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Christopher Robison edited this page Jul 7, 2026 · 1 revision

Panic Promote — Setup & User Guide

A complete walkthrough for configuring platform credentials, connecting social and event channels, and broadcasting posts through the Promote module.

Table of Contents

  1. Overview
  2. Quick Start
  3. Platform Connectors — Setup & Credentials
  4. Saving Credentials in Backstage
  5. Creating a Campaign & Posts
  6. Broadcasting a Post
  7. Promotion Health Checklist
  8. Broadcast History & Analytics
  9. Troubleshooting
  10. Things to Watch Out For

Overview

Panic Promote is the marketing command center inside Panic Backstage. It lets you turn any event into a structured promotion campaign — write posts, generate platform-specific copy, and broadcast to social media, event listing platforms, and email lists from a single screen.

Supported channels:

Type Platforms
Direct social post Facebook Page, Instagram, TikTok, Twitter/X, Threads, Bluesky
Event platforms Eventbrite, Luma
Email Mailchimp, SendGrid
Manual / editorial Funcheap, Foopee, SF Chronicle, SF Station, DoTheBay, Dice, Resident Advisor, SongKick, JamBase

Quick Start

  1. Open an event in Backstage and navigate to the Promote tab.
  2. Click Start Campaign if no campaign exists for this event yet.
  3. Click New Post → enter a title and master copy text.
  4. Click Generate Variants — the system produces platform-specific copy for every channel.
  5. Review and edit any variant in the editor. Fix warnings (character limits, missing images, etc.).
  6. Go to Destinations and ensure the platforms you want are marked Connected (green).
  7. Click Broadcast → choose destinations → choose Send Now or Schedule → confirm.
  8. Check Broadcast History to see per-platform delivery status.

If any destinations show Needs Setup, follow the relevant section below to add credentials.

Platform Connectors

Permission: Only venue admins (manage_users capability) can save or update API credentials. Staff with edit_event can create posts and trigger broadcasts using already-connected platforms.

Facebook Page

Facebook posts are made to your Facebook Page (not a personal profile) via the Graph API. Posts include a caption and, when a flyer is attached to the event, a photo.

What you need

  • A Facebook Developer account
  • A Facebook App with Pages API enabled
  • A Page Access Token (long-lived, 60+ days)
  • Your numeric Page ID

Step-by-step setup

  1. Go to developers.facebook.com and log in.
  2. Click My Apps → Create App. Select Business as the app type.
  3. Under Products, add Facebook Login and Pages API.
  4. In your app dashboard, go to Tools → Graph API Explorer.
  5. Under User or Page, select your Facebook Page from the dropdown.
  6. Click Generate Access Token and grant the pages_manage_posts and pages_read_engagement permissions.
  7. Copy the short-lived token, then exchange it for a long-lived token: 
    GET https://graph.facebook.com/oauth/access_token
  ?grant_type=fb_exchange_token
  &client_id={app-id}
  &client_secret={app-secret}
  &fb_exchange_token={short-lived-token}
  8. Use the long-lived token to fetch your Page Access Token: 
    GET https://graph.facebook.com/me/accounts?access_token={long-lived-user-token}
    Find your page in the response and copy its access_token and id.
  9. In Backstage → Promote → Settings → Credentials, select Facebook Page and enter:
    • Access Token — the page access token from step 8
    • Config → page_id — the numeric page id from step 8

Things to watch out for

  • App Review: Your app must go through Facebook's App Review before you can post to a real public page. In development mode, you can only post to pages you own/admin.
  • Token expiry: Page access tokens can be made "never-expiring" if generated from a long-lived user token. If posts start failing, regenerate the token.
  • Link previews: Text-only posts get a link preview card; photo posts show the flyer image.
  • Post visibility: Posts go live immediately unless you schedule them.

Instagram Business

Instagram uses the same Facebook Graph API as Facebook posts, but targets your Instagram Business Account rather than a Facebook Page. Posts require an image — text-only posts are not supported by the API.

What you need

  • A Facebook Developer App (same app as Facebook if you like)
  • instagram_content_publish permission (requires App Review)
  • An Instagram Business Account linked to your Facebook Page
  • A User Access Token with Instagram permissions
  • Your numeric Instagram Business Account ID

Step-by-step setup

  1. In your Facebook Developer App, add the Instagram Graph API product.
  2. Under App Review, request the instagram_content_publish and instagram_basic permissions.
  3. In Graph API Explorer, generate a user token that includes instagram_content_publish.
  4. Get your Instagram Business Account ID: 
    GET https://graph.facebook.com/me/accounts?access_token={token}
    Then for the page that has the linked Instagram account: 
    GET https://graph.facebook.com/{page-id}?fields=instagram_business_account&access_token={token}
    Copy the id value from instagram_business_account.
  5. In Backstage → Promote → Settings → Credentials, select Instagram and enter:
    • Access Token — user token with instagram_content_publish
    • Config → ig_user_id — the numeric Instagram Business Account ID

Things to watch out for

  • Image is required. If the event has no approved flyer, the Instagram broadcast will fail. Always upload a flyer before broadcasting.
  • Image must be publicly accessible. The Instagram API fetches your image from its URL. Make sure APP_URL in your .env is correct and the uploads folder is public.
  • Two-step publish: The adapter creates a media container first, then publishes it. There is a brief wait between steps — if you see a timeout, the image may still appear on Instagram after a delay.
  • App Review is mandatory for posting to real accounts. Test mode only works with accounts that are testers/developers on the app.
  • Links in captions are not clickable. Instagram does not make URLs in captions tappable. Use a bio link tool (Linktree, etc.) and reference "link in bio" in the caption — the variant copy already does this.

TikTok

TikTok posts are photo posts made via the Content Posting API v2. Like Instagram, an image is required. TikTok uses an OAuth 2.0 flow and the user token expires periodically.

What you need

  • A TikTok Developer account at developers.tiktok.com
  • An app with Content Posting API enabled
  • App Review approval
  • A User Access Token with video.publish scope (or photo.publish for photo posts)

Step-by-step setup

  1. Log in to developers.tiktok.com → Manage Apps → Create App.
  2. Under Products, add Content Posting API.
  3. In Login Kit, add the scopes: user.info.basic, video.publish (or photo.publish).
  4. Set your OAuth redirect URI.
  5. Submit the app for App Review (required before live posting).
  6. After approval, run the OAuth flow from your redirect URI to obtain a user access token.
    • The access token is tied to the TikTok user who authorizes the app — this should be your venue's TikTok account.
  7. In Backstage → Promote → Settings → Credentials, select TikTok and enter:
    • Access Token — user access token from the OAuth flow
    • Config → privacy_level — one of PUBLIC_TO_EVERYONE, MUTUAL_FOLLOW_FRIENDS, or SELF_ONLY (default: PUBLIC_TO_EVERYONE)

Things to watch out for

  • Image is required — same as Instagram.
  • Image URL must be allowlisted in TikTok Developer settings under Content Posting API → Media Hosting Domains. Add your APP_URL domain there or posts will be rejected.
  • Token expiration: TikTok tokens can expire. If posting fails with an auth error, re-run the OAuth flow.
  • Daily rate limits exist per creator account. Avoid broadcasting the same post multiple times.
  • Publish status polling: After initiating a post, TikTok processes it asynchronously. The adapter polls up to 6 times waiting for confirmation. A queued status in broadcast history means it was submitted but confirmation timed out — check TikTok directly.

Twitter / X

Tweets are sent via the X API v2 as text-only posts (no image). The variant copy is automatically truncated to 280 characters.

What you need

  • A Twitter/X Developer account at developer.x.com
  • A Project + App with Read and Write permissions
  • OAuth 2.0 PKCE configured (with tweet.write scope and optionally offline.access)
  • A User Access Token from a completed OAuth flow

Step-by-step setup

  1. Go to developer.twitter.com → Developer Portal → Projects & Apps → New App.
  2. Under User Authentication Settings, enable OAuth 2.0 with:
    • App type: Web App (Confidential Client) or Native App (Public Client for PKCE)
    • Callback URL: your redirect URI
    • Permissions: Read and Write
  3. Add the scope tweet.write (and offline.access if you want refresh token support).
  4. Run the OAuth 2.0 PKCE flow to generate a user access token on behalf of your venue's Twitter account.
  5. In Backstage → Promote → Settings → Credentials, select Twitter and enter:
    • Access Token — user access token
    • Refresh Token — (optional but recommended) for token renewal without re-auth

Things to watch out for

  • Free tier rate limits: The free X API plan allows approximately 17 tweets per 24-hour window per user. Exceed this and posts will fail with a 429 error. If you broadcast to multiple events frequently, consider upgrading to a Basic plan.
  • 280 character limit is strict. The variant generator truncates text automatically, but always review the preview to make sure it reads well after truncation.
  • No images on v2 text endpoint: Twitter/X text tweets do not include the flyer image. Image attachment requires a separate media upload step that is not yet implemented.
  • Token refresh: Tokens without offline.access expire in ~2 hours. With offline.access, you get a refresh token — add it to the credentials so the adapter can renew automatically in a future update.
  • URL character count: URLs count as 23 characters regardless of length.

Threads

Threads posts use the Threads Graph API at graph.threads.net. The API supports text posts and optionally a single image. Tokens expire every 60 days and must be refreshed.

What you need

  • A Meta Developer App (same or separate from your Facebook/Instagram app)
  • The Threads API product added to the app
  • threads_basic and threads_content_publish permissions (App Review required)
  • A User Access Token and your Threads User ID

Step-by-step setup

  1. In developers.facebook.com, open your app (or create a new one).
  2. Add the Threads API product.
  3. Under App Review, request threads_basic and threads_content_publish.
  4. Generate a user access token through Graph API Explorer with those permissions.
  5. Fetch your Threads User ID: 
    GET https://graph.threads.net/me?access_token={token}
    Copy the id value.
  6. Exchange for a long-lived token (valid 60 days): 
    GET https://graph.threads.net/access_token
  ?grant_type=th_exchange_token
  &client_id={app-id}
  &client_secret={app-secret}
  &access_token={short-lived-token}
  7. In Backstage → Promote → Settings → Credentials, select Threads and enter:
    • Access Token — long-lived token
    • Config → threads_user_id — numeric user ID from step 5

Things to watch out for

  • 60-day token expiry. Set a reminder to refresh your Threads token every ~50 days. After expiry, you'll need to re-authorize. The token can be refreshed before it expires using the Threads token refresh endpoint.
  • Two-step publish: Like Instagram, the adapter creates a container then publishes it with a 0.5s delay. This is normal.
  • 500 character limit on post text.
  • App Review required for production use.

Bluesky

Bluesky uses the AT Protocol and authenticates with your Bluesky handle and an App Password — not your main account password. No OAuth, no token storage; the adapter authenticates fresh on every post.

What you need

  • A Bluesky account at bsky.app
  • An App Password created in your account settings
  • Your Bluesky handle (e.g. yourvenue.bsky.social)

Step-by-step setup

  1. Log in to bsky.app.
  2. Go to Settings → Privacy and Security → App Passwords.
  3. Click Add App Password. Give it a name like Panic Backstage.
  4. Copy the generated password immediately — it won't be shown again.
  5. In Backstage → Promote → Settings → Credentials, select Bluesky and enter:
    • Access Token — the App Password (not your login password!)
    • Config → handle — your full Bluesky handle (e.g. yourvenue.bsky.social)

Things to watch out for

  • This is an App Password, not your account password. Using your real password here is a security risk. Always create a dedicated App Password for Backstage.
  • 300 character limit — shorter than Twitter. The variant generator enforces this.
  • URLs in text are clickable because the adapter automatically inserts AT Protocol "facets" (rich-text annotations). You do not need to shorten URLs.
  • No stored session. Bluesky authenticates on every post using handle + App Password. There is nothing to "expire" or refresh. If you change your Bluesky password, delete the App Password and generate a new one.
  • Rate limits apply per handle. Avoid spamming Bluesky with repeated test posts.

Eventbrite

The Eventbrite adapter creates a draft event in your Eventbrite organization and adds a General Admission ticket class. If broadcast mode is Send Now, the event is published immediately.

What you need

  • An Eventbrite account at eventbrite.com with an Organizer profile
  • A Private API Key from Eventbrite
  • Your Organization ID
  • (Optional) A pre-created Venue ID in Eventbrite

Step-by-step setup

  1. Log in to Eventbrite → go to eventbrite.com/account-settings/apps.
  2. Click Create API Key. Fill in your app info. Copy the Private token.
  3. Find your Organization ID — use the Backstage helper endpoint: 
    GET /api/promote/eventbrite/org
    This returns a list of organizations associated with your API key. Copy the id of the correct organization.
  4. (Optional) Pre-create your venue in Eventbrite's UI and note the Venue ID from the URL.
  5. In Backstage → Promote → Settings → Credentials, select Eventbrite and enter:
    • Access Token — your Eventbrite Private API token
    • Config → org_id — your Organization ID from step 3
    • Config → eb_venue_id — (optional) Eventbrite Venue ID

Things to watch out for

  • Send Now publishes immediately. Choosing Send Now in the broadcast dialog creates and publishes the Eventbrite listing in one step. Choose Schedule if you want to review the draft in Eventbrite before it goes live.
  • Cover image is not uploaded automatically. After broadcasting, log in to Eventbrite and manually add your flyer image to the event.
  • Event times are pulled from the event's doors_time and show_time fields. Make sure these are set correctly on the event before broadcasting.
  • Ticket price defaults to free ($0.00). Edit the ticket class in Eventbrite if you need paid tickets.

Luma

The Luma adapter creates an event at lu.ma via their public API. Events are published immediately on creation — there is no draft mode.

What you need

  • A Luma account at lu.ma
  • A Luma API key from your account settings

Step-by-step setup

  1. Log in to lu.ma.
  2. Go to Settings → API.
  3. Generate an API key. Copy it.
  4. In Backstage → Promote → Settings → Credentials, select Luma and enter:
    • Access Token — your Luma API key

Things to watch out for

  • Events go live immediately. Unlike Eventbrite, Luma has no concept of a draft event — the moment you broadcast, the event is live and public. Plan accordingly.
  • Cover image is not uploaded automatically. After the event is created, log in to Luma and upload the flyer manually from the event editor.
  • Venue address is constructed from your event's venue fields. Make sure address, city, state, and zip code are filled in on the event.
  • Timezone is hardcoded to America/Los_Angeles. If you ever run events in a different timezone, this will need to be updated.
  • Capacity is set from the event's capacity field. If that field is empty, capacity is left unlimited.

Email — Mailchimp

The Mailchimp adapter creates a Regular Campaign, sets the HTML and plain-text content, then either sends it immediately or schedules it.

What you need

  • A Mailchimp account at mailchimp.com
  • An API Key
  • An existing Audience (List) ID
  • Your sender name and email address (must be verified in Mailchimp)

Step-by-step setup

  1. Log in to Mailchimp → Account → Extras → API Keys.
  2. Click Create A Key. Copy it.
  3. Find your Audience ID → Audience → All Contacts → Settings → Audience name and defaults. The List ID is shown in the "Audience ID" section.
  4. In Backstage → Promote → Settings → Credentials, select Email (General) or Email (Press) and enter:
    • Access Token — Mailchimp API key
    • Config → provider — mailchimp
    • Config → list_id — your Audience ID
    • Config → from_name — e.g. Your Venue Name
    • Config → from_email — a verified sender address in your Mailchimp account

Things to watch out for

  • Audience must already exist. The adapter does not create audiences. The list you specify must already have subscribers.
  • From address must be verified. Mailchimp rejects campaigns with unverified sender domains. Verify your domain or use Mailchimp's approved sender address.
  • Unsubscribe footer is automatic. Mailchimp injects a *|UNSUB|* unsubscribe link. This is required by CAN-SPAM and cannot be removed.
  • Scheduled sends use Mailchimp's own scheduling system. The send time is passed as an ISO 8601 datetime. Mailchimp requires the scheduled time to be at least 15 minutes in the future.

Email — SendGrid

The SendGrid adapter creates a Single Send (a one-time email blast), sets the content, and either sends it or schedules it.

What you need

  • A SendGrid account at sendgrid.com
  • An API Key with Mail Send permissions
  • An existing Contact List ID
  • A verified Sender Identity (Sender ID)
  • Your sender name and email address

Step-by-step setup

  1. Log in to app.sendgrid.com → Settings → API Keys → Create API Key.
  2. Give it Full Access or at minimum Mail Send and Marketing permissions.
  3. Copy the API key immediately — it won't be shown again.
  4. Go to Marketing → Contacts and note the List ID of the list you want to send to (it's in the URL when you click a list).
  5. Go to Marketing → Senders and note the Sender ID (numeric, visible in the URL of a sender).
  6. In Backstage → Promote → Settings → Credentials, select Email (General) or Email (Press) and enter:
    • Access Token — SendGrid API key
    • Config → provider — sendgrid
    • Config → list_id — your Contact List ID
    • Config → from_name — e.g. Your Venue Name
    • Config → from_email — verified sender address
    • Config → sender_id — numeric Sender ID from step 5

Things to watch out for

  • Sender verification required. SendGrid requires domain authentication or single-sender verification before sending. Set this up under Settings → Sender Authentication.
  • Contact List must exist. The adapter targets a pre-existing contact list. Build and manage lists in SendGrid's Marketing Contacts.
  • Unsubscribe links are required. SendGrid injects <%asm_global_unsubscribe_url%> into the email template. This is required for compliance and cannot be removed.
  • Scheduled sends: Like Mailchimp, the send_at time must be in the future. SendGrid requires an ISO 8601 UTC datetime.

Editorial & Listing Sites

These platforms — Funcheap, Foopee, SF Chronicle, SF Station, DoTheBay, Dice, Resident Advisor, SongKick, JamBase — do not have APIs available for automated posting. Instead, the Promote module:

  1. Generates platform-specific copy for each site (500-char descriptions, press pitches, etc.)
  2. Marks the broadcast as manual_required — a prompt for you to take action
  3. Optionally sends a submission email if a contact_email is configured for that destination

Setup for manual destinations

For each editorial platform, you can store helpful reference info in Backstage credentials:

  • Config → submission_url — the URL of the platform's event submission form
  • Config → contact_email — an editorial contact email (enables the Send Email action)
  • Config → partner_url — (Dice/RA) your artist or promoter profile URL
  • Config → event_platform_url — link to your existing listing if already created

These are stored but not used for automated posting — they simply pre-fill useful links in the broadcast result view.

Workflow for editorial submissions

  1. After broadcasting, go to Broadcast History.
  2. Platforms with manual_required status show a View Submission button.
  3. Click it to open the generated copy for that platform.
  4. Copy the text and paste it into the platform's submission form, or click Send Email to email an editorial contact.
  5. Mark the item as submitted in the Promotion Health checklist.

Lead time warnings

The variant generator includes platform-specific warnings. Common ones:

Platform Lead time needed
Dice Submit at least 7 days before the event
Resident Advisor Submit 2–4 weeks in advance
SF Chronicle 2–3 weeks for calendar listings
SongKick / JamBase A few days; artist must have existing profile

Saving Credentials in Backstage

All credentials are stored per venue in Backstage. Only users with the manage_users capability (venue admins) can view or update them.

  1. In Backstage, go to Promote → Settings → Platform Credentials.
  2. Select a platform from the list.
  3. Enter the required fields (access token + any config values described in the platform sections above).
  4. Click Save. The platform status will update to Connected (green checkmark).
  5. To disconnect a platform, click Disconnect — this deletes the stored credential.

Credentials are stored in the database, not in .env.
The .env file may contain fallback values for EVENTBRITE_API_KEY and EVENTBRITE_ORG_ID from an older configuration, but database credentials take precedence.

Creating a Campaign & Posts

Starting a campaign

  1. Open an event from the Events list.
  2. Click the Promote tab.
  3. If no campaign exists, click Start Campaign. This creates a campaign record linked to the event.
  4. (Optional) Set a ticket goal for the campaign in the campaign settings panel.

Creating a post

A post is a master piece of content (text + optional flyer image) that gets adapted into platform-specific variants.

  1. Click New Post.
  2. Enter a title (internal reference, not published) and master copy — write your core message here. Don't worry about character limits; the variant generator handles them.
  3. If you want a flyer attached, make sure the event has an approved asset (flyer image) uploaded. Go to the Assets tab on the event to upload one.
  4. Click Save Post.

Generating variants

  1. On the post, click Generate Variants.
  2. The system produces channel-specific copy for all 20+ channels: Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, Twitter, Threads, Bluesky, Email, Eventbrite, Luma, and all editorial sites.
  3. Each variant shows:
    • The generated copy (editable)
    • Character count vs. limit
    • Any warnings (e.g., "Links are not clickable on Instagram")
  4. Edit any variant directly in the text area. Changes are saved automatically.
  5. Variants marked with a warning are still broadcastable — warnings are informational, not blocking.

Broadcasting a Post

  1. From a post, click Broadcast.
  2. The Destinations panel shows all available platforms with their status:
    • Connected (green) — ready to broadcast
    • Needs Setup (yellow) — no credentials stored; see setup sections above
    • Manual Required (blue) — no API available; will generate copy for manual submission
  3. Select the destinations you want to include in this broadcast.
  4. Choose Send Now or Schedule (enter a date/time for scheduled sends).
  5. Click Broadcast to confirm.
  6. The system dispatches to each selected platform in sequence.
  7. Results appear immediately in the Broadcast Results panel:
    • Sent — posted successfully; link to the live post shown
    • Queued — submitted for scheduled delivery
    • Manual Required — no API; go to the result to copy/submit manually
    • Needs Auth — credential problem; check the platform setup
    • Failed — API error; the error message is shown for debugging

Tips for a smooth broadcast

  • Run the Promotion Health check first (see below) — it surfaces common issues before you broadcast.
  • Make sure there's an approved flyer before broadcasting to Instagram and TikTok. Without one, those adapters will skip or fail.
  • Check character counts in the Twitter and Bluesky variants before sending. The generator truncates automatically, but read it to confirm the message still makes sense.
  • Broadcast to a few platforms first as a test before sending everything at once, especially when credentials are new.

Promotion Health Checklist

The Health panel scores your campaign on a 20-point checklist. Items include:

Item Notes
Panic page published Event is live on the public website
Approved flyer uploaded Required for Instagram, TikTok, Threads
Instagram post sent
Facebook post sent
Eventbrite listing live
Luma listing live
Funcheap submitted Manual
Foopee submitted Manual
Press email prepared
Email blast sent
Posts created At least one post in the campaign
Goal tickets set Ticket goal defined for the campaign
SF Chronicle submitted Manual
SF Station submitted Manual
DoTheBay submitted Manual
SongKick submitted Manual
JamBase submitted Manual
Email (ad-hoc) sent One-off announcement email
Day-before reminder sent
Band assets collected Bios, press photos, set times

Items marked red are high-priority. Yellow items are recommended. Blue items are informational.

The score is shown as a percentage. Aim for 80%+ for a well-promoted show.

Broadcast History & Analytics

History

Broadcast History shows every broadcast attempt for the campaign, grouped by broadcast run:

  • Each run shows the timestamp, mode (now/scheduled), and the list of destinations.
  • Expand a run to see per-platform results, external links, and error messages.

Analytics

The Analytics panel summarizes campaign reach at a glance:

Metric Description
Broadcasts Total broadcast runs
Destinations Reached Count of platforms with status sent
Live Listings Eventbrite + Luma events that are live
Manual Pending Editorial submissions awaiting your action
Needs Setup Platforms with missing credentials
Failed Broadcast attempts that errored

Troubleshooting

"Needs Auth" after broadcasting

The stored access token was rejected by the platform. Steps to fix:

  1. Go to Promote → Settings → Platform Credentials.
  2. Disconnect the platform and reconnect with a fresh token.
  3. For Facebook/Instagram: regenerate the page/user token in Graph API Explorer.
  4. For Twitter: re-run the OAuth 2.0 PKCE flow.
  5. For Threads: check if the 60-day token has expired and refresh it.
  6. For Bluesky: verify the App Password is still active in your Bluesky settings.

Instagram / TikTok post fails with "image not accessible"

  • Confirm APP_URL in .env matches the actual public URL of your Backstage installation.
  • Check that the flyer file exists in the public/uploads/ directory and is publicly readable.
  • For TikTok: ensure your domain is allowlisted in the TikTok developer app's Content Posting API → Media Hosting Domains setting.

Twitter posts are cut off unexpectedly

  • Review the Twitter variant in the post editor before broadcasting.
  • URLs count as 23 characters in Twitter's display but the API still enforces the 280-char total.
  • The generator truncates at 280 chars — edit the variant manually if the cut falls in an awkward place.

Eventbrite event not appearing on the Eventbrite site

  • If you used Schedule mode instead of Send Now, the event was created as a draft. Log in to Eventbrite and publish it manually.
  • Check that org_id is correct in the credentials config. An incorrect org ID may silently succeed but create the event under the wrong organization.

Email campaign not sending

  • Mailchimp: Confirm your from_email is a verified domain sender. Check the Mailchimp campaign was created under Campaigns in the dashboard.
  • SendGrid: Confirm sender authentication is complete. Check that sender_id matches a verified sender in Marketing → Senders.
  • Both providers require the list to have at least one subscriber.

"Failed" on a manual editorial platform

Manual platforms should never fail — they always return manual_required. If you see a failure on an editorial destination, there may be a routing issue. Contact your Backstage administrator.

Things to Watch Out For

  1. App Review takes time. Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and Threads all require App Review before you can post to live public accounts. This can take days to weeks. Start the review process well in advance of your first event.

  2. Tokens expire. Twitter tokens (without offline.access) expire in ~2 hours. Threads tokens expire in 60 days. TikTok tokens expire periodically. When in doubt, reconnect the platform.

  3. Images must be publicly accessible. Any platform that fetches your flyer image from a URL will fail if the URL is not publicly reachable. This includes staging/localhost environments — for testing, use a public staging domain or a direct image URL.

  4. Bluesky App Password ≠ your password. Always create a dedicated App Password in Bluesky settings. Never put your real Bluesky account password in the credentials form.

  5. Luma events go live immediately. There is no draft/preview mode in the Luma API. Only broadcast to Luma when you are ready for the event to be public.

  6. Editorial submissions are not automated. Funcheap, Foopee, Dice, Resident Advisor, SF Chronicle, etc. require you to manually copy and paste content into their respective submission forms. The module generates the copy — you do the submitting.

  7. Email unsubscribe links are required. Both Mailchimp and SendGrid inject unsubscribe links automatically. Do not attempt to remove them — this is a CAN-SPAM legal requirement.

  8. Free-tier rate limits on Twitter/X. The free API plan is very limited (~17 tweets/day). If you post frequently across multiple events, upgrade to a paid plan.

  9. Eventbrite cover images must be added manually. After the adapter creates the listing, log in to Eventbrite and upload your flyer from the event editor.

  10. Character limits enforced at broadcast time. If you edited a variant and added too much text, the adapter may truncate it or the platform API may reject it. Always check warnings in the variant editor before broadcasting.

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