How it works#
An RSS automation follows one feed: an RSS or Atom feed from a blog, news site, podcast host or any other site that publishes one. Each new entry in the feed becomes an item you can post. Heropost reads the feed as any visitor would, so it doesn't need to be your site.
For a WordPress, Squarespace, Substack or Medium blog, the dedicated automations find the feed for you: see WordPress, Squarespace, Substack and Medium.
Find the feed address#
- Look for an RSS icon or a "Feed" or "RSS" link on the site.
- Try the site's address followed by
/feed,/rssor/feed.xml, for examplehttps://example.com/feed. - Open the address in your browser. A feed shows as code or a list of entries, not as a normal web page.
If you paste the address of a web page that announces its feed, Heropost uses that feed.
Set it up#
- Click Automations in the left menu, then Create Automation.
- On the RSS card, press Add Automation.
- In RSS Feed URL, paste the full feed address, such as
https://example.com/feed.xml. - Press Save. Heropost reads the feed and shows "RSS automation created! Your items are being imported and will appear shortly."
- Press Settings on the new automation. Select your accounts, and choose Read from Source to review entries first, or Publish Immediately to post new entries automatically.
- Press Save.
What each item contains#
| Part | From the feed |
|---|---|
| Title | The entry's title. |
| Description | The entry's summary as plain text, or the full text when the entry has no summary. |
| Link | The entry's link. |
| Picture | One picture: the entry's image, or the first picture in its text. If the entry has none, the preview picture of the page it links to. |
Audio and video files in a feed aren't imported.
Settings that work well#
- Preferred Post Type: Link. Backup Post Type: Image. Networks that take link posts show the article card; the others get the picture. Carousel/Image isn't offered for RSS.
- Caption: Default posts the summary. For short networks such as X, choose Custom with a template like
{{title}} {{link}}. - Attach Link to Caption: Not Link Posts Only adds the link to picture posts, so readers can still find the article.
All settings: Automations: how they work.
If it doesn't work#
| What you see | What it means | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| "Invalid URL" | The address isn't complete. | Paste the full address, starting with https://. |
| "An unexpected error occurred while processing your request." when you save | Heropost couldn't read a feed at that address: it's a normal page without a feed, it returns an error such as "403 Forbidden" or "404", it needs a login, or it took longer than 30 seconds to load. | Open the address in a private browser window. If it doesn't show the feed there, fix the feed on the website or use the correct feed address. |
| "The supplied URL host could not be resolved: {host}." | The domain doesn't exist. | Check the spelling. |
| Errors keeps growing after it worked | The feed stopped loading: the site is down, the feed moved, or it now blocks visitors. | Fix it on the website. If the address changed, add a new automation and delete the old one. |
| Items have no picture | The entries have no picture, and the linked pages have no preview picture. | Add a featured image to your posts, or post those items with a link post. |
Questions#
Can I follow a feed that isn't mine?
Yes. Any public feed works. Make sure you're allowed to share the content you post.
My podcast isn't on Apple Podcasts. Can I still post new episodes?
Yes. Paste your podcast's RSS feed in an RSS automation. Each episode comes with its title, description and artwork. Shows on Apple Podcasts can use the Podcast automation.
Does it post the whole article?
No. With Caption set to Default, the post uses the entry's summary. Use Custom to choose exactly what goes in: {{title}}, {{link}} and {{description}}.
Can I change the feed address later?
No. Add a new automation with the new address, then delete the old one.