What it is
The Recipients and approval step of an email campaign decides who gets the email. You choose people, QualiFlow checks each one against what is recorded about them, and one Owner approves the exact content, sender and audience together.
Choosing someone never gives permission to email them. A list is only a list. When each email is due, QualiFlow checks again that the person has recorded marketing permission for that exact email address.
How to use it
- Open the draft in Campaigns, choose a ready From address in Goal and sender, and select Save draft. Recipients need a saved draft.
- Open Recipients and approval.
- Choose people from Saved lists, Smart lists and Individual contacts, in any mix. Up to 5,000 contacts can be checked.
- Select Check audience for Email.
- Read the four cards, then use the tabs All, No recorded restriction, Needs review and Excluded to see who is in each and why. The list shows the first 50 people in each view.
- Select Approve content, sender and audience, add an Approval note (optional), and confirm Approve this campaign?
- To change who gets it, select Change recipients. To undo the approval, select Withdraw approval.
- Continue with Schedule.
What the data means
| Card | What it shows |
|---|---|
| Selected | Everyone you chose, counted once each |
| No recorded restriction | Nobody recorded an opt-out for them. This is not consent; permission is checked again when each email is due |
| Needs review | A person must decide before they can be included |
| Excluded | Will not be emailed |
Common reasons someone is excluded or needs review: In Trash; No email address; Asked not to be emailed; Restriction needs review; Address shared with another contact; A team member is handling their conversation; Already bought (a sale is recorded and no other deal is open).
Owner approval required is the rule on every email campaign: one Owner must approve the current content, sender and audience, and nothing is approved automatically. It doesn't mean the campaign is approved. Approval history shows each approval, withdrawal and approval that ended because the draft changed.
Possible issues and fixes
The audience is smaller than my list
Symptom: You chose a list of 800 people and far fewer show under No recorded restriction.
Why: A list doesn't give permission. People with an opt-out, no email address, a shared address, a recent sale or a team member handling their conversation are left out.
Fix: Read the reasons in the Excluded and Needs review tabs. Record permission with evidence on a contact's page only when the customer really gave it.
How to check: Select Check audience for Email again; the counts change.
Approve content, sender and audience is greyed out
Symptom: You can't approve.
Why: There are unsaved edits, the email has content problems, the From address isn't ready, the audience was checked before the last change, or nobody is free of recorded restrictions. The line under the button names the reason.
Fix: Save the draft, fix the problem the line names, then select Check audience for Email again.
How to check: The button becomes available.
The approval ended by itself
Symptom: Approval history says "Approval ended by a draft change" or "Approval ended by a new audience check".
Why: Any saved change to the content, sender, channel or audience ends the approval, so you never send something nobody approved.
Fix: Check the audience again and approve the current version.
How to check: The step shows the approval for the current version.
