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Broadcasts & outreachAdmin only13 min read

WhatsApp message templates

Templates are the pre-approved messages you use to reach people outside the 24-hour reply window — reminders, confirmations, promotions. This is the full picture: why they exist, how to build and submit one, what the approval statuses mean, and how to keep dozens of them organised.
Where to find it
Create and manage templates in Settings → Social Channels → WhatsApp Business → Manage Templates (admin). Anyone can then use an approved template when sending.
Start here

The 60-second version

A template is a message you write once and submit to WhatsApp for approval. Once approved, you can send it any time — even to someone who hasn’t messaged you recently.

  • Build a template: a name, a category, body text with {{ }} placeholders for the bits that change.
  • Submit it — WhatsApp reviews it and marks it Approved, Pending, or Rejected.
  • Send any approved template from a chat, a broadcast, or a workflow, filling in the variables as you go.

Why templates exist

The whole reason templates exist comes down to one WhatsApp rule: the 24-hour window.

Inside the 24-hour window

After a customer messages you, you have a 24-hour window to reply with any free-form message — text, media, whatever you like. No template needed.

Outside the window

Once 24 hours pass with no reply from them, you can only re-open the conversation with a pre-approved template. That’s WhatsApp’s rule, not Exabloom’s.

Inside 24 hours of a customer’s message you can reply freely; outside it, only an approved template can re-open the conversation.
Good to know
This is why a reminder or a promo has to be a template, but a quick back-and-forth reply doesn’t. Exabloom shows you when a conversation’s window is open so you know which one you need.

The parts of a template

A template is more than a line of text. Knowing its parts makes the create form obvious.

trial_class_reminderUTILITY
Header · Trial class reminder
Hi {{1}}, your trial class is on {{2}}. Reply YES to confirm!
Footer · Acme Learning Centre
ConfirmReschedule
A template: a strict name, a category, an optional header and footer, body text with numbered variables, and optional buttons.
  • Name — lowercase letters, numbers and underscores only (it’s an identifier, not a title).
  • Category — Utility, Marketing, or Authentication (more below).
  • Header — optional: a short line of text, or an image, video, or document.
  • Body — the main message, with {{ }} placeholders for anything that changes per send.
  • Footer & buttons — an optional small footer line and optional tappable buttons (quick replies or links).

Create & submit one

From Manage Templates, start a new template and fill it in. The form mirrors the parts above; a couple of fields matter most.

Pick the right category

Category drives how strictly WhatsApp reviews the template and what limits apply when you send it.

Utility
Follow-ups to something the customer did — order updates, appointment reminders, confirmations. The default, and the easiest to get approved.
Marketing
Promotions, offers, announcements, re-engagement. Held to a higher bar and subject to WhatsApp’s marketing limits.
Authentication
One-time passcodes and verification codes. A narrow, specialised category.

Variables and their examples

Put a placeholder wherever the text should change — a name, a date, an amount. Because WhatsApp reviews the template with realistic content, you must give each placeholder an example value before you can submit.

Tip
Think of variables as fill-in-the-blanks: the template is the fixed shell, and the example just shows the reviewer what a real send looks like.

When it’s complete, submit it. Exabloom sends it to WhatsApp and the template appears in your list as Pending.

Approval & status

WhatsApp — not Exabloom — decides whether a template is allowed. Every template carries one of three statuses, kept in sync with WhatsApp.

Approved

Ready to send — in the picker, in broadcasts, and in workflows.

Pending

Submitted to WhatsApp and under review. Usually minutes, sometimes longer.

Rejected

WhatsApp declined it. Tweak the wording or category and submit again.

If it’s rejected
Common causes are wording that reads like marketing in a Utility template, placeholders without context, or missing examples. Adjust the content or category and resubmit — there’s no penalty for trying again.

Organise with tags

A busy account piles up templates fast. The Manage Templates table lets you search, filter by status, and apply your own tags to group them by purpose — “Sales”, “Support”, “Promo”.

Search templatesAllSalesUntagged
trial_class_reminderUTILITY SalesApproved
june_holiday_promoMARKETING PromoPending
win_back_30dMARKETING —Rejected
Manage Templates: search, category and status at a glance, and Exabloom-only tags with a filter row to cut a long list down fast.
Good to know
Tags live in Exabloom only — they’re a way to organise, not something WhatsApp sees. Filter by a tag (or by “Untagged”) to find the right template in seconds.

Send a template

When you need a template — in a chat whose window has closed, or in a broadcast — you’ll get a picker of your approved templates.

  • Find it — filter by tag or search by name and content; the picker shows how many of how many templates match.
  • Fill the variables — enter the values for this send and see a live WhatsApp-style preview of the resolved message.
  • Send — once it looks right, send it. In broadcasts and workflows, you map the variables to contact fields so each person gets their own version.

Good to know & pitfalls

  • Templates are a WhatsApp requirement. They exist because Meta requires pre-approval to start or re-open a conversation outside the 24-hour window — not as an Exabloom limitation.
  • Names are strict. A template name can only use lowercase letters, numbers, and underscores — trial_class_reminder, never “Trial Class Reminder”.
  • Variables need example values. WhatsApp reviews a template with sample content, so every {{ }} placeholder needs an example before you can submit.
  • Category affects approval. Marketing templates face stricter review and sending limits than Utility — pick the category that genuinely matches the message.
  • Tags are an Exabloom-only convenience. They help you organise and find templates here; they aren’t sent to WhatsApp and don’t affect approval.
  • Only approved templates can be sent. Pending and rejected ones are hidden from the send picker because they can’t go out yet.
Keep learning
Broadcasts & bulk actionsWork your InboxCustom values (reusable snippets)Automate with workflows

Want help getting templates approved?

Our Singapore-based team can help you draft templates that pass WhatsApp review the first time — just reach out.

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