We're taking message scheduling to the next level! Remember, most Automation Flows, with the exception of Abandoned Cart automations, allow you to create and send several messages within a single flow. With our Wait Until Date/Time feature, you can choose the specific date and time at which you'd like to send each individual message within a flow to your subscribers.
Why Schedule Automation Messages?
- Timing is key. By scheduling each individual message, you have more control over sending the right messages at the right times.
- Set it and forget it. With our scheduling feature, you can maintain precision and control of timing by having your automations run in the background on a set schedule so you can focus on other parts of your busy day.
How to Schedule Automation Messages
- Select Messaging in the side menu of your Postscript dashboard, then select Flow Builder.
- Select Create Flow in the top-right corner of the page.
- Select a template or create a new flow, then Continue in the bottom right.
- Whether you are choosing a template or are creating a new flow, be sure to select Automation as your flow type. Then select Create flow.
- Configure your campaign properties. Then, drag the Delay icon from the Drag & drop menu to the Drag Step Here bubble in the flow you're building.
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Set your delay with one of the three options available.
- Delay For an amount of time is a fixed interval. This option allows you to send your message after a specific interval of time (e.g. Delay sending this message until after a 5-minute delay or after a 5-week delay).
- Delay Until a specific date allows you to choose the exact date and time that you'd like to send each individual campaign message (e.g. Delay sending this message until December 20th, 2022 at 4:00 PM). Note: If a subscriber enters your automation and the delay date you've selected has passed, the subscriber will skip the delay and receive the message following the delay. See the Until a Specific Date delay use case tab below for this contextualized.*
- Delay Until a certain time of the week allows you to choose a day of the week and a time of day that you'd like to send each of your flow messages (e.g. Delay sending these messages until Sundays at 2:00 PM).
- Save your delay settings by clicking the purple Save in the bottom right of the Delay editor.
Delay Use Cases
Reward repeat purchasers with an incentive to place another order. You can use the Delay For an Amount of Time option to notify subscribers of expiring deals or offerings. Check out the example below. The shop uses the fixed interval delay to notify subscribers that their coupon is expiring soon.
Create noise around upcoming product launches with the Delay Until a Specific Date option. In the example below, the shop notifies subscribers that they are eligible for early access after the subscriber triggers a keyword, then delays their product launch announcement until the specific date and time that the product will launch to early access shoppers.
*Note: If this automation is still enabled and a subscriber enters the flow after July 1st, they will not experience any delays between the first and second messages since the delay date has passed.
With the Delay Until a Certain Day of the Week option, you can automate regular weekly messages that offer insight into sales or promotions. Alternatively, you can send non-promotional weekly messages like a weekly affirmation or share your store's weekly playlist. In the example below, the shop sends out weekly recipes to a segment specifically opted in to receive their weekly recipe shares.
Tip: Use our Duplicate tool to make adding weekly messages and delays easy.
Schedule a Message According to Susbcriber Timezone
Shops on Postscript's Professional and Enterprise plans have the ability to schedule messages according to subscribers' timezone. You can learn more about Postscript plans or upgrade your plan here.
When adding Actions to your flow, choose your delay and then toggle on the Use subscriber's timezone option. Be sure to save your action by selecting the purple Save button in the lower-right of the delay editor.
Get Support
Have questions? Please feel free to reach out to our wonderful Support team at support@postscript.io or via live chat. You can also submit a support request here!
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