Schedule Emails
How to schedule emails in Google Sheets using Mail Merge add-on?
This article describes how to schedule a mail merge to be sent at a specific date/time in Google Sheets using Mail Merge add-on.
Available in Google Sheets
Video tutorial
Watch this quick tutorial or follow the step-by-step instructions below to find out how to schedule emails in Google Sheets using Mail Merge add-on.
(Coming Soon)
Step 1: Create Scheduled column
In Google Sheets, create a new column called Scheduled, and then type the date/time you want the emails to be sent.
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, 01/09/2024 means January 9, 2024 in the USA, and 1 September 2024 in the UK. To avoid this ambigiuty, and to also make sure the values are not misinterpreted as plain text, do the following:
Firstly, type the date/time in a numerical format, for example, 02/03/2024 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 Feb 3, 2024 7:15 pm.
Step 2: Start Mail Merge
Start Mail Merge add-on by clicking on Extensions > Mail Merge > Start.
Step 3: Open Email Schedule Process dialog box
Click on Schedule to open the Email Schedule Process dialog box.
Step 4: Select Scheduled column
Select the Scheduled column from the Schedule Column drop-down menu.
Step 5: Start email schedule process
Click on Start in the Email Schedule Process dialog box to start the email schedule process.
NOTE:
If the Email Schedule Process dialog is closed, the email schedule process continues to run in the background. There is also no need to leave the Google Sheets file open or your computer switched on.
The email schedule process can be stopped by clicking on Stop.
NOTE:
The email schedule process starts up to an hour after it is started, so Last run appears as N/A for 1 hour.
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 times the emails are sent are logged in the Filter Rows to Merge column.
The email schedule process only queues emails containing a valid date/time value in the Scheduled column. If a row is empty, it is ignored. If you add or delete rows with a valid date/time, they are automatically detected by the email schedule process, so the email schedule process does not need to be restarted to update the queue.
Only one tab at a time in a Google sheet can have an email schedule process running.
The email schedule process sends 50 emails every hour, equivalent to 1,200 emails a day.