diff --git a/sanityv3/schemas/objects/promotion/promoteTopic.tsx b/sanityv3/schemas/objects/promotion/promoteTopic.tsx
index d237f9822..d82da868e 100644
--- a/sanityv3/schemas/objects/promotion/promoteTopic.tsx
+++ b/sanityv3/schemas/objects/promotion/promoteTopic.tsx
@@ -62,7 +62,7 @@ export default {
               description: 'A short and catchy introduction text for this topic content card (max. 215 chars)',
               type: 'array',
               of: [introBlockContentType],
-              validation: (Rule: Rule) => Rule.custom((value: any) => validateCharCounterEditor(value, 215)),
+              validation: (Rule: Rule) => Rule.custom((value: any) => validateCharCounterEditor(value, 215, true)),
             },
           ],
           preview: {
diff --git a/sanityv3/schemas/validations/validateCharCounterEditor.ts b/sanityv3/schemas/validations/validateCharCounterEditor.ts
index e6b7540e2..a4def83e7 100644
--- a/sanityv3/schemas/validations/validateCharCounterEditor.ts
+++ b/sanityv3/schemas/validations/validateCharCounterEditor.ts
@@ -1,14 +1,18 @@
-export const validateCharCounterEditor = (value: PortableTextBlock[], charLimit: number) => {
-  if (!value || value.length === 0) {
-    return 'Required'
+import type { PortableTextBlock } from 'sanity'
+
+export const validateCharCounterEditor = (value: PortableTextBlock[], charLimit: number, allowZeroLength = false) => {
+  if (!value || (value.length === 0 && !allowZeroLength)) {
+    return allowZeroLength ? true : 'Required'
   }
 
-  const count = value[0].children.reduce(
-    (total: any, current: { text: string | any[] }) => total + current.text.length,
-    0,
-  )
+  const count = value[0]?.children
+    ? (value[0].children as { text: string }[]).reduce(
+        (total: number, current: { text: string }) => total + current.text.length,
+        0,
+      )
+    : null
 
-  if (count > charLimit) {
+  if (count !== null && count > charLimit) {
     return `The introduction should be no longer than ${charLimit} characters. Currently ${count} characters long.`
   }