Scheduling

Control when your messages appear with start and end dates. Perfect for time-limited promotions, scheduled announcements, and campaign management.

How Scheduling Works

Every message can have:

Setting	Description	Default
Start Date	When to begin showing	Immediately (when published)
End Date	When to stop showing	Never (runs indefinitely)

Messages only appear when:

1. Status is Published

2. Current date is after Start Date (if set)

3. Current date is before End Date (if set)

4. User matches targeting rules

Setting Up Scheduling

In the Message Editor

1. Open your message editor

2. Find the Schedule section

3. Set your dates:

Start Date

• Leave empty = show immediately when published

• Set a date = show starting from that date

End Date

• Leave empty = show indefinitely

• Set a date = automatically stop on that date

Date Format

Dates are set to midnight (00:00) in UTC:

• Start Date: Message appears at 00:00 UTC on that day

• End Date: Message stops at 23:59 UTC on that day

Common Scheduling Patterns

Immediate & Indefinite

No scheduling - shows to all matching users forever:

• Start Date: Empty

• End Date: Empty

Use for: Onboarding, evergreen announcements

Scheduled Launch

Prepare now, launch later:

• Start Date: Future date

• End Date: Empty

Use for: Product launches, feature announcements, coordinated campaigns

Limited Time

Run for a specific period:

• Start Date: Campaign start

• End Date: Campaign end

Use for: Promotions, sales, seasonal content

Future Window

Schedule a specific time window:

• Start Date: Dec 20, 2024

• End Date: Dec 31, 2024

Use for: Holiday promotions, event-specific content

Examples

Black Friday Sale

Start Date: November 29, 2024
End Date: December 2, 2024

Banner: "🔥 Black Friday: 50% off all plans!"

Automatically starts on Black Friday, ends after Cyber Monday.

Maintenance Notice

Start Date: December 14, 2024
End Date: December 15, 2024

Banner: "⚠️ Scheduled maintenance: Dec 15, 10pm-11pm UTC"

Shows the day before maintenance, disappears after.

New Year Campaign

Start Date: December 26, 2024
End Date: January 7, 2025

Modal: "Start 2025 strong! Get 3 months free."

Runs during the New Year promotion period.

Feature Launch

Start Date: January 15, 2025
End Date: (empty)

Modal: "Introducing Dark Mode! Try it now."

Launches on a specific date, runs until manually archived.

Scheduling + Targeting

Combine scheduling with targeting for precise delivery:

Example: Trial Ending Soon

Schedule:
- Start Date: (empty - immediate)
- End Date: (empty - ongoing)

Targeting:
- isTrialing equals true
- trialEndsAt is within 3 days

The targeting handles the timing based on each user's trial end date.

Example: Holiday Message to Premium Users

Schedule:
- Start Date: December 20
- End Date: December 26

Targeting:
- Plan equals "pro" OR Plan equals "enterprise"

Holiday greeting only to paying customers during the holiday week.

Managing Scheduled Messages

View Schedule Status

In the message list, you can see:

• Scheduled - Has a future start date

• Active - Currently running

• Ended - Past the end date

Edit Schedule

You can change dates anytime:

1. Open the message

2. Modify start/end dates

3. Save changes

Changes take effect immediately.

End Early

To stop a message before its end date:

• Set the end date to today, or

• Change status to Archived

Extend Duration

To run longer than planned:

• Clear the end date, or

• Set a new future end date

Best Practices

Plan Ahead

• Schedule campaigns in advance

• Prepare content before launch dates

• Review scheduled messages weekly

Use End Dates

• Always set end dates for promotions

• Prevents stale content from lingering

• Keeps your message list clean

Buffer Time

• Start a day early for important announcements

• End a day late to catch all timezones

• Account for UTC timing

Review Calendar

• Check for scheduling conflicts

• Don't overlap too many messages

• Spread out major announcements

Timezone Considerations

Cueflow uses UTC for all scheduling:

Your Timezone	UTC Offset	Midnight UTC =
EST	-5 hours	7:00 PM EST (previous day)
PST	-8 hours	4:00 PM PST (previous day)
CET	+1 hour	1:00 AM CET
IST	+5.5 hours	5:30 AM IST

Tip: For global audiences, start a day early to ensure coverage.

Troubleshooting

Message not appearing on start date

1. Check the message is Published (not Draft)

2. Verify the start date has passed in UTC

3. Confirm targeting rules match the user

Message still showing after end date

1. Check the end date in UTC

2. Clear browser cache

3. The message should disappear on next page load

Wrong timezone

Scheduling uses UTC. Convert your local time to UTC when setting dates.