Sending messages according to recipients' time zones
When creating a scheduled email message, an additional setting is available - sending according to the recipient's time zone:
- if the setting is inactive, the mailing will be sent according to the account's time zone;
- if the setting is active, all messages will be sent:
- at the specified time according to the contact's time zone, if we have this time zone recorded;
- at the scheduled time according to the account's time zone for all contacts whose time zone we do not know and whose time zone time has already passed at the moment the message is activated;
- immediately - in rare cases when the message setup took a long time and the sending time according to the account time zone has already passed. Only for contacts whose time zone we do not know or whose time has already passed.
Features of the functionality
The number of recipients of the email newsletter will be calculated once after the message is activated in local time for the earliest time zone (UTC+14), which means:
- at the moment the recipients are counted, the message status will change from “Scheduled” to “Sending” — the actual first dispatch will occur in the earliest time zone from the list of recipients;
- Any changes in the time zones of recipient contacts after counting will not be taken into account when sending an already active mailing.
- Any changes in the segment or group of recipient mailings after counting will not be taken into account when sending an already active mailing.
- The message may start being sent to some of the recipients before the chosen start time for sending according to the account's time zone (if there are contacts among the recipients with a time zone earlier than the account's time zone).
- The sending period can take up to 26 hours (depending on the number of existing time zones).
- If the message is activated later than it was supposed to start sending, the segment will be recalculated immediately after the message is activated.
Please note that the account's time zone determines:
- the time of sending to contacts who do not have a time zone or whose time zone has already passed
- the time of sending to contacts who have a time zone. When you change your account's time zone, the time selected in the “scheduled” sending condition input will also be recalculated (for example, from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. if you changed from UTC+3 to UTC+5).
Sending time in complex cases
| Situation | Sending time |
|---|---|
| The start time is set so that some recipients with their time zones have already passed the set time | The message will be sent to them at the set time according to the account's time zone |
| When the message is activated, the scheduled time has already passed (long message creation) | The message will be sent instantly to those contacts whose time has already passed or whose time zone has not been specified |
| Changing/obtaining the contact's time zone while sending the message | Does not affect recipients of messages already being sent. The message will be sent to exactly those contacts and exactly according to the time zone calculated when the segment was first calculated at the beginning of the mailing. |
| Changing the account time zone when there is a message being sent according to the recipients' time zones | The account time zone settings are read immediately before the message is sent. Changes to the time zone after the message has been sent are not taken into account. |
Examples
It is now 10:00 on June 3, 2025, and the account's time zone is UTC+3. The letter is scheduled for 12:00 on June 3, 2025. There are 4 recipients in the mailing list:
- Anton (UTC+11)
- Igor (UTC+5)
- Ivan (UTC+3)
- Sergey (UTC-10)
The message will be sent:
- To Igor on June 3, 2025, at 10:00 a.m. according to the account's time zone, UTC+3 (since we still have time to send it according to Igor's time zone)
- Anton on 03.06.2025 at 12:00 according to the account's time zone, UTC+3 (since according to Anton's time zone, the date and time of sending have already passed)
- Ivan on 03.06.2025 at 12:00 according to his time zone, which coincides with the account time zone, UTC+3
- Sergey on 04.06.2025 at 01:00 according to the account time zone, UTC+3 (the next day according to the account's time zone)
If it were now 10:01 on 03.06.2025, the account time zone is UTC+3, and the email is scheduled for 10:00 on 03.06.2025 (when activated, the scheduled time has already passed), then Anton, Igor, and Ivan would receive the email immediately after the message is activated.
Please note:
- It is not possible to create a split test for sending messages based on the recipients' time zones.
- In the message list, you can see the approximate time when sending will be completed (the latest time for the last recipient).
- When sending by time zone, the contact list will take into account the time zones of those who are already in the database (new contacts will receive the message at the scheduled time according to the account's time zone).
- For the “Waiting to be sent” status, only the message content can be edited (the “Message Editor” step of the Message Creation Wizard).
Message details
- Start of sending - the time of the actual first sending, not the start of the recipient segment calculation in UTC+14 time.
- End of sending - the date and time of the last (actual) sending event to the contact according to the account's time zone.