New to ViralSweep? Start with our Getting Started guide to set up your first promotion.
If your promotion hasn't gone live at the expected time—or it's live but showing no entrants—the cause is usually one of four things: publish status, timezone settings, widget setup, or invalid entries.
Work through the steps below in order to quickly identify the issue.
Step 1: Check your promotion's publish status
Your promotion must be Published to go live. Promotions in Draft or Paused won't be visible to entrants—even if the start date has passed.
How to check:
Go to your Promotions dashboard
Find your promotion and check the status badge
If it shows Draft or Paused, open the promotion and click Publish
Step 2: Verify your start date, time, and timezone
Incorrect timing or timezone settings are the most common reason promotions don't launch when expected.
Go to Promotion Settings → Dates and confirm:
Start date: Set to today or earlier (not a future date)
Start time: Double-check AM vs PM (this is a frequent issue)
Timezone: Matches your local timezone
Daylight Saving Time (DST):
If applicable, make sure your timezone reflects the correct seasonal offset (e.g. EDT vs EST)
Important:
If you duplicated a promotion, these settings are copied over. Always review and update them before launching.
Step 3: Make sure your widget is properly embedded
If you're using an embedded promotion, the widget must be installed correctly on your site.
Check the following:
The widget code is added to the correct page
(Go to Promotion → Install → Widget Code)You've refreshed the page using a hard refresh:
Windows:
Ctrl + Shift + RMac:
Cmd + Shift + R
You've tested in an incognito/private window to rule out caching issues
Alternative option:
Use the hosted page URL instead—no embed required.
Find it under Promotion → Install → Hosted Page.
Step 4: Promotion is live but showing zero entrants
If your promotion is visible but not collecting entries, check:
Entries marked as invalid
Go to Entrants → Invalid. Submissions may be coming in but filtered by spam protection.Incorrect link being shared
Make sure you're sharing the live hosted page or embedded page—not a preview or draft link.Plan limitations
Some entry methods (like purchase-based entries) require a paid plan.
Check this under Settings → Billing.
Step 5: Still not working? Contact support
If you've gone through all the steps above and your promotion still isn't working, reach out to support.
Click the chat icon in the bottom-right corner and include:
Your promotion name or ID
The expected launch date and time (with timezone)
A screenshot of your promotion settings (date + status)
The URL where the promotion should appear
Providing these upfront helps us diagnose the issue faster.