Schedule Emails
How to schedule emails in Google Docs using Mail Merge add-on?
This article describes how to schedule a mail merge to be sent on a specific date/time in Google Docs using Mail Merge add-on.
Available in Google Docs
Video tutorial
Watch this quick tutorial or follow the step-by-step instructions below to find out how to schedule emails in Google Docs using Mail Merge add-on.
Step 1: Create Merged Status and Scheduled columns
In Google Sheets, create two new columns and name the first column as Merged Status and the second column as Scheduled.
Step 2: Type data/time in Scheduled column
Type the date/time you want the emails to be sent in the Scheduled column.
NOTE:
The time zone for the email schedule process is based on the time zone set in Google Sheets through File > Settings > General > Time Zone.
Dates can be interpreted differently based on the region. For example, 01/09/2023 means January 9, 2023 in the USA, and 1 September 2023 in the UK. To avoid this ambigiuty, and to also make sure the values are not misinterpreted as plain text, do the following:
Firstly, enter the date/time in a numerical format, for example, 02/03/2023 7:15 pm.
Secondly, highlight the Scheduled column, click on Format > Number > Custom date and time (see screenshot below), and then change the date/time format so that the month's name is shown. In this example, the date/time changes to February 3, 2023 7:15 pm.
Step 3: Click Options
In Google Docs, click on Options in the Mail Merge sidebar.
Step 4: Select Scheduled column
Select the Scheduled column from the Email Scheduled Field drop-down menu.
Step 5: Select Merged Status column
Select the Merged Status column from both the Track Merged Rows and Merge Specific Rows drop-down menus.
Step 6: Click Save
Click on Save to apply the changes.
Step 7
Select Emails from the Merge To list, and then click on Merge.
The email schedule process starts running in the background; there is no need to leave the Google Docs template open or to leave your computer running while the email schedule process sends the emails.
NOTE:
The email schedule process is triggered hourly and not every minute. This means your emails are sent within an hour of the scheduled time, and the time the email is sent is logged in the Merged Status column.
The email schedule process only queues emails that contain a valid date/time value in the Scheduled column. If a row is empty then the row is ignored. If you add/delete rows in your sheet with a valid scheduled date/time, this is automatically detected by the email schedule process, so you do not need to click on Merge again to update the queue.
The error message below appears if your date/time format is not recognized. In this case, Google Sheets likely interpreted the date/time as plain text, not as a date/time. Try entering the date/time in a different format, and check that Google Sheets recognizes it by opening the Custom date and time formats dialog box, as described above.
Advanced feature: Monitor email schedule process
Step 1: Click Options
In Google Docs, click on Options in the Mail Merge sidebar.
Step 2: Click Schedule Status
Click on Schedule Status to open the Email Schedule Process dialog box to see the following:
status of the email schedule process
last execution time
number of emails in the queue
errors that have occurred
Advanced feature: Stop email schedule process
Step 1: Click Options
In Google Docs, click on Options in the Mail Merge sidebar.
Step 2: Select (N/A)
Select (N/A) from the Email Scheduled Field drop-down menu.
Step 3: Click Save
Click on Save to apply the changes.
A message appears to confirm that the email schedule process is being deactivated.
NOTE: To restart the email schedule process, select the Scheduled column from the Email Scheduled Field drop-down menu, click on Save, then click on Merge.
Advanced feature: Multiple email schedules
To set up multiple email schedules, refer to this article.