ApproveThis manages your PhantomBuster Integration approvals.
April 17, 2025
Integration Category: Marketing Automation
When Automation Needs Adult Supervision
Let's get real - PhantomBuster is like giving your team a jetpack. It scrapes leads, blasts campaigns, and does the grunt work nobody wants to do. But left unchecked, that jetpack might fly straight into a compliance iceberg. ApproveThis acts as your air traffic control. Together, they're not just another integration - they're how mid-sized companies automate without accidentally spamming the entire LinkedIn sales navigator database.
Why This Combo Works for Companies That Outgrew "Just Wing It"
PhantomBuster handles the heavy lifting of web automation while ApproveThis handles the politics. We're talking about teams where:
- Marketing needs to launch campaigns fast but legal keeps vetoing unapproved messaging
- Sales operations scrapes 10,000 leads but needs budget approval before enriching contacts
- HR wants to automate LinkedIn outreach but can't let junior recruiters go rogue
The magic happens in Zapier - no dev team required. Connect your existing tools in 15 minutes flat. Zapier acts as the plumbing, ApproveThis as the emergency shutoff valve.
Real Use Cases That Don't Sound Like They Came From a Corporate Bingo Card
Use Case 1: "Launch Phantoms Only After Someone Signs Off"
Picture this - your growth team wants to scrape 50,000 LinkedIn profiles using PhantomBuster's Phantom. Without approvals:
1. Overeager intern triggers scrape
2. Company IP gets banned from LinkedIn
3. Sales team revolts
With ApproveThis in the loop:
Scrape request → Auto-routes to CMO → Approved? Phantom launches automatically. Denied? Intern gets a polite "Nice try" email.
Who needs this: Marketing agencies managing multiple clients' automation. Approval thresholds ensure small tests auto-approve, big spends get eyeballed.
Use Case 2: "Automatically Flag Phantom Outputs For Human Review"
PhantomBuster finishes enriching 5,000 leads. Instead of that CSV rotting in someone's Downloads folder:
1. Zapier detects completed Phantom run
2. ApproveThis pings sales ops manager via email
3. They review directly in Gmail without logging into anything
Real impact: A healthcare tech company used this to validate lead lists against compliance requirements before CRM imports. Reduced compliance write-ups by 60% last quarter.
Use Case 3: "Post-Approval Automation Chains"
Legal finally approved the new campaign? Instead of that email chain from hell:
1. Approval in ApproveThis triggers Zap
2. PhantomBuster launches LinkedIn sequence
3. HubSpot gets updated with approved messaging
Pro tip: Use ApproveThis' calculated fields to auto-approve campaigns under $5k, escalate bigger spends. Finance teams love this.
Setting This Up Without Losing Your Mind
Zapier does the heavy lifting here. Basic flow:
- Create Zap with ApproveThis trigger (new request/approval/etc)
- Add PhantomBuster action (launch Phantom/save output/etc)
- Test with real $0 budget campaigns first
Key thing: Use ApproveThis' email approvals so external partners (agencies, clients) can approve without another login. They get the request in Gmail, click approve/reject, done. No extra PhantomBuster seats needed.
Department-Specific Wins
Marketing Teams
Stop being the bottleneck. Set up approval chains where:
- Junior staff can auto-approve social posts under $1k ad spend
- Legal gets looped in automatically for trademarked terms
- All approved campaigns auto-log to your project management tool
Bonus: Use vacation delegation so campaigns don't die when Karen from legal is at Burning Man.
Sales Operations
PhantomBuster scrapes a fresh lead list → ApproveThis routes to sales director → Approved leads auto-sync to Salesforce. Denied leads get flagged for manual review. No more "Why are we contacting Walmart?!" incidents.
Compliance Teams
Set conditional approval rules like:
- Any automation touching EU data → Must include DPO approval step
- Lead lists over 10k contacts → Require CISO sign-off
- All denied requests auto-archive with audit trail
Why This Isn't Just Another Zap
Most approval tools treat automation as an afterthought. ApproveThis bakes in features that matter for scaling teams:
Approval thresholds: Auto-approve small stuff, escalate big decisions. Keeps velocity high without risking the farm.
Email-first design: Approvers don't need to learn new software. External clients click approve/reject in their inbox.
Real-time tracking: See which Phantom runs are stuck in approval limbo. Nudge the right person without the meeting-about-a-meeting.
Getting Started Without the Overhead
1. Grab an ApproveThis trial (takes 2 minutes)
2. Connect to PhantomBuster via Zapier (they have pre-built templates)
3. Start with one high-pain workflow (campaign approvals? Lead list reviews?)
Pro tip: Use ApproveThis' audit trails to show compliance teams exactly who approved what. Makes SOC 2 audits slightly less soul-crushing.
Bottom Line
Companies between 200-5,000 employees hit this awkward phase where automation is necessary but chaotic. PhantomBuster gives you the automation firepower, ApproveThis gives you the guardrails. Together, they let you move fast without breaking things (or laws).
Ready to stop being the approval bottleneck? Book a 15-minute demo or start a free trial. Your future self (the one not stuck in approval purgatory) will thank you.
Integrate with PhantomBuster Integration and get 90 days of ApproveThis for free.
After you create a Zapier integration, please email us at support@approve-this.com with your account name and we'll add 3 months of ApproveThis to your account. Limit one redemption per account.
Learn More
Best Approval Workflows for PhantomBuster
Suggested workflows (and their Zapier components) for PhantomBuster
Launch Phantoms when new approval requests are created
Ensure compliance and control over automated web tasks by launching Phantoms only when new approval requests are set up. This keeps your automation in sync with your approval processes.
Zapier Components
Trigger
New Request
Triggers when a new approval request workflow is initiated.
Action
Launch Phantom
Launches a Phantom.
Create approval requests for completed Phantom outputs
Streamline your workflow by automatically creating an approval request whenever a Phantom finishes running. This ensures that your team reviews the outputs immediately, improving response time and accountability.
Zapier Components
Trigger
New Output
Triggers when a specific Phantom finishes.
Action
Create Request
Creates a new request, probably with input from previous steps.
Launch Phantoms after request approvals
Enhance decision-making by automating the launch of Phantoms immediately after an approval request is approved or denied, ensuring that tasks are contingent on necessary approvals.
Zapier Components
Trigger
A Request Is Approved/Denied
Triggers when a request is approved or denied.
Action
Launch Phantom
Launches a Phantom.
You'll ❤️ these other ApproveThis integrations
-
My Most Trusted Network
Published: April 17, 2025My Most Trusted Network is a network building Chrome Extension for LinkedIn that allows its users to make business referrals and introductions in a safe and trusted way. It also allows users to link and sync LinkedIn data to a CRM.
-
FacileThings
Published: April 17, 2025FacileThings is a personal management tool to organize tasks and projects following the Getting Things Done (GTD) methodology.
-
WinMan Cloud
Published: April 17, 2025WinMan is a companion tool for users of the WinMan ERP software.