---
title: How to create and send a campaign
description: Create a campaign in four steps (Setup, Audience, Content, Review and send) and send it now or schedule it for later.
url: "https://hiveplugins.com/docs/hive-mail-create-and-send-a-campaign/"
updated: "2026-10-28"
category: Hive Mail
---

# How to create and send a campaign

A campaign is one email you write once and send to a group of people. Open **Messaging > Campaigns** and click **New campaign**. The wizard has four steps, and nothing is sent until you confirm on the last one.

Before you start, make sure you have subscribed contacts, a **Business address** in **Settings > General** (it is printed in every email footer) and a working sending method in **Settings > Sending**. See [Is my site ready to send email?](/docs/hive-mail-is-my-site-ready-to-send/).

## Step 1: Setup

1. Type a **Campaign name**. Only you see it.
2. Type the **Subject line**. Merge tags work here, for example `{{first_name|there}}`. See [merge tags](/docs/hive-mail-merge-tags-and-fallbacks/).
3. Optional: add **Preview text** (the grey line some inboxes show after the subject) and change the **Sender** (From name, From email, Reply-to email). Empty fields use the defaults from **Settings > General**. **Link tracking** has **Tag links for Google Analytics (UTM)**.
4. Optional: tick **Test a second subject line (A/B)**. See [A/B subject line tests](/docs/hive-mail-ab-subject-tests/).
5. Click **Continue to audience**.

![Step 1, Setup: name, subject, preview text and sender, with the inbox preview on the right](https://hiveplugins.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/hivemail-campaigns-setup-02.webp)

## Step 2: Audience

Choose **Everyone who is subscribed**, or pick lists, tags and segments and leave some people out. The card **Who gets it right now** shows the count. Details: [Choose who gets a campaign](/docs/hive-mail-choose-who-gets-a-campaign/).

![Step 2, Audience, with the live recipient count](https://hiveplugins.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/hivemail-campaigns-audience-01.webp)

## Step 3: Content

1. Pick an editor: **Visual builder**, **Classic editor**, **Plain text** or **HTML code**. Not sure? Read [Choose an email editor](/docs/hive-mail-choose-an-email-editor/).
2. Start from a starter design, one of your own templates, or an empty email. The campaign gets its own copy, so your templates stay unchanged.
3. Click **Open the editor**, write the email and click **Done**. It saves as you type.
4. Click **Send a test** and check the email on your phone. Tests are never tracked.
5. Click **Continue to review**. If the campaign already has an email, this step shows it with **Edit the email**, **Preview**, **Send a test**, **Save as template** and **Start over**.

![Step 3, Content, for a campaign that already has its email: Edit the email, Preview, Send a test, Save as template and Start over](https://hiveplugins.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/hivemail-campaigns-content-02.webp)

## Step 4: Review and send

1. Check the card **What goes out**. **Change** on a row takes you back to that step.
2. Work through **Before it goes out**. Orange items are advice. Red items block sending until you fix them: a missing subject, From address, content, audience, or business address.
3. Under **When**, choose **Send now** or **Schedule for later** (the time is in your site's timezone).
4. Click **Send now to N** or **Schedule**, then confirm.

![Step 4, Review and send, with the checklist and the Send now button](https://hiveplugins.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/hivemail-campaigns-review-03.webp)

Hive Mail sends at the speed set in **Settings > Sending** and checks each person just before their email leaves, so someone who unsubscribes meanwhile is skipped. Each person gets the campaign once.

> **Warning:** You cannot recall an email that has already been sent. **Pause** and **Cancel** only stop what has not gone out yet.

Next: [Schedule, pause, resume, cancel and duplicate a campaign](/docs/hive-mail-schedule-pause-resume-cancel/) and [How to read a campaign report](/docs/hive-mail-read-a-campaign-report/). If nothing goes out, see [Emails are not sending](/docs/hive-mail-emails-are-not-sending/).