How to create a content review and publishing workflow

Streamline your team’s content production from draft to publish

In this guide, you’ll create a content review and publishing workflow that helps marketing, design, or editorial teams collaborate on content, from submission to approval to publication. You’ll use linked forms, logic, and dashboards to manage it all in Formaloo.
📘 Learn more: Create your first form, app, or portal in a flash

Step 1 — Create your content submission form

Start from your workspace and click + New → Form. You can start from scratch or use the Agency content calendar template from the Template gallery.

Or use Magic Create, describe your goal:

“A content submission form that collects drafts, assigns reviewers, and tracks approval for publishing.”

Why this matters: it centralizes drafts and feedback so your content team never loses track of what’s next.
📘 Learn more: How to create any form using Magic Create in Formaloo

Step 2 — Add creator and content details

Include all fields needed to track the content lifecycle:

• Author / creator name
  
  
• Email address
  
  
• Content title
  
  
• Category (Blog post, Newsletter, Video, Social, etc.)
  
  
• Target publish date
  
  
• Content draft upload or link
  
  
• Brief or goal of content
  
  

💡 Tip: add a dropdown for “Type of content” to route requests automatically later.
📘 Learn more: Form editor and field types

Step 3 — Add reviewer and approval fields

Add internal-only fields for editors or reviewers:

• Assigned reviewer
  
  
• Review status (Pending / In review / Approved / Needs revision)
  
  
• Reviewer comments
  
  
• Final publish date
  
  
• Publishing platform (Website / YouTube / Social / Email)
  
  

💡 Tip: set these fields to “Visible only to collaborators” so external contributors can’t edit them.
📘 Learn more: How to edit forms and form responses

Step 4 — Add logic for automatic assignment

In Settings  → Advanced logic, create routing rules that send submissions to the right reviewer automatically:

• If Category = Blog post → Assign to Content Lead.
  
  
• If Category = Video → Assign to Media Team.
  
  
• If Category = Social → Assign to Marketing Specialist.
  
  

📘 Learn more: How to add advanced logic to your form

Step 5 — Set up approval and notification emails

Open Settings → Advanced logic or Notify tab and create custom email templates for each step:

• To reviewer: new content ready for review.
  
  
• To creator: feedback or approval notice.
  
  
• To team: weekly digest of published or pending content.
  
  

Use variables like @content_title, @approval_status, @reviewer_name, and @publish_date to personalize messages.
📘 Learn more: How to send and receive conditional email notifications

Step 6 — Enable on-update logic for review actions

Use on-update logic so the workflow reacts dynamically when the review status changes:

• When Status = Approved → Send “Ready to publish” email.
  
  
• When Status = Needs revision → Send feedback to creator.
  
  
• When Status = Published → Update “Publishing log” automatically.
  📘 Learn more: What is on-update logic and how it works
  
  

Step 7 — Build your publishing log or content tracker

Create a Publishing Log Form or Content Tracker Table that stores final publishing details (URL, date, channel, views, etc.).

Then link your forms using linked rows so each content submission automatically updates the publishing tracker when approved.
📘 Learn more: What are linked rows and how to use them

Step 8 — Build your content review dashboard

In Results → Responses, create dashboards that show progress visually:

• Table view: all submissions with filters for reviewer or status.
  
  
• Kanban view: group by Status (Pending, In review, Approved, Published).
  
  
• Charts: track number of published pieces per month or category.
  📘 Learn more: How to create a Kanban board
  
  

Step 9 — Create a content collaboration portal

From your workspace, build a Content Management Portal.

Add pages such as:

• Submit new content (creator view)
  
  
• In-review items (editor view)
  
  
• Published content log (public or internal)
  
  
• Analytics dashboard
  
  

Set permissions so:

• Contributors can view only their own submissions.
  
  
• Editors and reviewers can approve or comment.
  📘 Learn more: How to create a portal and manage users’ access
  
  

Step 10 — Generate publication summaries or certificates

Use custom PDF templates to create post-approval summaries or content sheets that include:

• Author, editor, and publish details
  
  
• Final content link and publish date
  
  
• Approval signature and version number
  
  

📘 Learn more: How to generate custom PDFs using templates

Step 11 — Analyze content performance with AI

Enable AI Analyze to identify team productivity and topic trends:

• “Most published content types this quarter.”
  
  
• “Average review time per content type.”
  
  
• “Top-performing topics or categories.”
  📘 Learn more: Uncover insights and trends in your data with AI Analyze
  
  

Pro tips

• Add Memory Forms so editors’ info auto-fills when logged in.
  
  
• Connect your workflow with Slack or Google Sheets to share updates automatically.
  
  
• Add conditional redirects to route approved posts directly to a content database or CMS integration.
  📘 Learn more: Build personalized and time-saving flows with logic, automations, and AI
  
  

Example scenario

A writer submits a blog draft through the form. The system assigns it to the content lead based on category. Once reviewed and marked Approved, the workflow notifies the publishing coordinator and logs it in the Publishing Tracker with the scheduled release date. AI Analyze later highlights that 70% of approved content is “how-to” articles, helping your team adjust future strategy.

FAQ

1. Can multiple reviewers collaborate on one submission?
Yes, allow shared collaborator access in your portal or assign multiple reviewers in the form.

2. Can I integrate this with my CMS?
You can connect via webhooks or Google Sheets to sync approved content to your CMS.

3. Can I reuse the same process for different teams?
Absolutely, duplicate the workflow and adjust logic per department or content type.

Your content workflow is live, create, review, and publish faster

You’ve built a full content review and publishing system that organizes submissions, automates approvals, and tracks performance. Keep refining it with AI insights, linked databases, and automated dashboards for an even smoother editorial flow.
📘 Learn more: How to personalize ending pages and email notifications with AI

Last updated October 2025

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