Why a campaign was held for review
What a hold means, what happens next, and why we're vague about it.
Occasionally a campaign is held rather than sent. It goes to a person, not a queue that forgets about it, and most holds clear quickly.
What a hold means
Nothing has been sent, and nothing has been charged. Your campaign, your audience and your design are untouched — it’s waiting, not damaged.
Everyone here shares a sending reputation, which makes us responsible for what leaves the platform. A small proportion of campaigns get a second look before they go.
Why we don't say exactly what triggered it
This one is deliberate, not unhelpful
If the message explained precisely which signal fired, it would be a tool for tuning content until it slips through — and the people who would use it that way are exactly the people the check exists for.
So the block message is uninformative on purpose. That’s a real cost to legitimate senders, taken knowingly.
The pre-send review is the opposite: it explains everything, because it’s there to help you rather than to stop anyone.
What to do
- Wait. Holds are reviewed. You don’t need to resubmit.
- Check the obvious things. A verified sending address, a postal address in the footer, and an audience that genuinely opted in.
- Get in touch if it’s time-sensitive — especially the first time, since new accounts are looked at more closely and context helps.
Once your account has a record of clean sending, holds become rare.
Editing after approval starts it again
An approval is tied to the content that was approved. Change the email substantially and it goes back for a check.
Otherwise approval would be theatre: approve something bland, swap the body, send. The same rule applies to welcome emails and automations, which are re-checked continuously because they send for months.
Common issues
My first campaign was held
Common, and not a judgement. New accounts have no track record.
It was held after I edited it
Expected — the approval covered the previous version.
Sending is refused across my whole account
That’s different from a hold on one campaign, and usually means bounce or complaint rates crossed a safe threshold. Bounces and complaints explains what to do.
FAQs
Does a hold cost me anything?+
No. Nothing is charged unless a campaign actually sends.
Can I avoid holds entirely?+
Verify your own domain, keep your audience clean, and build a record of sending without complaints. That combination makes them rare.
Are automations checked too?+
Yes, when you activate one — and again on an ongoing basis, since an automation approved once keeps sending for months.