Create WhatsApp Newsletter - How to do it!

WhatsApp newsletters are the future of online marketing. With conventional email newsletters, it is hardly possible to convert a large number of customers. To achieve real marketing success these days, newsletters have to be sent via the platforms that consumers use anyway. And for most consumers, this platform is the messenger WhatsApp. On WhatsApp, potential customers give your company their undivided attention and engage with the newsletter. Various field reports from companies that have already ushered in the new marketing age and send newsletters via WhatsApp confirm the immense potential based on open and conversation rates. In order to start your own marketing campaign on WhatsApp, you need to meet a few prerequisites and work with a competent WhatsApp API provider with newsletter integration. What exactly the WhatsApp newsletter is and how companies can proceed to start their own WhatsApp marketing campaigns is explained in this WhatsApp newsletter guide.

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WhatsApp Newsletter Basics

WhatsApp newsletters are paid mass messages via WhatsApp Messenger to send relevant and valuable information to customers. WhatsApp itself calls these messages "Promotional Messages". For example, they can inform their target group about new products, point out discount promotions or remind existing customers about service intervals. The WhatsApp newsletter can thus be used as part of so-called "conversational commerce", where users can purchase products and services by chatting with the company.

To prevent spam and excessive advertising on WhatsApp Business, the parent company Meta has set some rules for sending newsletters. Among other things, there are caps on the number of messages sent and the content is also checked. Each message template for newsletters must be approved by Meta in advance. From a legal perspective, the GDPR must also be observed, which requires the user's consent (opt-in) to receive the newsletter. Promotional messages can only be sent via the WhatsApp API and are GDPR-compliant. These requirements may sound complex, but they are very simple to implement with Mateo. With a look at the advantages compared to conventional email marketing, it becomes clear that the benefits of WhatsApp newsletters are usually much greater than the small additional effort.

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Would you like to learn more about Mateo's WhatsApp Newsletter Service? Or are you interested in an inbox where customer requests from different communication channels can be bundled centrally and processed efficiently? Simply arrange a free consultation appointment.

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Advantages of WhatsApp Newsletter

The user atmosphere of Germany's most popular messenger service WhatsApp (>60 million users) is very informal in contrast to e-mail, as most users communicate with friends and family via WhatsApp. When companies are reachable via WhatsApp and send newsletters to the target group, this creates a closeness to the customer that is simply not possible with e-mail newsletters. Emails are too distant and too impersonal and thus not the right way to go as a marketing channel that is intended to influence consumers' primarily emotional buying behavior.

Another advantage is that WhatsApp newsletters are guaranteed to reach the recipients and are not sorted into the spam folder by the mail provider like many email newsletters. Your newsletter will get the attention it deserves between personal messages from friends and family members.

Reading tip: How to optimize the conversation rate and prevent the newsletter from being unsubscribed by the recipients, we have described in our article about WhatsApp marketing.

Traditional marketing channels like email are increasingly saturated. Many consumers receive dozens of email newsletters every week and delete most of them unread. In technical jargon, this phenomenon is called channel fatigue. As a marketer, there are only two options left in such a case: Either emails can be further optimized in the hope that open rates will increase by 1 or 2%. Or it can be switched to another messenger channel, such as WhatsApp, where there is no competition yet. That the latter option is likely to be associated with greater success is suggested by statistics on newsletter open rates. While e-mail newsletters are only opened in 22% of cases for the reasons mentioned, WhatsApp Messenger is opened a full 98% of the time (source: Gartner).

The excellent open rate, combined with customer proximity on WhatsApp and the resulting significantly higher conversion rate, leads to significantly increased sales revenues. Various field reports show that the switch from email to WhatsApp newsletters can make a significant contribution to a company's success. By the way: Mateo provides you with reliable evaluations and statistics on the purchasing behavior of newsletter recipients, which can be used to evaluate the success of your WhatsApp campaign.

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Reading tip: In our article about out of office notes in WhatsApp you will find helpful templates for automatic replies.

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Requirements for sending WhatsApp newsletters

In order to send WhatsApp newsletters in accordance with the GDPR and WhatsApp's terms of use, the following requirements must exist:

The dispatch takes place via the WhatsApp Business API
The API provider supports WhatsApp campaigns (like Mateo)
The opt-in of the recipients was obtained
WhatsApp (or Meta) has approved the message template of the newsletter

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Attention: Please do not send newsletters via the WhatsApp Broadcast function. Sending marketing messages via WhatsApp Broadcast is not compliant with the GDPR, just like using the standard WhatsApp Business app. Only via the WhatsApp Business API platform is sending marketing messages to your target audience compliant with the privacy policy. Get all the info in our article"Use WhatsApp Broadcast for Online Marketing? Better not!".

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Opt-in basics for WhatsApp newsletters

Just as with the e-mail newsletter, an opt-in must be obtained from the recipients in advance for newsletters sent via WhatsApp Business. Sending advertising or storing personal data without the subscriber's consent or by opting out has not been permitted in the EU for some time. Unlike opt-out, where the data subject must actively object to the storage of data or receipt of advertising, opt-in requires the recipient to actively consent. The conditions for consent are regulated in Art. 7 GDPR .

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Sending WhatsApp newsletters without the recipients' declaration of consent violates both applicable law and the terms of use of WhatsApp Business and can therefore not only lead to a blocking of the WhatsApp account, but also result in legal consequences.

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In order to comply with the WhatsApp terms of use and the GDPR at the same time, it should also be ensured that the name of the respective company is clearly recognizable and that it is made clear to the data subject that he or she will receive advertising messages as a result of the consent. It is also advisable to communicate how often the person receives the newsletter. Clear communication creates the necessary basis of trust with the customer. And this trust should not be exploited, because the recipients must be given the opportunity to unsubscribe from the WhatsApp newsletter at any time with just a few clicks. WhatsApp Messenger has the function integrated by default that recipients only have to send a message with "Stop" to the company to unsubscribe from the newsletter. So if a company sends newsletters at intervals of just a few days or does not offer customers any added value, the number of subscribers will quickly drop to zero. We have listed many helpful tips on this in our article on WhatsApp marketing.

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Ways to collect the opt-in

There are many ways to collect the opt-in: either pop-up on the website, via form to fill out, as a link on social media or as an invitation in the order confirmation sent by mail. With a little creativity and attractive incentives, such as discount on the first purchase after subscribing to the newsletter, you can quickly build a large number of loyal newsletter recipients. Mateo will be happy to support you.

Nachdem Sie auf der Webseite oder auf anderen Wegen das Opt-In des Kunden eingesammelt haben, muss dieser nur noch im WhatsApp Messenger dem Erhalt des Newsletters zustimmen. Diese doppelte Zustimmung wird „Double-Opt-In“ genannt.

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Flow of a WhatsApp marketing campaign

The process of a WhatsApp marketing campaign basically differs depending on the provider of the WhatsApp API. However, some general steps will not be missing in any campaign: First, both the goals of the campaign and the contents of the newsletter are defined. Then the message template is created, submitted to WhatsApp and waited for approval. Once the approval is granted (this usually takes max. 24h), it only needs to be sent to the subscribers.

With Mateo, you also get many other useful services to increase the conversion rate of your WhatsApp marketing campaign. We start with the definition of the target image and analyze both the customer base and the quality of your customer data. After that, we prepare the marketing calendar and define a content strategy together with the target groups. We take care of importing your data, creating smart segments and help to obtain opt-in from your existing customers. We also schedule regular appointments on a weekly, monthly and quarterly level, in which your WhatsApp marketing campaign is continuously optimized and planned through. Furthermore, we not only take care of sending the right campaign to the right audience at the right time, but also perform in-depth analysis of the marketing success so that we can send you a monthly report with KPIs such as sendout and opening rate. Mateo thus offers a fully comprehensive WhatsApp marketing service, which is customized to your company and your customers. In this respect, you can use your human resources in other areas and benefit from our know-how.

The process of the WhatsApp newsletter campaign with Mateo. The process steps shown in green are carried out in cooperation with you, the steps shown in white are carried out independently by Mateo.

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Examples of use of WhatsApp newsletters

There are a variety of uses for WhatsApp newsletters. For example, alert customers that products they regularly buy are available again.

You can also carry out up-selling and cross-selling strategies particularly successfully. If a customer has already purchased something from your product or service portfolio, a short WhatsApp message is often enough to sell further matching items. If you run a hotel, for example, you can draw your guests' attention to the specialties of your in-house restaurant.

In many industries, certain products and services are in focus at certain times due to seasonal factors. Simply use WhatsApp Business to remind your customers of upcoming service intervals such as tire changes, inspections or renewal of the TÜV sticker.

Which customer is not happy about a personal discount voucher for their birthday or warm Christmas greetings? With the WhatsApp newsletter you raise customer relations to a higher level.

Of course, new products can also be advertised in the classic way. As described in our article on WhatsApp marketing, newsletters should not be sent too frequently. However, for products where there is likely to be great customer interest, a short WhatsApp message is worthwhile.

Mateo can of course also be used to send automated messages about orders. Messages like these are not advertising messages, but important customer information and therefore do not require opt-in.

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WhatsApp Newsletter Marketing Costs

When it comes to the costs of WhatsApp newsletter campaigns, a distinction must be made between message-dependent individual costs from WhatsApp (or Meta) and general costs charged by the API provider for the software and other services.

There is little difference in the cost per conversation between API providers, as they usually pass on the fees assessed by WhatsApp directly to their enterprise customers. The first 1000 conversations per month are included in the API connection price, so there are usually no additional fees for small businesses. After 1000 conversations, WhatsApp charges a small fee for each conversation started. The cost varies depending on whether the chat is initiated by the customer or the business. If a customer initiates a conversation, the company is only charged once it answers. The charge in Germany for a "customer-initiated conversation," as in this case, is approximately 7 cents per conversation. 11 cents are charged for a conversation initiated by the company and thus also for each newsletter sent.

Note: Meta has updated the cost of the WhatsApp API in June 2023. Here you can find all info about the new prices of the WhatsApp Business API.

Mateo's WhatsApp campaign prices are based on the scope of services you require and are agreed individually. Since we focus on small and medium-sized businesses, we work in a highly cost-efficient manner and can provide you with an offer with an excellent cost/benefit ratio. Mateo does not charge high consultant hourly rates after the fact like many other marketing agencies, but offers a monthly subscription at affordable rates. Feel free to schedule a free consultation to talk about your marketing goals and get a customized quote.

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WhatsApp newsletter with Mateo

Mateo offers a comprehensive service in WhatsApp marketing. The service portfolio ranges from setting up the WhatsApp API, individual tips for collecting opt-ins, maintaining customer data and creating newsletters for your target audience to in-depth analysis. We offer a full service customized to your business and a professional WhatsApp marketing tool for your business. This can effectively increase sales, increase customer loyalty and make customer communication highly efficient.

Mateo's software also offers customizable message templates that can be used to create WhatsApp newsletters in just a few clicks. With Mateo's central inbox, where customer requests from different communication channels can be centrally bundled and efficiently processed, it's easy to optimize customer communication with all messengers to the maximum. Furthermore, the integration of numerous other tools into our software solution reduces your workload in customer service. With Mateo, customer communication and marketing is always 100% GDPR compliant.

Simply make a free consultation appointment to find out all the details. With Mateo and the WhatsApp newsletter your company starts into the new marketing age.

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