MICHAEL
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AI Q · Guide 5

How to publish to every channel for free

I post to LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, Threads and YouTube, and my publishing tools cost me nothing. Claude does the scheduling. I do the saying yes.

Time about half an hour, less with fewer channels Cost free, on the free plans Level you've done guides 1 to 4

Prologue

From draft to every channel

Guide 4 gave you an inbox Claude drafts from every day. This guide is the other end of the pipe: an approved post goes out to every channel, at the right time, with no paid tools.

  1. 1Set up Claude
  2. 2Give Claude a job
  3. 3Define your brand
  4. 4A content inbox
  5. 5A free publishing stack
  6. 6Timing and comments
  7. 7Thought to motion
  • Two free schedulers, run by Claude
  • One idea, the best format per channel
  • Two gates and my yes before anything is scheduled
  • A song on every visual post

Before you start

What you need

Your ticks are saved in this browser.

What the free plans include

Free plans change, so I don't list their limits. Check Buffer pricing and Metricool pricing for three things:

  • How many channels
  • How many scheduled posts
  • Which networks

The picture

One approved post, every channel

Two gates, my yes, then two schedulers fan it out. Tap a box to jump to its step. Boxes turn teal as you finish them.

One idea passes a text gate, a visuals and music gate and my yes. Claude then schedules it through Buffer to LinkedIn, and through Metricool to Instagram (which shares to Facebook), TikTok, Threads and YouTube Shorts. After it's live, Claude logs it. One ideastep 4 · best format each Gate 1: the textstep 5 Gate 2: the lookstep 5 · preview + songs My yesstep 5 · copy and time Claudeschedules, step 3 Log itstep 7 · once it's live Bufferfree · step 1 Metricoolfree · step 1 LinkedInexact time Instagram+ Facebook · ping TikTokping · add song Threadsauto-publish YouTubeShorts

On a narrow screen, swipe sideways. "Ping" means the post waits on your phone so you can add the song.

The setup

Seven steps

Steps 1 to 3 you do once. Steps 4 to 7 are what happens to every post after that.

1

Open two free schedulers

  1. Sign up for Buffer, free plan.
  2. Sign up for Metricool, free plan. This is my referral link: if you later pay for a Metricool plan, I may earn a commission. It costs you nothing extra, and the free plan is all this guide needs.
  3. In Metricool's brand settings, set your time zone, so approved times mean your local time.
  4. Install the Metricool app on your phone, sign in, and allow notifications (step 6).
One approved post
Bufferfree plan
  • LinkedIn exact time
Metricoolfree plan
  • Instagram notify meshares to Facebook
  • TikTok notify me
  • Threads auto-publish
  • YouTube Shorts
My routing. LinkedIn goes through Buffer because Metricool's free plan didn't include it when I set mine up.
How I do it

Total cost: nothing. Other tools I looked at had no free plan when I checked.

Screenshot coming: the two free plans side by side (account details blurred)
Task
2

Connect your channels

  1. In Buffer, connect your LinkedIn profile.
  2. In Metricool, connect Instagram, TikTok, Threads and YouTube.
  3. For TikTok, or any app where you have two accounts, log out in your browser first or use a private window. Log in to the right one during the connect.
  4. Optional: in Instagram's Accounts Center, turn on sharing to your Facebook profile. Every Instagram post lands on Facebook too.
How I do it

Only my personal accounts are connected. Claude writes every Instagram caption to read well on Facebook too.

Screenshot coming: the connected channels in each scheduler (account names blurred)
Task
3

Connect both to Claude, and give it the rules

  1. Settings
  2. Connectors
  3. Browse connectors
  4. Buffer
  5. Connect
  6. Sign in, approve
In Claude on your computer. Then the same for Metricool. Connectors work on your phone too once they're added.
  1. Add the rules below to your project instructions. They keep Claude from posting anything without your yes.
  2. Run the check prompt. It only reads.
Publishing rules:
- LinkedIn goes through Buffer. Instagram, TikTok, Threads and YouTube go through Metricool.
- Two approvals before anything is scheduled: first the text, then the visuals with a preview per channel and at least 3 song options.
- Nothing is scheduled without my explicit yes on the final copy and the time. Never schedule on your own.
- Before scheduling, check what's already queued yourself, and count it against each free plan's limit. Tell me before we hit a limit.
- Schedule at the exact time I approved, not the default queue. Then confirm each scheduled time back to me.
- Never bump, edit or delete a post you didn't create.
- [Instagram and TikTok: notify me, so I add the song in the app. Threads: auto-publish.]
List the channels connected in my Buffer and my Metricool, and how many posts are scheduled on each right now. Don't create, change or delete anything.
How I do it

Claude checks what's queued itself before it plans anything. More than one of my projects posts to my LinkedIn, so "never touch a post you didn't create" is in the rules.

Screenshot coming: Buffer and Metricool in the connectors list
Task
4

One idea, the best format on each channel

  1. Take one idea from your inbox.
  2. Ask Claude for a version per channel, each in the format that does best there. Threads: 500 characters at most.
Here's my idea: [your idea].
Write it for each channel in the format that does best there:
- LinkedIn: [e.g. a document carousel]
- Instagram: [carousel or reel]. Write the caption so it also reads well on Facebook.
- TikTok: [e.g. a video]
- Threads: 500 characters max, no hashtags
- YouTube Shorts: [only if there's a video]
Add a visual idea for each. Don't schedule anything.
How I do it

Best format is a priority, not a cage. When the material clearly suits something else, Claude uses it and says why. No silent videos: every video has my voice or music.

Task
5

Two gates, then a clear yes

  1. Gate 1The textEdit every channel's copy until it sounds like you. Approve it.
  2. Gate 2The lookVisuals, a preview per channel, song options and times. Approve them.
  3. ThenYour yesFinal copy and time, once more. No yes, no scheduling.
How I do it

I approve the words first. Changing words after the visuals are made means making them twice.

Task
6

Music: three options, one song, added on your phone

  1. Ask for at least three songs that fit the post and are popular on the platform right now.
  2. Pick one for Instagram, TikTok and YouTube. Claude writes it into the post's notes before scheduling.
  3. In Metricool, turn Autopublish off for Instagram and TikTok, so they notify you. Threads can auto-publish.

  1. 1Pick one of three songs.

  2. 2Your phone pings. Tap it, then tap Publish.

  3. 3Photos in order, paste, add the song, post.

Suggest at least 3 songs for this post. One song will go on Instagram, TikTok and YouTube. Each must fit the post's mood and be popular on the platform right now. Tell me how you checked it's popular. When I pick, write the pick into [where you keep notes for each post] before you schedule.
How I do it

The song comes from the app's own library, never baked into the file. My first pick that really worked was Bitter Sweet Symphony.

Task
7

Count, schedule, confirm, log

  1. CountClaude counts what's scheduled against each free limit. It tells you before a post would go over.
  2. PreviewYou check the image shows in the scheduler's own preview, before your yes.
  3. Schedule and read backExact times, read back to you. Check them.
  4. LogOnce it's live, the media moves to a "published" folder and the post is logged, so the next draft knows what went out.
I approve this copy and these times: [channel, day, time for each].
Count against the free limits first. Then schedule exactly at those times, Instagram and TikTok as notify me, Threads auto-publish, LinkedIn through Buffer. Confirm each scheduled time back to me.
How I do it

The caps are real. When a month fills up, the lower-priority post moves to the next one. Once a post is live, Claude checks the channel, logs it, and adds it to its series playlist where there is one.

Task

Check it works

One prompt to check the whole stack

Run this in your project. It only reads.

Check my publishing setup without changing anything. For the next 14 days, list everything scheduled in Buffer and Metricool with its channel, day and time, and say which posts you created. Tell me how many posts I have left this month on each free plan, and which Instagram and TikTok posts are set to notify me.
Task

If a scheduler doesn't answer, reconnect it in Connectors (step 3).

My mistakes

What went wrong for me

Every rule in this guide has one of these behind it.

What happened: Carousels auto-published with no song. They went out silent.

What I do now: Both are on notify me. I add the song in the app.

What happened: Notify me marked the post "Published" at reminder time. Nothing was live.

What I do now: Claude checks the channel itself to confirm a post is live.

What happened: A post was scheduled with no song pick written down.

What I do now: The pick goes into the post's notes before scheduling.

What happened: TikTok connected the account my browser was logged into. The wrong one.

What I do now: I log out first, or use a private window.

What happened: An image link showed broken in the scheduler's preview.

What I do now: I check the scheduler's preview before I say yes.

Stay safe

My do's and don'ts

Do

  • Approve the text, then the look, then say yes.
  • Count against the free limits before every schedule.
  • Read the scheduled times back.

Don't

  • Schedule anything without an explicit yes.
  • Auto-publish posts that need a song from the app.
  • Let Claude touch posts it didn't create.

Epilogue

Your posts leave the building

One idea now goes out to every channel, in the right format for each, with music where it matters. It costs nothing, and nothing goes out without your yes. Your part at post time is a ping on your phone and a few seconds.

In guide 6, I'll show you how I pick the times, and how I make sure no comment goes unanswered.