How to Announce a Product Launch on WhatsApp

To announce a product launch on WhatsApp, send a short sequence of approved marketing templates: a teaser to your most interested customers, a launch-day message with a clear button, and one follow-up to people who showed interest. A launch message should name the product, say what’s new for the customer, and give one action.

This guide gives you that three-step plan with sample messages for each step, shows who should receive what, and covers the WhatsApp limits that catch launches out. For the basics of list building and campaigns, start with our WhatsApp marketing guide.

The three-message launch sequence

Most launches need just three messages. Each has a different job and a different audience. The timing below is a starting point, so move it to fit your product.

Each is a separate approved template. The people who replied to the teaser should hear first, because that’s the reward for replying.

Teaser messages

A teaser has one goal: get people to raise their hand. Say enough to interest them, and ask for a simple reply. These are our own samples; product names and dates are examples. {{1}} is the first name.

• New collection: Hi {{1}}, something new is coming to Example Store on 12 November, and it’s our softest cotton range yet. Want a first look before everyone else? Reply EARLY. Reply STOP to opt out
• Restaurant menu: Hi {{1}}, Example Kitchen is launching a new winter menu next week. Would you like to try it first? Reply EARLY and we’ll hold you a table. Reply STOP to opt out
• Software feature: Hi {{1}}, Example Software has a new reports feature coming next week. Reply EARLY and we’ll send you early access and a short demo. Reply STOP to opt out
• Course or batch: Hi {{1}}, Example Academy is opening a new weekend batch soon. Reply EARLY to hear the details first. Reply STOP to opt out
• Property launch: Hi {{1}}, Example Realty is launching a new project in your preferred area next month. Reply EARLY for the brochure before it’s public. Reply STOP to opt out

A reply opens the 24-hour customer service window, so you can answer with normal messages rather than a template. Marketing messages sent inside that window also don’t count toward WhatsApp’s per-person marketing limit.

Launch-day messages

Lead with the product and what’s in it for them, then give one action. An image or short video in the header does a lot of the work. Use the button for the action.

• New product: It’s here, {{1}}! The new Example Air Bottle keeps drinks cold for a full day, and it’s available now at Example Store. Tap below to see the colours. Reply STOP to opt out
• Launch offer: Hi {{1}}, our new cotton range has just landed at Example Store. Launch price is 15% off until Sunday night, then it goes back to full price. Tap below to shop. Reply STOP to opt out
• For the people on your list: Thanks for waiting, {{1}}! You’re on our launch list, so you get first access to the new range this morning, before we tell everyone else. Tap below to shop. Reply STOP to opt out
• Local shop: Hi {{1}}, the new season stock is in at Example Store, Park Street. Come in this week to try it on, or reply here and we’ll send photos. Reply STOP to opt out
• Software feature: Hi {{1}}, reports are live in Example Software. You can now see weekly sales in one view. Tap below for the 2-minute guide. Reply STOP to opt out
• Restaurant: Hi {{1}}, our winter menu starts today at Example Kitchen. The slow-cooked dal is the one to try. Reply here to book a table. Reply STOP to opt out

Make the template do more

A template can have up to 2 website buttons, but one action is usually better. In Automate AI, AI Template Studio can draft the text and buttons on Series 2, 3 and 4. Build a carousel yourself in Create Template. More formats are in the template guide.

The follow-up message

Send one follow-up, and only to people who showed some interest. Don’t repeat the launch message. Help them decide instead.

• Answer a doubt: Hi {{1}}, a few people asked if the new Example Air Bottle fits a car cup holder. It does! Have a question of your own? Reply here and our team will help. Reply STOP to opt out
• Real last call: Hi {{1}}, launch pricing on the new cotton range ends tonight at Example Store. Tap below if you’d like to order at the launch price. Reply STOP to opt out
• Back-in-stock note: Good news, {{1}}! The new range sold out in two sizes, and they’re back at Example Store. Tap below to see what’s available. Reply STOP to opt out
• Software: Hi {{1}}, have you tried reports in Example Software yet? Reply with your question or tap below for a short walkthrough. Reply STOP to opt out

If you write “ends tonight” or “limited stock”, it has to be true. A false deadline teaches customers to ignore you, and they’ll see the same offer the next week. More on second messages in resending and retargeting campaigns.

Choose who hears about it

A launch isn’t a reason to message everyone you’ve ever spoken to. Every contact needs to have opted in, and sending something irrelevant is how you collect blocks. Sort your list first:

To reach new people, a Click-to-WhatsApp ad can bring them into a chat themselves, and a link or QR code on packaging or in-store does the same. Under Meta’s free entry point rules, messages are free for up to 7 days when someone on the Android or iOS app messages you from such an ad and you reply within the customer service window. Meta Business Agent messages are still charged.

Limits to plan around

• Category. Launch news is marketing. Meta’s examples include “our newest resort just opened”. Don’t try to send it as Utility, and don’t add a promotion to an order update: Meta treats mixed content as marketing.
• Review time. Meta’s review can take up to 24 hours. Submit at least a few days early to leave time for a rejection, and don’t start or end a template with a variable.
• Messaging limit. New business portfolios can reach 250 unique people in 24 hours. If your list is bigger, send in stages or raise the limit first. See WhatsApp broadcast limits.
• Per-person limit. WhatsApp limits how many marketing templates each person receives. A blocked send fails with error 131049. Wait at least 24 hours before trying that person again.
• Template quality. Negative feedback can lower a template’s rating, and Meta may pause or disable a low-rated template. Don’t rely on one template for your whole launch.
• Cost. Meta charges for each delivered template, and marketing is charged at the country’s rate. Check rates by country before you size the send.
• Restricted products. WhatsApp’s policy limits or bans some categories, such as alcohol, gambling, drugs and medical products. Check it before you plan a launch in one of these.

Run the launch in Automate AI

1. Create your three templates in Campaigns › Templates, in the Marketing category, and wait for each to show Approved.
2. Send the teaser to your chosen group from Campaigns, now or at a set date and time.
3. Capture the replies. On Series 2, 3 and 4, use a keyword chatbot that adds them to a launch group, and check it with your own number. On Series 1, handle them from the inbox.
4. Schedule launch day. Create it shortly before it goes out, because a campaign’s audience is fixed when you create it. Times are read in your own device’s time zone, so use one campaign per region if your customers are spread out.
5. Add a Smart Link to your website button, so you can see who tapped. Taps on a copy-code button can’t be tracked.
6. Watch the replies. Keep someone on the team inbox on launch morning. An AI Assistant can answer common questions from your own documents on Series 2, 3 and 4, so add the new product’s details first.
7. Follow up. In the finished campaign, click Retarget to create a new campaign for the results you pick, or export the people who tapped from Campaigns › Button Clicks.

Mistakes that waste a launch

• Leading with your news, not their benefit. “We’re excited to announce” says nothing. “Keeps drinks cold all day” does.
• Several buttons going to several pages. Pick one action.
• Sending the teaser to everyone. Save it for the people most likely to care.
• Forgetting the reply. People will ask about price, size and delivery in the chat. Have the answers ready.
• A dead link. Send the launch template to your own number and tap every button before you schedule the campaign.
• Stock you can’t back up. Make sure the product is really available at the moment the message lands.