Listrak: Email Contacts Feed Fails Due to subscribeDate Field Type Mismatch

Overview

When ingesting data into Amperity, each field in a source feed must use the correct data type that matches what Amperity expects. If a field — such as subscribeDate — is configured with the wrong data type (for example, string instead of datetime), the workflow can fail during ingestion and downstream processes may pause. 

This article explains how to identify and fix these type mismatch errors so workflows complete successfully.


Cause

'This issue occurs when incoming data fields do not match the expected data types defined in the feed configuration.

For example:

A field like subscribeDate, which contains date and time data, is set as a string type.
However, Amperity requires it to be a datetime field type. 

Because Amperity validates field types during data ingestion, this mismatch prevents ingestion and causes workflow failures.


How to Identify the Issue

  1. Review Workflow Error Message:
    When a workflow fails, Amperity will include the error describing which feed and field caused the issue (e.g., Type string of Spark field named "subscribeDate" does not match expected type: :datetime).
  2. Check Feed Schema:
    Go to Sources > Feeds in your Amperity tenant.
    Locate and open the feed referenced in the error (e.g., Listrak: Email Contacts).
  3. Inspect Field Types:
    Look for the field mentioned in the error (e.g., subscribeDate).
    Verify the field’s data type in the schema — if it’s string but contains datetime values, this is likely the issue.


    Resolution

    Step-by-Step Fix:
  • Open the Feed Configuration
    Navigate to Sources > Feeds.
    Select the feed causing the issue (e.g., Listrak: Email Contacts).
    Click Edit to open the feed schema editor.
  • Change Field Data Type
    Locate the problematic field, such as subscribeDate.
    Change the field’s data type from string to datetime. 
  • Validate Data Format
    Ensure the incoming values match a supported datetime format (e.g., YYYY-MM-DDTHH:MM:SSZ). 
    If required, fix the source data or transform values before ingestion.
  • Save and Activate
    Save the updated feed configuration.
    Activate the feed to apply changes.
  • Re-run the Workflow
    Go to the Workflows page.
    Retry the failed workflow or rerun it to ingest the corrected feed.
     

Expected Outcome

After updating the field type to datetime and ensuring its values are valid, the workflow should ingest the data successfully and complete without errors.

Once the workflow has run successfully, downstream campaigns and orchestrations will proceed normally.
 

Best Practices

  • Validate Field Types
    Always confirm that source feed fields match the expected Amperity data types before running workflows. 
  • Use Supported Formats
    For datetime fields, follow YYYY-MM-DDTHH:MM:SSZ or its equivalents to ensure Amperity can parse the data correctly.
  • Pre-Check Data Before Ingestion
    Perform schema and format validation using previews or sample files before ingestion to avoid workflow failures.


    Reference: 
    https://docs.amperity.com/reference/data_tables.html