OM Documentation Display Rules

How to Schedule a Campaign Based on Date and Time

OptinMonster makes it easy to schedule a campaign based on date and time. You can show campaigns on a recurring schedule or show them for a limited period of time, like during a holiday promotion.

In this article, you’ll learn how to schedule a campaign in OptinMonster.

Before You Start

Here are some things to know before you begin:

Configure Scheduling Rule

When you create a campaign in OptinMonster you’ll want to customize when and where it appears to visitors.

To hide or show a campaign based on date and time, follow these steps:

  1. Navigate to the Display Rules view in the campaign builder.
  2. When adding a new rule, select your preferred scheduling rule from the Trigger menu.
    Date and Time related Display Rules in the OptinMonster campaign builder.
    The following options are available for scheduling:

    • Date
    • Time
    • Date & Time
    • Day of the Week
    • Month of the Year
  3. Once you’ve selected the rule you would like to use, you’ll be provided with configuration options specific to that feature. You can see examples of common scheduling setups later in this article.
  4. When you’re finished, click Save.
  5. When you are ready for your campaign to function following the schedule rule(s) you’ve configured, be sure to Publish the campaign. If the campaign is not Published when it is scheduled to appear it will not show to visitors on your site.

Configure Scheduling from Publish View

You can also view or adjust your campaign’s Date and Time scheduling from the Publish View of your campaign. To do this, follow these steps:

  1. Navigate to the Publish View and click on the Scheduling button to open the current settings for the campaign. If no scheduling rules have been added, this area will read “Starts: …immediately” and “Ends: …never”.
  2. Click on the Start or End Date & Time to adjust them in the dropdown calendars. Any Date & Time scheduling added in the Display Rules View or Publish View will be reflected in the other.
  3. When you’re finished, click Save.
  4. When you are ready for your campaign to function following the schedule you’ve configured, be sure to Publish the campaign. If the campaign is not Published when it is scheduled to appear it will not show to visitors on your site.

Examples

OptinMonster’s scheduling rules can be used alone or in combination with each other to fit your personal needs. If you are combining scheduling rules, make sure to use AND operators between them. This will ensure that the campaign shows only at the appropriate times.

Limited Time Campaigns

This is the most common type of scheduled campaign, with an established “Start” date and time, “End” date and time, or both. The campaign will be able to trigger at any time during the specified time period. This type of scheduling is usually used for limited time offers, sales, or events.

To schedule a limited time campaign, follow these steps:

  1. From the Trigger (When) submenu of the Display Rules menu, select the “Date & Time” rule.
  2. The Date & Time rule will appear in your Conditions list as “the current date and time”, and its options will appear in fields to the right.
  3. To add a “Start” time, select “is on or after” in the second field, and then select the date, time, and time zone. Your campaign will now only be able to appear if a visitor triggers it after this date and time.
  4. To add an “End” time, click AND, to add another rule.
  5. Select the “Date & Time” rule from the Display Rules menu again. This time, leave the second field as “is on or before,” and select the date, time, and time zone when you would like this campaign to stop showing. Your campaign will now only be able to appear if a visitor triggers it before this date and time.

You can also confirm or adjust your Start and/or End Date & Time scheduling from the Publish View.

  1. Navigate to the Publish View for your scheduled campaign, and click on Scheduled.

    Your Start and End dates and times will appear here for quick access. If you adjust them from this view, the changes will be reflected in the Display Rules View.
  2. When you have finished scheduling your campaign, click Save.
Recurring Campaigns

These types of campaigns are scheduled to trigger on certain days of the week, between certain times of day, or both. The campaign will be able to trigger if the day of the week is specified, or the time of visit falls within the specified range. This type of scheduling is usually used for “Day of the Week” promotions, or for Click-To-Call campaigns where the business must be open to answer the phone.

To schedule a recurring campaign on specific days of the week, follow these steps:

  1. From the Trigger (When) submenu of the Display Rules menu, select the “Day of the Week” rule.
  2. The Day of the Week rule will appear in your Conditions list as “the current day”, and its options will appear in fields to the right. By default, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday are selected as allowed days.
  3. Remove days that the campaign may appear by clicking the X next to the day, or select it from the dropdown menu to add an allowed day.
  4. When you are finished, click Save.

To schedule a campaign during certain hours of the day, follow these steps:

  1. From the Trigger (When) submenu of the Display Rules menu, select the “Time” rule.
  2. The Time rule will appear in your Conditions list as “the current time”, and its options will appear in fields to the right.
  3. To add a “Start” time, select “is on or after” in the second field, and then select the time and time zone. Your campaign will now only be able to appear if a visitor triggers it after this time, on any allowed days.
  4. To add an “End” time, click AND, to add another rule.
  5. Select the “Time” rule from the Display Rules menu again. This time, leave the second field as “is on or before,” and select the time and time zone when you would like this campaign to stop showing each allowed day. Your campaign will now only be able to appear if a visitor triggers it before this time.
  6. When you are finished adjusting your Time rules, click Save.

Troubleshooting

I scheduled my campaign but it never appeared on the site during the dates configured.

Check that the campaign’s status was set to Published. If the campaign was still in Draft mode it would not appear according to the schedule configured. You must Publish the campaign before it can appear during the dates you’ve specified.