Why Ghost Publishers Need Approval Automation
Let's cut through the BS: content teams waste 12 hours a month chasing down approvals. Ghost solves the publishing part beautifully, but what happens before the "publish" button? That's where ApproveThis comes in - like a bouncer for your editorial process.
When you connect Ghost to ApproveThis via Zapier, you're not just automating clicks. You're fixing the three things that drive content teams crazy:
- Approvals getting lost in Slack/email black holes
- External contributors needing hand-holding
- Legal/compliance teams moving at glacial speeds
The Nuts and Bolts of Ghost + ApproveThis
Ghost handles the sexy part - beautiful websites, member portals, newsletters. ApproveThis handles the unsexy but critical part: making sure the right people sign off on stuff before it goes live. Together through Zapier, they:
For Content Teams
Imagine your writer submits a draft in Ghost. Zapier automatically:
- Creates an approval request with the draft content
- Routes it to editors > legal > CMO based on dollar values
- Publishes automatically when all green lights are given
Real example: A crypto news site uses approval thresholds to auto-flag any article mentioning "SEC" for legal review. Saves 8 hours/week in manual triage.
For Membership Teams
New Ghost member signups? Set up approval chains where:
- Community managers vet profiles
- Finance approves premium tiers
- IT provisions access (only after steps 1-2)
Bonus: External approvers (like client sponsors) don't need Ghost logins - they approve via email.
Four Killer Use Cases (That Don't Suck)
1. Member Onboarding That Doesn't Leak Leads
Problem: Your sales team promised "exclusive community access," but members slip through cracks waiting for internal approvals.
Fix: When Ghost detects new member signups:
ApproveThis automatically:
- Routes premium tier requests to finance
- Flags enterprise accounts for sales ops review
- Uses calculated fields to apply bulk discounts
Real results: B2B media company reduced member activation time from 72hrs to 4hrs.
2. Content Publishing That Won't Get You Sued
Problem: Legal needs to review posts about client cases, but editors hate delays.
Fix: Auto-create approval requests when posts contain:
- Competitor names
- Dollar figures over $10K
- Executive quotes
Pro tip: Use ApproveThis' vacation delegation so legal reviews don't bottleneck when someone's OOO.
3. Sponsorship Deals That Don't Require Mind Reading
Problem: Sales sells custom content packages, but production team never gets clear specs.
Fix: When sales creates a Ghost draft:
- ApproveThis routes to production for scoping
- Auto-calculates resource hours
- Only unlocks client access after internal sign-off
Bonus: Clients get email approvals for final drafts without needing Ghost accounts.
4. Newsletter Launches That Don't Crash Your ESP
Problem: Last-minute changes break email templates, but stakeholders keep adding edits.
Fix: Set hard deadlines in ApproveThis workflows:
- Day 1-3: Content edits
- Day 4: Design lock
- Day 5: Legal final check
After cutoff? Edits route to "Post-Launch Revisions" queue.
Setting This Up Without Losing a Weekend
Forget coding - if you can make toast, you can connect Ghost to ApproveThis:
- Create Zapier account (takes 2 minutes)
- Choose Ghost trigger (new member, post, etc.)
- Select ApproveThis action (create request)
- Map fields: Content URL > Approval Description
Pro tip: Start with one workflow (like member approvals) before scaling to others.
Why This Isn't Just Another "Integration"
Most Zapier connections just move data. This actually changes how teams work:
- Editors: Stop playing approval tag
- Sales: Close deals faster with pre-approved packages
- Legal: Review context-rich requests (not vague Slack pings)
The secret sauce? ApproveThis handles the bureaucracy so Ghost can handle the creativity.
Cool Features You'll Actually Use
Beyond basic approvals, steal these plays:
- Approval thresholds: Auto-approve small member discounts
- Calculated fields: Show dev time estimates for custom content
- Parallel approvals: Let design and legal review simultaneously
Example: Tech blog uses calculated fields to auto-flag posts needing translations.
Who Should Actually Care About This
If your Ghost site has:
- Multiple approvers
- External partners
- Compliance requirements
...this isn't nice-to-have. It's "why didn't we do this sooner?" territory.
How to Not Screw This Up
Common mistakes we've seen:
- Overcomplicating workflows: Start with 3-step max
- Ignoring vacation settings: July approvals shouldn't die because Bob's fishing
- Using it as a hammer: Not every post needs 5 approvals
Bottom Line
Ghost makes publishing easy. ApproveThis makes deciding what to publish less painful. Together? You get:
- Faster launches
- Fewer compliance fires
- Less herding cats
Ready to stop being an approval janitor? Get Started Free or Book a Demo.
Integrate with Ghost 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 Ghost
Suggested workflows (and their Zapier components) for Ghost
Create approval requests for new Ghost members
Manage your member onboarding with approval processes. This integration automatically creates an approval request in ApproveThis whenever a new member is added in Ghost, allowing you to ensure all member sign-ups meet your criteria before they are finalized.
Zapier Components
Trigger
Member Created
Triggers when a new member is added (requires Ghost 3.0.0 or later).
Action
Create Request
Creates a new request, probably with input from previous steps.
Create approval requests for new published posts in Ghost
Automate content quality assurance by creating an approval request in ApproveThis each time a new post is published in Ghost. This ensures each new blog post meets editorial standards before it's publicly available.
Zapier Components
Trigger
Post Published
Triggers when a post is published.
Action
Create Request
Creates a new request, probably with input from previous steps.
Add new Ghost members when approval requests are completed
Streamline your approval-to-member conversion by automatically adding a new member in Ghost once an approval request completes in ApproveThis. Quickly grow your membership while maintaining quality control.
Zapier Components
Trigger
A Request Is Approved/Denied
Triggers when a request is approved or denied.
Action
Create Member
Creates a member (Only supported by Ghost 3.0.0 and later)
Create Ghost posts from new ApproveThis requests
Automate content creation by generating a draft post in Ghost every time a new approval request workflow is started in ApproveThis. This ensures that each request can be efficiently turned into content as needed.
Zapier Components
Trigger
New Request
Triggers when a new approval request workflow is initiated.
Action
Create Post
Creates a post.
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