How ApproveThis + Invision Community Cuts Approval Chaos (Without the Meetings)

Let’s be real: managing approvals across teams sucks. Especially when your community platform (Invision) and your approval processes (scattered emails, sticky notes, prayers) live in different universes. We’re here to fix that. Connect ApproveThis to Invision Community via Zapier, and suddenly your forums, blogs, and member management stop being bottlenecks and start working for you.

Why This Combo Works Like a Caffeinated Project Manager

Invision Community builds engaged audiences. ApproveThis prevents those audiences from drowning you in unchecked content, questionable members, and unmoderated chaos. Together, they automate the gatekeeping you need without the micromanagement nobody wants.

What You’re Actually Solving

Think about how much time your team wastes chasing down sign-offs. New member approvals? Content submissions? Image uploads? Every “just approve this real quick” request adds up. With this integration:

• No more inbox avalanches: Approvers get tasks in their email (or directly in ApproveThis) without needing to log into Invision.
• Zero “Oops, I Forgot”: Automated reminders and vacation delegation mean requests don’t rot in someone’s PTO inbox.
• Audit Trails That Don’t Lie: Every decision is tracked – who approved what, when, and why. No more finger-pointing.

Real-World Use Cases (Not Just Tech Demo Fluff)

1. Auto-Flag New Members for Review (Before They Post Crypto Scams)

The Problem: Your community grows, but so do spam accounts and trolls. Manually vetting every sign-up is a time sink.

The Fix: When Invision detects a new member, ApproveThis automatically pings your moderators. Set thresholds to auto-approve low-risk profiles (based on email domains, etc.) and only escalate the sketchy ones.

Who Wins: Community managers get 80% of their time back. Legal teams sleep better knowing no randos are posting unchecked.

2. Turn Blog Post Approvals Into Actual Discussions

The Problem: Content teams argue over drafts in Slack, lose version control, and ghost each other’s feedback.

The Fix: Every blog submission in Invision triggers an ApproveThis workflow. Approvers comment directly in Invision’s blog system via Zapier, keeping all feedback (and approvals) tied to the actual content.

Pro Tip: Use ApproveThis’ calculated fields to auto-approve posts under 500 words (for quick updates) but require VP sign-off on anything longer.

3. Kill Gallery Gridlock With Threshold Rules

The Problem: Marketing needs images uploaded yesterday. Legal needs to vet every pixel. The result? A gallery full of “coming soon” placeholders.

The Fix: Set ApproveThis to auto-approve images under 2MB from trusted users. Anything bigger or from new contributors gets routed to legal. Approved? Zapier slaps it right into the gallery.

Who Wins: Marketing hits deadlines. Legal only sees high-risk files. IT doesn’t get blamed for server crashes.

4. Database Records That Don’t Ghost You

The Problem: New database entries (product specs, event listings, etc.) get “lost” between teams, leading to outdated info and duplicate entries.

The Fix: Every new Invision database record triggers an approval chain in ApproveThis. Assign specific approvers based on the data category – product team for specs, events team for calendars.

Bonus Points: Use approval groups to require consensus from 3+ departments on high-impact entries.

Setup That Doesn’t Require a PhD (We Promise)

If you can make toast, you can connect these two. Here’s the cheat sheet:

1. Log into Zapier (account required, but they have a free tier).
2. Choose your trigger (e.g., “New Member” in Invision).
3. Pick your ApproveThis action (e.g., “Create Request”).
4. Map the data fields (Zapier walks you through this).
5. Test with a real request. Tweak if needed. Done.

Pro Tip: Start with one Zap. Nail it. Then scale. Don’t try to automate your entire org on day one.

Why Your Teams Will Actually Use This (No Training Required)

For Community Managers:

Stop playing middleman. ApproveThis handles the nagging, so you can focus on engagement metrics instead of approval spreadsheets.

For Legal & Compliance:

Set hard rules (e.g., auto-deny posts with specific keywords). Get audit trails that hold up in court, not just team meetings.

For Execs:

Watch approval times drop from days to hours. Measure it with ApproveThis’ dashboard – then brag about efficiency gains at the next all-hands.

The Nuts and Bolts You Care About

No Double Licensing Nightmares: Approvers only need ApproveThis access. They don’t eat into your Invision seat count. Huge for agencies and contractors.

Vacation Mode: Approver OOO? ApproveThis auto-reassigns their tasks. No more “Waiting on Dave” delays.

Mobile-Friendly: Approve/reject from your phone. Because nobody wants to log into a CMS during their kid’s soccer game.

Bottom Line: This Isn’t Just Another Integration

Invision Communities thrive on activity. ApproveThis ensures that activity doesn’t turn into anarchy. Together, they let you scale without adding headcount or grey hairs.

Next Steps: Register for ApproveThis (free trial available), or book a demo to see how it works with your Invision setup. No sales poetry, just a 15-minute walkthrough.