How to Pause a Mail Merge Campaign

Introduction

Sometimes you need to pause a mail merge campaign that is already sending, for example to fix a mistake in your list or to wait for a better time. Pausing stops new emails from going out. Emails already sent stay sent, and you can resume the campaign later. This guide shows how.

Step 1: Open the Campaign Report

Click Campaigns in the left menu of the web app or the Google Sheets add-on, then click the campaign you want to pause. The campaign report opens on the Overview tab.

A campaign can be paused while its status badge says In progress or Waiting. A Waiting campaign has paused itself until the next day’s sending window, for example after reaching a daily limit. Campaigns that are Scheduled have not started yet. To change one, click Unschedule and edit instead.

Step 2: Click Pause

Click Pause at the top right of the report. A Pause campaign? window opens. It shows the campaign name and how many recipients are remaining. Click Pause campaign to confirm, or close the window to keep sending.

New deliveries pause after any email that is already being processed, so one more email may still go out right after you click.

Step 3: Check the Status

A message confirms Campaign has been paused. and the status badge changes from In progress to Paused. The Resume button now replaces Pause. If the badge still shows the old status, click the refresh button on the report.

What You Can Do While Paused

• Resume the campaign when you are ready. See Resume a campaign.
• Edit delivery to change the pacing options for emails that have not been scheduled yet.
• Stop the campaign for good. See Stop a campaign.

Conclusion

Pausing is the safe way to interrupt a campaign: nothing is lost, and the remaining recipients are still waiting when you resume.