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Publishing Failures

This guide helps you resolve publishing errors and handle scenarios where campaigns fail to publish. Learn how to diagnose issues, fix problems, and retry failed publishes.

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Understanding Publishing Failures

When you publish campaigns, Whathead validates your configuration and sends it to the platform’s API. Failures can occur at different stages:
  • Validation failures: Issues detected before sending to the platform
  • API failures: Platform rejects the campaign during publishing
  • Partial failures: Some campaigns succeed while others fail
  • Network failures: Connection issues during the publish process

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Common Publishing Errors

Problem: The Publish button is disabled or validation errors appear before you can publish.Common Causes:
  • Required fields are missing
  • Budget below platform minimum
  • Invalid targeting configuration
  • Hierarchy rules violated
Resolution:
1

Review validation messages

Check the validation panel for specific error messages
2

Fix each error

Address each validation error one by one (see Validation Errors page for details)
3

Verify all required fields

Ensure campaigns, ad sets, and ads have all required information
4

Retry publishing

Once all validation errors are resolved, the Publish button will become enabled
Validation errors are shown in real-time as you edit. Fix them as you go to avoid surprises at publish time.
Problem: Publishing starts but the platform returns an error.Common Causes:
  • Platform-specific validation rules not met
  • Ad account spending limit reached
  • Creative content violates platform policies
  • Targeting options not available in your region
Resolution:
1

Read the error message

The platform’s error message usually indicates the specific issue
2

Check platform-specific requirements

Review the platform’s documentation for specific rules (see Platform pages)
3

Verify ad account status

Log into the platform’s native portal and check for account issues
4

Fix the issue

Update your campaign configuration to meet platform requirements
5

Retry publishing

Use the Retry button to attempt publishing again
Some platform errors indicate policy violations. Review your creative content and targeting to ensure compliance with platform advertising policies.
Problem: When publishing multiple campaigns, some publish successfully while others fail.What Happens:
  • Successful campaigns are created/updated on the platform
  • Failed campaigns remain in draft state in Whathead
  • You receive a summary showing which campaigns succeeded and which failed
Resolution:
1

Review the publish summary

Check which campaigns failed and read the error messages
2

Fix failed campaigns

Address the specific issues for each failed campaign
3

Retry only failed campaigns

Select only the failed campaigns and publish again
4

Verify success

Confirm all campaigns are now published successfully
Successful campaigns are not affected when you retry failed ones. You can safely retry without duplicating successful publishes.
Problem: Publishing fails due to network connectivity issues or timeout.Common Causes:
  • Slow internet connection
  • Platform API temporarily unavailable
  • Large campaign taking too long to process
  • Firewall or proxy interfering with API calls
Resolution:
1

Check your internet connection

Ensure you have stable connectivity
2

Check platform status

Verify the platform’s API is operational (check their status page)
3

Wait and retry

Wait a few minutes, then retry publishing
4

Publish in smaller batches

If publishing many campaigns, try publishing fewer at a time
Problem: Publishing fails with an authentication or permission error.Common Causes:
  • OAuth token expired (typically after 60-90 days)
  • Platform permissions were revoked
  • Ad account access was removed
  • Session timed out
Resolution:
1

Reconnect the platform

Go to Settings > Integrations and reconnect the affected platform
2

Verify permissions

Ensure you grant all requested permissions during reconnection
3

Check ad account access

Confirm you still have access to the ad account in the platform’s native portal
4

Retry publishing

After reconnecting, attempt to publish again
Problem: Campaign publishes but creative assets (images, videos) fail to upload.Common Causes:
  • Asset file size exceeds platform limits
  • Asset format not supported by platform
  • Asset dimensions don’t meet platform requirements
  • Network issues during asset upload
Resolution:
1

Check asset requirements

Review platform-specific asset requirements (see Asset Management pages)
2

Verify file formats and sizes

Ensure your assets meet the platform’s specifications
3

Re-upload assets

Upload assets to the platform’s media library first, then reference them
4

Retry publishing

Publish the campaign again with properly formatted assets
Upload assets to the platform’s media library before creating ads to avoid upload failures during publishing.
Problem: Platform rejects the campaign due to budget or bid amount issues.Common Causes:
  • Budget below platform minimum
  • Budget above ad account spending limit
  • Bid amount not appropriate for objective
  • Currency mismatch
Platform Minimums:
  • Meta: $1/day minimum
  • TikTok: $20/day minimum
  • Snapchat: $5/day minimum
  • Google: $10/day minimum
Resolution:
1

Check platform minimums

Verify your budget meets the platform’s minimum requirements
2

Check ad account limits

Ensure your ad account has sufficient spending limit
3

Adjust budget

Update the budget to meet requirements
4

Retry publishing

Publish again with the corrected budget
Problem: Platform rejects the campaign due to targeting issues.Common Causes:
  • Targeting options not available in your region
  • Audience size too small or too large
  • Conflicting targeting criteria
  • Special ad category restrictions (Meta)
Resolution:
1

Review targeting settings

Check your audience configuration for issues
2

Check platform restrictions

Review platform-specific targeting limitations
3

Adjust targeting

Modify targeting to meet platform requirements
4

Verify audience size

Ensure your targeting creates an audience within platform limits
5

Retry publishing

Publish with the updated targeting configuration
Meta special ad categories (housing, employment, credit) have strict targeting restrictions. Review Meta’s special ad category requirements if your campaign falls into these categories.

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Retry Workflow

When campaigns fail to publish, follow this workflow to resolve and retry:
1

Review the failure summary

After a failed publish, Whathead shows a summary of what succeeded and what failed
2

Read error messages

Each failed campaign includes an error message from the platform explaining why it failed
3

Fix the issues

Update your campaign configuration to address the specific errors
4

Select failed campaigns

In the canvas, select only the campaigns that failed (successful ones don’t need to be republished)
5

Click Publish again

Retry publishing the fixed campaigns
6

Verify success

Confirm all campaigns now show as successfully published
When you retry publishing, Whathead remembers which campaigns already succeeded and won’t duplicate them. Only failed campaigns are retried.

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Handling Partial Success Scenarios

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Scenario 1: Multiple Campaigns, Some Fail

What Happens:
  • You publish 10 campaigns
  • 7 succeed, 3 fail
  • The 7 successful campaigns are live on the platform
  • The 3 failed campaigns remain in draft state
What to Do:
  1. Don’t panic - the successful campaigns are fine
  2. Review error messages for the 3 failed campaigns
  3. Fix the issues in those 3 campaigns
  4. Publish only those 3 campaigns again
  5. All 10 campaigns are now live

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Scenario 2: Campaign Succeeds, Ad Sets Fail

What Happens:
  • Campaign is created on the platform
  • Some ad sets fail to create
  • Campaign exists but is incomplete
What to Do:
  1. The campaign now has an existing ID
  2. Fix the ad set issues
  3. Publish again - the campaign will be updated (not duplicated)
  4. Failed ad sets will be created under the existing campaign

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Scenario 3: Everything Succeeds Except One Ad

What Happens:
  • Campaign and ad sets are created
  • One ad fails (e.g., creative asset issue)
  • Campaign structure exists but is missing one ad
What to Do:
  1. Fix the ad that failed (e.g., replace the creative asset)
  2. Publish again
  3. The campaign and ad sets will be skipped (no changes)
  4. Only the failed ad will be created

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Platform-Specific Publishing Issues

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Common Meta Publishing Failures

Special Ad Categories:
  • If your campaign is about housing, employment, or credit, you must declare it
  • Targeting is restricted for special ad categories
  • Failure to declare can result in ad rejection
Creative Rejection:
  • Meta reviews creative content for policy compliance
  • Ads may be rejected after publishing if they violate policies
  • Check Meta’s advertising policies before publishing
Budget Issues:
  • Minimum $1/day per ad set
  • Account spending limits can block publishing
  • Payment method issues prevent campaign activation

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When to Contact Support

Contact Whathead support if:
  • Error messages are unclear or don’t provide actionable information
  • Publishing fails repeatedly with the same error after fixing the issue
  • You receive an error that seems like a bug rather than a configuration issue
  • Platform API returns unexpected errors
  • You need help understanding platform-specific requirements
Always include the full error message and screenshots when contacting support. This helps diagnose the issue faster.

Publishing Workflow

Learn the complete publishing process

Validation Errors

Resolve validation issues

Publishing Validation

Understand validation rules

Create vs Update

Learn about publish behavior