How it works#
A post is always in one of these states:
| Status | What it means | Where you find it |
|---|---|---|
| Draft | Saved, but not going anywhere. A draft is never published, even if its date passes. | Content → Drafts, the post editor's list, the Feed |
| Pending Approval | An Editor sent it for review. It waits for an owner or Admin. | Content → Drafts, the Feed, Team → My Approvals |
| Scheduled | It goes out by itself at its date and time. | The calendar (blue), the post editor's list, the Feed |
| In progress | It's being sent to the networks right now. | The post editor's list, the calendar |
| Published | Done. The button reads, for example, Published 3/4: three of four accounts published. | The calendar (green, or red if an account failed), the Feed |
Which button you see decides what happens:
- The Schedule field is empty: the button is Publish All, and the post goes out now.
- The Schedule field has a date: the button is Schedule All, and the post goes out then.
- Your role is Editor: the button is Submit for Approval.
Save a draft#
You don't need to do anything: the editor saves as you type ("Saving changes", then "Changes saved"). Leave the post whenever you like.
- Find drafts under Content → Drafts: search by title with Search drafts..., and press Load more for older ones. They're also in the post editor's list under Drafts, and in the Feed.
- Drafts aren't shown on the calendar, even with a date.
- Posts written by Hero_Agent are drafts too, until you approve their schedule.
A date alone doesn't schedule a post. Until you press Schedule All, it's a draft and won't be published, even after its date has passed.
Schedule a post#
- At the top of the post, click Schedule.
- Pick a day. Past days are grayed out; Today jumps to today.
- Set the time, then press Done.
- Press Schedule All at the bottom right.
- The time must be at least 2 minutes from now. Earlier times are grayed out, and a time typed by hand that's too early shows "Min value" with the earliest time allowed.
- Times are in the workspace's time zone, whatever your computer is set to. The picker doesn't show the zone. Check or change it in the workspace settings: see Workspaces.
- 12- or 24-hour clock and the first day of the week follow your browser's language settings.
- The × in the Schedule field clears the date. The button turns back into Publish All.
Once scheduled, the post is locked and the button reads Edit. No message pops up. The post appears on the calendar with a blue stripe and, if it's due within 7 days, under its day in the post editor's list. To change it later, see Edit, reschedule or delete a post.
Your computer doesn't need to be on: Heropost publishes the post at its time.
Publish now#
- Leave the Schedule field empty, or clear it with ×.
- Press Publish All.
- A 5-second countdown starts: 5s Cancel Posting. Press it to stop. When it reaches zero, the post is sent.
- Stay on the post during the countdown. If you open another post, it's sent at once.
- The button changes to Posting in progress..., then to Published with the count of accounts.
- From the calendar (owners and Admins): open the ⋮ menu on a scheduled post and choose Publish now. Confirm Post now? "This post will be published now. Proceed?" with Post.
Send to one network only#
With a network's tab open, a small square button with that network's icon sits next to the main button. Its tooltip reads, for example, "Schedule to Instagram only" or "Publish to Instagram only".
It schedules or publishes that network only, and switches the post's other networks off. To send the same content to the other networks at another time, make a copy first with ⋮ → Duplicate, and use the copy for them.
Send it for approval (Editors)#
Editors see Submit for Approval instead of the schedule and publish buttons. An owner or Admin approves it: if it has a date and time, it's then scheduled; if not, it goes back to Draft for scheduling. While it waits, the editor shows "This post is pending approval. Editing will withdraw it from review." See Approvals.
After it goes out#
- In the post editor, open the arrow at the end of the account row. Accounts that published have an eye icon that opens the live post. Accounts that failed have a red icon: hover over it for the reason.
- The workspace owner gets a notification in the bell at the top: New posts published, Some of your posts failed or Post publishing failed.
- Failed posts are listed under Content → Posting Errors. Heropost doesn't send them again by itself: fix the cause, then use ⋮ → Duplicate Failed. See The Posting Errors page.
- Posting to X uses one X credit per X account. See X credits.
If it doesn't work#
| What you see | What it means | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Schedule All or Publish All is grayed out, with "Please select accounts for {Network}" | A network is on for this post, but none of its accounts is selected. | Select an account on that tab, or switch the network off with the gear ⚙ (Posting Settings). |
| Grayed out, with "{Network} post incomplete." and a reason | That network is missing something, such as media for Instagram or a title for YouTube. | Open the tab with the red dot and fix the field in red. |
| "Scheduled date cannot be before {date}." | The date and time have passed, or are less than 2 minutes away. The date isn't saved. | Pick a later time. |
| "It is impossible to set this time: {date}, because it does not meet the requirement: the time must be more than the current one (UTC + 0) by 10 seconds and the number of seconds must be 0." | The time passed while you were editing. | Pick a later time and press Schedule All again. |
| "Unable to post because {Network} requires…" or "…does not support…" | The same network rules, checked again when you schedule or publish. | Fix that network's tab. Every message: Every error message, explained. |
| "Post {id} is pending approval. It must be approved or rejected in Team > Approvals before it can be scheduled or published." | The post is waiting for approval. | Approve it in Team → My Approvals, or ask someone who can. |
| "Post {id} cannot be published because it has no active selected social networks to publish." | Every network is off for this post. | Switch one on in Posting Settings and select its accounts. |
| "Post {id} cannot be published because one or more of the selected social networks do not have active accounts." | A network that's on has no account selected, for example because its only account was removed from the workspace. | Select an account on that network's tab, or switch the network off. |
| "Post {id} cannot be published because it is in the process of publishing or has already been published." | It's already going out, or went out. | Reload the page. To post it again, use ⋮ → Duplicate. |
| "Looks like you've reached the limit of your plan. Please upgrade your account to access for features." or Time to Level up! when you schedule | Your plan's monthly post limit is reached. | Check your plan: click your name at the bottom of the left menu, then Billing. Or upgrade. |
| "Your account doesn't have an active plan. Please upgrade to use this feature." | The workspace owner has no active plan. | Pick a plan: click your name at the bottom of the left menu, then Billing. In someone else's workspace, ask the owner. |
| You see Submit for Approval instead of Schedule All | Your role in this workspace is Editor. | Submit it, or ask the owner for the Admin role. |
| The post had a date but never went out | It was still a draft. | Open it from Content → Drafts, set a future date, and press Schedule All. See A post didn't publish. |
Questions#
Which time zone does Heropost use?
The workspace's. Every date in the editor and on the calendar is in that time zone. Your first workspace takes your browser's time zone when it's created. See Workspaces.
Can each network get a different time?
No: a post has one date and time. Make a copy with ⋮ → Duplicate for each time you need, and keep one network on each copy.
Can I post the same thing every week?
Yes, with ⋮ → Repost Settings. See Repeat a post.
Can I schedule lots of posts at once?
Yes. Import them from a spreadsheet with Bulk upload, then schedule each draft. Or ask Hero_Agent to plan and schedule a batch: see Let Hero_Agent plan your first week.
Does Heropost suggest the best time?
The date picker doesn't. Hero_Agent can show when your posts do best, from your own results: see Best times to post.