Learn/Approvals
How to work through a round of changes
The notes are back. How to turn them into a list, make each change once on every size it touches, and send back a version the approver can check in minutes.
The short answerCollect every note into one list with where it is, which sizes it touches and who asked for it. Sort out the notes that conflict before you change anything, then make each change once and carry it to every size it applies to. Mark every note done or declined with a reason, and send the set back as a new version that says what changed, so the approver checks the changes, not the whole set again.
- A round of changes is a list, not a conversation. Every note gets a line.
- Most notes touch more than one size. A note about the price on one size is usually a note about the price on all of them.
- Declining a note is allowed; ignoring one is not. Every note gets an answer.
- On Meta, edits to a live ad may send it back to review.1
On this page
Notes arrive in every form: pinned on the page, in an email, in a call that someone summarised, in a message at night. The work of a round of changes is mostly not the changing. It is making sure every note is caught, understood, applied everywhere it applies, and answered, so the next round is shorter than this one.
- Every note from every approver, wherever it arrived.
- The version of the set the notes were made on.
- Whoever owns the work, to settle conflicting notes.
Step 1Put every note in one list
Copy every note into one list before you change anything, whatever form it arrived in, and keep that list with the set. Give each a line: what it says, where it is, which sizes it touches, who asked for it. A note that is not on the list will not be done.
| No. | Note | Where | Sizes it touches | From |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Price is cut off | Price tag | 320×50, 300×50 | Brand |
| 2 | Use the approved legal wording | Legal line | Every size | Legal |
| 3 | Logo below minimum width | Logo | Story, Reels | Brand |
| 4 | Make the headline bigger | Headline | Feed 4:5 | Brand |
Example. A round of notes as a list. The “sizes it touches” column is the one people forget.
Notes from a call or a meeting go on the list too, written as the approver would have pinned them, and sent back to them to confirm before you act on them. A note remembered from a call is the one most often remembered differently by the two people who were on it.
Step 2Sort out conflicts before you change anything
Read the whole list before touching a file, start to finish, even when the first note looks quick to fix. Some notes conflict (“bigger headline” and “more room for the legal line” on the same small size); some depend on others (a new legal line changes how much room the headline has). Settle these first, with whoever owns the work, and write the decision on the list.
Do the claims and the legal line first. A change to the small print can change the room every other part has; the FTC’s guidance asks for a needed disclosure to sit close to its claim on every device the ad runs on,2 so a new legal line is placed on every size before anything else moves.
Step 3Make each change once, on every size it touches
Work through the list in order. For each note, make the change in one place and carry it to every size in its “sizes it touches” column, rather than repeating it by hand on each. Then look at each of those sizes, because a change on one part can move the others.
Watch for notes that are really about one size. “Make the headline bigger” on the feed size may be right there and impossible on a mobile banner. If you apply a note to fewer sizes than it seemed to ask for, say so on the list.
Tick each line off the list as you finish it, not at the end. A round of changes is often interrupted, by a new note, a call or the end of the day, and a list that shows exactly which notes are done is what lets someone else pick the round up without redoing work or missing a line.
Step 4Answer every note
Mark every line: done, done differently, or declined, with a reason for anything but done. An approver who sees their note declined with a reason (“the legal line needs that room on the 320×50”) usually agrees; one who finds their note quietly ignored sends it again, louder.
| No. | Answer | Why |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Done | Price shortened to fit on both mobile banners |
| 2 | Done | Approved wording on every size |
| 3 | Done | Logo at minimum width; headline moved down |
| 4 | Done differently | Headline bigger on the feed size only; no room on the banners |
Example. The same list, answered. The approver reads this before looking at the set.
Step 5Send a new version that says what changed
Send the set back as a new version, with the answered list on top. The approver can then check each change against its note, in minutes, instead of reviewing every size again from the start. Keep the old version where people can find it, so anyone can compare.
If the ads are already running, plan for the platform as well: Meta lists edits to an ad’s creative among the changes that may result in another review, which is typically completed within 24 hours.1
Common mistakes
- Changing files while the notes are still arriving.The later notes undo the earlier changes.
- Applying a note only where it was pinned.The same problem stays on every other size.
- Ignoring a note you disagree with.Decline it, with a reason, on the list.
- Sending the set back without saying what changed.The approver has to review everything again.
Your team’s notes sit on the page they are about. Change a line on one size and apply it to every size at once, and send the set back for review in a browser.
See approvals →Questions
Who decides when two approvers disagree?
Whoever owns the work. Put both notes in front of them, let them decide, and write the decision on the list, so neither approver is surprised by what comes back.
Should I send the whole set back, or only the changed sizes?
The whole set, with the changed sizes marked and the answered list on top. The approver checks the changes, but seeing them in the set is how they know nothing else moved.
Does changing a live ad on Meta restart its review?
It may. Meta lists edits to an ad’s creative among the changes that may result in another review, which is typically completed within 24 hours.1
Sources
- Ad review, policy and support, Meta for Business. Review is typically done within 24 hours, and edits may send an ad back to review.Checked 26 Oct 2026
- .com Disclosures: How to Make Effective Disclosures in Digital Advertising, US Federal Trade Commission, March 2013. Disclosures close to the claim, on every device the ad runs on, including space-constrained ads.Checked 26 Oct 2026