How to create custom templates

WhatsApp Template Guidelines

WhatsApp Business API account allows you to send WhatsApp messages to your customer at Scale! However, in order to send any Business Initiated message to your custome, it is mandatory by WhatsApp to pre approve the message template.  

Sending appropriate templates is the key, as your WhatsApp Message Template should be appropriate according to the guidelines by the WhatsApp Safety and Trust Team. This is a guide prepared for you to ensure that you can make WhatsApp Template Messages appropriately and not violate any norms set by the WhatsApp Team.

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How to create a WhatsApp Message Template?

To create a Message Template on SuperLemon, you will first have to login to the Superlemon dashboard , Click on “Campaigns” and then go to the “Campaign Templates” tab. Please note that this feature is only available to Grwoth & Engage Plan Users. 

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Next, you will have to click on “Create New Templates” button to create new template. If you want to avoid the hassle onc  creating templates, we have already created a pre-defined set of templates for you. 

Once you click on “Create New Template”, you will need to fill following details in-order to create a new template. 

1. Template Name: The template name would be used only for your reference. Feel free to give any name to your template that resembles your objective. Eg, product_launch, offer_announcement etc.

2. Category:  Category is very important as there are only certain categories that WhatsApp allows us to choose from. You can select either Marketing or Transactional.

• Marketing -. Text message promotions are one of the most common Whatsapp marketing , Sales Promotions, Product Launches,Brand Marketing, Customer Reviews
• Transactional -  Delivery updates, shipping confirmations, account balance alerts

3. Type: You can also select the type of template. 

• Text: Select this option if you want your messages to be a text message with/without emojis

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• Image: Select this option if you want to send an image in the message

• Video: Select this option if you want to send a video.

• Document: Select this option if you want to send a document

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4. Language: It is up to you as you can create multiple templates in multiple languages, WhatsApp allows businesses to make WhatsApp Message Templates in different languages.

5. Header Section: The Header Section is really important if you would want to include header text inside your WhatsApp message.The Header is completely optional. You can only write up to 60 words and add one variable into it. 

6. Body Section: Now comes the body section, which is the critical part of your message and is properly checked by the WhatsApp Team. This is the section where you add the main content of your template and all the important variables.In the body section, you have the liberty to write your mandatory content to a maximum limit of 1024 words which can include plain text or variables.

Note on Variables: Now variables are very important when sending template messages as they give a personalized feel to the user reading it. WhatsApp Message Template lets you add variables anywhere but they have a certain way of writing it.Superlemon offers a set of Variables to choose from. You can select them by simply clicking in the “Add Variable” button. However, if you want to choose a custom variable, you can simply select custom variable from the list. Please note that, if you select custom variable, you’ll need to follow file upload method to trigger campaign. Please find the example below for better understanding:

Template Example:

Hi {{CustomerName}} 

Your order {{OrderedItem}} for a total of {{OrderAmount}} is confirmed. The expected delivery is in {{ExpectedDay}}.

Thank you for shopping with us. 

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Sample Message: 

Hi John

Your order AB119 for a total of $114 is confirmed. The expected delivery is in 2 days.

Thank you for shopping with us. 

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7. Footer Section‍

The footer section is the last section of your WhatsApp message template content and has a maximum capacity of 60 words. The footer is used to mention something at the end of your message. Footer is optional. 

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8. Buttons Section

When sending a WhatsApp Message Template to someone you would want to add a call to action button to it. This is where you can do that, you would need to select “Call to action” button to include Button in WhatsApp message. There can be a maximum of two buttons when you choose call to action. You can embed Static or Dymanic link in the button. 

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9. Sample Media: To help WhatsApp understand what kind of file you send with message, you will need to upload a sample media file. This step is necessary only if you are sending a media template to your customers.

10. Sample Variable:To help WhatsApp understand what kind of file you send with message, you will need to enter Sample variables. This step is necessary only if you have included variables/Dynamic URL in the template. Once you have completed all of the above steps, you can submit the template. Superlemon will send this template to whatsapp for approval. Approval of templates could take anywhere from 30 mins to 24 hours depending on the type of template. As soon as the template is approved. You can use the template and execute your marketing campaign.How to ensure your template gets approved. What are the best practices? Please refer to link: https://developers.facebook.com/docs/whatsapp/message-templates/guidelines/

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