Feature
Templates and Broadcast: write first, to one customer or many
Approved message templates let your business write first, or pick up a conversation after 24 hours. Send one to a single customer from New message, or to a whole list with Broadcast, scheduled for later, kept away from night hours and never sent to anyone who has opted out of marketing.
Last reviewed:
Templates, approved by Meta
A template is a message you write once and send many times, with blanks for the parts that change. Write it in Create template with a header, footer or buttons if you want them, and Meta checks it, usually within minutes; Templates shows each one as In review, Approved, Rejected or Draft.
- Utility is for something the customer already has with you; anything promotional is Marketing, which Meta reviews harder.
- When Meta rejects a template, its reason is shown on the template, and a corrected one can be submitted.
- The line under each template shows its last 30 days: sent, delivered, read, replied to and failed.
Broadcast: one template to many customers
Broadcast sends one approved template to a list you paste, each customer getting it in their own conversation and their replies landing in your inbox. Send yourself a test first, choose a time up to 30 days ahead, and open each Broadcast's report to see the conversations it reached.
- Paste the numbers with a name and values on each line, straight from a sheet.
- Nothing goes out between 9 pm and 9 am in your workspace's time zone; a Broadcast sent then waits for the morning.
- If Send gets no answer and you press it again, you are taken to the Broadcast already created instead of sending twice.
- Broadcast comes with the plans that include it; the pricing page lists which.
Consent built in: STOP and START
A customer who replies STOP is opted out of marketing: marketing templates and Broadcasts stop reaching them, while your replies and everyday updates still do. START lets them back in, every opt-out is listed for your team, and a contact import can carry the consent you already collected elsewhere.
- STOP, UNSUBSCRIBE, OPT OUT, STOP PROMOTIONS and STOP ALL count when they are the whole message.
- On your own number the customer gets one automatic message confirming it, and the conversation says Opted out.
- Someone whose role can manage contacts can stop or allow marketing for a number by hand, with their name recorded.
What Meta charges for templates
Templates are WhatsApp messages, and Meta charges for WhatsApp messages at its own rates, billed to your WhatsApp Business Account directly. What a message costs can depend on its category and on the customer's country, and Meta sets and changes those rates itself, so its pricing page is the place to check them.
Questions about broadcasts and templates
These answers from the GoPromoteNow help centre explain broadcasts and templates step by step, with the buttons named as they appear on screen, so you can follow along with the inbox open. Each one is short, and each links back here and to the answers next to it.
- What is a message template?The 24-hour rule and templates
- How do I create a template?The 24-hour rule and templates
- How long does Meta take to approve a template?The 24-hour rule and templates
- Why was my template rejected, and what now?The 24-hour rule and templates
- Utility or Marketing — which category do I pick?The 24-hour rule and templates
- Can I see how each template is doing?The 24-hour rule and templates
- How do I message someone who has not written to me?The 24-hour rule and templates
- How do I send one template to many people with Broadcast?The 24-hour rule and templates
- Can I schedule a Broadcast for later?The 24-hour rule and templates
- What are quiet hours, and can I send at night?The 24-hour rule and templates
- What happens when a customer replies STOP?The 24-hour rule and templates
- How does a customer start getting offers again?The 24-hour rule and templates
- Can I import my contacts from another tool?The 24-hour rule and templates
See broadcasts and templates working on sample data
Try broadcasts and templates on sample data now, or start a free trial that needs no payment details. Setup takes a day or two, most of which is Meta verifying your number, and our team connects it with you on a short call so nothing is left half set up.