---
title: Add a recommendation
sidebarTitle: Add a recommendation
description: >-
  Recommend a book, podcast, practitioner or place: every field in the Add
  Recommendation window, and what to write in each.
audience: luminary
feature: recommendations
type: guide
availability: live
last_verified: '2026-10-13'
keywords:
  - add recommendation
  - recommend a book
  - share a podcast
  - recommend a practitioner
  - resource link
  - thumbnail image
url: >-
  https://help.bringsoul.life/luminaries/audience/recommendations/add-a-recommendation
---

# Add a recommendation

> Recommend a book, podcast, practitioner or place: every field in the Add Recommendation window, and what to write in each.

You'll end up with one recommendation in your list, with an image, a link and your personal note, ready to show on your portal.

## When to use this

- A client asks what you're reading, and you want one place to send them.
- You trust another practitioner and want to point people to them.
- There's a retreat center, app or podcast you mention in every session.

## Before you start

Have these ready:

- The link where people can find it (the publisher's page, Spotify or Apple Podcasts, the venue's website).
- An image: a book cover, podcast artwork or a photo of the place. You'll paste its address or upload it.
- One or two sentences on why you recommend it.

## Add it

**Step 1: Open the window**

Go to [Audience → Recommendations](https://portal.bringsoul.life/recommendations) and click Add Recommendation.

**Step 2: Choose who sees it**

The switch at the top right sets visibility. On shows Public: *"Recommendation will be publicly visible to everyone."* Off shows Private: *"Recommendation only for subscribers."* Check it every time, so it's set the way you want.

**Step 3: Name it**

Type the Title, for example *"Daring Greatly by Brené Brown"*.

**Step 4: Say why**

Write the Description. This is your voice: who it's for and why it helped you or your clients. Line breaks are kept.

**Step 5: Pick a type**

Choose a Type: Article, Video, Podcast, Book, Other, Course, Practice, Practitioner, Event, Place, Activity or Retreat Center. Your list can be filtered by type, and members see the type on the recommendation's page.

**Step 6: Add the link**

Paste the URL (*"Enter website URL (e.g., google.com, example.com/article)"*). You can leave off `https://`, it's added for you.

**Step 7: Add the image**

Under Thumbnail Image, choose a tab:

- Image URL: paste the address of an image online. A preview appears underneath.
- Upload Image: pick a file from your device and crop it to 16:9.

**Step 8: Save**

Click Create. You'll see *"Recommendation created successfully"* and the new card at the top of your list.

## What happens next

- The recommendation is live straight away. There's no review or approval.
- It shows on your portal once the Recommendations section is on. See [Show recommendations on your portal](https://help.bringsoul.life/luminaries/audience/recommendations/show-recommendations-on-your-portal).
- No one is notified. To tell people about it, [send an announcement](https://help.bringsoul.life/luminaries/audience/announcements) with a link.

## If something won't save

| Message                                                                      | What to do                                                                                       |
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ |
| _"Title is required"_ or _"Description is required"_                         | Fill in both. A recommendation without a note is just a link.                                    |
| _"Must be a valid URL with a proper domain (e.g., example.com, google.com)"_ | Use a full web address with a domain, such as `example.com/book`. Text without a dot won't work. |
| _"Unable to load image from URL. Please check the URL and try again."_       | The image address doesn't open as an image. Copy the image address itself, or upload the file.   |
| An error after clicking Create, with no field highlighted                    | Add a Thumbnail Image. A recommendation can't be saved without one.                              |

## Tips

- Write the description first. A one-line personal note (_"The book I hand every new client who's grieving"_) turns a link into your voice.
- Close the window by accident? What you typed is kept. Click Add Recommendation again to pick up where you left off.
- Use the Practitioner type for people you refer to, and Place or Retreat Center for venues. It makes filtering your list easier later.
- Link to the most useful page, not a home page: the book's page, the episode, the booking page.
- Recommending lots at once? [Soul AI](https://help.bringsoul.life/luminaries/soul-ai) can add several in one go, for example _"Add these five books as recommendations"_. You confirm each one.

## Related

- [Build a curated list](https://help.bringsoul.life/luminaries/audience/recommendations/build-a-curated-list): 
Group recommendations around a theme.

- [Edit, share and remove](https://help.bringsoul.life/luminaries/audience/recommendations/manage-and-share): 
Change any field later.

- [Recommendations introduction](https://help.bringsoul.life/luminaries/audience/recommendations): 
What recommendations are for.

- [Members-only recommendations](https://help.bringsoul.life/luminaries/audience/recommendations/members-only-recommendations): 
What Private means for members.