> ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.cliqo.io/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # How to send a bulk message on WhatsApp > The five steps of a campaign — set up, message, audience, delivery and review — with waves and safety guards. ## What you will learn How to dispatch a WhatsApp campaign safely: the eligibility funnel, sending in waves, and the guards that pause on their own if something goes wrong. ## Before you start * A [connected number](https://docs.cliqo.io/en/whatsapp/conectar-seu-numero.md) and an [approved template](https://docs.cliqo.io/en/whatsapp/modelos-de-mensagem.md). * An audience with a [registered opt-in](https://docs.cliqo.io/en/whatsapp/opt-in.md). In **Campaigns**, click **New campaign** and choose **WhatsApp campaign**. There are five steps: **Set up → Message → Audience → Delivery → Review**. You can stop halfway with **Save draft** — the draft is saved in this browser. ## Step 1 · Set up Give it an **Internal name** (only you see it; it's how the campaign shows up in the list and in reports) and choose the **Campaign goal**: **Sell** (the report measures revenue from people who clicked and bought within 7 days) or **Notify** (the report focuses on delivery and reads, without charging revenue). The **Sending number** shows the number's Meta rating and today's limit. **Tags** let you filter the campaign list and compare results. ## Step 2 · Message Choose an **approved template** — only Meta-approved templates can be sent, and these are the messages Meta charges for. If the template doesn't exist yet, **Create new** opens the approval request right there ([how to create a template](https://docs.cliqo.io/en/whatsapp/modelos-de-mensagem.md)). Then: * **Template variables** — for each variable, choose **First name**, **Full name** or **Fixed text** (e.g. a coupon that is the same for everyone). With a name, fill in **If missing, show** (e.g. "Customer"): without it, contacts with no name on file don't receive the message. * **Where the button leads** — when the template has a tracked link button, enter the page address (starting with https\://). Each person gets their own link, and that is how the sale comes back attributed to the campaign. The **UTMs for Google Analytics** come pre-filled and can be customized. * **Send test** — send it to your own number: the screen shows the real path (sent to Meta ✓ → delivered ✓) and explains any error. A template whose button has a fixed URL can't be sent: the screen warns that the button can't be measured. ## Step 3 · Audience Pick lists and segments, like in an email campaign — and, if you want, exclude groups from the send. The screen shows the **eligibility funnel**: from the total selection, how many drop out for having no number, an invalid number, a +1 number (US/Canada, where Meta doesn't deliver marketing), no opt-in (or having blocked you), a repeated phone, and **resting** — down to the count that **will receive now**. Watch for the warning when the chosen segment only looks at email. Resting is an account rule, in **Settings › WhatsApp › Rest between campaigns**: anyone who got a WhatsApp marketing campaign is left out of the next ones for a few hours (48 h by default). For a specific campaign, turn on **Ignore the rest period for this send**. ## Step 4 · Delivery **When to send**: **Send now** or **Schedule** (date and time). **Smart send** isn't available yet — it shows as **COMING SOON**. **Send pace**: * **In waves (recommended)** — you set the size of the **First wave** (with shortcuts for 10%, 25% or half of the audience), and the next waves are the same size. The **Wave plan** shows how many waves and over how many days, respecting the number's daily ceiling and the sending window. By default, **You release each wave**; or choose **Continue on its own from the 3rd wave**, with an interval from 15 min to 4 h. When scheduled, only the 1st wave goes out at the scheduled time. * **All at once** — no stop in the middle; only for small, warm audiences. And the guards (**Stop on its own if things go wrong** — they don't switch off, only tighten): * **Pause if more than X% block you** (0.5% by default, with a minimum of 5 people, so it doesn't stop on noise). Spam failures and people who reply SAIR after receiving the campaign both count as blocks. * **Pause if the number's quality drops to medium or low.** * **Only send between 09:00 and 20:00** — the window is adjustable, but it can't be turned off. Outside it, nothing goes out: the send is held until the window reopens (when you release each wave, you have to release it again). ## Step 5 · Review The **Send summary** shows one line per step — message, audience, delivery and goal — each with **Edit**, and at the bottom the sending number and the **Daily limit**. Right below comes the **Before sending** checklist (opt-in, opt-out instruction, coupon with a deadline); alongside, the test send. Click **Check who will receive**: Cliqo recounts the audience against the base rule (nothing is sent yet), shows who dropped out in the check and the **Estimated cost of this round**, from Meta's rate table. The final button states the exact number — **Send wave 1 · N**, **Send · N** or **Schedule N · …**. ## After the dispatch Once you send, you land on the campaign page, with the report and the send progress. You can close the screen — sending continues on the server. * **Wave N · waiting for you** — when you release each wave, the **Release wave N** button opens **Check who will receive it**: the audience is recounted on the spot, anyone who already received is skipped, and the wave only goes out when you confirm. Holding is simply not confirming. * With **Continue on its own from the 3rd wave** on, you confirm the first two and the rest go out on their own at the chosen interval, if the guards allow it. * The guards still apply: outside the window, a high block rate or a bad rating hold the wave even after you confirm — and the screen says nothing went out and why. If a campaign stops halfway, opening **New campaign › WhatsApp campaign** shows the notice **You have a WhatsApp campaign in progress**, with **Continue this campaign** (sends only to people who haven't received yet) and **Stop campaign** (what went out stays in the report; the rest of the audience doesn't receive). After the first dispatch, the audience is **frozen** — to change the audience, create another campaign. ## Related articles * [Number & quality](https://docs.cliqo.io/en/whatsapp/numero-e-qualidade.md) * [Reports by campaign and channel](https://docs.cliqo.io/en/relatorios/visao-por-canal.md) This documentation is built and hosted on [Mintlify](https://mintlify.com), a developer documentation platform.