The "WhatsApp newsletter" only exists on our website for SEO reasons. It doesn't actually exist. This comparison table between an "email newsletter" and a "WhatsApp campaign" explains why:
| Email Newsletter | WhatsApp Campaign | |
|---|---|---|
| Regularity | ❌ | ✅ |
| High relevance | ❌ | ✅ |
| Costs | ❌ | ✅ |
| Weekly | ✅ | ❌ |
| Shortform messaging | ❌ | ✅ |
| 1 important CTA | ❌ | ✅ |
| Shortform Messaging | ❌ | ✅ |
| Longform Messaging | ✅ | ❌ |
| Branding | ✅ | ❌ |
| Storytelling | ✅ | ❌ |
| Multimedia mix | ✅ | ❌ |
| Opening Rate | 25% | 95% |
| Click rate | <1% | 35% |
| Conversion rate | <0.1% | 2.5% |
So you can see at first glance why a "WhatsApp newsletter" isn't really a newsletter at all:
- short messaging
- Private environment of your customer
- High relevance MUST be given
- no spam
- No branding or storytelling
- Chargeability requires additional revenue or cost savings
- more limited but more effective use cases
At Chatarmin, we therefore only use the terminology "WhatsApp campaign" or "WhatsApp blasts" but never "WhatsApp newsletter". Newsletter means for us:
- Generic content
- Frequency in the mailing
- Potentially low relevance for the target group
- Mass mailings
- Danger of spam
All of these criteria clearly do not apply to WhatsApp marketing - or the much-cited WhatsApp newsletter. In this article, you will receive a practical go-to WhatsApp guide, thanks to which you will know exactly how to create the ideal WhatsApp newsletter and how to design your WhatsApp newsletter according to best practices. We'll also reveal the five best WhatsApp newsletters and explain in detailed analyses why they work so well.
The German 7-figure D2C brand "Metaflow" uses FOMO and early access to comply with WhatsApp newsletter best practices.
WhatsApp newsletter creation: step-by-step guide
To be able to send your WhatsApp newsletter, a few final preparations are still necessary. We will now go through these step by step.
These steps are necessary before you can create your first WhatsApp newsletter:
- create your Chatarmin account or make sure you have another functional WhatsApp Business Platform account.
- apply for verification and make sure that you know your WhatsApp quality rating and that it does not limit you.
- collect your first WhatsApp leads via traffic on your click-to-WhatsApp CTAs and scale your WhatsApp subscriber list
- send your first WhatsApp newsletter! The following steps are necessary for this.
How to create your perfect WhatsApp newsletter:
ATTENTION: You can only send GDPR-compliant and scalable WhatsApp newsletters if you have a "WhatsApp business platform account" that can be connected via a provider such as Chatarmin!
Create a new "template "
WhatsApp newsletters are so-called "business-initiated conversations". These are 24-hour time slots from the start of the chat that are initiated by companies that contact their customers - or their target group - via WhatsApp newsletter. A "business-initiated conversation" can only be started using a pre-verified template that has previously been approved by the WhatsApp spam filter. This process usually takes a few seconds to a few minutes at most.
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In the first step of creating your "WhatsApp template", you give it a name, a "conversation type" (usually: marketing) and define the text, emojis, photo/video/PDF, CTA and footer.
Work out your WhatsApp template
Next, you determine the details of your template:
- Photo/Video/PDF
- CTA: website link, call button or other
- Emojis, text and messaging
- Personalisation through variables that will be replaced later when sending the newsletter (with: "firstname" etc.)
You can already see what your WhatsApp newsletter will look like in the Chatarmin preview.
Request verification of your WhatsApp newsletter
Now fill in "placeholders" for your variables and assets (photo/video/PDF) and request verification from the WhatsApp API.
ATTENTION: Certain content such as text, emojis or CTAs can no longer be determined variably. This only applies to "Variables" and "Assets"
.
Variables and assets are placeholders that can still be changed when sending your WhatsApp newsletter or when integrating it into flows
Verification of your WhatsApp template
The verification of your template usually only takes a few seconds with Chatarmin. You can then view the verified "template" in your overview:
Chatarmin WhatsApp template overview. You need this to initiate "business-initiated conversations", i.e. to send WhatsApp newsletters.
...and already use it to send campaigns.
Best practice recommendations when creating your template
Make sure that you:
- use variables for (hyper)personalisation. These are later replaced by things like first names, surnames, birthdays, propperties or dynamic discount coupons or links
- use short messaging: Less is more!
- only use assets if they add value. A/B-Tests zeigen: Fließtext-only ist der Winner!
- use a template several times for the same use case: a template with smart variables is sufficient for a monthly identical WhatsApp newsletter
Our Team supports you hands-on on your journey towards your first WhatsApp newsletter, book your free consultancy below!
Your first WhatsApp-Newsletter is created and ready-to-send
Look for "Campaigns", to analyze your WhatsApp-Newsletter's results and analytics:
WhatsApp newsletter results of a Chatarmin customer, Shopify&Klaviyo-D2C-Brand from Germany
Select your pre-verified template:
Now choose which template should be the basis of your WhatsApp newsletter.
Select the template you have just created to send your WhatsApp newsletter.
Define the variables of your template
Now you can assign the final assets - such as photo, video or PDF, as well as the final variables.
We choose a Spiderman meme as asset and the variable "firstname" to personalise this WhatsApp newsletter
Voila! Your WhatsApp newsletter has been sent!
Decide whether you want to send your WhatsApp newsletter immediately or on a scheduled basis, as well as to whom you want to send your WhatsApp newsletter. The more segmented and personalised your WhatsApp campaign, the better your results will be.
ATTENTION: Many WhatsApp marketing providers, such as hello-charles, still do not offer a schedule function for planning your WhatsApp newsletters as of November 2023!
Test your WhatsApp newsletter internally with your team and make any necessary adjustments to your template. This is what the test WhatsApp newsletter looks like in WhatsApp Private on our team's mobile phones when writing this blog post:
WhatsApp newsletter best practice example from Chatarmin.
Final best practice WhatsApp newsletter created by Chatarmin as part of this blog post
The five best WhatsApp newsletters: These are the best WhatsApp newsletters in the DACH region
Looking for inspiration on your WhatsApp marketing journey? We've put the best WhatsApp newsletters under the microscope for you. You can pick up guidelines, best practices, and practical tips and tricks for scaling your WhatsApp marketing.
We made sure that the best WhatsApp newsletters meet the following criteria:
- Frequency: A WhatsApp newsletter must be sent at least several times a year.
- Relevance: The WhatsApp marketing channel must represent a relevant marketing or sales channel for the respective company.
- Best Practices: There are certain Best Practices in WhatsApp marketing that are necessary for successful and profitable scaling of your WhatsApp marketing activities. All five listed WhatsApp newsletters meet these
- Companies from the DACH region: We have a good view of the WhatsApp marketing market. However, this only applies to our home market, the DACH region. We do not claim to have an overview of the worldwide WhatsApp marketing activities. So our selection for the five best WhatsApp marketing newsletters is limited to the DACH region, i.e. Austria, Germany, and Switzerland.
ATTENTION: We at Chatarmin avoid the term "WhatsApp Marketing Newsletter. However, SEO forces us to write about it. In order to be successful, WhatsApp marketing must always be highly relevant and therefore very infrequent, if only because of the WhatsApp Business Platform costs. This is not possible with a regular newsletter due to the nature of the matter alone, as the publication interval determines the content, and not the other way around as is the case with WhatsApp marketing.
Let's go! These are the five best WhatsApp marketing newsletters:
5th place: The OMR WhatsApp Newsletter
One of the few WhatsApp marketing channels that is really called WhatsApp Newsletter. Philip Westermeyer is one of Germany's best-known marketeers and has created an online marketing empire with his brand "OMR", which includes the most successful podcast agency in Germany, as well as the largest annual marketing trade fair in Germany. At regular intervals, Philipp sends his updates on sources, articles, and news that he found particularly inspiring over the last few days or weeks:
So for all business and marketing fans, the OMR WhatsApp Newsletter is a must.
Why shouldn't you follow the example of the OMR WhatsApp Newsletter?
Quite simply, the newsletter brings neither additional sales nor does it save costs. And these are the only two arguments for sending out WhatsApp newsletters or doing WhatsApp marketing in general. Points are deducted for that. Nevertheless, we are OMR fans and can recommend you to subscribe to the OMR WhatsApp newsletter.
Rank 4: Fabian Tausch WhatsApp Newsletter
Fabian Tausch is one of Germany's "Forbes 30u30" members and has been running his podcast "Unicorn Bakery" since 2016. Fabian is a full-blooded entrepreneur and content creator himself, offers consultancy, and is already making his first angel investment tickets. And all this before he is even 30.
It is clear that a WhatsApp newsletter should not be missing here in the hodgepodge of digital content creation. This is what it looks like:
Of course, as a passionate content creator, Fabian is one of the first to offer the WhatsApp newsletter as an informative community feature. Unfortunately, the frequency of the channel is not particularly high. However, this is not surprising given the costs for the WhatsApp Business Platform. We at Chatarmin do not recommend our customers to spend cents/conversation for purely informative newsletter use cases.
Get WhatsApp newsletter fit in 30 minutes with our Account Executive Amor:
Rank 3: Media Markt WhatsApp Channel: “Bestes für Buddies”
Media Markt Germany was one of the first corporates to start adopting WhatsApp in 2022. What we like about the Media Markt WhatsApp newsletter is the following:
- High relevance: Media Markt Germany really only sends out its WhatsApp newsletter when things are popping. Important Early Access promotions, clearance sales, and other promotions make you want more and really get you thinking about whether you should strike now.
- Low frequency: Due to the strict attitude that only the most important information is included in the WhatsApp newsletter from Media Markt Germany, there is also a low frequency. So you're always curious to see what's new from Media Markt Germany in your WhatsApp inbox.
- Mainstream Angebote: Media Markt segmentiert seine Zielgruppe im WhatsApp Newsletter nicht. Dadurch muss der Anspruch bestehen, nur Angebote hinauszuschicken, die für alle interessant sind. Nationwide sales and early access offers for the most important promotions of the year, such as the iPhone launch in September, are best practice here.
This is what the WhatsApp newsletter from Media Markt Germany looks like:
This gives us a well-deserved third place in the freestyle for the best WhatsApp newsletters in the DACH region.
2nd place: Urlaubsguru & Urlaubspiraten
These two are probably not going to like this: We lump the main competitors together. Why do we do that? Well, after all, this analysis of the best WhatsApp newsletters is about lived WhatsApp newsletter best practices, not politics and exact content. Due to the fact that Urlaubsguru and Urlaubspiraten serve exactly the same use case via WhatsApp newsletter, we are so cheeky and throw the two together.
The Urlaubsguru WhatsApp newsletter sends you last minute offers and great deals.](https://blogfiles-chatarmin.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/Urlaubsguru_Whats_App_Newsletter_89e8580d76.png)
This is what distinguishes the WhatsApp newsletters of Urlaubsguru and the Urlaubspiraten:
- High frequency due to high relevance: The two holiday brokers have a high frequency of the best offers they play out. So they take advantage of the 24-hour conversation window that is triggered as soon as a company writes to an end customer via WhatsApp Business Platform. This always costs the same, no matter how much is communicated back and forth.
- Push notifications as an approach: Due to the feel of a "WhatsApp push notification", this is not a conventional newsletter. You get the hottest holiday offers, and if something interests you, you check it out. There's no pushiness, it's not annoying, it's just a cool offer that tempts you every now and then. Customers are not incentivised to respond. It doesn't create an operational rat race for the marketing teams of holiday guru and holiday pirates.
- Cool multimedia campaigns: Sometimes there is a photo, sometimes not. What should never be missing is a UTM link in the button CTA. This way, Urlaubsguru and Urlaubspiraten can measure the success of their WhatsApp campaigns, and it offers a pleasant look & feel experience for the end user in the WhatsApp newsletter.
- Footer: The footer is used for additional information, such as "toi, toi, toi" for a competition. A creative approach
What we sometimes miss in the holiday WhatsApp newsletters is the opt-out disclaimer as best practice. Otherwise, Urlaubsguru and die Urlaubspiraten get joint second place in our ranking of the best WhatsApp newsletters. We would also like to congratulate both of them for creating a profitable "travel agency case" via WhatsApp.
The Viennese start-up "Midnightdeal" also wanted to get started with this and had already set up its setup at Chatarmin. Unfortunately, it went bankrupt in mid-2023. Unfortunately, the Midnightdeal WhatsApp newsletter never happened. Their customers would certainly have been delighted with last-minute offers via WhatsApp newsletter, as there were already over 6,000 registered Midnightdeal customers in their WhatsApp database at the time of the bankruptcy.
1st place: waterdrop® WhatsApp Newsletter
Of course we are biased. waterdrop® is a Chatarmin lighthouse customer and has one of the largest WhatsApp lists in the DACH region. The waterdrop® CRM team helps us to always evolve our product for D2C Brands with Shopify & Klaviyo techstack. The partnership is a very intense one. This is what makes waterdrop® the best WhatsApp newsletter.
- Early Access Campaigns: Example Advent Calendar Pre-Sale with unique discount in September 2023.
- A/B tests with ChatGPT: waterdrop® ALWAYS tests two templates in a split.
- Segmentations: waterdrop® segments by Klaviyo & Shopify Behaviour as well as Optin/Optout status.
- Transactional Optin: For waterdrop®, Chatarmin has even introduced its own optin status: The "transactional optin", through which waterdrop® initially only sends its customers information on their order or shipping status until they also consent to WhatsApp marketing campaigns.
Internationalisation: waterdrop® pioneers the WhatsApp marketing space by horizontally scaling its WhatsApp newsletter with several WABAs in different countries
Due to the professional approach and the sensible CRM mix of
- email marketing
- website accounts
- Hydration App
waterdrop® has managed to establish one of the most professional CRM games in the European D2C landscape. That's why the Viennese scaleup has earned first place among WhatsApp newsletters.
Feel free to follow waterdrop® in your WhatsApp marketing strategy, click here to get the WhatsApp newsletter.
Bonus 1: WhatsApp Marketing Best Practices
There are as already listed in detail in the article, some WhatsApp Marketing Best Practices These are:
- Low frequency
- High relevance
- Opt-out option
- Less is More
- Always A/B Test
- Question: "Is it really important enough?
If you stick to these guidelines, your WhatsApp newsletter will be a success.
Bonus 2: How to build your WhatsApp marketing list
In the above examples of the best WhatsApp newsletters you will also find the possibility to join them. This logic is done through a so-called "chatstart link" that can be generated by Chatarmin. This chatstart link allows people to optionally contact your company account via a pre-written first message. At this moment of contact, the customer is saved as a profile, along with their ("WhatsApp") phone number and their globally publicly available WhatsApp username.
The muesli startup of rapper CRO uses Chatarmin and WhatsApp marketing for lead generation.](https://blogfiles-chatarmin.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/Spacies_Chatstart_QR_Code_b25085fdbf.jpeg)
Spacies Chatstart Linkas a QR code for offline and desktop leadgen.
Here's how to build your WhatsApp list:
- create your chatstart link in Chatarmin.
- embed it in your social media bios, social stories, email newsletter, or other organic marketing channels
- embed it in your "Click-To-WhatsApp-Ads" for performance marketing to acquire new customers via WhatsApp
- optionally play out the chat start link via QR code on print media or in offline or desktop promotions.
Voila, you have four levers through which you can build your WhatsApp list. Optionally, you can create as many chat start links with as many "embedded first user messages" as you want, so you can create unique WhatsApp customer journeys and use uniquely individual ones for each channel.
This is how your WhatsApp leads' journey continues:
- greet your leads with a welcome automation and an offer
- Retarget your new leads with delay automation.
- make sure your leads are synced as efficiently as possible with your MarTech stack (mostly Shopify & Klaviyo for Chatarmin clients)
- sample your WhatsApp list with relevant campaigns and your WhatsApp newsletter.
