WhatsApp broadcasts have a 98% open rate — but only if you do them right. Send the wrong message, to the wrong people, at the wrong time, and you risk getting your number quality rating downgraded or your campaigns blocked. Here are 7 tips that actually work.
01
Always use approved templates for business-initiated messages
WhatsApp requires you to use pre-approved template messages for any conversation you initiate — including broadcasts. These templates are reviewed by Meta before you can use them.
The good news: once approved, templates can include personalisation variables (customer name, order number, expiry date) that make each message feel personal even at scale.
If you send messages outside a 24-hour reply window without a template, they'll be rejected by the API.
02
Segment your audience before you send
Sending the same message to your entire contact list is one of the fastest ways to get flagged by WhatsApp. Contacts who receive irrelevant messages report them as spam — and enough spam reports can get your number blocked.
Segment by:
• Purchase history (sent something recently vs. dormant for 90+ days)
• Contact label or stage (active lead vs. paying customer vs. churned)
• Location or language
• Opted-in explicitly for marketing messages
Waqly lets you filter contacts by label, stage and custom criteria before creating a broadcast.
03
Send at the right time — not just when you're ready
WhatsApp messages are opened on mobile, usually within minutes. This means timing matters enormously.
Best times based on industry data:
• 10am–12pm and 4pm–7pm in the recipient's timezone
• Tuesday–Thursday perform better than Monday or Friday
• Avoid Sunday mornings and late evenings
If your audience spans multiple timezones, schedule your broadcast to hit each segment at their local peak time.
04
Keep the first message short and lead with value
WhatsApp messages are read in notification previews. The first 40–60 characters appear before the customer opens the chat. If that preview doesn't communicate immediate value, open rates drop sharply.
Do: "Hi [Name], your 20% discount expires tonight →"
Don't: "Dear Valued Customer, we are pleased to inform you that we are currently running..."
Lead with the benefit, not the context. Add context after.
05
Include a clear, single CTA
Every broadcast should have one goal and one call-to-action. Adding multiple links or asks confuses customers and reduces click-through rates.
Use WhatsApp's interactive button templates when possible — they give customers a tap-to-act button (Shop Now, Get Quote, Track Order) that performs significantly better than plain links.
06
Monitor delivery and read rates — cut what doesn't work
Track these metrics for every broadcast:
• Send count — total messages sent
• Delivered — reached the recipient's device
• Read — customer opened the message
• Failed — rejected or undeliverable
A healthy broadcast has >95% delivery rate and >60% read rate. If your read rate drops below 40%, review your message copy, timing and segment quality.
In Waqly, these metrics update in real time on the broadcast detail page.
07
Always provide an easy opt-out path
WhatsApp's policy requires you to honour opt-out requests. In practice: if a customer replies "STOP", "Unsubscribe" or similar, you must stop messaging them.
Waqly can auto-detect opt-out keywords and tag the contact automatically — excluding them from future broadcasts.
Proactively mentioning "Reply STOP to unsubscribe" in your first message to a new contact reduces spam reports significantly and protects your number quality rating.
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