How to Ask a Client to Review Content, With Emails to Copy
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- November 7, 2026
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- 9 min read
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In This Piece
"Please review and let me know your thoughts!" is the most polite way we know to lose a week. It doesn't say what to look at, when you need it, or what "thoughts" means, so your client files it under "when I have a minute."
A good content approval email fixes that in about five sentences. Below is what goes in it, plus messages you can copy for the situations that come up most. The names in them are made up.
The Short Version
- Say what's ready, what to check, how to answer, by when, and what that date protects.
- Put the date and the number of posts in the subject line.
- Keep it short enough to read on a phone. Move everything else to the link.
- Give them a way to say no, or they'll say nothing.
- Pick the channel they actually answer in. It may not be email.
Five Things the Email Has to Say
A client who gets these five doesn't need to write back with a question first. Everything else can wait behind the link.
Here's that email, ready to adapt:
Subject: 3 April posts for your review, by Thursday
Hi Dana,
Your three LinkedIn posts for April are ready. Could you check the dates and the spring offer? We've got the rest.
They're at this link, with no login: [link]. You can approve each one, ask for a change, or tell us not to run it.
We need your answer by Thursday at 5 p.m. ET so they can go out on Monday.
Notice what isn't there. There's no thanks for their time, no account of how hard the team worked, and no paragraph on strategy. If the post needs explaining, it may need more work.
The list of what to check is the part most people skip. We go through it in more depth in our guide to client sign-off, along with what to do when the answer doesn't come.
Subject Lines That Say When
An inbox gives you a few words. Spend them on how many, what, and by when.
Subject lines to copy:
- 3 April posts for your review, by Thursday
- One post to check before Monday's launch
- Your yes needed by Friday: the pricing newsletter
- Round 2: the two posts you asked us to change
And a few we'd retire: "Content for review," "Quick favor," "Checking in," and anything with "FINAL" in capital letters, which has never once been final.
Messages for the Situations You'll Meet
The First Review for a New Client
The first one teaches them how every later one works, so it can run a little longer. Say what they're checking and what's yours to worry about, once, and then you don't have to say it again.
Hi Dana, here's the first set of posts for your review: [link]. There's no login. You'll see each post with three choices: approve it, ask for a change, or tell us not to run it. We'll ask you to check names, numbers, offers, and anything only you would know. Format, length, and scheduling are on us. Could you answer by Thursday at 5 p.m. ET? After this, you'll get a short note like this each round.
One Urgent Post
Say why it's urgent, and what happens if the answer is no. Otherwise it reads like you've mismanaged your week, which may be true, but it's kinder to everyone to get to the point.
Hi Dana, the funding news goes public tomorrow at 9 a.m. ET, and we've written one post to go with it: [link]. Could you answer by 5 p.m. today? If it can't be today, we'll hold it, and we can post later in the week.
A Long Stretch of Posts
A month of posts in one send feels like a project. Split it, or say how long it takes to go through, if you know.
Hi Dana, we've got April's posts ready, and we'd rather not drop twelve on you at once. Here are the first four, for the week of the 6th: [link]. Could you answer these by Thursday? The next four come on Monday.
Two People Who Both Need to See It
Say who's checking what in the message, so the two of them don't both proofread the same comma. If this happens every month, it may be time for a second approver.
Hi Dana and Sam, three posts are ready: [link]. Dana, could you look at tone and timing? Sam, could you check the figures and the customer name? We'll need both answers by Thursday. If you see it differently, just tell us who should decide.
When They Prefer Slack or WhatsApp
Some clients never read email. In a chat, drop everything but the ask and the link.
Hi Dana, 3 April posts are ready for you: [link]. Could you take a look by Thursday? You can approve or ask for changes right there, no login needed.
If the yes comes back in the chat itself, that's still a yes. Write down who said it, how, and when, and put it on the post's record so nobody has to scroll for it in June.
After They Asked for Changes
Say what changed, so they only have to look at that. Rereading three posts to check one word is how a second round turns into new comments on the first.
Hi Dana, we've changed the date in the second post, as you asked. The other two are as you approved them. Could you check that one by Wednesday? [link]
When the Date Has Passed
Offer the easy way out rather than a guilt trip, and say plainly what's on hold. We keep the full ladder of follow-ups in the content approval workflow guide, and this is the one people ask us for most.
Hi Dana, we've held Monday's posts, since we didn't hear back. Nothing goes out until you've said yes. If this week got away from you, tell us a day that suits and we'll move them.
Five Ways to Lose a Week
Each of these has a quick fix, and none of them needs a new tool.
- Attaching the work. An attachment asks them to download, open, and describe where the problem is. A link lets them answer where they stand.
- "Any thoughts?" It's an invitation to rewrite. Ask what you actually need checked.
- Writing to the group. If three people get it and no one's named, each of them can assume it's someone else's. Name who answers.
- No way to say no. A client who doesn't like a post and has no easy way to say so will often say nothing, so offer them "tell us not to run it."
- Sending at the end of your day. You've finished, so it feels like the right moment. It may be 6 p.m. in their time zone, and tomorrow's inbox is deep. Check the clock where they are.
The Answer Starts in the Ask
Say what's ready, what to check, how to answer, by when, and what that date protects.
Where GoMimic Fits
Create client content. Get it approved. Deliver it. That's GoMimic, and we make it, so weigh this accordingly.
When you send a round, each approver gets one email in your agency's name, with the posts listed, the date to review by, and one button. Replies come to you. For a client who never reads email, Copy Link gives you the link, and Message writes a short note with it in it for WhatsApp or Slack. You paste it and send it yourself, and you can change the words first. The note says who it's for, how many posts, the date, and that no login is needed.
The link opens the client's review page, where they type their name and answer post by post: Approve, Request Changes, or Not Approved. On the Agency plan, reminders follow up in your agency's name, one email for the round, on the timing you set for that client. If a yes arrives by phone, Record an Outside Approval keeps it, and the post reads Approved externally, naming who recorded it.
Where it falls short:
- The email's words are ours, so the what-to-check line above is something you'd add when you paste a message, or settle with the client at kickoff.
- On Pro, the follow-ups are still yours to write. The Approvals page shows who you're waiting on.
- It won't hold the difficult conversation about why this client is always late. Some things are still a phone call.
Put real client work to the test.
Questions People Ask
What should a content approval email include?+
Five things: what's ready, what to check, how to answer, by when, and what that date protects. Keep it short enough to read on a phone, and put everything else behind the link.
How do you politely ask a client to review content?+
Give them a specific job and a specific date, and they'll read it as help. "Could you check the dates and the offer by Thursday?" is friendlier than "please review," because it tells them how much of their time you're asking for.
What should the subject line of a review email say?+
How many posts, what they are, and by when. "3 April posts for your review, by Thursday" tells a client what it is and whether it can wait. "Content for review" tells them neither.
How much notice should you give a client to review content?+
It depends on the content and who has to read it. A short social post might need a day, and anything a lawyer reads needs more. Work back from the day it goes live, and say the date and time zone in the message.
Should you ask for review by email or by chat?+
Ask where they already answer. Some clients live in email, and others only reply on WhatsApp or Slack. Keep the chat version to the ask, the link, and the date, and write down any yes that comes back there.
What do you do if a client ignores a review request?+
Follow up once before the date and once on it, then go to any backup you agreed on, then hold the posts and say so. Don't treat silence as a yes.
Written by the GoMimic team
GoMimic helps agencies create client content, get it approved, and deliver it, in each client’s voice.
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