email approval

Hey Kaitlyn,

You're right that this cannot be done out of the box. While there may be API solutions to mimic this process, it's worth noting that unapproved assets cannot be referenced in smart campaigns. That means that you can't schedule an email in Marketo that isn't approved*, so your flow of schedule > approve > send is not possible in Marketo; it'd have to be approve > schedule > send.

I suspect you'll find that most people handle this with clear processes that are enforced by people and practice, not inherently enforced by the system. Personally, I have a documentation and checklist template that users have to run all programs through before activation. This includes specific sign off requirements. The responsibility lies with the user to ensure that they take accountability on this front - for both successes and failures.

You can restrict user permissions to allow only certain roles to approve/run campaigns, but I don't like that approach (I don't think many on community do) because it's inefficient, restrictive, and takes accountability away from the people who are likely using the system most.

Basically - training, processes, documentation.

*Worth noting; you can schedule an email that has an approved version and a draft version that has not been approved, because that asset is still technically approved.