Create a WhatsApp Message Template

Introduction

In this article, you'll learn how to create a WhatsApp message template and submit it to Meta for approval.

Every WhatsApp campaign you send from Mailchimp uses a pre-approved message template. You build the template, submit it to Meta for review, and use it in a campaign after Meta approves it. One approved template can power many campaigns, so you'll create a template once and reuse it with different values each time.

Before you start

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

• This feature is available on all plans with a connected WhatsApp Business Account.
• You'll need to connect your WhatsApp Business Account before you can create a template. To learn how, check out Connect WhatsApp to Mailchimp.
• WhatsApp templates are separate from your email templates. They live in their own WhatsApp template gallery..
• Meta reviews every template. Approval can take up to 24 hours, but typically happens within minutes.
• You can't send a WhatsApp campaign with a template until Meta approves it.

How WhatsApp templates work

Meta requires a pre-approved template for every bulk WhatsApp message. This can help keep WhatsApp conversations relevant and reduce spam.

A template is a separate object from a campaign. When you create a template, Mailchimp also starts a draft campaign for you, because creating a template is the first step toward sending a message. You can fill in the campaign details, like recipients, send time, and variable values, at any time. Your template just needs to be approved before the campaign can send.

Create a template

To create a WhatsApp message template, follow these steps.

• Navigate to the WhatsApp Overview page.
• Click Create Message.
• Click Create Template.
• Choose a template type, then confirm.
  • Marketing templates are promotional, like discounts, product announcements, and newsletters.
  • Transactional templates are operational messages tied to a customer action, like order confirmations and appointment reminders. Transactional templates can't include promotional content or coupon codes.

Note: You choose the template type before you build the template, and you can't change it later. To use a different type, create a new template.

• Build your template in the editor. You can add a body, header, footer, buttons, and variables. The body is required. You can't submit a template with an empty body.

Note: The editor doesn't autosave. To keep your work, click Submit for Review or Finish Later before you leave. If you exit with unsaved changes, we'll ask whether you want to save them.

Add variables to personalize your template

Variables let you reuse one template with different values. Mailchimp uses two types.

• Campaign variables are set once per campaign and apply to every recipient, like a discount amount or sale name. You'll enter these values on the campaign checklist before you send.
• Merge tags pull personalized values from your audience data for each recipient, like a first name.

When you submit your template, Meta needs a sample value for each variable so it can review how your message will look. Mailchimp supplies sample values for standard merge tags. For a campaign variable, you'll enter a sample value when you create it. Sample values are only used for Meta's review, not in the messages you send.

Submit your template for review

When your template is ready, submit it to Meta for approval.

1. In the editor, click Submit for Review.

2. Confirm your template name, language, and template type.

3. Click to submit. We'll send your template to Meta and land you on the campaign checklist with your in-review template attached.

Meta's review can take up to 24 hours. You can schedule a campaign while your template is still in review—it will send after Meta approves the template.

Template statuses

Your template moves through these statuses.

After Meta approves a template, you'll also see a quality rating—Pending, Low, Medium, or High—based on how recipients respond over time. A template that isn't approved yet shows a Pending quality rating.

Edit or replicate a template

You can edit a draft or rejected template freely.

You can edit an approved template only when it isn't being used in an active automation or a scheduled or sending campaign. If the template is in use, replicate it instead, then edit the copy.

When you submit edits to an approved template, you'll choose what happens next.

• Replace Original updates the existing template and resubmits it to Meta. Campaigns that have already been sent are unaffected.
• Make a Copy creates a new template with your edits and keeps the original approved.

To duplicate a template, replicate it from the template gallery. Make at least one change before you submit the copy—Meta rejects templates that are identical to an existing approved template.

You can rename a template's Mailchimp name at any time from the template gallery. This name is for your reference in Mailchimp and is separate from the template name you might see in Meta Business Manager.

Note: Meta limits edits to an approved template to 10 times in 30 days and once in 24 hours. If you reach the limit, we'll show an error and you won't be able to edit until the limit resets.

Next steps

After Meta approves your template, you're ready to send. Add your recipients and send time on the campaign checklist, fill in any variable values, and send or schedule your campaign.

Related links

• Create an Email Template Templates
• Connect WhatsApp to Mailchimp