Scheduling

This plugin can send newsletters automatically on a schedule. Free plugin users configure it under One Two Three Send → Settings → Schedule. Pro plugin users get a unified Weekly Schedule page with per-day controls and a generation/send-time split — covered below.

Frequency

• Manual (default) — no cron, no automatic action. You generate and send by hand.
• Daily — fires every day at the configured time.
• Weekly / Fortnightly — fires on the configured day of week.
• Monthly — fires once a month.

Day and time

The Day field applies to weekly and fortnightly schedules. Time is in your site timezone (set under WordPress Settings → General → Timezone). Best windows for newsletters are typically Tuesday–Thursday, 8–11am local — your audience will tell you what works.

Manual approval (default)

With Auto-send without approval off, the cron does not send anything. Instead, when the trigger fires:

• If a draft newsletter exists, the plugin emails the site admin a link to review and click Send Now.
• If no draft exists, the plugin does nothing — you generate manually when ready.

This is the safest mode. Recommended for the first month or two while you tune your site context and verify drafts read well.

Auto-send (free plugin)

Tick Auto-send without approval and the cron sends without you in the loop. Behaviour:

• If a draft exists, it is sent at the scheduled time.
• If no draft exists, the plugin auto-generates one (tone: friendly, length: medium) and sends it immediately.

The free plugin's auto-send is intentionally minimal — no editor pass, no audit gate. For unattended sending in production, use the pro plugin's Weekly Schedule.

Pro plugin — unified Weekly Schedule

Auto-send paid newsletters (Pro 2.14.110+)

The Weekly Schedule has a separate Auto-send paid toggle alongside the main Auto-send. By default it is off: paid newsletters are always held for manual approval, even when Auto-send is on for free issues — the cautious default for sites that monetise. Turn it on when you want paid issues to fire automatically too. It requires Auto-send to also be on (paid auto-send without the umbrella toggle would be inconsistent) and inherits the same editor pass + audit gate: a paid issue that fails the audit is held just like a free one would be, with the admin notified.

The pro plugin replaces the free Settings → Schedule UI with One Two Three Send → Weekly Schedule (since 2.14.110). One page covers everything: when to generate, when to send, what runs on which day.

Global controls (top of the page)

• Generation time (default 07:30) — when today’s draft is built. Set earlier than the send time if you want to review before it ships.
• Send time (default 16:00) — when today’s draft is auto-sent. Set equal to the generation time for a single-tick gen + send.
• Auto-send — off = newsletter held for manual approval; on = ships at the send time.
• Auto-send paid (new — default off) — also auto-send issues marked Paid. Off keeps the existing safety (paid held for approval); flip on to ship paid daily without admin intervention. Requires Auto-send to also be on.

Per-day rows (Mon–Sun)

• Enabled — uncheck to skip newsletter generation entirely on that day.
• Template — Newsroom, Travel, or any Custom template. The template’s prompt drives the draft.
• Type — Free or Paid. Paid issues are held unless Auto-send paid is also on.

What runs on each cron tick

1. At generation time, the plugin checks today’s row. If enabled and no draft exists yet, it generates one using the configured template.
2. At send time, the editor pass runs (Claude applies confident grammar / tone / cliché edits) → audit gate (any blocking FAIL holds the send for manual approval) → if Auto-send is on (and Auto-send paid is on for paid issues), the newsletter ships.
3. If the generation cron didn’t fire for any reason (host hiccup, missed tick), the send cron generates on the fly — the newsletter ships when it can.

This is the safe way to run unattended.

Scheduling caveats

• WP-Cron only fires when someone visits the site. For low-traffic sites, set up a real cron hitting wp-cron.php every five minutes — your host's control panel usually has a UI for this.
• Always run a test send to your own email before turning auto-send on.
• The schedule applies globally — there is one schedule per install. Sending free daily and paid weekly from the same install requires the pro plugin's Weekly Schedule.

Next: Subscribers & forms.

Plugin screenshots