If you manage content for clients, you know the approval process can get out of hand fast. Emails get lost. Feedback comes in late. Deadlines slip, and suddenly, nobody’s sure who’s got the ball. This guide is for agency folks who are tired of chasing their tails and want a simple, reliable way to keep content moving—without adding another layer of chaos.
If you’re looking for a tool to help, Monday is popular for a reason. It’s flexible, visual, and not as clunky as some legacy project management tools. But it’s also easy to make a mess if you try to do everything at once. Here’s how to actually set up Monday so it helps you wrangle content approvals—for real, with real clients and real teams.
Step 1: Map Your Real-World Content Approval Process
Before you even open Monday, take 10 minutes to sketch out how your agency’s approval process actually works—not how you wish it did. This saves tons of time later.
Questions to ask: - What are the main steps? (Draft, review, revision, client approval, publish…) - Who needs to approve at each stage? (Internal, client, legal, etc.) - What’s the typical bottleneck? (Waiting for feedback, unclear ownership, etc.)
Pro tip: Keep it simple. Most agencies overcomplicate things. If you can’t explain your workflow on a napkin, it’s probably too much.
Step 2: Set Up a Monday Board for Content Approval
Now, create a dedicated board in Monday for content approvals. Don’t try to jam everything into one mega-board—separate boards for content, design, or other teams can keep things cleaner.
Start with these columns: - Content Title: The name of the piece. - Owner: Who’s responsible for moving it forward. - Status: Use clear labels like “Drafting,” “Internal Review,” “Client Review,” “Approved,” “Needs Edits.” - Due Date: When the next action is due. - Client: If you work with multiple clients on one board. - Files/Links: Where the content draft lives (Google Doc, etc.). - Comments/Notes: For context or special instructions.
What to skip:
Don’t get bogged down with 15 custom fields right away. You can always add more once the basics are working.
Step 3: Customize Statuses and Automations
Monday’s real power comes from automations—when used with restraint. Automate the boring stuff, not the thinking.
Statuses:
Set up the Status column with only the stages you actually use. Too many statuses just confuse people.
Automations to consider: - Status change notifications: “When status changes to ‘Client Review,’ notify [Client Contact].” - Deadline reminders: “When Due Date arrives and Status is not ‘Approved,’ notify [Owner].” - Move to next group: Automatically move an item to the next board group when it’s approved.
What NOT to automate:
Automating feedback requests or approvals often backfires. People ignore robotic emails. Use automations to flag real issues (like missed deadlines), not to nag.
Step 4: Assign Owners and Set Permissions
Every piece of content needs a clear owner—otherwise, accountability disappears.
Assigning Owners:
Use the “People” column to set a single point of contact for each item. If you must have two, define who’s primary.
Permissions:
Monday lets you set board or item-level permissions. For clients:
- View-only access: Good for most clients—keeps them in the loop, but they can’t break things.
- Edit access: Only give if you trust they won’t go rogue (rare, honestly).
Pro tip:
Never assume clients will use Monday like your team does. They’re there to approve, not manage.
Step 5: Track Feedback and Revisions (Without Losing Your Mind)
Feedback is where most workflows fall apart. Monday isn’t a document editor, so don’t force it. Instead, focus on tracking actions.
Best practices: - Keep the “Files/Links” column updated with the current draft. - Use the “Updates” (item chat) for feedback summaries or to link to Google Doc comment threads. - Add a “Revision Count” column if you want to track how often a piece loops back.
What to ignore:
Don’t use Monday to replace your content editing tools. Trying to manage tracked changes or in-line comments inside Monday just frustrates everyone.
Step 6: Make Approvals Crystal Clear
You’d be amazed how often “approved” means different things to different people. Clarity here saves headaches.
How to do it: - When a client or stakeholder approves, have them change the Status to “Approved” or leave an “Approved” comment—and tag the owner. - If you must track legal or multi-stage approvals, add a “Subitems” column for each approval step, or use checkboxes.
Don’t bother:
With complex signature or e-sign integrations unless you’re in a regulated industry. Most approvals can be managed with a status change and a timestamp.
Step 7: Use Dashboards to See Bottlenecks (But Don’t Overdo It)
Monday’s dashboards look cool, but most agencies just need to see what’s stuck.
Set up simple dashboards: - Overdue Items: A widget showing any content past its due date. - By Status: Pie charts or numbers showing how much is in review, needs edits, etc. - By Owner: Who’s swamped, who’s idle.
Skip these (for now): - Burndown charts, Gantt timelines, or anything that looks impressive but doesn’t help you ship content faster.
Step 8: Train Your Team (and Clients) — Briefly
None of this works if no one knows how to use it. But don’t schedule a 2-hour training.
What to cover: - How to move content through statuses. - Where to find drafts and leave feedback. - How to flag issues or overdue items.
Pro tip:
A 5-minute Loom video beats a 20-slide deck. Keep it short, and make it clear who to ask when things go wrong.
What Works, What Doesn’t, and What to Watch Out For
What works: - Clear ownership and simple statuses. - Automations for reminders—not for managing relationships. - One source of truth for every content item.
What doesn’t: - Overcomplicating with too many custom fields or automations. - Expecting clients to live in Monday. - Treating Monday as a document editor.
Watch out for: - Notification overload—tune your automations so people don’t start ignoring them. - Permissions creep—review who can see or edit what, especially with sensitive client info. - “Set and forget” syndrome—check in monthly to see if your workflow is still working.
Final Thoughts: Keep It Simple, and Iterate
You don’t need a fancy setup to get real value from Monday. Start with the basics: map your process, build a clear board, and make ownership obvious. Add bells and whistles only when you hit real pain points. Most of the time, clarity and consistency beat complexity. If something’s not working, change it. The beauty of Monday is you can tweak as you go—so don’t be afraid to keep it messy until it works for you.
Now get back to making (and shipping) great content—without chasing a million email threads.