WhatsApp Broadcast
Broadcast lets you write one message and send it to every customer who has bought from you — new arrivals, restocks, a weekend sale. The messages go out from your own WhatsApp number, so customers recognise you and can reply straight away.
Find it under WhatsApp → Broadcast on the web dashboard, or More → WhatsApp → Broadcast in the app.
Your audience builds itself
You don't import anything. Every time a customer pays for an order, their phone number is saved automatically. Broadcast messages everyone on that list.
The number counts people, not orders. If a regular customer buys from you again, the total won't change — they're already on the list. It only goes up when someone new buys for the first time.
A few numbers are left out on purpose:
- Landlines, which can't receive WhatsApp messages
- Numbers from other countries, which we won't guess at
- Duplicates — someone who checked out twice, with two different email addresses or as
0244123456and+233 24 412 3456, is one person and is messaged once
Writing your message
Type your message, then use the Insert buttons to personalise it:
| Insert | Becomes |
|---|---|
{name} |
The customer's first name |
{store} |
Your store name |
{link} |
Your store link |
| Product link | Opens a searchable list of your products and drops the link in |
So this:
Hi {name}, new stock just landed at {store} — have a look: {link}
arrives as:
Hi Ama, new stock just landed at Ama Kitchen — have a look: https://amakitchen.strawlo.com
Underneath, a preview shows the message exactly as it will appear in WhatsApp, using a real name from your customer list. That's deliberate — it's how you catch a customer saved as "MELLISA MYRES" in capitals, or one with no name at all, before you've sent it forty times.
One thing to know: WhatsApp only shows a link preview card for the first link in a message. If you add both
{link}and a product link, only the first gets a preview. Strawlo warns you when a message has more than one.
Checking who gets it
Tap Review to open your full customer list. You can search by name or number, and tap anyone to leave them out of this broadcast.
Unticking someone only applies to the message you're writing — it doesn't remove them from your customers, and they'll be included again next time.
The count updates as you go, so if you untick 5 of 40, the button reads "Start broadcast to 35".
Sending
This is the part that surprises people, so it's worth being clear:
Strawlo doesn't send the messages — you do. Tap Start broadcast and you'll see one customer at a time. Tap Send to Ama, WhatsApp opens with the message already typed, you tap send there, and come back. The next customer is waiting.
One tap each. That's why it's free and why it comes from your own number instead of an unknown business account.
While you're going through:
- Skip passes over someone without messaging them
- Back returns to the previous customer
- A progress bar shows how far you've got
- On a computer, press Enter to send and S to skip
You can close it and come back — it picks up where you left off.
After it's done
Finished broadcasts are saved in your history with how many you sent and skipped. Tap one to reopen it, or delete it if you don't need the record (swipe left in the app, or the bin icon on web).
Delivery reports aren't possible. WhatsApp doesn't tell Strawlo whether a message arrived or was read. "Sent" means you tapped send — the same as any message you send yourself.
Good practice
Lead with what changed. "New shipment of Ankara just arrived" beats "Hi, hope you're well."
Use {name}. A message that opens with someone's name reads like a message, not a blast.
Put the link at the end. It gets more taps there than buried mid-sentence.
Don't overdo it. These are people who already trust you enough to buy. Message them when there's genuinely something worth knowing, and they'll keep reading. Message them weekly about nothing, and they'll block you.
Common questions
Does it cost anything? No. You're sending normal WhatsApp messages from your own phone.
Can customers reply? Yes — it's a normal chat with you. That's the main advantage over SMS or a bulk-messaging service.
Do I need WhatsApp Business? No. Regular WhatsApp works.
What if a customer has no WhatsApp? The message won't be delivered. WhatsApp doesn't tell us in advance, so there's no way to filter those out beforehand.
Can I schedule it for later? Not yet. You need to be there to tap send on each message.
How many can I send at once? There's no limit, but you tap once per person — around 40 takes a couple of minutes. Much beyond a few hundred gets tedious.