---
title: Schedule, pause, resume, cancel and duplicate a campaign
description: Schedule a campaign for a set time, then pause, resume, cancel, send early, go back to draft, duplicate or delete it, and know what each does.
url: "https://hiveplugins.com/docs/hive-mail-schedule-pause-resume-cancel/"
updated: "2026-10-28"
category: Hive Mail
---

# Schedule, pause, resume, cancel and duplicate a campaign

Pick a time, stop a campaign halfway, or copy it for next month. The campaign must pass the checklist on the Review step ([How to create and send a campaign](/docs/hive-mail-create-and-send-a-campaign/)), and scheduled campaigns need the scheduler to run ([Scheduled sending and cron](/docs/hive-mail-scheduled-sending-and-cron/)).

## Schedule a campaign

1. On **Review and send**, under **When**, choose **Schedule for later**.
2. Set **Date and time**. It is read in your **site's** timezone, not your computer's ("In the site's timezone ({timezone}). It starts within a minute of that time."). The field starts one hour from now by your computer's clock, so check it.
3. Click **Schedule**. A time up to 5 minutes in the past counts as now; an earlier one is refused with "That time has already passed."

The email is frozen when you schedule. The audience is counted when the campaign starts.

## States and actions

| State | Meaning | You can |
| --- | --- | --- |
| **Draft** | Being written | Edit anything; send or schedule |
| **Scheduled** | Waiting for its time | **Back to draft**, **Send now**, **Cancel campaign** |
| **Sending** | Emails are going out | **Pause**, **Cancel campaign** |
| **Paused** | On hold | **Resume**, **Cancel campaign** |
| **Sent** | Everyone was handled | **Duplicate**, **Save as template**, **Delete** |
| **Cancelled** | Stopped for good | **Duplicate**, **Delete** |
| **Failed** | Something stopped it | **Back to draft** |

Content, audience and settings can change only while a campaign is a draft. In **Messaging > Campaigns** each row has a three-dot menu: **Edit** (drafts) or **Open**, **Pause**, **Resume**, **Duplicate**, and in red **Cancel** or **Delete**. When the scheduler is slow a banner appears ("Scheduled campaigns may go out late"); **Fix this** opens [Settings: Scheduler](/docs/hive-mail-settings-scheduler/).

![The campaign row menu open on a sending campaign](https://hiveplugins.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/hivemail-campaigns-row-menu-06.webp)

On a campaign's page:

- **Pause**: waiting emails are held ("Nothing goes out while paused."). **Resume** puts them back in the queue and carries on from where it stopped.
- **Send now** (scheduled): confirm "Send “{name}” now?".
- **Back to draft** (scheduled or failed): edit, then review and schedule again; the frozen email is rebuilt. From Failed, queued, paused, skipped and failed messages of that campaign are deleted; sent ones stay. Only people who did not get it are mailed.
- **More actions > Cancel campaign**: nothing more goes out; unsent emails are marked Skipped ("The campaign was cancelled."). Cancelled and Sent are final.
- **Duplicate**: makes a draft "Copy of {name}" with the same subject, sender, audience, UTM setting and email, but no schedule or results. Sending the copy to the same audience emails people again.
- **More actions > Save as template**: type a name, **Save template**.
- **More actions > Delete > Delete campaign**: not possible while scheduled, sending or paused. Sent emails stay in the [Sending log](/docs/hive-mail-sending-log/).

![A sending campaign page with the progress card and the Pause button](https://hiveplugins.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/hivemail-campaigns-progress-07.webp)

The page refreshes every 4 seconds while sending, every 20 seconds when paused or scheduled. A campaign is **Sent** when the whole audience is queued and every email is sent, failed or skipped. If the scheduler was down at the chosen time, the campaign starts when it runs again; see [A scheduled campaign did not go out](/docs/hive-mail-scheduled-campaign-did-not-go-out/).

> **Warning:** You cannot edit the email of a sending campaign. To change it, cancel and duplicate. Cancel cannot be undone, and emails already sent cannot be taken back.

Next: [How to read a campaign report](/docs/hive-mail-read-a-campaign-report/), [Emails are not sending](/docs/hive-mail-emails-are-not-sending/).