Posts, polls and scheduling

Write a post with photos, video and a poll, schedule it, comment, reply and like, and search the community for posts, members and courses.

A post is how members and admins start a conversation in the feed. It can carry text, photos, files, video, GIFs and a poll, and it can go out now or at a time you pick.

The composer sits at the top of every feed — select Start writing…, or one of the buttons under it: Video, Photo / File or Poll. On a phone, the composer opens full screen.

Writing a post

1. Select Start writing…. The header shows your name and the community you're posting in.
2. Enter a title in Enter title. Every post needs one; it can be up to 80 characters.
3. Write the body. The toolbar under it has bold, underline, italic, bulleted and numbered lists, and emoji. To add a link, select some text and choose Insert Link.
4. Type @ and a name to mention a member. They get a notification.
5. If the feed has feed topics, pick one from the topic menu next to the toolbar. Admins see every topic; members see only the ones anyone can post in.
6. Select Post. You see "Post published."

Adding photos, files, video and GIFs

Button	What you can add
Photo / File	Drop or pick photos (JPG, PNG, GIF, WEBP, HEIC) and documents (PDF, DOC, DOCX, XLS, XLSX, CSV, PPT, PPTX, TXT, ZIP, MP3, M4A). Photos go into the post's gallery; documents are attached below it. You can also paste a photo straight into the text.
Video	Choose External URL, paste the link in Add Video URL and select Insert Video. YouTube, Vimeo, Loom, Wistia and Dailymotion links play inside the post. If you have access to an ESTAGE video library, you can also pick a video from ESTAGE Video Library or Upload Video.
GIF button	Search for a GIF and add it to the gallery.

A post holds up to 10 photos, videos and GIFs together, and up to 10 attached files. Photos can be up to 20 MB each, files up to 50 MB each.

Adding a poll

1. Select Poll under the composer. A Poll box opens with three empty options.
2. Fill in Option 1, Option 2 and so on. Add Option adds another; the cross removes one. Options you leave empty are dropped when you post.
3. Use the post title as the question, and select Post.

Delete in the poll box removes the poll before you post.

Voting in a poll

1. Open the post. In the feed, the poll only shows the results — selecting it opens the post.
2. Select an option. The bars show each option's share and the total number of votes.
3. To change your vote, select another option and choose Confirm in Change Vote?.

Everyone can see the percentages and the vote count, but not who voted for what.

Scheduling a post

Any member can schedule their own post.

1. Write the post.
2. Select the calendar icon (Schedule Post) and pick a date and time in the future.
3. Select Post. The post is saved and published at that time.

To post right away instead, select Instant publish next to the calendar before you post.

Finding, changing or cancelling a scheduled post

To see yours:

1. Open the Filter menu above the feed and choose Scheduled. You see only your own scheduled posts, each marked Scheduled: with its date.
2. Open a post and select the pencil (Edit).
3. Change the text, or select the calendar icon to pick a new time, then select Update.

To cancel a scheduled post, open its … menu and choose Remove Post.

Sorting and filtering the feed

The Filter menu above the feed changes what you see:

Option	Shows
Latest	Newest posts first
Pinned	Only pinned posts
Top Rated	Posts with the most likes first
Top Viewed	Posts with the most views first
Favorites	Posts you saved with Add to Favorites
Scheduled	Your own scheduled posts

Clear Filter goes back to the normal feed.

Admin options while composing

Admins get extra controls in the composer:

Control	What it does
Select Rule	Locks the post behind a custom rule — see Badges, rules & paid access. Not Selected / No Rule leaves it open.
Pin Post	Publishes the post pinned to the top of the feed.
Insert Product	Select some text, then Insert Product, and pick one of your products. Members who select that text see the product and can buy it. Needs the Business Plus plan.
@everyone	Mention @everyone and every member gets a push notification. In a channel, the channel's members get it. Scheduled posts don't send it.

The post menu

Open the … menu on a post. What you see depends on who you are:

Item	Who sees it	What it does
Pin to Featured / Unpin post	Admins and moderators	Pins the post to the top of the feed
Move Up / Move Down	Admins and moderators, on pinned posts	Changes the order of pinned posts
Ban Author / Unban Author	Admins and moderators who can ban, on other people's posts	Bans the author — see Banning a member
Edit	Admins, on their own posts	Opens the post for editing
Add to Favorites / Remove from Favorites	Every signed-in member	Saves the post; find it again with Filter → Favorites
Copy Link	Everyone	Copies a link to the post
Report	Every signed-in member	Sends the post to the admins' Reported Posts
Download	Admins and roles that can add videos, on posts with a video	Downloads the video
Remove Post	The author, admins and moderators	Deletes the post after a confirmation

Members edit their own posts from the post itself: open it and select the pencil (Edit) and then Update. Admins can edit anyone's post the same way.

Admins with Amplify also see the Amplify items here.

Comments and likes

Writing a comment

Open a post. The comment box, Write a comment..., sits under the post.

1. Write your comment. The toolbar has Bold, Underline and Italic, emoji, Image, video and GIF buttons. You can also paste a photo straight into the box.
2. Type @ and a name to mention a member. They get a notification.
3. Press Enter or select Send. Shift + Enter starts a new line.

A comment can be up to 700 characters. A counter appears when you get close, and you can't send past the limit. The video button works as it does in a post: paste a link in Add Video URL and select Insert Video.

If a level or custom rule controls commenting, members below it are told what they still need instead.

When you can't comment yet

People who can't comment see a prompt where the comment box would be:

Who	What they see
Not signed in	Log in to join the conversation and Log in to comment
Signed in, not a member	Join the community to comment and Join group
Waiting for approval	A note that they can comment once they're approved

Replying, editing and deleting

Under each comment are its time, its likes and these icons:

Icon	Who sees it	What it does
Reply	Members	Opens a reply box under the comment. The comment's author gets a notification. Cancel reply closes it.
Edit	The comment's author	Opens the comment for editing, with the same toolbar. Send saves it; Cancel edit backs out.
Delete	The author, and roles with Hide & remove posts and comments	Asks Delete this comment? and removes it. This can't be undone.

Replies sit under the comment they answer, oldest first.

Liking posts and comments

• Posts: select the heart under a post. The number next to it is how many members liked it — hover over it (or tap it on a phone) to see who.
• Comments: select the heart under a comment. The number shows how many likes it has.
• Liked by the author: when the post's author likes a comment, their photo with a small heart appears under that comment.

Select the heart again to take your like back. Visitors who aren't signed in, or aren't members yet, are asked to sign in or join first.

Searching the community

Select Search in the top bar (on a phone, the magnifying glass). A search window opens with Search posts, members, courses….

1. Type at least 2 characters. Results update as you type.
2. Narrow them with the tabs: All, Members, Posts or Courses. Each tab shows how many results it has.
3. Select a result to open it.

Group	What it finds
Members	Members whose name or @handle matches, with their role. Only shown when you're signed in.
Posts	Posts whose title matches, with the author and likes. Matching comments show under their post — selecting one opens the post at that comment.
Courses	Courses whose name matches, with how many members are enrolled.

All shows up to 4 results per group; open a tab to see the rest. Esc or the cross closes search. In a private or paid community, search is there once you're an approved member.

Things worth knowing

• Who can post is up to you. A topic's permissions, the channel's Hide Feed Composer and an Able to post in group rule decide it together — see Channels and feed topics.
• Members can't post back to back. If a member posts again too soon, they're told when they can post next. Admins aren't limited.
• Followers are notified when someone they follow publishes a post.
• Edits can need approval too. If posts need approval in your community, a member's edited post is published again only after an admin approves it.
• Removing a post can't be undone. A scheduled post that you remove never goes out.