# Campaign Scheduling

> Learn how to schedule WhatsApp campaigns for optimal delivery timing, including time zone handling, best practices, and recurring campaign setup.

Source: https://edesy.in/docs/waflow/campaigns/scheduling

Timing is crucial for campaign success. Sending messages when your audience is most likely to engage can dramatically improve your results. This guide covers all aspects of campaign scheduling in Waflow.

## Sending Options

When creating a campaign, you have several timing options:

### Send Immediately

Messages begin processing as soon as you launch the campaign.

**Best for:**
- Urgent announcements
- Time-sensitive offers
- Real-time notifications
- Breaking updates

**How it works:**
1. Complete campaign setup
2. Click **Send Now**
3. Messages enter the queue immediately
4. Delivery begins within seconds

> **Note:** "Immediately" means the campaign starts right away, but actual delivery happens progressively based on your sending speed and queue size.

### Schedule for Later

Set a specific date and time for your campaign to send.

**Best for:**
- Planned promotions
- Timed announcements
- Optimal send time targeting
- Coordinated marketing efforts

**How it works:**
1. Complete campaign setup
2. Select **Schedule for Later**
3. Choose date, time, and time zone
4. Campaign status becomes "Queued"
5. Messages send automatically at the scheduled time

## Setting a Schedule

### Date and Time Selection

The scheduling interface includes:

1. **Calendar picker**: Select the send date
2. **Time selector**: Choose the exact time
3. **Time zone dropdown**: Specify the time zone

### Time Zone Handling

Waflow offers two approaches to time zones:

#### Sender's Time Zone

All messages send at the specified time in your selected time zone.

**Example:**
- You schedule for 9:00 AM EST
- All recipients get messages at 9:00 AM EST
- A recipient in PST receives the message at 6:00 AM their local time

**Best for:**
- Event-based timing (webinar starts at X time)
- Same-region audiences
- Synchronized announcements

#### Recipient's Time Zone

Messages send at the specified time in each recipient's local time zone.

**Example:**
- You schedule for 9:00 AM in recipient's time zone
- A recipient in EST gets the message at 9:00 AM EST
- A recipient in PST gets the message at 9:00 AM PST

**Best for:**
- Global audiences
- Time-sensitive local events
- Respectful timing across regions

**To enable:**
1. Select **Schedule for Later**
2. Check **Send in recipient's time zone**
3. Waflow uses the contact's time zone field

> **Note:** Recipient time zone requires the time zone field to be set for each contact.

### Scheduling Constraints

Be aware of these limitations:

| Constraint | Limit |
|------------|-------|
| Minimum advance time | 5 minutes from now |
| Maximum advance time | 1 year in the future |
| Time zone support | All standard time zones |
| Daylight saving | Automatically handled |

## Best Times to Send

While optimal timing varies by audience, research suggests general patterns:

### By Day of Week

| Day | Engagement Level | Best For |
|-----|------------------|----------|
| Monday | Moderate | Professional updates |
| Tuesday | High | Promotions, newsletters |
| Wednesday | High | Mid-week offers |
| Thursday | High | Weekend event promos |
| Friday | Moderate | End-of-week deals |
| Saturday | Variable | Leisure, retail |
| Sunday | Lower | Casual content |

### By Time of Day

| Time Window | Best For |
|-------------|----------|
| 8-10 AM | Morning updates, news |
| 12-2 PM | Lunch break browsing |
| 5-7 PM | After-work shopping |
| 8-10 PM | Evening engagement |

### By Industry

| Industry | Optimal Times |
|----------|---------------|
| E-commerce | 10 AM, 8 PM weekdays |
| Healthcare | 9-11 AM weekdays |
| Food & Dining | 11 AM, 5 PM |
| Education | Early afternoon |
| B2B Services | Tuesday-Thursday, 9 AM-5 PM |

> **Tip:** Test different times with your audience and analyze results to find your optimal send times.

### Times to Avoid

Avoid sending during:

- **Very early morning** (before 7 AM)
- **Late night** (after 10 PM)
- **Major holidays** (unless holiday-related)
- **Weekends** (for professional content)
- **Meal times** (for non-food content)

## Recurring Campaigns

Set up campaigns that automatically repeat on a schedule.

### Creating a Recurring Campaign

1. In campaign setup, select **Recurring Campaign**
2. Configure the recurrence pattern
3. Set start and end dates (optional)
4. Define audience refresh behavior

### Recurrence Patterns

#### Daily

Campaign runs every day or every X days.

**Options:**
- Every day
- Every 2 days
- Every 3 days
- Custom interval

**Use cases:**
- Daily deals
- Medication reminders
- Daily tips

#### Weekly

Campaign runs on specific days each week.

**Options:**
- Select specific days (Mon, Wed, Fri)
- Every week or every X weeks

**Use cases:**
- Weekly newsletters
- Weekly sales
- Regular updates

#### Monthly

Campaign runs on specific dates or days each month.

**Options:**
- Specific date (1st, 15th, last)
- Specific day (First Monday, Third Thursday)
- Every month or every X months

**Use cases:**
- Monthly statements
- Subscription reminders
- Monthly promotions

### Audience Behavior for Recurring Campaigns

Choose how the audience is determined for each occurrence:

#### Static Audience

Same contacts every time.

**How it works:**
- Audience is defined at campaign creation
- Same contacts receive every occurrence
- New contacts added later are not included

**Best for:**
- Fixed groups
- Cohort-based messaging
- Specific contact lists

#### Dynamic Audience

Audience refreshes before each send.

**How it works:**
- Segment criteria are evaluated each time
- New contacts matching criteria are included
- Contacts no longer matching are excluded

**Best for:**
- Segments that change over time
- New customer welcome series
- Active user notifications

### Managing Recurring Campaigns

#### Pause a Recurrence

Temporarily stop the campaign:
1. Go to the campaign details
2. Click **Pause Recurrence**
3. Campaign stops running but settings are preserved
4. Click **Resume** to restart

#### Skip an Occurrence

Skip a single scheduled send:
1. Find the upcoming occurrence
2. Click **Skip This Occurrence**
3. Next occurrence proceeds normally

#### Edit Recurrence Settings

Modify the pattern:
1. Go to campaign settings
2. Click **Edit Recurrence**
3. Update the pattern
4. Changes apply to future occurrences

#### End a Recurring Campaign

Stop permanently:
1. Go to campaign settings
2. Set an end date, or
3. Click **Stop Recurring Campaign**
4. Historical data is preserved

## Smart Scheduling Features

### Send Time Optimization

Waflow can optimize send times based on engagement patterns.

**How it works:**
1. Enable **Smart Send Time**
2. Waflow analyzes past engagement data
3. Each contact receives messages at their optimal time
4. Timing is personalized per recipient

**Requirements:**
- Sufficient historical data
- Engagement tracking enabled
- Premium feature (check your plan)

### Throttled Sending

Control the pace of message delivery:

| Throttle Level | Speed | Use Case |
|----------------|-------|----------|
| Fast | Up to 200/min | Urgent notifications |
| Normal | Up to 80/min | Standard campaigns |
| Slow | Up to 30/min | High-touch messages |
| Custom | Set your rate | Specific requirements |

**Why throttle:**
- Prevent overwhelming support teams
- Stagger customer responses
- Comply with rate limits
- Control conversation flow

### Quiet Hours

Respect recipient availability by avoiding certain times:

1. Go to **Settings** > **Sending Preferences**
2. Enable **Quiet Hours**
3. Set start time (e.g., 9 PM)
4. Set end time (e.g., 8 AM)
5. Messages scheduled during quiet hours are held

**What happens:**
- Messages are held, not skipped
- Delivery resumes when quiet hours end
- Works per recipient's time zone (if enabled)

## Viewing Scheduled Campaigns

### Campaign Calendar

View all scheduled campaigns in calendar format:

1. Go to **Campaigns**
2. Click **Calendar View**
3. See campaigns by day, week, or month
4. Click entries for details

### Upcoming Queue

See what's scheduled to send soon:

1. Go to **Campaigns** > **Scheduled**
2. View campaigns in chronological order
3. See send time, audience size, status

### Conflict Detection

Waflow warns about potential conflicts:

- Multiple campaigns to same audience close together
- High volume on single day
- Overlapping recurring campaigns

## Modifying Scheduled Campaigns

### Before Send Time

While a campaign is scheduled but not yet sending:

**What you can change:**
- Send time
- Time zone settings
- Audience (add/remove contacts)
- Cancel the campaign

**What you cannot change:**
- Template (create new campaign)
- Variable mappings (create new campaign)

### How to Reschedule

1. Go to the scheduled campaign
2. Click **Edit Schedule**
3. Select new date/time
4. Confirm the change

### Canceling Scheduled Campaigns

1. Go to the scheduled campaign
2. Click **Cancel Campaign**
3. Confirm cancellation
4. Campaign moves to "Cancelled" status

> **Note:** Cancelled campaigns cannot be reactivated. Create a new campaign if needed.

## Time Zone Best Practices

### Know Your Audience

Understand where your contacts are located:
- Review contact time zone distribution
- Consider primary markets
- Adjust strategy for global audiences

### Set Default Time Zone

Configure your workspace default:
1. Go to **Settings** > **Workspace**
2. Set **Default Time Zone**
3. This applies to new campaigns

### Collect Time Zone Data

Ensure contacts have time zone information:
- Include in import files
- Ask during sign-up
- Infer from phone country code
- Update based on engagement patterns

## Scheduling Troubleshooting

### Campaign Didn't Send

**Check:**
- Scheduled time has passed
- Time zone was correct
- Campaign wasn't paused or cancelled
- No system issues (check status page)

### Sent at Wrong Time

**Causes:**
- Incorrect time zone selection
- Daylight saving time changes
- 24-hour vs 12-hour time confusion

**Prevention:**
- Double-check time zone before scheduling
- Use recipient time zone when appropriate
- Verify with a test campaign

### Recurring Campaign Skipped

**Causes:**
- No matching contacts in dynamic audience
- All contacts had already received
- Campaign was paused
- Quiet hours in effect

**Check:**
- Campaign history for skip reasons
- Audience criteria and results
- Sending settings

## Next Steps

- [Campaign Tracking](https://edesy.in/docs/waflow/campaigns/tracking) - Monitor scheduled and sent campaigns
- [Create a Campaign](https://edesy.in/docs/waflow/campaigns/create-campaign) - Set up campaigns with scheduling
- [Campaigns Overview](https://edesy.in/docs/waflow/campaigns) - Understanding campaign fundamentals