Understanding RSS Feed Errors in Letterhead

Understanding RSS Feed Errors in Letterhead

Letterhead allows you to incorporate RSS (Really Simple Syndication) feeds as a content source for your newsletters, providing an automated way to pull articles and stories into the Curations Library. By leveraging RSS feeds, you can streamline content updates and publishing for your newsletter editions.

Occasionally, you may encounter errors related to your RSS feed. This guide explains what these errors mean, why they might occur, and steps you can take to resolve them.

RSS Feed Error Codes and Resolutions

Error Code Response (What You See) Explanation Resolution
VALIDATION_CODE_RSS_DOCUMENT_TOO_LARGE Content too large The feed exceeds the allowable size limit. Check the size of your RSS feed and reduce its payload by removing unnecessary items.
VALIDATION_CODE_RSS_DOCUMENT_EMPTY No content in the feed The feed appears to be empty. Contact Letterhead support to revalidate the feed.
VALIDATION_CODE_RSS_DOCUMENT_INVALID_UNKNOWN_REASON Error fetching content The feed is invalid for an unspecified reason. Contact your RSS feed administrator to diagnose and resolve the issue.
VALIDATION_CODE_RSS_DOCUMENT_BAD_REQUEST The request is invalid The system could not process your request due to incorrect formatting or parameters. Verify the RSS feed's URL and ensure its structure complies with RSS standards.
VALIDATION_CODE_RSS_INTERNAL_ERROR An unexpected feed error occurred The system encountered an unknown internal issue while processing the feed. Wait for 30 minutes to an hour. If the issue persists, contact Letterhead support.
VALIDATION_CODE_RSS_SERVICE_BAD_GATEWAY The service encountered a bad gateway The feed source service is experiencing connectivity issues. Wait and retry later. If the issue persists, ensure the feed source is operational or contact its provider.
VALIDATION_CODE_RSS_SERVICE_UNAVAILABLE The service is currently unavailable The feed source is temporarily unavailable. Wait for a while and try again later. If the problem persists, confirm the availability of the feed source.
VALIDATION_CODE_RSS_PROVIDER_CONFLICT There is a conflict with the request The feed encountered a conflict during processing. Review recent changes to the feed or contact the feed administrator for clarification.
VALIDATION_CODE_RSS_PROVIDER_TIMED_OUT The request timed out The system could not retrieve the feed within the expected time frame. Check your network connectivity and confirm the feed is accessible. Retry after some time.
VALIDATION_CODE_RSS_PROVIDER_THROTTLE Too many requests The system has received too many requests for this feed in a short period. Reduce the frequency of feed requests. Wait for some time before retrying.

General Guidelines for Handling RSS Feed Issues

  1. Some errors may resolve themselves if you wait 30 minutes to an hour.
  2. Use an online RSS validator to confirm your feed adheres to proper formatting standards - Feed validator 
  3. If the issue persists after troubleshooting, reach out to Letterhead support for further assistance.

By addressing these errors promptly, you can ensure a smooth integration of your RSS feed into Letterhead.

Please ensure that the following IPs are whitelisted and our crawler's domain is safe-listed:

Whitelist IPs: 198.199.66.189 | 164.90.252.240 | 167.172.156.41

Safelist Domain: *.tryletterhead.com | letterhead.email | letterhead.ai

By whitelisting the above IPs and safe-listing the mentioned domains, you enable our crawlers to efficiently access and retrieve content from our RSS feeds.

In addition to this, the Letterhead crawler is labeled "LetterheadCurationBot", and its User-agent is below:

Mozilla/5.0 (compatible; LetterheadCurationBot/1.0; +http://tryletterhead.com/bots)