How To Set Up And Use Rejection Reasons?
Rejection reasons are saved explanations that approvers pick when they reject a post or a Post Group in Statusbrew, so the author knows exactly what to fix.
What Are Rejection Reasons?
Rejection reasons are a shared list of reasons for your space, such as "Not following brand guidelines" or "Low-resolution image". When an approver rejects a post, they pick one from the list and can add a comment with extra context.
Faster feedback: approvers don't rewrite the same explanation each time. They pick a reason and add detail only when needed.
Consistent reviews: every approver uses the same reasons, so posts are checked against the same quality bar as your team grows.
Fewer back-and-forths: the author sees the reason with the rejected post and knows what to change before sending it again.
Who Can Do This?
Owners and Admins: Primary Owners, Owners and Admins can add and remove rejection reasons in Settings.
Approvers: only approvers on the current step of a post's approval workflow can reject it. Other users, including Admins with Full Publishing access, see Reject greyed out.
Guests and external approvers: they can reject posts that are waiting for their approval on the external approvals page (external.statusbrew.com), and they pick from the same Rejection reason dropdown when they do.
Plans: Approval Workflows, where rejection reasons are used, are available on Premium and above plans.
How To Add And Remove Rejection Reasons
Go to Settings → Rejection reasons. You see every reason created by you and other users in your space. Use the search bar to find one.
Click Add rejection reason, type the reason (2 characters or more) and click Add.
To delete a reason, click More (three dots) next to it and select Remove.
Removing a rejection reason can't be undone.
You can also open this list while rejecting. Click Manage rejection reasons in the Reject Post or Reject Group dialog.
Examples Of Common Rejection Reasons
Brand guidelines: the post doesn't follow your brand guidelines.
Writing errors: spelling, grammar, punctuation or formatting issues, such as double spaces or erratic capitalization.
Unclear language: the copy is too complex, vague or hard to understand.
Media issues: low-resolution or misaligned images, the wrong format or ratio, or incorrect media.
Schedule concerns: the time clashes with other posts or falls in low-performing hours.
Tagging errors: a misspelled handle (@Gooogle instead of @Google), the wrong collaborator, or a missing required tag.
Link problems: no URL in the call to action, wrong UTM parameters or broken tracking links.
Sensitive topics: political terms, adult language, profanity, discriminatory terms or competitor names.
Compliance: phrases that break industry or legal requirements.
Placeholder text: "Lorem Ipsum", "Draft Copy", "TBD" or "Insert Link Here" left in the post.
How To Reject A Post With A Rejection Reason
Go to Publish → Needs Approval and click the post. It opens in Post Detail.
Click Reject. The Reject Post dialog opens.
Pick a reason from the Rejection reason dropdown. It's required, and Reject stays disabled until you choose one. Click Manage rejection reasons if the one you need isn't listed.
Add an Additional comment for the author and click Reject.
How To Reject A Whole Post Group
A Post Group is approved or rejected as a whole. You can't reject some posts in a Group and approve the rest.
Go to Publish → Needs Approval and open a post from the Group.
Click the arrow next to Approve and select Reject. The Reject Group dialog opens: "This rejects the whole group. The reason applies to all of its posts."
Pick one reason from the Rejection reason dropdown. It's required, and Reject stays disabled until you choose one.
Add an Additional comment for the author and click Reject.
In Needs Approval → Table view, a Group is one row with a Reject group button that opens the same dialog. When you work through posts with Start review, rejecting a post also asks for a reason.
What Happens After A Post Is Rejected
Status: the post gets a Rejected badge, leaves Needs Approval and shows in Publish → More → Rejected. For a Group, every post moves to Rejected with the same reason.
Activity: the post's All activity shows "<name> rejected this post for <reason>." in red, with your comment under it. A Group's Activity logs "rejected this group" with the reason and comment.
Next steps for the author: they can edit the post and send it for approval again, or delete it if it's no longer needed.
Auto Reject Posts With Publish Rules
You can reject posts automatically with Publish Rules. When a post matches the rule, Statusbrew rejects it and applies the rejection reason you chose, so the author knows why it didn't pass.
Go to Publish → Publish Rules and click Add new rule. The Create Rule form opens.
To let AI build the rule, describe it in the Describe what you want to see box at the top and click Generate, then check the fields it fills in. To build it yourself, use the fields below.
Name the rule, for example "Reject Sensitive Topic Post".
Select the Data sources: profiles or profile groups.
Choose the Trigger types, for example Post created.
Under Filters, click Add condition → Message Content → In(=) and add keywords such as religion or political.
Under Actions, click Add a new action → Reject the post and pick a rejection reason, for example Sensitive Topic.
Click Submit to save and turn on the rule.
FAQs
Why Does My Post Show Rejected When Nobody Rejected It?
Statusbrew rejects a scheduled post on its own when it can't publish it. These posts show Rejected with no rejection reason. The common causes are:
Your trial ended: posts scheduled after your trial expires are rejected. After you subscribe, open each post, click Edit post, pick a new time or Immediately and save.
Scheduled posts are paused: Pause scheduled posts is turned on in Settings → Posts scheduling. It stops every scheduled post in the space from publishing; only posts you Send now go live. Turn it off and reschedule the posts.
Statusbrew lost access to the profile: the profile's connection to the network broke at publishing time. Check that the profile is still connected, then reschedule the post.
Can I Reject Only One Post In A Post Group?
No. A Post Group is approved or rejected as a whole, and the reason you pick applies to every post in it.
Where Does The Author See Why Their Post Was Rejected?
In All activity in the post's Post Detail. It shows "<name> rejected this post for <reason>." in red, with the approver's comment under it.
Why Is The Reject Button Greyed Out?
You aren't an approver on the post's current workflow step. Only approvers on that step can reject or approve. This applies to Admins too.
Why Can I Only Reject An Expired Post?
The post's scheduled time has passed, so it can't be approved as it is. Reject it with a reason, or ask the author to reschedule it and send it for approval again.
Can External Approvers Use Rejection Reasons?
Yes. Guests and external approvers can reject a post or a Post Group that is waiting for their approval on the external approvals page (external.statusbrew.com). When they reject, they pick a reason from the Rejection reason dropdown. Learn more in External approvers.