WhatsApp Bulk Messaging Guide: How To Send Messages To 10,000+ Contacts From Excel

Reaching out to a large audience quickly and effectively is crucial for ecommerce and D2C businesses. Whether running a marketing campaign, sending reminders, or simply engaging with your customers, WhatsApp bulk messaging offers a powerful way to connect with up to 10,000 contacts at once.

In this guide, we'll explore how to send bulk messages on WhatsApp using Excel, streamlining your communication and marketing processes.

Why Choose WhatsApp Bulk Messaging?

WhatsApp has become one of the most popular messaging platforms globally, with over 2 billion users. Leveraging its widespread reach for bulk messaging can benefit businesses in various ways:

1. Direct Communication: WhatsApp provides a personal touch, allowing you to communicate directly with your audience.
2. High Engagement Rates: With higher open and response rates than email, WhatsApp ensures that your messages are seen and acted upon.
3. Higher ROI: Bulk Whatsapp senders can be more affordable with higher conversions leading to better marketing ROI as compared to traditional SMS marketing.
4. Different Message Templates: Send multi-media messages with images, videos, carousels, documents, buttons and links to make your messages more engaging.

Exploring the Different Types of WhatsApp Messages

When planning your WhatsApp bulk messaging strategy, it’s essential to understand the various types of messages you can send. Each Whatsapp message type offers unique ways to engage your audience and can be tailored to different scenarios.

1. Text Messages

Simple text-based messages are the most common form of communication on WhatsApp. They can include plain text, links, and basic formatting like bold, italics, and strikethrough.

It is ideal for sending quick updates, reminders, and announcements. For example: An ecommerce store can send order alerts notifying their customers and making order tracking easier and accessible.

2. Image Messages

Image messages allow you to send photos or graphics directly to your contacts. You can send it along with a text message to provide a better context.

This is perfect for sharing promotional Whatsapp messages, product images, or visual content to capture attention. For instance: an online fashion brand can send images of new arrivals or limited-time offers to entice customers to visit the store or shop their products online.

3. Video Messages

Videos can be sent directly to your broadcast list, making it easy to share dynamic content. Videos can be up to 16MB in size or up to 3 minutes in length.

It is useful for sharing engaging marketing content like product unboxing, customer testimonials or other user-generated content. For example - A D2C skincare brand can use The Convertway to send video messages via WhatsApp, showcasing their products and improving abandoned cart recovery.

4. Document Messages

You can send documents like PDFs through WhatsApp. This is particularly useful for ecommerce brands as it makes sharing brochures, product catalogs, or newsletters easier. 

5. Button Messages

WhatsApp Business API allows businesses to send interactive messages, including quick replies and call-to-action buttons. These messages can drive engagement by prompting users to take specific actions directly within the chat.

It is perfect for customer support, conducting surveys like NPS, or driving specific actions like order tracking or purchases. For instance: An online grocery or food store could use quick replies and call-to-action buttons to streamline the shopping process for users, making it easier for them to purchase the product.

6. Carousel Messages

WhatsApp Business platforms have also added a new interactive template called carousel message, similar to Instagram carousels. Ecommerce & D2C businesses can easily send Whatsapp carousels to increase customer engagement. 

You can also include quick replies and call-to-action buttons on these Carousel cards. These interactive messages can be very handy for sending product recommendations or promotional offers that drive ecommerce sales.

With carousels, you can showcase your products using up to 10 customizable cards on a horizontally scrollable view. It is perfect for browsing multiple products in a category in one go and offering your customers a richer shopping experience.

By leveraging these different types of WhatsApp messages, ecommerce businesses can create more dynamic and engaging marketing strategies. Mixing various message types in your bulk WhatsApp campaigns can help keep your audience interested and more likely to make a purchase, shortening your buying cycle.

How To Send Bulk Whatsapp Messages From Excel Using The Convertway:

Sending bulk messages on WhatsApp can be a game-changer for ecommerce businesses looking to reach a large audience quickly. 

Here's a step-by-step guide on how to send WhatsApp bulk messages to your subscriber list via The Convertway:

Step 1. Prepare your excel file

• Start by creating an Excel sheet with a list of contacts. Ensure that the phone numbers are in international format i.e. it include country codes like +91 for Indian phone numbers, etc. 
• To personalize your messages, you can add columns for variables like name, order number, etc, which will be replaced in the message template. 
• For example, An eCommerce company could include columns for customer names and recent orders to send personalized messages like, "Hi [Name], your order [Order Number] is on its way!"

Step 2. Upload your excel file

• Now open The Convertway dashboard, go to the “Subscribers & Opt-in” section and click on the “Lists” tab. Now in this tab, you will see a “Create list” button in the upper right corner. Click on the button.

• After clicking on the button, a pop-up will show up asking you to name the Whatsapp subscriber list. Once you have saved the list under a name, go to your newly formed broadcast list and click on the “Import Subscriber” button.

• Now a pop-up will appear as shown below asking you to upload your CSV file. Ensure your file size is under 5 MB and as per the sample template attached in the pop-up shown below. 

Before clicking on the import button make sure you check the condition asking for your confirmation that the list of these subscribers was collected through a compliant opt-in consent mechanism following applicable laws and regulations and that all unsubscribers (opt-out) have been removed.

Step 3. Go to The Convertway’s WhatsApp campaign tool

• Once the list has been imported, go to the Whatsapp Campaigns section and add a campaign title.

• Then in the target audience section click on the subscriber list tab and choose your imported broadcast list from the drop-down.

Step 4. Customise your Whatsapp template

• Click on “Browse Template” to use a pre-created Whatsapp message or you can also create a custom message template by clicking on the “Add Template” button in the Browse Template pop-up.

• You can also add a dynamic scratch card or an image to gamify the experience and make the campaign more engaging.
• You can even add UTM parameters to measure the Whatsapp campaign performance effectively. 

Step 5. Send/schedule your bulk Whatsapp campaigns

• Once you have created the campaign you can test the Whatsapp message to ensure it displays correctly by clicking the “Send Test Message” button. 

• Review your message and the target audience before sending or scheduling the WhatsApp campaign with the help of the message scheduling feature.

Step 6. Track and analyze campaign results

• You can also easily track the campaign progress from the analytics section. This makes it easier to track engagement metrics for WhatsApp messages like delivery rates, read rates, click-through rates and conversion rates.

• You can also use this data to optimize your future Whatsapp campaigns.

Best Practices for WhatsApp Bulk Messaging

1. Personalize Your Messages: Personalization increases customer engagement. Using smart audience segmentation and variables like the recipient’s name or purchase history you can customize the messages and drive repeat purchases.
2. Respect Privacy: Ensure you have consent from recipients before sending bulk Whatsapp messages to avoid being marked as spam and violating Whatsapp policies.
3. Time Your Messages: Send messages at times when your audience is most active to increase the chances of them being read and opened.
4. Keep It Concise: WhatsApp is a mobile-first platform, so keep your messages short and to the point.
5. Provide an Opt-Out Option: Give recipients the choice to opt out of future messages to maintain the platform guidelines and avoid triggering anti-spam measures.

Conclusion

WhatsApp bulk messaging is a powerful tool for ecommerce & D2C businesses to reach a wide audience quickly and effectively. With the help of various interactive WhatsApp messages you can easily craft engaging bulk WhatsApp campaigns. By using Excel to manage your contact list, you can streamline the process and ensure that your messages are personalized and impactful. 

With the right approach and the right WhatsApp automation tool like The Convertway, bulk WhatsApp messaging can enhance your marketing efforts and strengthen your connection with your audience.