LinkedIn: Campaign stays in Draft and won't activate
The campaign was created but won’t activate — it stays in Draft. This is almost always a mismatch between the bidding type and the optimization goal, which markXpand can usually correct automatically.
What you’ll see
Section titled “What you’ll see”The campaign created successfully, but it stays in Draft and never moves to Active when launched.
What this means
Section titled “What this means”LinkedIn only allows certain combinations of cost type (how you pay) and optimization goal (what LinkedIn optimizes for). If they don’t match, the campaign passes creation but fails when LinkedIn tries to activate it — so it sits in Draft.
Why it happened
Section titled “Why it happened”- An automatic/cost-cap goal was paired with the wrong cost type (these need CPM).
- A manual bid was set without a valid bid amount (manual usually needs CPC with a bid above zero).
How to fix it
Section titled “How to fix it”- In markXpand, reopen the campaign’s bidding settings.
- Pick a matching combination:
- Automatic / maximum-delivery goals → CPM.
- Manual bidding → CPC with a bid amount greater than zero.
- Save and Relaunch — it should move from Draft to Active.
How to know it worked
Section titled “How to know it worked”The campaign status changes from Draft to Active and starts delivering.
Still stuck?
Section titled “Still stuck?”It helps to include a screenshot and your campaign name.