What should you check before sending bulk WhatsApp messages?

Is sending bulk WhatsApp messages legal?

Bulk messaging is not prohibited in itself; what matters is who you send to, with what consent and for what purpose. In Turkey, Law No. 6563 requires prior consumer consent for commercial electronic messages promoting goods or services, and that consent must be recorded in the national Message Management System (İleti Yönetim Sistemi, IYS). WhatsApp messages fall within this scope.

Informational messages such as order status or appointment details are not the same as a campaign announcement, but when a single message mixes the two it may be treated as promotional. Drawing that line is a legal judgement. We recommend getting advice from a lawyer when planning campaigns; this article is general information, not legal advice.

How do you get consent for WhatsApp messages?

Consent should be explicit, separate and provable. On a web form, sign-up screen or in store, use a separate unticked box with clear wording such as “I want to receive offers and updates on WhatsApp.” Consent bundled into the same box as your terms or privacy notice is open to challenge.

Keep a record of when, through which channel and with what wording consent was given. A customer messaging you first lets you reply for support, but it is not general permission to send campaigns later. Show a way to opt out in every message; a simple line such as “Reply STOP to stop these messages” is enough.

Why are template messages required and how do you prepare them?

On the official WhatsApp Business Platform, if you are contacting a customer first or more than 24 hours have passed since their last message, you can only send templates approved by Meta in advance. Bulk sends almost always fall into this case. Meta groups templates into categories such as marketing, utility and authentication, with different rules for each.

Write templates that are short, clear and personalisable; fields such as the customer’s name or appointment date are added as variables. Vague, exaggerated or misleading wording can lead to rejection. Submitting templates a few days before a campaign avoids last-minute delays. Template charges follow Meta’s own pricing, so check current terms on Meta’s official pages.

Why do numbers get restricted and how can you avoid it?

WhatsApp can restrict numbers that receive many blocks or reports, send at unusual speed or spread unsolicited bulk messages. On the official platform, a falling quality rating can reduce how many messages you are allowed to send. The decision is WhatsApp’s; a software provider cannot lift a restriction.

A WhatsApp Web-style connection set up via QR code is not an official business integration and is the riskiest route for bulk sending. Businesses using it should only reply to customers who message them and should not send bulk or first-contact messages.

• Send only to people who opted in; never use bought or scraped lists
• Start with small batches and expand while watching the response
• Do not message the same person at short intervals
• Make the reason for the message clear in the first line
• Process opt-outs immediately and never message that person again

How do you write a good bulk WhatsApp message?

WhatsApp is a personal channel; customers see your message next to messages from friends. A short, personal, expected message is less likely to be blocked than a long advert. The first sentence should say who you are and why you are writing.

Focus on one action: book an appointment, open a link or reply. Several links, capital letters and lots of emoji make a message look like spam. Choose the sending time around the recipient’s day as well; a campaign arriving at midnight is irritating whatever it says.

What should you monitor after sending?

A bulk send does not end when the messages go out. Track delivery, read and reply rates, but pay most attention to opt-out requests and blocks. If these rise, review the list, the content or the frequency.

Decide before sending who will handle replies and how quickly. A customer who replies to a campaign is a warm lead, and leaving them unanswered defeats the purpose of the campaign. Because most questions will be similar, saved replies or an assistant answering from a knowledge base lightens the team’s load.

How does Xaly handle campaign replies and consent?

The Xaly inbox brings WhatsApp onto one screen with Instagram, Facebook Messenger, Telegram, email and website chat. You can connect your number through the official WhatsApp business account or by QR code; with QR, the risk of number restrictions belongs to the business and is explicitly accepted when connecting. The AI assistant answers campaign replies from your knowledge base and hands anything it is unsure about to your team.

For outbound campaigns, lists are uploaded as Excel or CSV; numbers are normalised, duplicates are merged and you confirm prior consent when uploading. People who ask not to be contacted are added to a list. For commercial messages, consent and IYS registration remain the business’s responsibility.