Add a countdown timer to your email
Last updated: November 11, 2026
The Countdown block adds a banner that counts down to a deadline you choose, like the end of a sale. It shows days, hours, minutes and seconds, a short message, a line saying when the offer ends, and an optional button.
Countdown is in beta, so you'll see a Beta tag on it in the block list. It's part of Shop in Email. If your plan doesn't include Shop in Email, the block shows an Upgrade tag, and if your billing isn't set up it shows Add Billing. Click it to go to your subscription settings.
Add the block
Open your email in the builder.
In the blocks panel on the left, open the Zaymo tab.
Find Countdown and drag it into your email.
A new countdown ends 3 days from today at 11:59 PM, in your timezone. The numbers in the builder don't tick. They show the time left when the block was last updated, while the emails your customers get count down live.
Set the deadline
Click the countdown, then open the Content tab.
Under Ends at, pick the date and time.
Choose the timezone. You can type to search the list.
Check the line underneath. It shows the deadline the way customers will see it, for example "Ends Nov 12, 11:59 PM EST".
The deadline has to be within 3 years. If you pick a date outside that, you'll see "Pick a date within 3 years." and the change isn't saved. The countdown keeps your last valid deadline.
The boxes show up to 99 days. If your deadline is further away, the countdown shows 99 days, 23 hours, 59 minutes and 59 seconds until the deadline is within 99 days.
When the deadline passes, every box shows 00. The message, the "Ends" line and the button stay as they are.
Change what it says and how it looks
On the Content tab:
Message: click the message in the email to edit it. Use the eye icon next to Message to show or hide it.
"Ends" line: use the eye icon to show or hide the line that says when the offer ends.
Box shape: Rounded, Square, Circle or No box.
Box style: Filled, Outline or Dashed. This doesn't apply when Box shape is No box.
Colons between numbers: turn on to put colons between the boxes.
Days label, Hours label, Minutes label, Seconds label: type your own words, up to 12 characters each. Leave a label blank to use the default (DAYS, HOURS, MINUTES, SECONDS).
On the Styling tab:
Banner color: the background behind everything.
Box color: the box fill, or the border color for Outline and Dashed.
Number color and Label color: the numbers and the words under them.
Font: the font for the block, including the numbers.
Padding: the space around the block's content.
Text color: the message, the "Ends" line and the colons.
Add a button or link
On the Content tab, use the Button setting:
Link: a button that opens a web page. Enter the address in Link goes to. Click the button text in the email to change it from "Shop now". On the Styling tab, use Button color, Button text color and Button radius to style it.
Action (CTA): adds an Action button inside the countdown. Click it in the email to choose its actions. This option only appears if your account can use Action buttons.
No button: removes the button.
How it looks in different inboxes
Apple Mail: the countdown ticks live, starting from the real time left when the email is opened.
Gmail (interactive version): the countdown shows the time left when the email is opened and keeps counting while the email stays open.
Other inboxes: the countdown shows as an animated image that starts from the time left when it loads, plays for 2 minutes, and then stops.
In every inbox, the message, the "Ends" line and the button work like normal email content.