About WhatsApp Marketing with Mailchimp

Introduction

Mailchimp's WhatsApp Marketing is a messaging channel that can help you reach customers on WhatsApp. You can grow a subscribed WhatsApp audience, send marketing messages with approved templates, and reply to customers in your inbox.

In this article, you'll learn about WhatsApp Marketing with Mailchimp, including supported countries, terminology, consent, and message requirements.

Things to know

Here are some things to know before you begin this process.

• WhatsApp Marketing is available as an add-on feature for customers with the Essentials plan or higher.
• You must be an account Owner, Admin, or Manager to set up WhatsApp Marketing.
• Before you can send WhatsApp messages, you need to register a WhatsApp sender and connect a phone number. To learn more, check out Connect WhatsApp to Mailchimp.
• WhatsApp consent is separate from email and SMS consent. You need WhatsApp consent from a contact before you can message them.
• You need messaging credits to send WhatsApp messages, including marketing, utility, and service messages. Messaging credits are a shared pool you can use for both SMS and WhatsApp. To learn more, check out About Messaging Credits for WhatsApp.
• WhatsApp marketing messages are sent with approved message templates, which must be reviewed and approved before you can use them. Service messages are the exception: these are free-form replies you can send without a template during the 24-hour customer service window.
• WhatsApp is available in select countries. Supported countries are listed below.

Note: This article is about WhatsApp marketing within your Mailchimp account. WhatsApp Marketing is a different channel from SMS Marketing, with its own consent and message requirements. The two channels share the same pool of messaging credits. To learn how messaging credits for WhatsApp work, check out About Messaging Credits for WhatsApp

Availability

Availability applies separately to your business and to each recipient. Your WhatsApp Business Account must be registered in a supported country, and each recipient must have a phone number in a supported country — but they don't need to be the same country. For example, a business registered in Canada can send to recipients in Germany, as long as both countries are on the supported list.

Definitions

Here are some terms you'll come across as you use WhatsApp Marketing with Mailchimp.

• WhatsApp Business Platform The Meta service that powers business messaging on WhatsApp. Mailchimp connects to it on your behalf so you can send and receive messages.

• WhatsApp Sender The business phone number and display name that your WhatsApp messages are sent from. Your contacts see this when they receive your messages.

• Message template A pre-formatted message that Meta reviews and approves before you can send it. Marketing templates are used to send promotional messages to your subscribed contacts.

• WhatsApp consent A contact's permission to receive WhatsApp messages from you. WhatsApp consent is separate from email and SMS consent.

• Customer service window The 24-hour period after a contact's most recent message to you. During this window, you can respond by sending service messages instead of a template.

• Service message A free-form reply you can send during the 24-hour customer service window without using an approved template.

• Messaging credit A unit of payment that determines the cost of a message. Messaging credits from your monthly credits plan are a shared pool you can use for both SMS and WhatsApp. The number of credits per message varies by the recipient's country.

How it works

WhatsApp Marketing lets you set up a WhatsApp messaging program inside Mailchimp, collect WhatsApp opt-ins, send marketing messages with approved templates, and reply to customers from your inbox. Like email and SMS contacts, WhatsApp contacts are stored in your Mailchimp audience.

Here's how to get started.

1. Register: Connect a WhatsApp Business Account to Mailchimp. You can bring your own existing WhatsApp Business number or get a new number during setup. To learn more, check out Connect WhatsApp to Mailchimp.

1. Consent: Collect WhatsApp consent from your contacts before you message them. You're responsible for obtaining this consent in compliance with applicable laws and messaging provider requirements including WhatsApp Business Messaging Policy.

2. Create templates: Build your marketing message templates and submit them to Meta for approval. To learn more, check out Create a WhatsApp Template.

3. Send: Once your templates are approved, create and send WhatsApp messages to your subscribed contacts.

4. Reply: When contacts respond, manage the conversation in your inbox.

WhatsApp consent

To send WhatsApp marketing messages from Mailchimp, your contacts must give consent to receive them. WhatsApp consent is separate from email and SMS consent. Even if a contact has opted in to your emails or texts, you still need their WhatsApp consent.

Consent isn't only a common courtesy; it's required by Mailchimp's Standard Terms of Use. Never assume you have permission, and when in doubt, get confirmation.

To collect WhatsApp consent, you can add a WhatsApp consent option to your signup forms. When a contact opts out through Mailchimp, their status is updated automatically so they no longer receive your WhatsApp messages. You're responsible for honoring opt-out requests that reach you through other channels, like in person or through an integration.

If a contact messages your business first, you can reply to them within the 24-hour customer service window even if they haven't opted in to marketing. To send marketing messages, you still need their WhatsApp consent.

Message templates

WhatsApp marketing messages are sent with message templates that Meta reviews and approves. Meta reviews and approves templates to help keep messages relevant to recipients and reduce spam across WhatsApp.

In Mailchimp, you can create a template, submit it for approval, and track its status. Marketing templates can include text, and may support buttons and rich media like images.

A few things to know about templates:

• Templates must be approved by Meta before you can send them.
• Marketing templates are used for promotional messages to your subscribed contacts.
• Utility templates are used for messages that follow up on a specific transaction or request, like an order update.
• The template text body can contain up to 1,024 characters and can include placeholders for personalization.

To learn more about building and managing templates, check out Create a WhatsApp Message Template.

The 24-hour customer service window

When a contact sends your business a WhatsApp message, it opens a 24-hour customer service window. During this window, you can reply with service messages — free-form text — without using an approved template.

When the window is open, your inbox shows how much time you have left to reply. After 24 hours, the window closes, and you'll need to use an approved template to message that contact again.

Credits and pricing

You need messaging credits to send WhatsApp messages. Marketing and utility messages all use credits. Starting October 2026, service messages will use credits after the first 1,000 service messages. Messaging credits from your monthly messaging credits plan are a shared pool you can use for both SMS and WhatsApp, so they work across either channel.

The number of credits that a message costs depends on the message type and the recipient's country. You can view rates and manage your credits from the WhatsApp Overview page in your Mailchimp account.

To learn more about WhatsApp message types, check out our Create a WhatsApp Template article.

To learn how messaging credits for WhatsApp work and how to calculate what you need, check out About Messaging Credits for WhatsApp.

Disallowed use cases and Content Guidelines

To use WhatsApp Marketing, you must agree to comply with Mailchimp's policies, Meta's WhatsApp Business policies, and applicable laws and regulations. Sending prohibited content can result in your templates being rejected or your account being suspended or terminated.

Review Mailchimp's Standard Terms of Use and Meta's WhatsApp Business Messaging Policy before you send.

Next steps

Now that you know more about Mailchimp's WhatsApp Marketing, check out these resources to get started.

• About Messaging Credits for WhatsApp Learn how messaging credits for WhatsApp work and how to estimate what you need.

• Create a WhatsApp Template Create and send WhatsApp marketing messages to your subscribed contacts.