Gmail delayed send:
what, why, and how

What is delayed send in Gmail?

Delayed sending means you’re composing an email now but scheduling it to be sent later. Delaying when an email is sent can ensure your message lands in your recipient’s inbox at the right time, lets you proofread and polish your communication, prevents you from sending an email you’ll regret, and many other benefits.

Why schedule emails in Gmail

We can fit most of the benefits of delayed sending into five "buckets.”

• Proofreading: Rather than losing your email in a sea of drafts, set a schedule to come back and read a message before you send it. This gives you the chance to make sure it’s perfect before it goes into the wild.
• Better reply rates: Send those emails when it’s most likely that your recipient will read and respond to them. This could be business hours, or making sure that you’re the first message in their inbox in the morning.
• Avoiding accidents: It’s pretty embarrassing to send a message to the wrong person, or to shoot off an incomplete email. Use Delayed Send to give you time, and also a time limit for new edits.
• Time zones: Deliver emails at convenient times for your recipient. If you’re in the US and sending to a European counterpart, you don’t have to be the person who sent the email at 3am.
• Pre-scheduled follow-up: Give yourself fewer day-of to-dos. When there’s information you need to share after a meeting or event, you can prepare ahead of time for your email to go out after the event has concluded.

These different buckets can all help you appear more professional, while also building personal and professional relationships. You’ll maximize your chances of getting a reply when you need one, and your schedule won’t tie you to your device.

Does Gmail offer delayed send?

Gmail does an okay job of providing you with tools to customize your email use, including scheduling emails. But their native tools tend to be limiting, and they often lack additional features that provide more functionality and customization.

Gmail undo send

We’ve all had those “oops” moments. Gmail’s Undo Send gives you a window of time after you hit send  (up to 30 seconds) to retract your email. Here’s how to put it to work:

1. Open Gmail and click the settings icon (gear icon) in the top right corner.
2. Select “See all settings.”
3. In the “General” tab, find the “Undo Send” section.
4. Choose your preferred cancellation period (5, 10, 20, or 30 seconds).
5. Scroll down and click “Save changes.”

Gmail schedule send

When you want to select a specific time and/or date for your email to send, schedule send is a handy tool. Here’s how to use it:

1. Compose your email.
2. Rather than pressing “Send,” click the down arrow beside the Send button. Select “Schedule send” from the popup.
3. Choose one of the suggested times, or set a custom time and date.
4. Confirm your selection.

Examples of when to use Gmail schedule send

Email scheduling will make your life easier in many ways, but here are a few ways that stand out:

• Professional reminders: Some of the best tools know how important it is to remind people about meetings. But your Google Calendar certainly does not. Use scheduling to send reminders or deadline alerts at the perfect time.
• Time-sensitive offers: When you’re sending out a promotional email, make sure that it’s hitting the inbox at a time when your recipients are most likely to open it.
• International Communications: For the highest engagement, use a tool like Time and Date to work out the ideal time to send that email to an overseas contact.

Whether you’re making a first impression or sending an email to someone you’ve known for years, there’s always room to improve communications. With delayed send and undoing sent messages, you can improve your email strategies and tactics regardless of your use case.

Using third-party tools to delay Gmail sends

Like we mentioned, the standard tools that your Gmail includes are functional but they’re certainly far from great. Third-party tools can give you better functionality, with smart features that interweave with each other.

Let’s explore some popular tools that can help you delay sending emails, along with their features, benefits, and how to get started with them.

What other alternatives exist?

There are several tools on the market that offer delayed send capabilities. They run the gamut from small extensions, all the way up to full CRMs. Here are a few that are worth checking out:

• Mixmax: You’ll get email tracking and delayed send, but you also get a huge variety of reporting options and campaign builders.
• Yesware: Email tracking and scheduling, and it integrates with most popular CRM systems.
• Mailshake: Email automation and tracking, focused heavily on outbound sales motions.
• YAMM (Yet Another Mail Merge): A simple tool for sending bulk emails within Gmail.

As email outreach becomes ever more tricky, expect to see new tools and names pop up in the market. However, for most of us, these tools offer way more function than we need. That’s one of the reasons that people choose Boomerang for Gmail for scheduled send times and an email productivity champion.

Best practices for delaying emails

Here at Boomerang, we’ve learned a thing or two about the best ways to use email. It’s part of our mission to help you send the right message at the right time, every time. Here are some of our favorite tips for effective email scheduling:

• Master the art of timing: Email scheduling is all about delivery. Schedule those emails to land in your recipient’s inbox when they’re most likely to be attentive. Sending an email across the pond? Schedule it to be the first thing in their inbox in the morning.
• The power of the pause: We’ve all sent off an email and then immediately spotted a typo. Scheduling helps you to get that extra time so you can kiss the oops moments goodbye. Take a breath, review your message, and make sure it’s polished to perfection before you send it out into the world.
• Time-sensitive content: Use scheduling features to help you stay on top of the important stuff. Birthday wishes and last-minute reminders are always right on cue. It’s a bit like having a personal assistant who never forgets, and is always ready for your next task.

Combining delayed send and other tools

Scheduling your email sends goes a long way toward making you look good and keeping you on top of your schedule. But let’s take it a step further by scheduling messages along with other Boomerang features.

Each of these tools, by themselves, is insanely powerful. But when you combine them together, it’s like having your personal assistant inside of your inbox. And that’s really just the start.

Boomerang users are always surprising us with new and inventive ways to get the most out of their subscription.

Ensuring quality in scheduled emails

Before that timer goes off, do some quick checks to make sure that your messages are having the best possible impact.

• Double-check quality: Before you schedule, run through the checklist. Grammar? Check. Clarity? Check. Relevance? Double-check. Your future self will thank you.
• Personalization is key: Make your emails stand out with a personal touch. Take the time to craft messages that feel like a warm handshake rather than a cold call.
• Stay on your toes: The world moves fast, and so should your email strategy. Regularly review your scheduled emails to ensure they’re still on point. Don’t be afraid to adjust on the fly if circumstances change.

Troubleshooting common problems with Gmail delay send

Gmail’s delay send features do have some occasional problems. Here are a few that you might run into as you delay Gmail sending more often:

Emails not sending at scheduled time

Problem
Emails scheduled with Gmail’s delay send fail to send at the designated time.

Solutions

• Verify your Gmail account is properly synced. Sign out and sign back in if > needed.
• Clear your browser cache and cookies if using Gmail on the web.
• If using the Gmail mobile app, make sure it’s updated to the latest version.

Delayed emails appearing in Sent folder immediately

Problem
Emails scheduled with Gmail’s delay send show up in your Sent folder right away, even though they haven’t been delivered yet.

Solution
This is normal behavior. Gmail moves scheduled emails to the Sent folder but doesn’t actually deliver them until the scheduled time. You can also find pending scheduled emails in the “Scheduled” folder.

Unable to edit scheduled emails

Problem
You can’t modify a scheduled email after setting it up with Gmail’s delay send.

Solution
To edit a scheduled email:

• Go to the “Scheduled” folder
• Open the email you want to edit
• Click “Cancel send” at the top
• Make your changes and reschedule the email

Of course, we’d be missing an opportunity here if we didn’t mention that Boomerang for Gmail makes it incredibly easy to edit your scheduled emails. That’s on top of a host of other features, analytics, and productivity tools for Gmail that all come standard.

Wrapping up: the power of delayed sending

There are some tools that you see and they immediately make sense. Delaying Gmail sending is one of those. It’s a great way to bolster your email communication strategy, and to help you keep better tabs on your personal and professional messages. Sending the right message at the right time makes sure that your recipients are more likely to see those messages, to respond if necessary, and to keep communicating with you.

Tools like Boomerang, though, step things up to the next level.

With Boomerang, you’ll get:

• Delayed sending
• The ability to choose when you want to receive your emails with Inbox Pause.
• Schedule recurring messages
• Reminders
• And much more!

And it all seamlessly integrates with the Gmail account that you’re already using.

When you’re ready to elevate your email game, give Boomerang a try. It’s your chance to take control of your communication, and to make sure that every message hits its mark. What are you waiting for? Download Boome