Tiers and packages
What contributors can buy, what it costs in credits, and where the credits come from.
Packages
A package is one kind of contribution with its own rules: sponsored post, press release or guest post. Each has:
- a price in credits;
- the cards contributors may use in the editor (images, galleries, video, audio, bookmarks, embeds, code, callouts, toggles) and whether the call-to-action cards (button, header, call to action, product) are allowed;
- the disclosure label shown at the top of the post ("Sponsored", "Press release", or your own words) and its position (top, bottom, or both: a site setting);
- whether links carry
rel="sponsored"and whether the post is markednoindexfor search engines; - size caps for images and media;
- the internal tag the service adds to every post of the package,
#sponsoredby default, so your theme can style or exclude them.
HTML, Markdown, signup, email, paywall and file cards never exist for contributors, in the editor or on the server.
Tiers
A tier mapping connects one of your Ghost tiers to the packages its members may buy and the credits they receive per billing period. A member who holds a mapped tier gets the credits when the period starts and again at every renewal; credits not spent by the end of the period expire unless the mapping lets them carry over.
Have a tier for contributors. If you are the owner, you can make one without leaving the service: in Map a tier, choose Create a hidden tier for contributors… and give it a name, a monthly and a yearly price, and a currency. The service creates the tier in Ghost, always hidden from Portal's lists, and picks it in the panel. Or create the tier in Ghost Admin (Settings → Membership → Tiers), where you may hide it from Portal yourself. Hidden tiers still work through a direct signup link, and the service's landing page shows that link to non-members.
On the site page choose Map a tier, pick the Ghost tier (one you have just created there is already picked), set the credits per period and tick the packages.
Hidden tiers and the Content API
Ghost's Content API returns hidden tiers to themes. If your theme lists tiers, filter by
visibility:public, or the sponsor tier appears on your pricing page.
Renewals
Ghost sends no webhook when a subscription simply renews, so the service checks each contributor's subscription on a schedule and grants the new period's credits when the period end moves. A renewal shows up within the hour; a contributor who signs in is checked at once.