---
title: Automatically Scheduling Vendor Spotlights
description: "VendorHearth Pro can automatically schedule Vendor Spotlights in the weeks leading up to an event. Instead of manually choosing a publication date and time for every vendor, the spotlight scheduler can build the promotional schedule for you. ## Default Spotlight…"
url: "https://vendorhearth.com/docs/automatically-scheduling-vendor-spotlights/"
updated: "2026-09-23"
category: Vendor Spotlights — creating spotlights, scheduling, test posts, social posting
---

# Automatically Scheduling Vendor Spotlights

VendorHearth Pro can automatically schedule Vendor Spotlights in the weeks leading up to an event.

Instead of manually choosing a publication date and time for every vendor, the spotlight scheduler can build the promotional schedule for you.

## Default Spotlight Schedule

By default, VendorHearth can schedule:

**2 Vendor Spotlights per day**

with publication times around:

- **10:00 AM**
- **6:00 PM**

The schedule begins approximately:

**30 days before the event**

These settings can be adjusted when an event requires a different promotional schedule.

## How Scheduling Works

VendorHearth uses the event date to determine when the promotional period should begin.

It then distributes eligible Vendor Spotlights across the available publication dates and times.

For example, if an event is scheduled for October 10, VendorHearth can begin scheduling spotlights approximately 30 days before the event.

## Events Must Have a Date

Automatic scheduling requires VendorHearth to know when the event will occur.

Events marked **TBA** are excluded from date-based automatic spotlight scheduling.

Once an event date is established, the spotlight schedule can be created using that date.

## Existing Spotlights Are Preserved

VendorHearth is designed to preserve existing spotlight posts when the schedule is generated or rebuilt.

This includes spotlights that are already:

- Drafts
- Scheduled
- Published

This helps prevent previously created promotional content from being unnecessarily replaced or duplicated.

## Review the Schedule

After generating a spotlight schedule, review the scheduled posts before relying on the campaign.

Check:

- Publication dates
- Publication times
- Vendor information
- Featured images
- Event information
- Overall spacing of the campaign

You can adjust individual WordPress posts when necessary.

## Adjusting the Schedule

The default schedule of two posts per day beginning approximately 30 days before the event is intended to provide a practical starting point.

If your event has more or fewer vendors, adjust the event's spotlight scheduling options to better fit your promotional needs.

A larger event may require additional posting opportunities, while a smaller event may benefit from a more spread-out schedule.

## WordPress Handles Scheduled Publishing

Once a spotlight has been scheduled, WordPress handles the actual publication of the post.

Your website must therefore have functioning WordPress scheduled tasks for posts to publish at the expected time.

If scheduled posts are consistently publishing late or not publishing at all, investigate your site's WordPress cron configuration.

## Social Media Sharing

If your website is configured with a supported social-sharing integration, a scheduled spotlight may also be shared when the WordPress post publishes.

For example, you may use Jetpack with supported Facebook or Instagram connections.

VendorHearth creates and schedules the WordPress content. Your WordPress social-sharing integration handles the connection to the social platform.

## Test Before Scheduling an Entire Event

Before relying on automatic scheduling for an upcoming event:

1. Create a test spotlight.
2. Review how the post appears.
3. Confirm scheduled WordPress posts publish correctly.
4. Confirm your social-sharing integration works, if used.
5. Review the event's spotlight scheduling settings.
6. Generate the full schedule.

Testing beforehand can prevent discovering a configuration problem after your promotional campaign has already begun.

## Rebuilding a Schedule

If you need to rebuild a spotlight schedule, review the existing posts afterward.

VendorHearth preserves existing Draft, Scheduled, and Published spotlight content where appropriate, but you should still verify the resulting schedule before considering it complete.

## Next Step

Continue to **Creating a Test Vendor Spotlight** to learn how to safely test the spotlight system before scheduling real vendor promotions.