How to send your first broadcast on the WhatsApp Business API

Step 2 — Configure: build a template in the right category

This is the step that makes or breaks your first broadcast. WhatsApp requires a pre-approved template for any business-initiated message, and the category you choose determines both approval and cost. Pick marketing for promotions, offers, and announcements; utility for transactional updates tied to an existing order or account, like a shipping or payment alert; and authentication only for one-time passcodes. Getting the category right matters twice over: a promotional message dressed up as a utility template will be rejected, and category also drives the per-message rate you pay.

• Marketing — offers, launches, re-engagement (highest per-message rate)
• Utility — order, delivery, payment and account updates tied to a real transaction
• Authentication — one-time passcodes and verification codes only
• Use variables like {{1}} for a name so each contact gets a personalised message
• Add real, representative sample values — never leave placeholder text in the sample fields
• Submit and wait for Meta approval, which usually lands within minutes to a few hours

Step 3 — Connect: map your data to the template

With an approved template in hand, connect it to your imported audience. In InfiQ you match each template variable to a column in your contact list, so {{1}} might pull from the first-name column and {{2}} from an order-ID column. If your template includes buttons — a call-to-action link or a quick-reply option — confirm the destination URL and button text are exactly what you want before you go further. This mapping step is where personalisation comes alive, and it is far easier to fix a wrong column now than to recall a message that has already gone out.

Step 4 — Test: send to your own number first

Never let your first broadcast be the first time you see the message. Create a tiny test audience of just your own number (and a colleague's if you can) and send the real template to it. This surfaces the things a preview never catches: a variable that pulled the wrong field, a link that opens the wrong page, an emoji that renders oddly, or a media header that failed to attach. Read the message on a real phone exactly as your customer will, tap every button, and only proceed once it is genuinely correct.

• Send the live template to your own WhatsApp number
• Check that every variable resolved to the right value, not {{1}} or blank
• Tap each button and confirm links open the intended page
• Verify any image, video, or document header displays correctly
• Read it as a customer would — tone, spelling, and call to action

Step 5 — Go live: start small, then scale

When the test passes, you are ready to broadcast for real, but resist sending to your entire list on day one. A newer number carries a lower messaging limit and an unproven quality rating, and a large blast to a lukewarm audience is the fastest way to attract blocks. Start with a small, engaged batch, either send now or schedule it for a peak engagement hour, then watch the results. As you build a track record of messages people welcome, Meta raises your messaging limit automatically and you can grow batch sizes with confidence.

• Broadcast to a small, warm batch first rather than the whole list
• Send immediately or schedule for a specific date and time
• Watch delivery and read status in real time from the dashboard
• Keep an eye on your quality rating — it drops fast if people block or report you
• Scale up gradually as your messaging limit tier rises

Common mistakes to avoid

Most first-broadcast problems trace back to a handful of avoidable errors. The biggest is sending to people who never opted in, which triggers blocks and reports and can restrict your number within a single campaign. Close behind is a category mismatch — wrapping a promotion in a utility template — which either gets rejected or, worse, damages trust. Skipping the test send, ignoring a falling quality rating, and blasting a brand-new number at full volume round out the list. Each one is easy to sidestep once you know to look for it.

• Broadcasting without genuine opt-in
• Choosing the wrong template category or leaving placeholder text in samples
• Skipping the test send to your own number
• Ignoring quality rating and delivery failures after going live
• Sending high volume from a brand-new, un-warmed number