WhatsApp marketing message templates: examples that get approved

A WhatsApp marketing message sent to a customer who has not written to you in the last 24 hours has to be a template: a message written in advance, reviewed by Meta, and filled in with each customer's details at send time. This guide explains what a template is, how Meta sorts templates into categories, and why some get rejected. It also gives you 18 WhatsApp marketing message examples and utility examples you can adapt and submit today.

What is a WhatsApp message template?

A template is a message format stored on your WhatsApp Business Account. Template messages are the only type of message that can be sent to WhatsApp users outside of a customer service window (Meta, template fundamentals).

When you need a template, and when you don't

When a customer messages or calls your business, a 24-hour customer service window opens. Each new message from them resets it to 24 hours. While it is open you can reply with ordinary messages. Once it closes, you can only send pre-approved templates (Meta, customer service windows).

So you need a template for anything you start: a festive offer, an appointment reminder, or a follow-up with last week's lead. Replying to a customer who wrote an hour ago does not.

The three template categories: Marketing, Utility and Authentication

Every template is submitted under one of three categories. These are Meta's own descriptions from its template categorization guidelines:

Two points from the same page are worth knowing before you write anything. First, a template that mixes utility and marketing content, such as an order update with a promotion attached, is treated as marketing. Second, the category you choose is not final. If you submit a template as Utility and WhatsApp decides it is Marketing, it is approved as Marketing. WhatsApp also reviews approved templates on a recurring basis and can move a utility template to marketing, usually with a day's notice (Meta, template categorization).

Anatomy of a WhatsApp template

A template is built from components. The limits below are from Meta's template components reference:

• Header (optional): text of up to 60 characters with at most one variable, or an image, video or document.
• Body (required): the message itself, up to 1,024 characters. Meta notes the body limit can differ depending on the template's format.
• Footer (optional): up to 60 characters of plain text. Footers take no variables, which makes them a natural place for an opt-out line.
• Buttons (optional): up to 10 in total, of which at most two can be website links and one a phone number. Button labels are limited to 25 characters. If a template has more than three buttons, the customer sees two and a "See all options" button.

Variables are the parts that change per customer. The positional format is {{1}}, {{2}} and so on, numbered in order from 1. Meta also supports named variables such as {{first_name}}. Whichever you use, Meta requires an example value for each variable when the template is created, so the reviewer can see what a real message looks like (Meta, template fundamentals).

WhatsApp marketing message templates: 10 examples

Each example uses positional variables and ends with an opt-out line. Replace the details with your own and keep them short. Where a button helps, the line above suggests one.

Retail and ecommerce

A festive offer, with a "Shop now" website button:

A new arrival announcement for existing customers:

An abandoned cart reminder. Meta lists cart reminders as a marketing example, so submit it as Marketing even though it refers to the customer's own cart:

A back-in-stock alert, with a "Buy now" button:

Restaurants

Education and coaching

An event invite, with "Register" as a website button and "Not interested" as a quick reply:

Clinics

Real estate

WhatsApp template message examples for utility messages

Utility templates follow up on something the customer did: a booking, an order, a payment. Keep them free of offers. Adding a discount code to an order confirmation turns it into a marketing template.

Feedback requests tied to a specific order or visit appear in Meta's list of utility examples. Keep it about that one visit, with no offer attached:

Authentication template example

Authentication templates are not written freely. Meta fixes the main text as "<VERIFICATION_CODE> is your verification code." You can add an optional security disclaimer and an expiry warning of between 1 and 90 minutes, and choose a copy-code, one-tap autofill or zero-tap button setup (Meta, authentication templates). What the customer receives looks like this:

Why Meta rejects WhatsApp templates

Meta's template review page lists the common rejection reasons. Most of them are formatting mistakes rather than policy problems:

• Variables are missing or have mismatched curly braces. The correct positional format is {{1}}.
• Variables contain special characters such as #, $ or %.
• Variables are not sequential, for example {{1}}, {{2}}, {{5}}, {{4}}.
• There are too many variables for the length of the message.
• The message starts or ends with a variable. Meta calls these dangling parameters.
• The template asks for sensitive identifiers, such as full card numbers, bank account numbers or national ID numbers. Asking for a partial identifier, like the last four digits, is allowed.
• The content is threatening, for example threatening a customer with legal action or public shaming.
• It breaks the WhatsApp Commerce Policy for the goods or services involved.
• It is a duplicate of an existing template.

A template can also be rejected because WhatsApp disagrees with the category you chose (Meta, template categorization). If a template is rejected, you can edit and resubmit it, or appeal. Meta says appeals are decided within 24 hours (Meta, template review).

Checklist before you submit

1. Pick the category honestly. If there is any offer in the message, it is Marketing.
2. Number variables 1, 2, 3 in order, with nothing inside the braces except the number.
3. Put words before the first variable and after the last one. An opt-out line at the end does this for you.
4. Make each variable obvious from the words around it. A reviewer should be able to tell whether {{2}} is a date, a product or an amount.
5. Keep variables in proportion. A short sentence that is mostly {{n}} placeholders reads as an empty shell.
6. Never ask for full card, bank or ID numbers.
7. Check the limits: 60 characters for a text header or footer, 1,024 for the body, 25 per button label.
8. Name your business early, so the customer knows who is writing.

How to create a WhatsApp message template in Pingly

Pingly submits templates to whichever business provider your workspace is connected to: your own Meta account through the WhatsApp Cloud API, or Gupshup. The steps:

1. Open Templates in the sidebar and click New Template.
2. Enter a name. The field keeps only the lowercase letters, numbers and underscores Meta accepts.
3. Choose Marketing, Utility or Authentication, and the template's language.
4. Add an optional header (text, image, video or document), write the body, and use Add variable to insert the next {{n}} in sequence. The editor counts characters and emojis as you type, flags a body over 1,024 characters, and stops the header and footer at 60.
5. Add a footer and up to 10 quick-reply, website or phone buttons. A live preview beside the form shows how the message will look on a phone.
6. Click Preview and Submit. On a Meta connection, Pingly sends the template to your WhatsApp Business Account with an example value for each body variable, and uploads media header samples in the format Meta requires.

The template then shows as Pending on the Templates list. On a Meta connection, Meta's review result arrives by webhook, so the status changes to Approved or Rejected without a page reload. A rejected template shows Meta's rejection reason in its preview. You can send a test to up to five numbers, then use an approved template in a WhatsApp broadcast, choosing what fills each variable when you send.

If you already have approved templates in Meta's WhatsApp Manager, you don't need to rebuild them. Sync from Meta imports every template on your account with its current status, including ones created outside Pingly.

Plans start at ₹999/month + GST for Starter, with Pro at ₹2,999/month + GST and Business at ₹7,999/month + GST (pricing). Meta's charges for template messages are separate from the plan. There is a 14-day free trial and no credit card is needed.

Frequently asked questions

How long does WhatsApp template approval take?

Meta says review can take up to 24 hours, and that appeals are also decided within 24 hours (Meta, template review).

Can I send WhatsApp marketing messages without opt-in?

No. Meta requires businesses to obtain opt-in before messaging people on WhatsApp. The opt-in must make clear that the person is agreeing to hear from you and name your business. You must also tell people how to opt out and honour it (Meta, getting opt-in). Meta leaves the method up to you: a website form, SMS or a paper form in your shop all qualify, as long as they meet those conditions and local law. Our guide on how to send bulk WhatsApp messages covers building a list you are allowed to message.

Can I edit a WhatsApp template after it is approved?

Yes, with limits. Meta allows an approved template to be edited up to 10 times in 30 days, and once in any 24 hours. You cannot change an approved template's category, and an edit replaces all of its components (Meta, template management). In Pingly, a template can be edited only before it is submitted. To change a submitted one, clone it, edit the copy and submit it as a new template. If you edit a template in WhatsApp Manager instead, Sync brings the new version into Pingly.

Is there a free WhatsApp message template generator?

You don't need one. Creating and submitting a template in WhatsApp Manager or through the API is not a message, and Meta's pricing page says you are only charged when a template message is delivered (Meta, pricing). The examples on this page are free to copy and adapt, and a message written around your own business reads better than a generic one.

Does the template category change what I pay?

Yes. Meta's rates vary by category and by the recipient's country code. Utility templates delivered inside an open customer service window are free until 30 September 2026 and charged from 1 October 2026 (Meta, pricing; our summary of the change). Because Meta can move a utility template into marketing, keep utility templates strictly about the customer's own order, booking or account.