Schedule, start, and pause a campaign

Overview#

You control when a calendar campaign sends. You can schedule it to begin at a future time, start it right away, or pause and resume sending at any point. This article covers each control and what it does behind the scenes.

How it works#

A campaign moves through a small set of states as you control it. The ones that matter here are Scheduled, Active, and Paused. For the full list, see Calendar campaign statuses explained.

Scheduling a future start#

In step 4 of the create wizard, turn on Schedule for later and set a start date and time. The launch is read in the event timezone selected on the same step. The campaign is saved as Scheduled and waits, then activates automatically shortly after the chosen time. You do not need to come back and press start.

The event start, event end, and scheduled campaign launch all use the selected event timezone. Check the zone before launch, especially around daylight-saving changes.

If you leave Schedule for later off, the campaign starts processing right after you launch.

Starting now#

You can start a Draft or Scheduled campaign yourself from the Campaigns list using its Start Campaign action. Starting sets the campaign to Active and sends the first batch of each event immediately. On success you see a message such as Campaign started! N invites sent, M events created. Attendees added to existing events.

A campaign can only be started from Draft or Scheduled. If a scheduled start is still in the future, starting normally keeps it waiting until that time.

Pausing and resuming#

Pause an Active campaign with its Pause Campaign action. Pausing sets the status to Paused, and the send path skips a paused campaign, so no further batches go out while it is paused. The pause control only appears while a campaign is active.

Resume a paused campaign with Resume Campaign. Sending picks back up on its normal batch schedule.

Screens and controls#

These controls are icon buttons at the right of each row on the Campaigns page, on the Calendar Campaigns tab. Hover an icon to see what it does.

• Start Campaign appears for a draft campaign.
• Pause Campaign appears while a campaign is active, and Resume Campaign while it is paused.
• Duplicate copies the campaign's settings into a new draft. The contact list is not copied.
• The red stop icon appears on any campaign that is still running.

The Schedule for later switch is in step 4 of the create wizard, not on the list.

Stop a campaign for good#

Pausing is reversible. Stopping is not.

1. Open Campaigns.
2. On the campaign's row, click the red stop icon at the right.
3. Read the confirmation. It names the campaign and tells you what is kept.
4. Click Stop campaign to confirm, or Keep running to back out.

Stopping halts every remaining invitation. Invitations already sent stay sent, and their RSVPs keep updating, so the response counts on a stopped campaign can still change. The campaign then shows as Cancelled and cannot be restarted or resumed. If you need to reach the rest of the list, duplicate the campaign to get a new draft with the same settings.

The stop icon is hidden once a campaign is completed or already cancelled.

Field reference#

What happens next#

• After scheduling, the campaign sits as Scheduled. It activates on its own within a few minutes of the set time, then the first batch goes out.
• After starting, the first batch of each event sends immediately and the status moves to Active. Later batches follow every 24 hours. See How invitations are batched and sent.
• After pausing, no new batches go out. The status shows Paused until you resume.
• After resuming, the next due batch is picked up on the normal 5 minute background cycle.

Best practices#

• Choose the event timezone first, then schedule the launch so the first batch lands during the hours you intend.
• Pause rather than delete if you need to stop temporarily. Pausing preserves progress so you can resume.
• Give a scheduled campaign a few minutes past its start time before worrying. Activation runs on a short cycle, not to the exact second.

Common mistakes#

• Trying to start an already active campaign. Start only works from draft or scheduled.
• Trying to pause a campaign that is not active. Pause only works while active.
• Expecting a paused campaign to keep sending. Pausing stops all further batches.

Troubleshooting#

FAQ#

Do I have to press start on a scheduled campaign?#

No. A scheduled campaign activates on its own within a few minutes of its start time.

What happens to invitations already sent when I pause?#

They stay sent. Pausing only stops future batches. Invitations already delivered are unaffected.

Can I resume a paused campaign later?#

Yes. Resume returns it to active and continues the batch schedule from where it left off.

Can I start a campaign before its scheduled time?#

Starting a scheduled campaign normally keeps it waiting until the set time. Change the schedule if you want it to run sooner.

Where do I confirm the current state?#

The status badge on the Campaigns list shows Draft, Scheduled, Active, Paused, Completed, Error, or Cancelled. See Calendar campaign statuses explained.

Related articles#

• Calendar campaign statuses explained
• How invitations are batched and sent