Queue Settings

Configure how WP Outreach processes and sends emails in the background using the email queue system.

Understanding the Email Queue

When you send a campaign, emails are not sent instantly. Instead, they are added to a queue and processed in batches by a background worker. This approach:

• Prevents server timeouts on large campaigns
• Respects sending rate limits
• Allows you to continue working while emails send
• Enables automatic retry for failed emails

Queue Configuration

Navigate to WP Outreach → Settings → Queue to configure these settings:

Setting	Default	Description
Batch Size	50	Number of emails processed per cron run
Rate Limit	100/min	Maximum emails sent per minute
Max Retries	3	Retry attempts for failed emails
Retry Delay	5 min	Wait time between retry attempts

Recommended Settings by Mailer

Mailer	Batch Size	Rate Limit
WordPress Mail	25	50/min
SMTP	50	100/min
Amazon SES	100-200	Based on SES limits

Tip: If using Amazon SES, check your SES sending quota in the AWS console and set your rate limit accordingly.

Monitoring the Queue

View the current queue status at WP Outreach → Queue:

• Pending – Emails waiting to be sent
• Processing – Currently being sent
• Sent – Successfully delivered
• Failed – Failed after all retry attempts

Cron Configuration

The queue is processed by WordPress cron. For reliable processing:

Using WP-Cron (Default)

Works automatically when visitors load your site. Suitable for small to medium sites.

Using External Cron (Recommended)

For high-volume sites, set up a real server cron job:

1. Add to wp-config.php:

define('DISABLE_WP_CRON', true);

2. Add a server cron job (runs every minute):

* * * * * wget -q -O - https://yoursite.com/wp-cron.php?doing_wp_cron >/dev/null 2>&1

Troubleshooting

Emails Stuck in Queue

• Check if WP-Cron is running (use WP Crontrol plugin)
• Verify your mailer settings are correct
• Check server error logs for issues

Slow Processing

• Increase batch size if using a fast mailer like SES
• Switch from WP-Cron to external cron
• Check server resources (memory, CPU)