Bulk WhatsApp messages can deliver open rates email can only dream of, or get your number restricted in a week. The difference is doing it the official way: approved templates, opted-in customers and sensible pacing. This guide explains how WhatsApp campaigns work on the WhatsApp Business API, with real limits from the BitVoice Social Media Platform.
The rules first
- Use the official WhatsApp Business API. Unofficial bulk tools risk your number being banned.
- Message only opted-in customers, and record their consent.
- Use approved templates for every message you send first.
- Watch your quality rating. Blocks and reports lower it and reduce your messaging limits.
Read the basics in our guide to the WhatsApp Business API in India.
Step 1: Create a template
Templates are pre-approved message formats. On the BitVoice platform you choose:
- Category: marketing (offers, announcements) or utility (order updates, reminders).
- Language: one per template, from 39 languages. Create one template per language you need.
- Header: text up to 60 characters, or an image (JPG or PNG, 5 MB), video (MP4, 16 MB) or document (PDF).
- Body: up to 1,024 characters with up to 25 variables such as {{1}} for the customer’s name.
- Footer: up to 60 characters, such as “Reply STOP to opt out”.
- Buttons: up to 10, including website links, a call button and a copy-offer-code button.
Approval usually takes minutes and at most 24 hours.
Step 2: Prepare your contact list
Upload a CSV or Excel file of up to 10 MB, map its columns to the template’s variables, and check numbers are in international format (+91 followed by the number). Use customer tags to target segments, and respect each customer’s marketing consent.
Step 3: Pace the campaign
Sending everything at once looks like spam. The BitVoice platform sends in paced batches. The defaults are 50 messages per batch, one second between messages and one minute between batches, and all three can be adjusted. At these settings a campaign to 5,000 contacts takes about 100 minutes. You can start immediately or schedule, and pause, resume or cancel at any time.
Step 4: Read the report
After sending, the campaign report shows messages delivered, read and failed, average delivery time, success rate, a breakdown of failure reasons and each batch’s results, with a PDF export. Use the failure reasons to clean your list.
Step 5: Handle the replies
Every reply lands in the shared team inbox, where a chatbot or an agent responds. Replies open a 24-hour window in which your team can chat freely. See how to set up a WhatsApp chatbot.
Campaign ideas that customers welcome
- Appointment and payment reminders (utility)
- Order, delivery and service updates (utility)
- Festive offers to customers who opted in (marketing)
- Event invitations and webinar reminders
- Re-engaging dormant customers with a useful offer
The BitVoice Social Media Platform handles templates, campaigns, the shared inbox, chatbots and reports on the official Meta Cloud API. Book a demo.
FAQs
Is sending bulk WhatsApp messages allowed?
Yes, through the official WhatsApp Business API, to customers who have opted in, using Meta-approved templates.
How many WhatsApp messages can I send at once?
Your WhatsApp Business account has messaging limits set by Meta, which grow with your quality rating. On the BitVoice platform, campaigns are sent in paced batches you can adjust.
Can I personalise bulk WhatsApp messages?
Yes. Template variables in the body, such as the customer’s name or order number, are filled from your uploaded list for each contact.
How long does WhatsApp template approval take?
Usually a few minutes, and at most 24 hours.
