Scheduling Campaigns

Schedule your SMS campaigns to send at the perfect time for maximum engagement. TextFlow’s scheduling system respects quiet hours, timezones, and allows flexible campaign timing.

Why Schedule Campaigns?

Benefits of Scheduling

Optimal Timing:

• Send during peak engagement hours
• Avoid early morning or late night disruptions
• Target specific days (weekdays vs weekends)

Business Efficiency:

• Prepare campaigns in advance
• Set up campaigns outside business hours
• Plan promotional calendars weeks ahead

Compliance:

• Automatically respect quiet hours (9am-9pm recipient timezone)
• Avoid statutory holidays
• Maintain CASL compliance with timing requirements

Strategic Planning:

• Coordinate with other marketing channels
• Time campaigns with product launches
• Schedule follow-ups automatically

Creating a Scheduled Campaign

Step 1: Select “Schedule for Later”

When creating a campaign:

1. Navigate to Campaigns → Create Campaign
2. Enter campaign name (e.g., “Holiday Promotion”)
3. Under Campaign Type, select “Schedule for Later”
4. Date/time picker appears below

Campaign Types:

• Send Immediately: Campaign starts as soon as you click “Launch”
• Schedule for Later: Set specific date and time for campaign to begin

Step 2: Choose Date and Time

Date/Time Picker:

• Select future date (cannot schedule in the past)
• Choose specific time (hour and minute)
• Time is in your local timezone (TextFlow converts automatically)

Example Scheduling:

Campaign Name: Holiday Promotion
Campaign Type: Schedule for Later
Schedule Date & Time: 12/25/2025, 10:30 AM
From Phone Number: +1 (416) 555-0123

Best Practice

Schedule at least 1 hour in advance to allow time for review and changes if needed.

Step 3: Complete Campaign Setup

After setting the schedule:

1. Click Next to proceed to Audience selection
2. Choose your target lists/tags
3. Compose your message
4. Review and confirm

Campaign Status:

• Shows as “Scheduled” in campaign list
• Displays scheduled date/time
• Can be edited or canceled before send time

Optimal Scheduling Times

Best Times to Send SMS

Weekdays:

• Morning: 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM (high open rates)
• Lunch: 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM (good for promotions)
• Afternoon: 3:00 PM - 5:00 PM (end of workday)
• Evening: 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM (personal time, highest engagement)

Weekends:

• Late Morning: 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM (relaxed browsing)
• Afternoon: 1:00 PM - 4:00 PM (moderate engagement)
• Evening: 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM (social time)

Avoid:

• ❌ Before 9:00 AM (too early)
• ❌ After 9:00 PM (quiet hours)
• ❌ Late Friday (messages get buried over weekend)
• ❌ Major holidays (unless relevant)

Industry-Specific Timing

Retail & E-commerce:

• Thursday-Saturday: 5:00 PM - 8:00 PM
• Best for promotions and sales announcements

Restaurants:

• Tuesday-Thursday: 11:00 AM - 1:00 PM (lunch)
• Thursday-Saturday: 4:00 PM - 6:00 PM (dinner planning)

Healthcare:

• Monday-Friday: 9:00 AM - 11:00 AM
• Avoid evenings for appointment reminders

Real Estate:

• Saturday-Sunday: 10:00 AM - 2:00 PM
• Weekday evenings: 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM

B2B Services:

• Tuesday-Thursday: 10:00 AM - 3:00 PM
• Avoid Mondays (inbox overload) and Fridays (weekend mode)

Timezone Handling

How TextFlow Manages Timezones

Your Timezone:

• Schedule time is in your local timezone
• Example: Schedule for “2:00 PM EST” = 2:00 PM Eastern Time

Recipient Timezone:

• TextFlow detects recipient timezone by area code
• Quiet hours enforced in recipient’s timezone
• Ensures messages arrive at appropriate local time

Example:

You (Toronto, EST): Schedule campaign for 2:00 PM
Recipient (Vancouver, PST): Receives at 2:00 PM PST (3 hours later than you sent)

This ensures recipients receive messages during their local business hours.

Area Code Timezone Detection

TextFlow automatically detects timezones:

Eastern Time (ET):

• 416, 647, 437 (Toronto)
• 613 (Ottawa)
• 705 (Northern Ontario)

Pacific Time (PT):

• 604, 778, 236 (Vancouver)
• 250 (BC Interior)

Mountain Time (MT):

• 403, 587, 825 (Calgary)
• 780, 368 (Edmonton)

Central Time (CT):

• 204, 431 (Winnipeg)
• 306, 639 (Saskatchewan)

Timezone Accuracy

Area code detection is 95% accurate. For critical time-sensitive campaigns, consider scheduling with buffer time to account for edge cases.

Quiet Hours and Scheduling

Default Quiet Hours

Enforcement:

• Messages will NOT send before 9:00 AM or after 9:00 PM in recipient’s timezone
• Even if campaign is scheduled outside quiet hours, delivery is delayed

Example:

Scheduled: 8:00 PM EST
Recipient: Pacific Time (5:00 PM local) ✅ Sends immediately
Recipient: Eastern Time (8:00 PM local) ✅ Sends immediately
Recipient: Already opted out ❌ Skipped

Edge Case:

Scheduled: 9:30 PM EST
Recipient: Pacific Time (6:30 PM local) ✅ Sends immediately
Recipient: Eastern Time (9:30 PM local) ❌ Delayed to 9:00 AM next day

How Quiet Hours Affect Scheduled Campaigns

Scenario 1: Schedule During Allowed Hours

• Scheduled: 2:00 PM
• All recipients receive immediately at 2:00 PM their local time ✅

Scenario 2: Schedule Outside Quiet Hours

• Scheduled: 10:00 PM
• Recipients in timezones where 10 PM is past quiet hours receive at 9:00 AM next day
• Recipients in timezones where 10 PM hasn’t arrived yet receive when it’s 10 PM their time

Scenario 3: Multi-Timezone Campaign

• Scheduled: 12:00 PM EST
• Toronto recipients (EST): 12:00 PM ✅
• Vancouver recipients (PST): 12:00 PM PST (3:00 PM EST) ✅
• All within allowed hours

Avoid Quiet Hours Issues

Schedule campaigns between 10:00 AM - 8:00 PM in your timezone to ensure all recipients across Canada receive messages during allowed hours.

Managing Scheduled Campaigns

Viewing Scheduled Campaigns

Campaign List:

1. Navigate to Campaigns
2. Filter by Status: Scheduled
3. View upcoming campaigns with send times

Campaign Details:

• Scheduled date/time
• Recipient count
• Message preview
• Edit or Cancel buttons

Editing a Scheduled Campaign

Before Send Time:

1. Open the scheduled campaign
2. Click Edit Campaign
3. Modify any details:
   • Schedule time
   • Audience (lists/tags)
   • Message content
   • Sender phone number
4. Click Save Changes

Restrictions:

• Cannot edit after campaign has started sending
• Cannot change to a past date/time
• Audience changes apply immediately (contact list updates included)

Canceling a Scheduled Campaign

Cancel Before Send:

1. Open the scheduled campaign
2. Click Cancel Campaign
3. Confirm cancellation
4. Campaign status changes to “Canceled”

What Happens:

• Campaign removed from send queue
• No messages sent
• Campaign archived with “Canceled” status
• Can be duplicated and rescheduled

Cannot Cancel:

• After campaign has started sending
• If messages are already in queue
• Once first message is sent

Cancel Before Start Time

Cancel at least 5 minutes before scheduled send time to ensure no messages are queued.

Advanced Scheduling Strategies

Recurring Campaigns

TextFlow does not have built-in recurring campaigns, but you can:

Manual Recurring:

1. Create campaign and send
2. After completion, click Duplicate
3. Update message content (if needed)
4. Schedule for next occurrence
5. Repeat monthly/weekly

Best For:

• Monthly newsletters
• Weekly promotions
• Seasonal reminders

Drip Campaigns

Create a series of scheduled messages:

Example: Welcome Series

Day 1: Welcome message (immediate)
Day 3: Feature highlight (schedule +3 days)
Day 7: Feedback request (schedule +7 days)

Setup:

1. Create List: “New Customers - Nov 2025”
2. Campaign 1: “Welcome” - Send immediately
3. Campaign 2: “Features” - Schedule 3 days later
4. Campaign 3: “Feedback” - Schedule 7 days later

Tips:

• Use same list for all campaigns in series
• Remove contacts who opt out from list
• Track engagement between messages

A/B Testing with Scheduling

Test message variations by scheduling:

Example:

Group A (Tag: toronto): 10:00 AM - "Good morning! Check out..."
Group B (Tag: vancouver): 10:00 AM PST - "Good morning! Check out..."

Compare:

• Open rates by timezone
• Response rates by send time
• Engagement by day of week

Scheduling Best Practices

Before Scheduling

1. ✅ Test Your Message

   • Send to yourself first
   • Check formatting on mobile device
   • Verify links work correctly
   • Confirm opt-out instructions included

2. ✅ Review Audience

   • Confirm correct list/tags selected
   • Check for opted-out contacts (auto-excluded)
   • Verify contact count matches expectations
   • Remove test contacts

3. ✅ Double-Check Timing

   • Confirm AM vs PM
   • Verify correct date (not past)
   • Consider recipient timezones
   • Avoid major holidays

4. ✅ Check Campaign Details

   • Correct sender phone number
   • Campaign name clear and descriptive
   • Message preview accurate
   • Compliance settings enabled

After Scheduling

1. ✅ Confirm Schedule

   • Verify campaign appears in “Scheduled” list
   • Check scheduled time is correct
   • Note confirmation message

2. ✅ Set Reminder

   • Add calendar reminder to review campaign 1 hour before send
   • Check for any last-minute changes needed

3. ✅ Monitor After Send

   • Check campaign status after scheduled time
   • Review delivery reports
   • Monitor opt-out rate
   • Track response rate

Common Scheduling Mistakes

Mistake 1: Scheduling Too Far in Advance

• Contact lists change (new opt-outs, new contacts)
• Message may become outdated
• Promotions may expire

Solution: Schedule no more than 2 weeks in advance for promotional content.

Mistake 2: Ignoring Holidays

• Sending on Christmas Day, New Year’s Day
• Messages get ignored or annoy recipients

Solution: Check holiday calendar before scheduling. Avoid:

• January 1 (New Year’s Day)
• December 25-26 (Christmas)
• July 1 (Canada Day)
• Thanksgiving Monday

Mistake 3: Not Accounting for Multi-Timezone Campaigns

• Scheduling at 8 PM EST = 5 PM PST
• Vancouver contacts receive during dinner time

Solution: Schedule between 10 AM - 6 PM your time to ensure all Canadian timezones receive during business hours.

Mistake 4: Forgetting to Test

• Scheduling without sending test message
• Link errors discovered after campaign sent

Solution: Always send yourself a test before scheduling.

Troubleshooting Scheduled Campaigns

Campaign Didn’t Send at Scheduled Time

Possible Causes:

• System issue or maintenance
• Campaign was canceled
• All recipients opted out
• Insufficient account balance

Solutions:

1. Check campaign status (may show error message)
2. Verify recipients exist and haven’t all opted out
3. Review account balance (Settings → Billing)
4. Check for system status notifications
5. Contact support if issue persists

Some Recipients Didn’t Receive Message

Possible Causes:

• Recipients opted out before send time
• Invalid phone numbers in list
• Quiet hours delayed delivery
• Carrier issues

Solutions:

1. Check delivery report for failure reasons
2. Filter contacts by opt-out status
3. Verify phone number validity
4. Check if message was delayed to next day (quiet hours)

Cannot Edit Scheduled Campaign

Possible Causes:

• Campaign already started sending
• Less than 5 minutes until send time
• Campaign was canceled

Solutions:

1. Cancel campaign if within 5 minutes of send time
2. Create new campaign with corrected details
3. If already sending, wait for completion and send correction

Wrong Timezone/Time Displayed

Possible Causes:

• Browser timezone differs from your location
• Daylight saving time change
• Account timezone setting incorrect

Solutions:

1. Check Settings → Profile → Timezone
2. Verify browser timezone settings
3. Clear cache and reload page
4. Use 24-hour format to avoid AM/PM confusion

Scheduling Checklist

Use this checklist before scheduling your campaign:

• Campaign name is clear and descriptive
• Correct sender phone number selected
• Audience (list/tags) verified
• Message composed and reviewed
• Test message sent to myself
• Links in message tested and working
• Opt-out instructions included (CASL compliance)
• Schedule date is correct (not in past)
• Schedule time is AM/PM verified
• Time is appropriate for all recipient timezones
• Not scheduling on major holiday
• Campaign preview reviewed
• Calendar reminder set for 1 hour before send
• Team members notified (if applicable)

Next Steps

After scheduling your campaign:

• Campaign Analytics - Track campaign performance after sending
• Message Templates - Save common messages for future campaigns
• Two-Way Messaging - Respond to replies from your campaigns

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Strategic scheduling ensures your messages reach recipients at the perfect time for maximum engagement and compliance!