to the author and the editor. If you use Slack, Tracker will also announce on the #content-tracker channel that a new article has been added to the calendar.

If you want, Tracker can also notify you and the writer about deadlines by email instead of Slack.

If you’re the the manager of a content marketing operation or a publishing organization, now you have transparent view of the content creation pipeline and a way to make sure everyone is on the same page about deadlines.

How to Use the Calendar

If you use Content Tracker, there should be a new tab on your dashboard labelled “Calendar.” The calendar is our first tool that helps you manage the content creation process and make sure you finish and publish great articles. It’s free to use for up to ten projects, after which you can can either delete old projects or upgrade to a regular account ($49 / month).

If you’re a new user, go here to create a new Content Tracker account.

In addition to the calendar, you get access to neat tools like inbound link tracking, social media monitoring, and other content measurement tools.

If you have feedback on how the calendar can be improved, please let us know!

Announcement: The Priceonomics Content Marketing Conference is on November 1 in San Francisco. Get your early bird ticket now.