The design has been ready for a week. You’ve sent two emails asking for feedback and a text on Thursday. The client says they’ll look at it soon, and the launch date hasn’t moved.
Most clients aren’t ignoring you. They’re busy, the request was unclear or they didn’t realise anything was waiting on them. You can reduce the chasing by changing how you ask and what you agree before the work starts.
Why do clients go quiet on approvals and files
A slow reply usually has an ordinary cause. The request was buried in a long email. It asked for several things at once. It wasn’t clear who should answer, or the person you asked needs someone else’s sign-off. Often there was no date, so it never became urgent.
Each of these is something you can fix in the request itself.
How do you make a request a client can act on
Use these four steps whenever you need a file, an answer or an approval.
- 01Ask for one thingSend each request separately, or number them clearly. “Please approve the homepage design” is easier to answer than a message that also asks for logos, login details and a meeting time.
- 02Say exactly what you needName the file, format or decision. “The logo as an SVG or high-resolution PNG” gets a better result than “your branding”. For an approval, say what you’re asking them to check and what you aren’t.
- 03Give a date and a reasonTell them when you need it and what depends on it. “If I have your feedback by Wednesday, we can still launch on the 20th” gives the date a purpose.
- 04Make replying easyTell them where to send it and what a good reply looks like. For an approval, “Reply ‘approved’ or list your changes in one email” removes the guesswork.
What should you agree before the work starts
Chasing is easier to avoid than to fix. During onboarding, agree on three things and write them down.
- Who approves. Name one person who gives final approval and gathers feedback from everyone else on their side.
- How long reviews take. Agree a normal turnaround, such as three working days, so both sides can plan around it.
- What happens when a date passes. Explain that later inputs move later dates, and by how much.
Having this in writing means a reminder later is simply a reference to what you agreed. For the full list, read An agency client onboarding checklist you can reuse.
An example request for an approval
Here’s a starting point. Replace the brackets with your own details.
Subject: Homepage design ready for your approval
Hi [name],
The homepage design is ready for you to review: [link].
Please check the layout, wording and images. The other pages will follow the same style, so you don’t need to comment on those yet.
Could you reply by [day] with either “approved” or your changes in one email? With your approval by then, we stay on track for [milestone] on [date].
Thanks,
[Your name]
What do you say when the date has passed
Send one short reminder that repeats the request and updates the consequence. Keep it factual and leave out any frustration.
Hi [name], I’m following up on the homepage design I sent on [day]. I still need your approval or changes before I can start the remaining pages. If I have it by [new day], the new date for [milestone] will be [date]. Is there anything making it hard to review?
The closing question matters. Sometimes the hold-up is a missing decision-maker or a concern they haven’t raised, and asking gives them an easy way to say so.
If a second reminder gets no reply, change the channel. A short call can settle what several emails could not. Then confirm what you agreed in writing.
Where should open requests live
Keep every open request in one place that you and the client can both see, with what’s needed, who it’s waiting on and the date. That might be a shared document, a list in your weekly update or a client portal.
A visible list means the client can check what’s outstanding without asking you, and you can see everything you’re waiting for across your clients. For the product overview, see Stack’s client portals.
Start with the request you’re waiting on right now. Rewrite it using the four steps and send it again with a date.