Explanation
Checked again just before posting
SemPost reads each automation post's product again right before it goes out, never publishes a post late and stops an account that keeps failing.
A rule prepares its posts ahead of time, as set in How far ahead are posts prepared? in its Schedule step (we suggest 24 hours). A lot can change in between: the product sells out, its price changes, a discount ends. So right before an automation post first goes out, SemPost reads its product again from your store or from its product page. This check is free and uses no AI.
What is checked
| What changed | Checked when | The card says |
|---|---|---|
| The product is gone from the store, its page can't be read, or the rule's store was removed | Always | Just before sharing, the product couldn't be found in the store or was out of stock. |
| The product isn't for sale any more: on Shopify it was set to draft or archived, on WooCommerce it's no longer published (a WooCommerce store connected without a key doesn't say) | Always | The same |
| The product sold out | Skip products out of stock is on in the rule | The same |
| The price changed | The rule's posts mention the price (Mention the price) | The product's price changed: … → …. Check the price in the text and the picture. |
| The discount code doesn't work now (ended, not started yet or used up) | The rule names a code and its products come from a connected store that can tell; a WooCommerce store connected without a key can't, so its posts aren't held for this | The discount code … doesn't work in the store now. |
A post caught here doesn't go out. It goes back to the Drafts tab of the Approval queue with the reason, keeps its time and loses its approval. To fix it and send it on, see Fix a post a safeguard held. A reason you saw and sent the post on with doesn't hold it again; a new one, such as another price, does.
If the store doesn't answer in time, or reports a passing problem, the post goes out as it was prepared: a short outage at your store doesn't stop your posts.
Never published late
An automation post still waiting for approval two hours after its time is never published late. It becomes Expired: it leaves the approval queue, shows as Expired in the calendar and the post history, and holds no place on the account's day. Its product can come back on the rule's next days. An expired post can be deleted, but not approved.
Before that, admins and the owner get an email, Posts are waiting for your approval, once a waiting post's time is less than 24 hours away.
When an account keeps failing
If three automation posts in a row can't be published on one account, for example because the network refused them or the account's connection broke, SemPost stops that account in every rule. The other accounts go on.
- Owners and admins get one email: Automation stopped on an account: …
- On the rule cards, the account shows Stopped, and the rule's preview says … can't be used right now.
- In test mode, a post that fails the network's check counts too.
To start it again:
Fix the account
Check the account in Settings › Social accounts, and reconnect it if it asks you to.
Resume it
On the Automation page, press Resume next to Stopped on any rule's card. SemPost says The account is used in every rule again.
A post that goes out on the account, or passes in test mode, sets the count back to zero.