Here\u2019s how to do it.<\/p>\n
Time Zone Scheduling in GMass: Table of Contents<\/h2>\n\n- Changing the Default Time Zone Setting for Your Account<\/a>\n
\n- More on choosing named time zones versus offsets<\/a><\/li>\n
- Benefits of setting your default time zone in GMass<\/a><\/li>\n
- What happens when you set your default time zone<\/a><\/li>\n
- Adjusting the Time Zone on a Campaign-by-Campaign Basis<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n
- Ready for Better Email Scheduling?<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Changing the Default Time Zone Setting for Your Account<\/h2>\n
You can change the default time zone setting for your account in the GMass dashboard (here\u2019s a direct link to the time zone section<\/a>).<\/p>\nYou might see that time zones look different than they used to in GMass.<\/p>\n
Here, the time zones are in IANA (Internet Assigned Numbers Authority) format, which is notated like America\/New_York rather than Eastern Standard Time or YYYY-DD-MM HH:MM:SS -05:00.<\/p>\n
This is to make it so your campaigns will automatically adjust with daylight saving time changes<\/strong>, which I\u2019ll cover more in-depth shortly.<\/p>\n![\"Setting](\"https:\/\/www.gmass.co\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/timezones-setdefault.png\")
<\/a><\/figure>\nBy checking the box next to Adjust time of prior campaigns during DST transitions<\/strong>, this will allow for consistent timing for your campaigns and auto follow-ups year round, even through daylight saving time changes.<\/p>\nClick Save time zone settings <\/strong>to lock in your default time zone and your DST transition option.<\/p>\nNote: When you set your time zone, it\u2019s cached for 3 minutes. So if you change it quickly, the new time zone may not be reflected across the app until three minutes later.<\/em><\/p>\nMore on choosing named time zones versus offsets<\/h3>\n
Here\u2019s a little more detail on why we\u2019ve switched to the named time zones (like America\/New_York) from using UTC offsets (like -05:00).<\/p>\n
With the IANA named time zones, we can now make sure your campaigns send at the exact time you want through daylight saving time changes<\/strong>.<\/p>\nBefore, let\u2019s say you were in New York and scheduled a recurring campaign to go out at 7:00 P.M. your time. Your time zone had a UTC offset of -05:00. (And you picked that schedule in December, during Standard Time.)<\/p>\n
That campaign would send at 7:00 P.M. your local time\u2026 until Daylight Saving Time kicks in. Because in the spring, when the clocks move up an hour, New York\u2019s UTC offset is -04:00. So now, GMass would actually be sending the campaign an hour later than you wanted.<\/p>\n
But with this new scheduling feature and this adjustment option, GMass will automatically take into account those daylight saving time changes<\/strong>\u00a0(in the time zones where those changes occur).<\/p>\nSo if you pick America\/New_York and 7:00 P.M. and you\u2019ve checked the settings box to Adjust time of prior campaigns during DST transitions<\/strong>, your campaign and auto follow-ups will always go out at 7:00 P.M., even when the time changes.<\/p>\nAnd you won\u2019t have to make any manual adjustment for that \u2014 GMass will automatically figure out<\/strong> if and when your time zone makes daylight saving adjustments (if ever) and send your messages accordingly.<\/p>\nIf you\u2019ve chosen a time zone that doesn\u2019t do any daylight saving changes, then no sending time adjustments need to be made.<\/p>\n
Benefits of setting your default time zone in GMass<\/h3>\n
Here are some of the benefits of setting your default time zone in GMass.<\/p>\n
Campaigns and auto follow-ups go out at consistent times through the year<\/h4>\n
With a default time zone, your campaigns and auto follow-ups will go out consistently at one time through the year \u2014 rather than jumping forwards or backwards during daylight saving time transitions. (Your default time zone will work with your start times and end times<\/a>.)<\/p>\nWorking with others in different time zones<\/h4>\n
Let\u2019s say you live in New York and work with a virtual assistant in the Philippines.<\/p>\n
If you ask them to schedule a campaign for 11:00 A.M. your time, and you have your default time zone set to New York, they just have to put 11:00 A.M. in the Scheduling field for your campaign.<\/p>\n
Before, the scheduling would\u2019ve defaulted to their local time, and they would\u2019ve had to (1) know\/recognize that and then (2) figure out the offset for New York time.<\/p>\n
Local time zone in reporting<\/h4>\n
You\u2019ll now see the timestamps in your reporting and around the app in your chosen time zone<\/strong>. That makes it easier to know exactly when things happened.<\/p>\nThis is also helpful for looking back through past campaigns, as you can see them stamped with (for example) PST for Pacific Standard Time during that time of year and PDT for Pacific Daylight Time during that time of year.<\/p>\n![\"Time](\"https:\/\/www.gmass.co\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/timezones-reflectedinreporting.png\")
<\/a><\/figure>\nWithout a time zone set, you\u2019d see the timestamps and all timestamps in UTC.<\/p>\n
What happens when you set your default time zone<\/h3>\n
Once you set your default time zone, we\u2019ll use that time zone consistently through GMass.<\/p>\n
\n- Your chosen time zone will be the default in the scheduling section<\/strong>\u00a0for campaigns.<\/li>\n
- All times throughout the app will be converted to and labeled with your chosen time zone<\/strong>.<\/li>\n
- All reporting<\/strong>\u00a0will be in your default time zone: \u00a0Open and click notifications, the timing in the \u201cYour emails have been sent\u201d notifications, your debug log, and more.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
If you don\u2019t choose a default time zone, all times throughout GMass will be shown and labeled as UTC.<\/p>\n
Note: There is one place where your default time zone will not be used. That is in timestamps retrieved by the API. Those will always be in UTC, as per the SaaS API convention.<\/em><\/p>\nAdjusting the Time Zone on a Campaign-by-Campaign Basis<\/h3>\n
Once you change your time zone, the Scheduling section of the GMass settings will always default to it. However, you can still override it for a specific campaign<\/strong>\u00a0using the time zone offset you\u2019ve used in the past.<\/p>\nThe Scheduling field in the extension still looks the same as before.<\/p>\n
For this example, I set my default time zone to America\/Los_Angeles.<\/p>\n![\"Changing](\"https:\/\/www.gmass.co\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/timezones-changingzone.png\")
<\/a><\/figure>\nBut for one campaign, I want to send on New York time.<\/p>\n
So in my campaign, I open the settings and see the default time is Los Angeles, which is currently a -08:00 offset.<\/p>\n![\"Seeing](\"https:\/\/www.gmass.co\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/timezones-offsetscheduling.png\")
<\/a><\/figure>\nSo now I can change it for this campaign<\/strong> by changing that offset to -05:00 for the campaign.<\/p>\nReady for Better Email Scheduling?<\/h2>\n
If you\u2019re already a GMass user, you\u2019re all set: These time zone features are live in your account<\/strong>.<\/p>\nIf you\u2019re not a GMass user yet, this default time zone option is just one of the many <\/strong>advanced scheduling features<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0available<\/strong>\u00a0to give you tight control of when your campaigns and auto follow-ups will go out.<\/p>\n
- \n
- More on choosing named time zones versus offsets<\/a><\/li>\n
- Benefits of setting your default time zone in GMass<\/a><\/li>\n
- What happens when you set your default time zone<\/a><\/li>\n
- Adjusting the Time Zone on a Campaign-by-Campaign Basis<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n
- Ready for Better Email Scheduling?<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Changing the Default Time Zone Setting for Your Account<\/h2>\n
You can change the default time zone setting for your account in the GMass dashboard (here\u2019s a direct link to the time zone section<\/a>).<\/p>\n
You might see that time zones look different than they used to in GMass.<\/p>\n
Here, the time zones are in IANA (Internet Assigned Numbers Authority) format, which is notated like America\/New_York rather than Eastern Standard Time or YYYY-DD-MM HH:MM:SS -05:00.<\/p>\n
This is to make it so your campaigns will automatically adjust with daylight saving time changes<\/strong>, which I\u2019ll cover more in-depth shortly.<\/p>\n
<\/a><\/figure>\nBy checking the box next to Adjust time of prior campaigns during DST transitions<\/strong>, this will allow for consistent timing for your campaigns and auto follow-ups year round, even through daylight saving time changes.<\/p>\n
Click Save time zone settings <\/strong>to lock in your default time zone and your DST transition option.<\/p>\n
Note: When you set your time zone, it\u2019s cached for 3 minutes. So if you change it quickly, the new time zone may not be reflected across the app until three minutes later.<\/em><\/p>\n
More on choosing named time zones versus offsets<\/h3>\n
Here\u2019s a little more detail on why we\u2019ve switched to the named time zones (like America\/New_York) from using UTC offsets (like -05:00).<\/p>\n
With the IANA named time zones, we can now make sure your campaigns send at the exact time you want through daylight saving time changes<\/strong>.<\/p>\n
Before, let\u2019s say you were in New York and scheduled a recurring campaign to go out at 7:00 P.M. your time. Your time zone had a UTC offset of -05:00. (And you picked that schedule in December, during Standard Time.)<\/p>\n
That campaign would send at 7:00 P.M. your local time\u2026 until Daylight Saving Time kicks in. Because in the spring, when the clocks move up an hour, New York\u2019s UTC offset is -04:00. So now, GMass would actually be sending the campaign an hour later than you wanted.<\/p>\n
But with this new scheduling feature and this adjustment option, GMass will automatically take into account those daylight saving time changes<\/strong>\u00a0(in the time zones where those changes occur).<\/p>\n
So if you pick America\/New_York and 7:00 P.M. and you\u2019ve checked the settings box to Adjust time of prior campaigns during DST transitions<\/strong>, your campaign and auto follow-ups will always go out at 7:00 P.M., even when the time changes.<\/p>\n
And you won\u2019t have to make any manual adjustment for that \u2014 GMass will automatically figure out<\/strong> if and when your time zone makes daylight saving adjustments (if ever) and send your messages accordingly.<\/p>\n
If you\u2019ve chosen a time zone that doesn\u2019t do any daylight saving changes, then no sending time adjustments need to be made.<\/p>\n
Benefits of setting your default time zone in GMass<\/h3>\n
Here are some of the benefits of setting your default time zone in GMass.<\/p>\n
Campaigns and auto follow-ups go out at consistent times through the year<\/h4>\n
With a default time zone, your campaigns and auto follow-ups will go out consistently at one time through the year \u2014 rather than jumping forwards or backwards during daylight saving time transitions. (Your default time zone will work with your start times and end times<\/a>.)<\/p>\n
Working with others in different time zones<\/h4>\n
Let\u2019s say you live in New York and work with a virtual assistant in the Philippines.<\/p>\n
If you ask them to schedule a campaign for 11:00 A.M. your time, and you have your default time zone set to New York, they just have to put 11:00 A.M. in the Scheduling field for your campaign.<\/p>\n
Before, the scheduling would\u2019ve defaulted to their local time, and they would\u2019ve had to (1) know\/recognize that and then (2) figure out the offset for New York time.<\/p>\n
Local time zone in reporting<\/h4>\n
You\u2019ll now see the timestamps in your reporting and around the app in your chosen time zone<\/strong>. That makes it easier to know exactly when things happened.<\/p>\n
This is also helpful for looking back through past campaigns, as you can see them stamped with (for example) PST for Pacific Standard Time during that time of year and PDT for Pacific Daylight Time during that time of year.<\/p>\n
<\/a><\/figure>\nWithout a time zone set, you\u2019d see the timestamps and all timestamps in UTC.<\/p>\n
What happens when you set your default time zone<\/h3>\n
Once you set your default time zone, we\u2019ll use that time zone consistently through GMass.<\/p>\n
- \n
- Your chosen time zone will be the default in the scheduling section<\/strong>\u00a0for campaigns.<\/li>\n
- All times throughout the app will be converted to and labeled with your chosen time zone<\/strong>.<\/li>\n
- All reporting<\/strong>\u00a0will be in your default time zone: \u00a0Open and click notifications, the timing in the \u201cYour emails have been sent\u201d notifications, your debug log, and more.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
If you don\u2019t choose a default time zone, all times throughout GMass will be shown and labeled as UTC.<\/p>\n
Note: There is one place where your default time zone will not be used. That is in timestamps retrieved by the API. Those will always be in UTC, as per the SaaS API convention.<\/em><\/p>\n
Adjusting the Time Zone on a Campaign-by-Campaign Basis<\/h3>\n
Once you change your time zone, the Scheduling section of the GMass settings will always default to it. However, you can still override it for a specific campaign<\/strong>\u00a0using the time zone offset you\u2019ve used in the past.<\/p>\n
The Scheduling field in the extension still looks the same as before.<\/p>\n
For this example, I set my default time zone to America\/Los_Angeles.<\/p>\n
<\/a><\/figure>\nBut for one campaign, I want to send on New York time.<\/p>\n
So in my campaign, I open the settings and see the default time is Los Angeles, which is currently a -08:00 offset.<\/p>\n
<\/a><\/figure>\nSo now I can change it for this campaign<\/strong> by changing that offset to -05:00 for the campaign.<\/p>\n
Ready for Better Email Scheduling?<\/h2>\n
If you\u2019re already a GMass user, you\u2019re all set: These time zone features are live in your account<\/strong>.<\/p>\n
If you\u2019re not a GMass user yet, this default time zone option is just one of the many <\/strong>advanced scheduling features<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0available<\/strong>\u00a0to give you tight control of when your campaigns and auto follow-ups will go out.<\/p>\n
- All times throughout the app will be converted to and labeled with your chosen time zone<\/strong>.<\/li>\n
- Benefits of setting your default time zone in GMass<\/a><\/li>\n