WhatsApp marketing for ecommerce: a practical guide

Business app or API: choosing a WhatsApp route#

WhatsApp offers two routes for businesses, and the right one depends on how many customers you message and how.

The WhatsApp Business app runs on a phone. Its classic broadcast lists hold up to 256 contacts each and reach only people who saved your number in their phone ^S8. The app also offers business broadcasts with scheduling, buttons and read insights ^S9. For a shop with a few hundred loyal customers, this can be enough.

The WhatsApp Business Platform (often called the WhatsApp Business API) is for sending at scale through software. Messages that start a conversation must use templates Meta has approved ^S2, each delivered template is charged ^S1, and sending capacity grows as your account proves it sends wanted messages ^S6. Most marketing tools use the Platform, and Tellnod’s WhatsApp support, which takes early-access requests, is designed for it too.

Opt-in requirements#

Meta’s WhatsApp Business Messaging Policy allows you to contact people only if they gave you their number and agreed to receive messages from you ^S2. Meta’s opt-in guidance adds that the request must clearly state the person is opting in to communication from your business and name the business ^S3. You are responsible for meeting local consent law as well ^S2.

Opt-in can be collected on your website, at checkout, by SMS, by phone or on paper ^S3. For an online store, the common places are a checkbox at checkout and a field in the sign-up form. Write the checkbox so it names your shop and the channel, for example: “Send me order updates and offers from Ninefold on WhatsApp.”

• Do not treat an email subscription as WhatsApp consent. Ask separately.
• Keep a consent record for each number: where, when and the words shown.
• Consider separate opt-ins for order updates and for marketing. Meta suggests this can reduce blocks ^S3.
• Honor every request to stop, whether it comes on WhatsApp or anywhere else ^S2.

For the email side of consent, see how to grow an email list for an online store.

Marketing template messages#

A template is a message format you submit to Meta before sending. Every template has one of three categories: marketing, utility or authentication ^S5. The category sets the price and the rules.

• Marketing: promotions, launches, offers, retargeting and anything mixed or unclear. Meta treats retargeting as marketing even when the customer asked for it ^S4.
• Utility: non-promotional follow-ups to something the customer did, such as an order confirmation, a shipping notice with tracking, a backorder notice or a refund confirmation ^S4.
• Authentication: one-time passcodes only ^S4.

Templates are reviewed automatically when you create or edit them, and only an approved template can be sent ^S5. Templates can include a media header, such as a product image, and buttons. Keep each template to one idea with one clear button. A shipping notice that also pushes a discount will be classed as marketing ^S4.

How WhatsApp pricing works since July 2025#

Since July 1, 2025, Meta charges per message instead of per conversation ^S1. You pay only for template messages that are delivered, and the rate depends on the template category and the recipient’s country code ^S1. Utility and authentication messages get lower rates at higher monthly volumes; marketing does not ^S1.

• Marketing, utility and authentication templates are charged per delivered message ^S1.
• Free-form replies inside the 24-hour customer service window, which opens when a customer writes to you ^S10, are service messages. Each business number gets 1,000 free service messages a month; from October 1, 2026, Meta charges beyond that ^S1.
• Also from October 1, 2026, utility templates sent inside an open customer service window are charged; they were free before ^S1.
• Meta can change rates only on day one of a quarter, with at least a month’s notice ^S1.

Budget per country. A list split between Indonesia and the UK costs very different amounts per message. For current rates by country, see WhatsApp Business API pricing.

Use cases for an online store#

WhatsApp suits short messages a customer would want on their phone. The category decides cost and rules, so plan each message with its category in mind. Examples for Ninefold, a small apparel brand:

Restock alerts are one of the most useful WhatsApp messages for a clothing shop: the customer asked to hear, the message is short, and the button goes straight to the product. Email remains the better place for lookbooks, size guides and anything long; the back-in-stock email template covers the email version.

Frequency, quality rating and sending limits#

WhatsApp watches how people react to your messages, and the reactions shape what you can send.

• Quality. Meta scores message quality from how recipients treated your messages over the past seven days, using signals such as blocks, reports, mutes and archives ^S10.
• Messaging limits. A new business portfolio can message 250 unique people outside a customer service window in a rolling 24 hours. The limit rises to 2,000, then 10,000, 100,000 and unlimited as you verify your business and send high-quality messages ^S6.
• Per-user marketing limits. WhatsApp may hold back a marketing template from someone who rarely reads marketing or has a full inbox. Wait at least 24 hours before resending to that person ^S7.
• US numbers. WhatsApp does not currently deliver marketing templates to US phone numbers ^S7.

In practice: send marketing less often than you would by email, target people who engaged recently, make opting out obvious, and stop sending to anyone who asks. For pacing across channels, see how often to send marketing emails.

WhatsApp with Tellnod in Claude or ChatGPT#

Tellnod is an MCP connector for writing, previewing and sending marketing from Claude or ChatGPT. Email works today. WhatsApp is not available in Tellnod yet and takes early-access requests: Get early access to WhatsApp and sign in with Google to request access. Details are on the WhatsApp page.

WhatsApp in Tellnod is designed so that you connect your own WhatsApp Business number through Meta’s sign-up from a card in the chat. Tellnod turns an email draft into a template and checks it against Meta’s limits before you submit it. The approval card shows recipients by country with Meta’s rate for each, and only you can press Confirm. Each number carries its own opt-in record, separate from email consent.

The WhatsApp add-on is US$15 a month on top of your Tellnod plan. Meta bills its per-message fees to you directly, and Tellnod adds no markup. See pricing.

You can start with the email version today. After you connect Tellnod, ask in Claude or ChatGPT:

• “Email customers who viewed the long coat in the last 30 days that it’s back in stock.”
• “Show me the mobile preview and send a test to me.”
• “Draft the autumn edit email for VIP customers, then shorten it to two sentences for a WhatsApp version.”

FAQ#