How WhatsApp Effectively Beats Email for Business Newsletters
24 November 2025
In today’s digital age, it’s well-known how indispensable marketing newsletters have become for brands looking to communicate in different ways with their audiences.
These newsletters are traditionally distributed via email, allowing businesses to promote products, announce new offerings, or share company updates.
However, as marketing trends evolve, so too do the communication channels that consumers prefer.
While email newsletters have long served as the standard, their declining open rates and susceptibility to spam filtering have made them less effective for engagement-driven campaigns.
To address these challenges, many organisations are shifting their attention to more immediate and personal channels, particularly messaging platforms like WhatsApp.
With a global user base exceeding two billion people, WhatsApp offers businesses an unparalleled opportunity to engage customers where they already spend much of their time.
More importantly, WhatsApp Business now provides structured tools for customer outreach, including a feature specifically designed for newsletters.
This marks a significant step forward from traditional email and even bulk text marketing, providing a modern alternative that blends convenience, personalisation, and interactivity.
Read on as we explore how WhatsApp Business newsletters work, why they outperform email newsletters in several key areas, and how businesses can implement and optimise them effectively.
What Are WhatsApp Newsletters?
A WhatsApp newsletter is essentially a broadcast message that businesses send to subscribers to provide updates, insights, and promotional offers. Unlike WhatsApp group chats, newsletters appear as private messages between the business and each recipient.
Should the recipient reply, the interaction transitions seamlessly into a one-on-one conversation.
In practical terms, a WhatsApp newsletter functions similarly to an email newsletter—it informs, educates, or promotes—but is delivered through the WhatsApp platform instead of an inbox.
Common use cases include product launch announcements, seasonal promotions, service reminders, blog or video updates, and even exclusive event invitations.
The core advantage lies in accessibility and immediacy.
Users are more likely to open and read messages received on WhatsApp because it is an integral part of their daily communication routines.
This creates a direct, conversational bridge between a brand and its audience, one that email, social media, or traditional advertising often fail to achieve.
Main Advantages of Sending WhatsApp Newsletters
1. Unparalleled Open Rates
Email marketing has long struggled with engagement.
Messages are often buried in crowded inboxes or redirected to spam folders, resulting in average open rates of roughly 20–30%.
In contrast, WhatsApp messages boast open rates that approach near 100%, primarily due to their delivery within a familiar and frequently checked app.
This makes WhatsApp particularly effective for distributing time-sensitive content such as flash sales, product restocks, or event reminders.
Businesses can rest assured that their updates are actually seen by their subscribers, which is a critical factor in improving campaign performance and return on investment.
2. Support for Rich Multimedia Content
WhatsApp supports diverse media formats, including text, images, videos, documents, and even interactive elements like quick-reply buttons.
This versatility allows brands to create visually engaging newsletters that go far beyond static text.
For instance, a restaurant can share a short video of its new seasonal menu, while a retailer can include product catalogues or promotional coupons directly within the chat.
By incorporating these elements, marketers can transform simple broadcasts into dynamic, multimedia experiences that resonate more deeply with their audiences.
3. A Personalised and Conversational Approach
Another defining advantage of WhatsApp newsletters is their inherently personal nature.
Unlike emails, which often feel formal and impersonal, WhatsApp messages mimic casual conversations.
Businesses can address recipients by name, recall previous interactions, and recommend products or services tailored to their preferences.
This personalised tone strengthens the customer–brand relationship by making communications feel genuine and direct.
Rather than speaking at the audience, businesses can speak with them, fostering trust and long-term engagement.
What’s The Difference Between WhatsApp Newsletters and Broadcasts?
It is important to differentiate between a WhatsApp newsletter and a standard WhatsApp broadcast list.
A broadcast list enables personal WhatsApp users or WhatsApp Business app users to send the same message to multiple recipients simultaneously.
However, these lists are limited to 256 contacts and can only reach people who have the sender’s number saved in their contacts.
WhatsApp newsletters, on the other hand, remove these restrictions when managed through the WhatsApp Business API.
Businesses can scale their communications far beyond the limitations of broadcast lists.
Meta has implemented a tiered system where the number of recipients depends on the business’s activity level and content quality.
Higher engagement and compliance lead to greater message quotas, allowing brands to expand their reach progressively.
This scalability makes WhatsApp newsletters a powerful alternative for medium and large enterprises seeking consistent, large-scale engagement without the pitfalls of traditional mass messaging.
How Does a WhatsApp Newsletter Work?
The process of sending newsletters through WhatsApp Business depends on the tool or platform a business chooses.
Smaller operations may find the WhatsApp Business App sufficient, while larger organisations typically rely on the WhatsApp Business API for its advanced automation and integration capabilities.
Before sending newsletters, businesses must comply with WhatsApp’s Business and Commerce policies, which require user consent through explicit opt-ins.
Subscribers must voluntarily agree to receive updates; unsolicited messages are strictly prohibited and can result in penalties or account suspension.
To send newsletters using the API, businesses must first obtain access through an official WhatsApp Business Solution Provider (BSP).
These providers supply the necessary infrastructure, including dashboards for message creation, audience segmentation, and analytics.
They also ensure compliance with WhatsApp’s message template approval process, which helps maintain content quality and user trust.
When executed correctly, WhatsApp newsletters can serve as a cornerstone of modern business SMS marketing, combining the immediacy of text messaging with the rich interactivity of digital media.
Setting Up a WhatsApp Newsletter
Creating and managing a WhatsApp newsletter involves four fundamental steps:
1. Define Your Audience Segment
The success of any campaign depends on targeting the right audience. Begin by segmenting your contact list according to demographics, purchase history, or engagement level. Only include users who have explicitly opted in to receive messages from your business. This not only ensures compliance but also improves engagement rates by delivering relevant content to interested subscribers.
2. Establish Clear Objectives and Content Strategy
Before drafting the message, identify the specific goal of your newsletter.
Is it to drive sales, share educational content, or encourage sign-ups for an upcoming event?
Defining objectives helps shape the tone, content, and call-to-action (CTA).
For example, a fashion brand promoting a flash sale might use a direct CTA like “Shop Now,” while a tech company announcing a new product could link to a detailed article or video demonstration.
Keeping the focus on one or two key goals per message maintains clarity and prevents overwhelming the recipient.
3. Create and Submit Message Templates
WhatsApp requires businesses to use pre-approved message templates for mass communication.
When creating a template, specify details such as language, category, and body content.
Selecting the correct category (usually “Marketing”) is crucial to avoid rejections.
Enhancing templates with headers, images, or quick-reply buttons improves interactivity and user experience.
Once submitted, templates undergo a brief review by WhatsApp to ensure compliance.
After approval, they can be customised with dynamic placeholders for names or other user-specific data to personalise the communication.
4. Send and Monitor the Newsletter
Once your template is approved, set up a broadcast using your BSP’s platform.
Define the target audience, select the message template, and configure delivery settings such as time and send rate.
Many platforms also provide testing options, allowing you to preview how the message will appear to recipients before deploying it.
Monitoring post-delivery metrics such as read rates, responses, and opt-outs is equally vital.
These insights allow for continuous optimisation and refinement of future campaigns.
Creating WhatsApp Newsletters: Key Strategies for Success
Beyond the technical setup, the success of a WhatsApp newsletter depends heavily on the content strategy and tone. Below are several best practices to maximise engagement and minimise churn.
Understand Your Audience
Comprehensive audience understanding remains the cornerstone of effective marketing. Consider why your subscribers signed up for your updates, whether it’s for exclusive deals, product information, or educational insights. Misaligned content can quickly lead to disengagement and unsubscribes. Consistency in delivering relevant material ensures your messages remain anticipated rather than intrusive.
Encourage Two-Way Communication
Unlike email newsletters, WhatsApp offers real-time communication. Brands that embrace this two-way interaction foster stronger relationships and authenticity. Responding to customer queries, soliciting feedback, or even acknowledging simple replies can significantly elevate brand perception.
Keep Messages Short and Clear
Conciseness is key. WhatsApp users expect brevity and clarity, which means lengthy messages are often ignored. Also, avoid simply copying email newsletter content; instead, craft shorter, conversational messages that align with the tone of the platform.
Respect Privacy and Offer Easy Opt-Outs
Providing an opt-out mechanism is both ethical and practical. It helps maintain compliance with data protection laws and prevents being reported as spam. In your confirmation or farewell message, consider asking for feedback to understand why users chose to unsubscribe. These insights can guide improvements in content relevance and frequency.
Conclusion
Although email newsletters still hold value for specific audiences and long-form content, WhatsApp Business has redefined how companies can engage customers more directly and effectively.
The combination of immediacy, interactivity, and scalability it offers makes it a superior alternative for brands seeking genuine engagement, not just passive visibility.
In the future, as businesses continue to prioritise personalisation and responsiveness, WhatsApp newsletters will likely become a central pillar of omnichannel marketing strategies.
For now, they offer a technically robust evolution of the traditional newsletter that both delivers messages and builds lasting relationships with every chat.
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No matter what your goals may be, whether it’s re-engaging dormant customers or boosting new lead conversions, our advanced messaging platform gives your business the edge it needs.
With AI-powered automation, rich analytics, and seamless CRM integration, Moobicast helps you craft smarter, more impactful campaigns.
Visit our website or contact our team to discover how Moobicast can accelerate your brand’s growth today.