Frequently Asked Questions

Our platform offers you an incredible array of options and customization–getting just what you want, and does so with an intuitive, easy to use interface.  However, we know that you may have some questions prior to contacting us, and have tried to answer many of them below.

Don’t see your question below? Contact us and we’ll take care of you.

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Product Questions

Can I generate revenue with your platform?

Absolutely.  If you are anything like our hundreds of other customers, we expect that you will.  There are both passive and active revenue streams built-in to the system to help you generate new revenue streams and monetize your event listings.

We offer standard listing upgrades (enhanced, featured, premium) as well as promotional add-ons such as a listing distribution (syndication to other sites in the market), email campaigns, mobile ads, and voice skill mentions.  We also allow you to offer any additional custom promotions of your choosing, each complete with its own dates and inventory (guaranteed print, social posting, holiday guides, over-the-air mentions, etc.).

Further, we provide options for your own private label ticketing service and voice skills, along with built-in tools for your sales team to create packages for local events and sell sponsorships to local businesses.

Is your platform compatible with my CMS?

Almost assuredly.  We have worked with scores of different CMS systems and to this date have had no trouble with any of them.

The only quasi-exception to this is Wix–we have encountered some issues with the free website provider Wix, which does not allow javascript to be placed or run correctly on its site.

If you have more specific questions or concerns about your CMS, contact our sales team at sales@cityspark.com.

Do you offer reverse publishing?

Yes!  A majority of our media partners are using our extensive reverse publishing tools to export for print, newsletters, email, magazines, etc.  We offer the most flexible and robust reverse publishing on the market.  You’ll have full control of the content selection, the exact formatting and layout (completely custom) and the export format (more than 10 options).  We are compatible with any layout software, and you can automate the entire process as much or as little as you like.

Is your platform responsive?

Yes, all of our portals and widgets are fully responsive and will look great on any screen size.

Do submitted events require approval before going live?

Yes.  No submitted events will go live without prior approval.  With several ways to review and approve events and a number of filters and settings, you can create a process that is as hands-on or as hands-off as you like.

What editorial control will I have on your platform?

You will always have real-time, complete editorial control.  As an admin user, your role will allow you to remove events with one click, edit events inline, and change any aspect of any event as you see fit.  This can be done through the admin site, or directly on the calendar itself.

All changes you make will update and appear in real-time.

 

Can you import my existing calendar listings?

Absolutely.  We do this for many, if not most, of our new customers.  We can import your content in just about any format, as long as a few basic criteria are met.  We will look at a sample output from you and let you know what, if any, changes need to be made prior to importing.

What is the pricing for your platform?

While in most cases, there is a small monthly fee for our platform, to cover the cost of the complex local event aggregation and processing service we provide, as well as  providing full phone and email support, in nearly all cases you can generate enough in just passive income from the site to more than cover the monthly amount, with us then sending you a check each month.   That doesn’t even account for the additional revenue from direct sales of built-in sponsorship packages, etc, which you keep 100%.

There are a number of variables that go into the final pricing for each customer–site traffic (bandwidth), market size (number of events), what configuration you are looking for (content, voice, tickets, reverse publishing, API, etc.), and how you want to split your revenue share.

We power hundreds of media sites in markets from a few thousand residents to those with a few million, and we make it work for all of them, and are confident it will work for you as well.

Contact us at sales@cityspark.com for a personalized quote.

Support Questions

How do I submit an event to a calendar in your network?

All of our calendars have an “Add Event” button in the top right corner of the header (just to the right of the star).  You can submit to each of our partner sites by clicking on this add event button on the desired site.

You may also submit directly to CitySpark, by clicking on submit event on our website.

How do I cancel, postpone, or remove my event?

You can manage all of your submitted events at hub.cityspark.com, including editing, promoting, and removing/canceling events.

If your event was scheduled to happen soon, and is now canceled, consider adding “Canceled” or “Postponed” to the beginning of the title so that those who had been planning to attend will know.  Then if/when your event is rescheduled, resubmit it as a new event.

If your event is more than a few weeks in the future, you may consider removing it from the listings entirely.

Alternatively, if your event will now be happening virtually, please indicate that in the title as well, by adding “Virtual:” to the beginning.

If you did not submit an event, but it is already listed on the calendar, and you need to cancel it, please edit the event title to add the words “Canceled” or “Postponed”.

What if I submitted an event, but I don't see my event online?

All events (including edits) need to be approved before they will go live.  Please allow up to 24 hours for this to happen, although it is usually much faster.

In some cases, if your event falls outside of the current radius, you may need to expand the included radius on the calendar for your event to appear.

Do I need to submit my event more than once?

No.  Please do not submit your event more than once, or it will create a duplicate.  Once processed and approved, your event will be provided to all of the sites powered by CitySpark.  It will first appear on the site it is submitted to, and then it may take up to an additional 24 hours (though usually faster), to show up on the other CitySpark-powered sites in the region.

Can I add a video to my event?

Yes, you can add up to three videos to your event, and they will display just below the description on the event details page.  However, keep in mind that your video(s) will only appear to the public, if you have selected at least the enhanced level of promotion.

I made a mistake on a promotion purchase, how do I make a change or request a refund?

If you need to change any part of your promotion order please contact us at support@cityspark.com.  Include your name, email, the order number, event title, and the change you would like to see.

We do not provide refunds for promotions that have already been fulfilled, but in some cases may provide refunds or credits for promotions that have not yet run.  Please contact us if you are seeking a refund at support@cityspark.com.

If I buy your event listing distribution, how many sites will my event get distributed to?

Our team will submit your event  to every site in your market that accepts public event submissions within the radius you specify and for which your event fits their criteria.  We cannot guarantee that they will approve and list it on their site (as they are third party sites and we have no control over what they do with their submissions), but we will ensure that your event is submitted to each of them on your behalf, saving you time and getting your event in front of as many audiences as possible.

The exact number of sites varies by market, but in most large metro areas, within 50 miles, we distribute to 50+ sites, and in smaller areas it is typically 20+.

How do I contact someone at CitySpark?

For support questions, send an email to our support team at support@cityspark.com.

For sales related questions, send an email to sales@cityspark.com.