Approving creatives and launch plans.
Nothing goes out with your name on it until you have read it and said yes. This page is how to say yes in one line, how to ask for changes in one message, and what happens if you say nothing. Four minutes.
Where creatives and plans arrive
Everything for approval arrives by email on its own thread, from Stephen, with the deadline for your answer in the first paragraph.
| What | How it arrives | What you look at |
|---|---|---|
| Launch plan (the month's campaigns, posts and dates) | PDF attached to the email. A Figma link may be included for anyone who prefers it. | The dates, the offers and the wording. Does this month say what you want it to say? |
| Ad creatives and posts | PDF attached, plus a link to a review page that shows every creative at its real size with a Hold button under each one. | Facts, prices, claims, spelling of your product names, anything your compliance team must see. |
| Copy, scripts and documents | PDF, or a Google Doc link you can comment on. | Tone, facts, and whether the person on camera can say it comfortably. |
| Design and print artwork | PDF proof at final size. Figma link optional. | Text, URL, phone number, logo placement. What is on the proof is what goes to print. |
How to approve: one line
- Open the email the creatives or plan arrived on.
- Press Reply (not forward, not a new email).
- Type one line. Any of these counts as approval:
"Approved", "all approved", "good to go", "concept B approved", or a thumbs-up on WhatsApp in reply to the email we sent. No signature needed, no form. If you approve some and not others, say which: "1, 2 and 4 approved, changes on 3 below".
Where to comment. On the email thread, or as a comment on the review page or Google Doc if the email offered one. Not in a new email with a different subject, and not by re-sending the document with tracked changes: those get separated from the thread and we may not see them before the deadline.
One named approver. Every account has one person whose yes is the yes. If a director or compliance officer must also sign off, they are named on the account too and we wait for both. Approvals from anyone else are noted but do not start the work. If five people need to weigh in, a ten-minute weekly yes/no call beats five email chains; ask and we set it up.
How you know it worked: a reply from us confirming what is scheduled and when. If it fails: no confirmation within one working day, forward your approval with BLOCKED in the subject.
How to request changes
- Reply on the same thread.
- Number the changes. One line per change, naming the creative or page it applies to.
- Send all of them in one message. Three emails of one change each count as three rounds.
- Tell us what is wrong, not how to redesign it. "The price should read 49 not 45" is a fix we make in minutes. "Can you make it pop more" is a conversation.
One revision round is in scope per creative. We apply your numbered list and send the revised version back for a final yes. Changes after that, or a change of direction (a new offer, a different product, a new angle), are a new round and fall under out-of-scope requests. Our own mistakes are always fixed free and never count as a round.
What silence means
This is the part to read twice.
- Ad creatives and posts on a review page: the 48-hour hold. Every creative on the review page has a Hold button. Anything not held, and not replied to on the thread, goes live as shown 48 hours after the review page was sent. The exact deadline is printed on the page and in the email. Press Hold on the one you are not sure about and reply on the thread; the rest go ahead on time. This is what keeps your month on schedule when you are travelling.
- Regulated clients: explicit approval only. If you are in insurance, financial services, health or any sector with a regulator, the 48-hour rule does not apply to you. Nothing publishes without a written yes from your named approver, however long it takes. We will chase, but we will not assume.
- Launch plans, documents and everything else. Your agreement sets a window for feedback after which a deliverable counts as approved, five business days as standard. We remind you before that point. Time lost waiting for an approval moves every date after it by the same number of days.
Lead time
- Launch plans arrive before the month starts, in time for approval, build and scheduling. The email states the date by which we need your answer; it is usually about two weeks before the first item goes live.
- Batches beat trickles. Where several months are planned, we send them together so you can approve in one sitting instead of waiting on one plan at a time.
- Changes after approval are a new round. Once a creative is approved and scheduled, an edit means pulling it, revising and rescheduling. Small factual corrections are done immediately at no charge; a change of mind is quoted or moved to next month.
- Changing the offer after approval changes the creatives, the landing page and the automations built around it. Tell us the moment you know, and expect a revised date.
Figma vs PDF
We send PDFs. Every plan, report and creative set comes as a PDF attached to the email, because a PDF opens on any phone and any laptop with no account. Figma links are optional: some clients like clicking through a deck and commenting in place, and the link is there for them. If a Figma link opens on a single page, looks enormous, or asks you to sign in, ignore it and use the PDF. If a PDF is missing, reply "PDF please" and it is sent the same day.
How to give feedback on ad performance or lead quality
"The leads are poor" is a feeling. We can only act on the specifics, and specifics are what change the targeting. Two ways, pick the one that fits how you work:
- In the CRM, per lead. Open the opportunity, and in the notes write one line: fit or not, and why. Move it to Lost with the reason if it is dead, or Closed Won with the value if it converted. We read those notes every week.
- By email, as a short list. Reply on the report thread with one line per lead: name, and why unqualified (too small, wrong area, no budget, wrong service, personal not business). Ten lines tell us more than a paragraph.
If you record sales calls, share the recordings or transcripts of booked calls: we review them call by call and it is the fastest way to tighten both the targeting and the screening questions on the form. What we change in response: the age and location settings, the placements, the qualifying question on the form, the script, and which creatives get budget. If spend has doubled and leads are flat, flag it the same week rather than waiting for the report.
What "approved" means for legal responsibility
When you approve a creative you are confirming that the claims, prices, offers, product details and any regulated wording in it are accurate and lawful for your sector. That is your agreement, and it is the reason we will not go live on a verbal nod. We check creatives against the facts you give us, we flag anything that looks off, and we pull a live ad the moment you tell us a fact is wrong. But we are not your regulator, your lawyer or your compliance team, and we do not know your delivery process, your terms or your licence conditions unless you tell us. If wording has to appear by law, put it in the brief under "must include" and it appears in every creative. Where a disclaimer sits on the artwork does not affect performance, so put it where your compliance team wants it.
Common questions on this page
How do I approve a launch plan? Do you need a signature?
No signature. Reply on the thread the plan arrived on with one line: "approved", or "concept B approved". If you approve some items and want changes on others, number the changes in the same message. A thumbs-up on WhatsApp in reply to our email also counts, but email is the record.
What happens if I do not reply to the creatives?
Creatives on a review page go live as shown 48 hours after the page was sent, unless you press Hold on one or reply on the thread. Regulated clients (insurance, finance, health) are the exception: nothing publishes without a written yes. For plans and documents, your agreement sets a feedback window after which the item counts as approved.
I cannot open the Figma link. How do I view the report or plan?
Use the PDF attached to the same email. Figma is optional and sometimes exports a single page or asks for a login. If there is no PDF on the thread, reply "PDF please" and it is sent the same day.
Can we go through the plan together on a call instead?
Yes, if you want it: reply with the two or three points you want to cover and Stephen books a short call. The plan still needs a one-line written approval afterwards so there is a record of what was agreed, and the deadline in the email still stands.
Can I comment directly on the document instead of emailing?
Yes. On a Google Doc, highlight the text and press the comment button on the right; any Google account works, just tell us which one so we know it is you. On the review page, press Hold and type the reason. Both land with us. What does not land: a re-sent document with tracked changes on a new thread.
The preview does not look like the ad does live.
Design files show the creative at working size, sometimes with guides or a border. The review page and the PDF show the placement size. If a live ad differs from the PDF you approved, send a screenshot of the live ad and we fix it the same day at no charge.
Why does the same ad keep showing to me?
We give the platform several creatives and it delivers the ones that perform, so you see the winner. Your office also shares one internet connection, so the ad gets served to the office more than to any real household. Frequency is in the report; if it climbs above what we consider healthy for your audience, we rotate the creative.
Two identical ads performed differently. Why?
Two ads in the same account with the same audience compete with each other, and the platform picks one early and starts to favour it. The difference is rarely the audience and nearly always the creative or the timing. We test creatives against each other on purpose and switch off the losers after two weeks.
Who approves what if we have a day-to-day contact and a compliance sign-off?
Both are named on your account. The day-to-day contact approves plans, dates and everyday creative. The compliance approver signs off anything with regulated wording, clinical claims or prices. We send to both and wait for the one the item needs. Tell us if the names change.
Stuck? Email stephen@thegrowthbully.com with a screenshot of the whole window.