Guides · For freelance videographers
How to get client approval on videos before you post them.
If you post on a client's Instagram or TikTok, nothing should go live without their yes. And if they ever say “I never approved that,” you need to be able to show that they did.
Here's a lightweight approval process for a monthly content retainer. It works with or without special tools.
Updated
Agree on who approves
Before the first batch, agree on one person who gives the final yes, usually the owner or the manager who hired you. Others can leave notes, but one person signs off. Put their name in your agreement so there's no question later.
Set an approval window
Tell the client how long they have to review, for example two business days from when you send the batch. Then say what happens if they miss it.
The safe rule: if a video isn't approved, it doesn't go out. It moves to the next posting slot. That keeps your calendar honest and puts the decision where it belongs.
Send the finished video, with its caption
Ask for approval on the version you'll actually post, not a rough cut. If you write the captions too, send each caption with its video so the client approves both together. A video approved with one caption and posted with another is still a surprise.
Get a yes on the exact version
“Looks good!” about version one doesn't cover version two. Each approval should say which video, which version, who approved it and when. If the client asks for changes after approving, that's a new version and it needs a new approval.
Keep approvals where you can find them
An approval buried in a text thread is hard to find a month later, especially across several clients. Keep each client's approvals in one place, organized by month, and make sure you can export them if you ever need to show someone.
Post only the approved file
Download the approved final and schedule that exact file. Posting from a folder with five versions in it is how the wrong cut goes live.
In Relayyed, approvals work like this: your client approves each video by typing their name, the record saves the version and the time, and downloads unlock once a video is approved. See how approvals work.
A message to send with each batch
Fill in the brackets and change the deadline to match your agreement.
Hi [name], October's videos are ready for your approval: [link] Watch each one and either approve it or leave a note on the moment you'd like changed. The captions are [below / with each video]. I'll schedule each video once it's approved. Anything that isn't approved by [day] moves to the next posting slot. Thanks!
The short version
- One person gives the final yes.
- A clear approval window, and nothing posts without approval.
- Approve the finished video and its caption together.
- Each approval names the version, the person and the date.
- Keep approvals in one place per client.
- Post the approved file, nothing else.
Questions
- Is a text message good enough as an approval?
- It's better than nothing, but it's easy to lose and rarely says which version was approved. If a client questions a post months later, you want the video, the version, the person and the date together in one place.
- Should no reply count as approval?
- Some agreements say it does, which saves time but leaves you exposed if the client never actually watched. The safer default is that a video without approval waits for the next posting slot. If you do use silence as approval, put it in writing and remind the client each time.
- What if several people at the business want a say?
- Let them all leave notes, but agree that one person gives the final approval. Otherwise you can end up with conflicting changes after a video has already gone out.
- Do I need special software for this?
- No. The process works with any tools. Software like Relayyed just does the record-keeping for you: each client gets one link, approves each video with their name, and every approval is saved with the version and the time.
This guide isn't legal advice. For anything you rely on, put your approval terms in your client agreement.
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