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Four templates cover the purposes small businesses most often use on WhatsApp Business: a relevant offer, a new item or business announcement, an appointment reminder, and a request for customer feedback. Each one below uses plain placeholders such as {{first_name}} that you replace with your own details. These are drafting examples written for this guide. They are not text approved by WhatsApp or Meta, and nothing here guarantees approval, delivery, or a response. Send them only to people who opted in to hear from your business on WhatsApp.
The four templates compared
The table compares the four purposes on the criteria that matter before you pick one: the kind of message the customer should expect, how much personal detail the message needs, and the action the customer is asked to take next.
| Template | Purpose | What the customer should expect | Details the message needs | Next action |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Relevant offer | A promotion on a product or service | An offer from a business they agreed to hear from | First name, business name, offer, product or service, link, reply keyword | View details, or reply with a keyword |
| 2. New item or announcement | A new product, menu, or business update | A business update, with a stated reason it applies to them | First name, business name, new item or update, reason, link | Open the link, or reply with a question |
| 3. Appointment reminder | A booking the customer already made | A reminder about that specific booking | First name, business name, appointment type, date, time, confirm-or-change instruction | Confirm, or ask to change the booking |
| 4. Feedback request | Feedback after a visit or purchase | A follow-up after they chose your business | First name, business name, product or service, link | Share feedback at the link, or reply to the message |
Get permission and honor opt-outs first
- Meta’s WhatsApp Business Messaging Policy says a business may contact someone on WhatsApp only if that person supplied their mobile number and opted in to receive further WhatsApp messages.
- The opt-in must clearly identify both WhatsApp and your business. A sign-up line such as “Get order updates from Maple Street Bakery on WhatsApp” names both. “Sign up for updates” names neither.
- Match each message to the category the person agreed to. A customer who opted in for appointment reminders has not necessarily agreed to receive promotions, so do not move them onto an offer list.
- Honor every stop or block request. Remove that contact from all future lists. Each template ends with “Reply STOP to stop these messages,” which gives customers a clear way to make the request.
Choose the WhatsApp Business workflow that fits the send
“Bulk” here means sending the same template to a list of customers. Every recipient still has to be an opted-in contact. There are two workflows, and they follow different rules.
WhatsApp Business app marketing messages
WhatsApp’s Help Center article “How to create and send a marketing message” describes marketing messages created in the WhatsApp Business app, directed to contacts or selected lists, reviewed, and then sent or scheduled.
- Create a marketing message in the WhatsApp Business app and paste in the finished template text, with every placeholder replaced.
- Choose the audience: your contacts or selected lists.
- Choose an action. The app offers catalog, tap-to-reply, phone-call, and website actions. Match the action to the template’s next step. The offer and announcement templates point to a web page, so use the website action. The reminder asks for a reply or a call, so use tap-to-reply or phone-call. The feedback template uses the website action when it includes a link, or tap-to-reply when customers respond in the chat.
- Submit the message. The Help Center’s instructions state: “Your messages are subject to review by Meta.”
- Send it now, or schedule it.
Business Platform (API) template messages
Businesses sending through the WhatsApp Business Platform follow the Business Platform rules in Meta’s WhatsApp Business Messaging Policy. Under those rules, a business may start a conversation only with an approved message template.
- Within 24 hours: a business may reply without a template within 24 hours of the user’s last message.
- Outside 24 hours: an approved template is required to message the user first.
- Structure: Meta’s API examples show message bodies with variables and components such as buttons. The placeholders and any buttons therefore belong to the approved template itself, not to a message you type later.
The official pages do not describe how long template approval takes.
Which path applies to your situation
| Situation | Path | Template rule |
|---|---|---|
| Send an offer or announcement to your contacts or a saved list from the app | WhatsApp Business app marketing message | Created in the app and submitted for Meta review |
| Reply to a customer who messaged you within the last 24 hours | Platform reply | No template required |
| Message a customer who has not written to you in the last 24 hours | Platform, business-initiated | Approved template required |
Fill-in guide for the placeholders
| Placeholder | Replace it with |
|---|---|
{{first_name}} |
The customer’s first name from your contact record |
{{business_name}} |
Your business name, as customers know it |
{{offer_or_discount}} |
The real offer and its terms, such as the discount amount and any end date |
{{product_or_service}} |
The item or service the message is about |
{{link}} |
A web page showing the offer, announcement, or feedback form, written as a full web address |
{{reply_keyword}} |
One word the customer sends back to ask for help |
{{new_product_or_update}} |
The item or update, in a short phrase |
{{relevant_reason}} |
A true reason the item fits this customer, such as a product category they have bought from you before |
{{appointment_type}} |
The booking’s name, as your customers would describe it |
{{date}} and {{time}} |
The appointment date and time, in the format your customers use |
{{reply_or_contact_instruction}} |
One clear action to confirm or change the booking, such as a reply or a phone number |
The four templates
Each template states one purpose and one next action.
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1. Relevant offer
Use this for a real promotion on a product or service. The opening line says the customer asked to hear from you, so it must be accurate for everyone on the list. If the offer has no end date, remove “for a limited time” rather than leave a deadline that is not true.
Hi {{first_name}}, you asked to hear from {{business_name}} on WhatsApp. For a limited time, {{offer_or_discount}} on {{product_or_service}}. See the details here: {{link}}. Reply {{reply_keyword}} if you’d like help. Reply STOP to stop these messages.2. New item or announcement
Use this for a new product, a menu change, a new location, or a general business update. The reason line should be a specific, true connection to the customer. Point the link to a page that shows the item or update the message describes.
Hi {{first_name}}, {{business_name}} has {{new_product_or_update}}. We thought it might interest you because {{relevant_reason}}. Take a look: {{link}}. Reply if you have a question, or reply STOP to stop these messages.3. Appointment reminder
Use this for a booking the customer already made. The Help Center lists appointment reminders among the purposes for marketing messages in the WhatsApp Business app. This guide does not establish how Meta categorizes a reminder sent through the Business Platform.
Hi {{first_name}}, a reminder from {{business_name}}: your {{appointment_type}} is on {{date}} at {{time}}. To confirm or ask about changing it, {{reply_or_contact_instruction}}. Reply STOP to stop these messages.4. Feedback request
Use this after a customer has visited or bought from you. The template offers a link and a reply, so the customer can choose either.
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- Keep every claim accurate on the day the message is sent. That covers any discount, deadline, product detail, or appointment time.
- Use only placeholders for data you hold in your contact records. A placeholder for information you do not have will leave a gap in the message.
- Keep the wording plain. The templates are written to be read on a phone in a single pass.
What the official sources establish and what they do not
- The four purposes come from the WhatsApp Help Center’s list of marketing-message purposes: offers, deals, new items, announcements, thanks, feedback, appointment reminders, and birthday greetings. The Help Center presents these as examples. They are not guarantees of approval or availability.
- The four templates are drafting examples. They are not copied from Meta and are not approved text. Whether any wording is accepted depends on the review steps described above.
- The reviewed WhatsApp Business Messaging Policy, the WhatsApp Help Center article, and Meta’s WhatsApp Business Platform template examples published through the Postman API Network do not report response rates, conversion results, message reach, or any other performance figures. The comparison above therefore uses practical criteria, not results.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I combine an offer and a feedback request in one message?
Keep each message to one purpose and one next action. The sources reviewed do not address combined messages, so send an offer and a feedback request as two separate messages.
My business has no feedback page. What should the feedback template say?
Remove the link clause and ask for a reply instead. This version keeps the same structure:
Hi {{first_name}}, thanks for choosing {{business_name}}. How was your experience with {{product_or_service}}? Reply to this message with your feedback. Reply STOP to stop these messages.What should I put in the reply_or_contact_instruction placeholder for a reminder?
Give one action the customer can take right away, such as “reply here or call 555-0142.” The sentence then reads: “To confirm or ask about changing it, reply here or call 555-0142.” The 555 number is an example only; use your own business number.
Can I use these templates for thank-you or birthday messages?
The Help Center lists thanks and birthday greetings among possible marketing-message purposes, but the four drafts here do not include them. To write one, use the same structure: first name, business name, a single purpose, a single next action, and the STOP line.
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Are these messages available in every country?
Not necessarily. The Help Center notes that business broadcasts may not be available in every country, and the official pages reviewed do not list country-by-country availability. This guide is written for US-based businesses.
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