Swaps
A swap is the exchange's direct trade. Instead of your ad spreading anonymously across the pool, you are paired with one compatible partner: you host their ad in one of your channels while they host yours — both for a full 24 hours, both posted and removed together by the bot.
It is the same machinery as a broadcast campaign, pointed at one channel instead of many, and with the anonymity deliberately dropped on both sides.
Broadcast or swap?
| Broadcast | Swap | |
|---|---|---|
| Reach | The whole eligible pool, spread over the 30-day cycle | Exactly one partner channel |
| Anonymity | Fully anonymous both ways | Disclosed — you each see the other's ad in your channel |
| Who posts | The bot, in matched hosts' channels | The bot, in both partners' channels, both or neither |
| Placement count | Your plan's cadence, plus anything you add | One, on each side |
| Credits | Can buy extra placements | Not applicable — a swap costs nothing |
| Delivery boosts | Available | Not applicable |
| Speed to first placement | Usually days | Depends on a compatible partner existing |
Choose a swap when you want a specific, mutual trade with a channel of roughly your own size. Choose broadcast when you want breadth.
What you need
Both sides must be enrolled members with an active channel. That is it — every enrolled channel already grants the bot the rights a swap relies on, so a swap adds no new requirements.
Setting up a swap
- Build your ad as usual — creative, optional link buttons, topic and content level. See Running ads.
- On the Level and submit step, open How should this run? and choose Swap — a direct 1:1 with one partner channel.
- A picker appears: Your channel that will host your partner's ad in return. Choose which of your active channels holds up your half of the trade. The page explains the deal: "A swap is reciprocal and disclosed: you host their ad while they host yours, both for a full 24 hours, and both come down together."
- Note that the reach estimate changes to "A swap reaches exactly one partner channel — the one you pair with."
- Click Submit for review. Swap ads go through the same human review as everything else.
Delivery boosts and Priority Review do not apply to swaps. The form hides the boost menu when Swap is selected and clears any selection, so nothing is charged. Credit-bought extra placements do not apply either.
If you forget to pick a channel, the form says "Choose one of your channels to host your partner's ad." If the channel you named is not one of your own active channels, the exchange refuses the submission.
How partners are matched
Once approved, your swap offer waits for a compatible partner: another member's swap ad whose channel is close to yours in audience size and whose content level fits both sides.
You do not pick a partner by name. The exchange pairs offers so the trade is fair in both directions — a small channel is never matched into carrying a much larger channel's ad, or the reverse.
Because a swap needs two compatible offers to exist at the same time, it can take longer to fire than a broadcast campaign. Click Why? on the ad row to see where you stand. The diagnostic shows a Swap partner step:
| Diagnostic says | Meaning |
|---|---|
| "Waiting for a compatible partner channel to join. A swap needs another channel close to yours in size that accepts your level." | Unmatched — no compatible offer exists right now |
| "You're matched with a partner — both ads run together." | Paired; the placements are coming |
| "This swap has already run." | Completed |
The pool of swap offers is smaller than the pool of broadcast campaigns, so a very large channel, a very small one, or a level-5 offer can wait a while. Cancel it and submit as a Broadcast campaign instead if you would rather have reach now — cancelling before anything runs costs you nothing.
What happens when a swap runs
- The bot posts both creatives at the same time — both or neither. If either half cannot post, neither does, and the swap retries later.
- Both placements stay up for the full 24 hours.
- The bot removes both together.
- Both sides get their view and click numbers.
The ad row carries a Swap tag throughout, so a swap campaign is never confused with a broadcast one in your list.
Protection against a bad partner
The swap is bot-guaranteed on both ends. If one side breaks the deal — removes the partner's ad early, or strips the bot's rights so it cannot do its job — the whole swap is voided: the bot takes down the other half too, so nobody keeps a free promotion.
The offending account takes the penalty in full: a reliability hit, a strike, and a cooldown. See Rules and fair play.
Your reliability is untouched when the fault is your partner's.
A swap that failed or was voided before running retries right away, looking for a new partner.
Rules and edge cases
- A swap is disclosed by design. You will see your partner's ad in your channel and they will see yours in theirs. This is the one exception to the exchange's anonymity rule, and you opt into it by choosing Swap.
- A swap costs nothing. No credits, no wallet charge, no placement allowance consumed.
- One trade at a time. A completed swap does not immediately re-match — swap ads run on roughly the same rhythm as the pool, so your channel is never consumed by back-to-back trades.
- Cancelling works the same way. Click Cancel on the ad row. If the swap has already posted, both halves still finish their 24 hours.
- Host controls still apply. If your partner's ad turns out to be something you do not want, you can refuse it — see Refusing an ad — but be aware that removing your half of a live swap through any other route is an early removal and is penalised.
- A swap does not earn hosting credits in the usual way. Credits are minted by carrying pool placements; a swap is a direct trade, and its value to you is the promotion itself.
- Review still applies. Swap ads are human-reviewed before they can be matched, exactly like broadcast ads, and can be declined and appealed the same way.
FAQ
Can I choose who I swap with?
No. The exchange pairs compatible offers so the trade is fair to both sides. If you want to arrange a promotion with a specific partner you already know, that is what Cross-Promotion is for.
Can I run a swap and a broadcast campaign at the same time?
Yes, as long as you are within your plan's limit on ads running at once.
Does a swap count toward my plan's placements per cycle?
No. A swap is a single 1:1 placement with no placement count.
My partner's ad is in my channel but mine has not appeared yet. Is something wrong?
That should not happen — the bot posts both or neither. If the timing looks off, give it a few minutes and check the Why? diagnostic; if a half genuinely failed, the swap is voided and both come down.
Can I boost a swap so it fires sooner?
No. Boosts buy placements and dispatch priority for pool campaigns; a swap is waiting on a compatible partner, which money cannot conjure.
Next: Credits and delivery boosts — the two optional rails that give a single broadcast campaign more than your plan's included cadence.