WhatsApp newsletter or email marketing? Which is more suitable for companies? [June 2024]

Brief summary: Email or WhatsApp newsletter?

WhatsApp and email newsletter For almost all key figures and characteristics in the areas of user numbers, opening rates, user atmosphere, spam folders, conversion rate, supported media and functions, opt-in, analyses and costs significant differences On. There are only no differences in the legal basis for opt-in and the technical requirements for analyses.

Email Newsletters point though lower overall costs On, are at the Lead costs, however, are significantly more expensive, as opening, response, and conversion rates are much lower than WhatsApp newsletters. E-mails are simply too impersonal and too distant to be primarily emotional Consumer buying behavior to influence. Die User atmosphere WhatsApp, on the other hand, is ideal for establishing a close relationship with customers and increasing your company's sales and Customer lifetime value Significantly increase. WhatsApp newsletter Show a clearly Better cost-benefit ratio and therefore contribute more to the company's success than e-mail newsletters. In addition, WhatsApp supports many additional media and functions, and 100% of sent newsletters end up with the recipient and not in the spam folder like many emails.

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Basics of WhatsApp newsletter marketing

WhatsApp newsletters are paid Mass messages via WhatsAppto share relevant and valuable information with customers. WhatsApp itself calls these messages “promotional messages.” For example, you can inform your customers about new products, point out discount campaigns or remind existing customers of service intervals. The WhatsApp newsletter can therefore be used as part of the so-called”Conversational commerce“, Where users can purchase products and services via chat with the company.

WhatsApp newsletters are not to be confused with WhatsApp broadcast messages. According to the WhatsApp terms of use, WhatsApp broadcast messages are not intended for mass newsletter delivery and are also not GDPR-compliant without an opt-in. Analytics, automatic replies, and message templates are also not available. For more information, read our article”Why WhatsApp broadcasts are not suitable for online marketing”.

To prevent spam and excessive advertising on WhatsApp, parent company Meta has some Rules for sending newsletters Defined. Among other things, there are limits on the number of messages sent and the content is also checked. Any message template for Newsletter must be approved in advance by Meta. From a legal point of view, the GDPR Attention must be paid to, which requires the user's consent (opt-in) to receive the newsletter. Promotional messages can only be sent via WhatsApp API possible and GDPR-compliant. These requirements may sound complex, but with Hellomateo they are very easy to implement.

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Basics of email newsletters

Since email newsletters are not tied to a specific company like Meta, the basics are less complex. From a technical point of view, an e-mail newsletter is a completely normal Email sent to multiple recipients Is being sent. Depending on whether and which Email marketing tool Used for this purpose, the email can be provided with a personalized salutation and special links that enable subsequent analyses. If marketing software is used for this purpose, the sending and analysis are also carried out with it and not with common e-mail programs such as Microsoft Outlook.

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Direct comparison: WhatsApp newsletter vs. email marketing

WhatsApp and email newsletters differ in more aspects than most users would think. The following section lists all differences and similarities in user numbers, opening rates, user atmosphere, spam folders, conversion rate, supported media and features, opt-in, analytics, and costs.

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User figures

E-mail is a very established medium of communication and most people in Germany have an email address. A survey by Statista in 2020 showed that in Germany around 96% of the population has an email address Dispose of.

According to a YouGov survey in 2020, around 60 million people in Germany use WhatsApp. This corresponds to approximately 75% of the population. As many as 2 billion people worldwide use Messenger. And user numbers have been showing strong, continuous growth for years, as can be seen in the following chart.

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Opening rate

Traditional marketing channels, such as 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 in such a case: Either emails can be further optimized in the hope that opening rates will increase by 1 or 2%. Or you can switch to a channel, such as WhatsApp, on which there is no competition yet. Statistics on the opening rates of newsletters suggest that the latter option is likely to be more successful. While due to the reasons above Only 22% of email newsletters The cases are opened at all, are they at WhatsApp full 98% (Source: Gartner).
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User atmosphere

The user atmosphere of WhatsApp Is as opposed to email Very informal, as most users communicate with friends and family via WhatsApp. When companies can be reached via WhatsApp and send newsletters to customers, this creates a proximity to the customer that is simply not possible with e-mail newsletters. Emails are more distant And impersonal and therefore as a marketing channel that primarily emotional buying behavior of consumers Should influence Less suitable than WhatsApp newsletters.

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Spam folder

Lots of email newsletters Are sent by the recipient's mail provider to Spam folder sorted. With WhatsApp, on the other hand, does not have a spam folder at all. The newsletters are guaranteed to reach recipients and receive the attention they deserve between personal messages from friends and family members.

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Conversion rate

The higher Opening rate From WhatsApp Newsletters Leads in Connection with the More Appropriate User atmosphere To a Clearly Higher conversion rate And therefore too massive increased sales. Various experience reports show that switching from email to WhatsApp newsletters can significantly contribute to company success.

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Reading tip: We have discussed exactly how your company can set up and use WhatsApp newsletters in our article”How to WhatsApp Newsletter“Described.

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Supported media and features

In Email newsletters With most platforms, we can only Images and GIF files Be integrated. With WhatsApp newsletters On the other hand, can in addition to Images and GIFs, including PDF files, videos, and emojis Be shared with recipients. WhatsApp also offers individual buttons with which the customer can indicate directly in the chat whether they are more interested in product A or product B, for example, a Interactive user experience.

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Opt-In

For both email and WhatsApp newsletters, an opt-in must be obtained from the recipients in advance. Sending advertising or storing personal data without consent or through an opt-out has long been prohibited in the EU. In contrast to the opt-out, in which the data subject must actively object to the storage of data or the receipt of advertising, Actively agree to the opt-in of those affected. The conditions for consent are in Article 7 GDPR regulated. The GDPR makes no distinction between communication channels. The legal Rules are the same for email and WhatsApp newsletters.

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Analyses

Analytics are incredibly important to assess the success of newsletter campaigns. Which of the most important key figures, such as Open rate, click rate, ROI tracking, spam rate, conversion rate, and unsubscribe rate Determined depends largely on the newsletter software you use. From a technical point of view, they are Same analysis options for WhatsApp and email. WhatsApp newsletter campaigns with hellomateo provide you with reliable evaluations and statistics on all relevant indicators and the behavior of newsletter recipients, which allows you to evaluate the success of your WhatsApp campaign.

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Expenses

The cost of email newsletters can vary widely and depends on various factors, such as the number of recipients, the range of features that are required, and the provider you choose. Some Email marketing provider Offer free plans, but they usually include a limited number of recipients and features. If you need more features or want a larger number of recipients, you'll usually have to choose a paid plan. The usual prices are approx. 20€ - 30€ for up to 500 recipients. Which analysis tools are included in basic prices varies depending on the provider.

Die WhatsApp newsletter prices Campaigns Are generally slightly higher than with e-mail, as both Message-related individual costs of WhatsApp (or meta) as well as general costs, which from WhatsApp API provider For which software and other services are required, must be paid. The fees estimated by Meta are currently (June 2024) for German companies 11.31 cents per newsletter.

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Calculation example WhatsApp newsletter vs. email

‍Instead of 20% as with emails, 0% of WhatsApp newsletters end up in the spam folder. The opening rate is 4.5 times higher by the usual factor. Thanks to the particularly appealing personal user atmosphere and the interactive interface, 4x more recipients click on the link to the shop and 2x more prospective buyers actually complete the purchase due to the emotional connection to the company.

1/ (100%-20%) * 4.5 * 4 * 2 = 45

This results in a Conversion rate increased by a factor of 45 with a slight increase in total costs.

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Conclusion on the differences between WhatsApp and email newsletters

WhatsApp and email newsletters differ in almost all aspects mentioned above. There are only no differences in the legal basis for opt-in and the technical requirements for analyses.

Traditional email newsletters show slight advantages with slightly higher user numbers and lower costs. WhatsApp can dominate the comparison in all other aspects. An average opening rate higher by a factor of 4.5 and a much more suitable user atmosphere for a marketing channel lead to massively increased conversion rates and sales revenues. The slightly higher costs are therefore offset by the many times higher sales revenue. WhatsApp newsletters have a significantly better cost-benefit ratio and therefore contribute more to the company's success than e-mail newsletters. In addition, WhatsApp supports many additional media and functions, and 100% of sent newsletters end up with the recipient and not in the spam folder like many emails.

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Examples of use of WhatsApp newsletters

There are a variety of uses for WhatsApp newsletters. For example, make customers aware that products they buy regularly are available again.
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They 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 more matching items. If you run a hotel, for example, you can draw your guests' attention to the specialties of your in-house restaurant.
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In many industries, the focus is on a number of products and services at certain times due to the season. Simply remind your customers via WhatsApp about upcoming service intervals, such as changing tires, inspecting or renewing the TÜV sticker.
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Which customer is not happy to receive a personal discount voucher for their birthday or warm Christmas greetings? With the WhatsApp newsletter, you take customer relationships to a higher level.
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Of course, classic new products can also be advertised. As in our Articles about WhatsApp marketing Described, newsletters should not be sent out too frequently. However, for products that are likely to be of great customer interest, a short WhatsApp message is worthwhile.
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With hellomateo, automated messages about orders can of course also be sent. Messages like this are not promotional messages, but important customer information and therefore do not require an opt-in.
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Sending a WhatsApp newsletter with hellomateo

With hellomateo, you can do highly professional WhatsApp newsletter marketing. Just arrange a free consultationTo find out all the details Hundreds of companies use Hellomateo to successfully tap into new revenue potential with WhatsApp newsletters. Our customers know the following Benefits particularly appreciated:

• ‍Central user interface: hellomateo combines WhatsApp Business Platform, email, Instagram, SMS and Facebook Messenger in one central inbox. The intuitive user interface includes various tools for efficient customer communication And saves you valuable working time.
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• integrations: With hellomateo, you can use WhatsApp in Integrate over 6,000 software programs and fully automated Customer trips Create with invitations, order confirmations, shipping information, invoices, and reminders.
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• Newsletter marketing: Send GDPR-compliant Newsletter via WhatsApp Or SMS and benefit from opening rates of over 95%.‍
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• Assessment management: hellomateo can Automatically request online reviews from your customers, which boosts your Google ranking and trust in your company.
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• ‍Data Protection: hellomateo meets all German and European Data protection requirements and offers end-to-end encryption for secure customer communication.
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• scalability: Our software is suitable for Businesses of all sizes And can be extended indefinitely depending on the package.‍
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• ‍Various AI features: Our AI agent Can automatically answer customer inquiries in chat, answer calls, help with the formulation of messages and much more.
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Arrange a non-binding and free consultation And we'll show you how Hellomateo covers your communication needs! Simply book an appointment here Or write to us via our web widget.

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