WhatsApp is the most powerful marketing channel in the Egyptian and Arab market — and the most dangerous if you use it badly. This article covers the message types available in Mersal, the difference between the connection methods, the practical rules that keep your number alive, and what to do if it does get banned.
WhatsApp message types in Mersal
A campaign doesn't have to be plain text. Mersal supports:
- Text: the baseline, with personalisation variables such as customer name and order number. Use it for short messages that need a fast reply.
- Media: image, video, PDF — ideal for catalogues and price lists. Keep files small; a heavy video takes time to load and customers abandon it.
- Buttons: up to 3 quick-reply buttons, which lift response rates noticeably over asking for a typed reply — the customer taps instead of writing.
- List: a dropdown of options — best for presenting multiple departments or services without crowding the screen.
- Poll: for quick customer feedback; excellent as a post-purchase follow-up.
- Location and Contact: to send a branch address or a sales rep's number.
A practical rule: the less effort a message demands from the customer, the more replies it earns. A button beats typing, and a list beats remembering a code.
QR linking or the official Meta API?
This is the first decision to make, and it shapes everything after it.
- QR linking: scan a code from WhatsApp on your phone and the number is live in minutes. Free, works with any regular or Business number. Right for getting started and for small to mid volumes; daily limits are lower and compliance is entirely on you.
- Official Meta Business API (WABA): you apply with a business account and get verified, earning the green badge, higher sending limits and approved templates. Meta charges per conversation and templates need approval before sending — but stability is far higher.
The sensible path: start on QR while you build the list, and move to the official API once sending volume becomes a core part of your revenue and downtime stops being acceptable.
Rule one: a consenting audience
WhatsApp is not a broadcast channel. The numbers you message must already know your business — customers who bought, signed up, or asked to be contacted. Bulk-sending to a purchased list ends in a ban within days, whatever software you use.
Clean ways to build the list:
- A WhatsApp button on your site and store, plus a WooCommerce connection so buyers' numbers flow in automatically.
- A signup form that states plainly that the customer will receive WhatsApp messages.
- A QR code in-branch or on the invoice for customers who want your offers.
- Inbound replies themselves: anyone who messages you is a consenting contact by definition.
Rule two: warm up gradually
A new number has zero reputation with WhatsApp. Send 5,000 messages on day one and a ban is near-certain. A realistic warm-up schedule for a fresh number:
- Week one: 30–50 messages a day, focused on customers who actually reply (order confirmations, post-purchase follow-ups).
- Week two: 100–200 a day if reply rates hold and complaints stay at zero.
- Week three: 400–600 a day, with randomised intervals between messages.
- Week four onward: add 30% a week while the metrics stay steady, and stop increasing the moment complaints appear.
Spread the load across several numbers rather than leaning on one. In Mersal each WhatsApp number binds to its own sending server, which makes load-spreading a configuration step rather than an engineering project.
Rule three: make leaving easy
Always include a clear way to stop the messages. A customer who can find the off switch uses it; a customer who cannot presses "report" — and reports are what actually burn a number.
The simplest implementation: a line at the end of every marketing message such as "reply STOP to opt out", plus a bot keyword that removes the number from your lists automatically. That turns a potential complaint into a quiet unsubscribe.
Rule four: timing
Send at reasonable hours. A marketing message at 11pm becomes a complaint. In the Egyptian market the windows that generally work:
- 11am – 1pm: good for transactional messages and order confirmations.
- 7pm – 9pm: highest engagement for offers and marketing campaigns.
- Friday before afternoon: avoid for marketing campaigns.
Use scheduling and a daily send window so a large campaign cannot spill outside those hours even if it runs over more than one day.
Writing the message itself
- Lead with the useful part: the first two lines are what appear in the notification. Put the offer or the information there, not the preamble.
- One message, one goal: one offer and one action. A message with three asks gets none of them done.
- Use the name: personalisation variables lift replies, but only with clean data — an empty "Hi {name}" is worse than no name at all.
- Avoid anonymous short links: free URL shorteners are associated with spam. Use your own domain.
- Avoid shouting: stacked exclamation marks, all-caps and words like "FREE!!!" raise your report rate.
Common mistakes that burn numbers
- Uploading an old list that has had no engagement with you in years.
- Sending the exact same text to thousands of numbers with no variation.
- Connecting the same number to more than one sending tool at once.
- Starting with a huge campaign on a number linked the same day.
- Ignoring replies — a number that sends and never answers looks like a spam bot.
Metrics to watch weekly
- Delivery rate: a sudden drop is the first warning before a ban.
- Read rate: below 50% means the list or the timing needs review.
- Reply rate: the single best health signal for a number in WhatsApp's eyes.
- Opt-out requests: a rise means the content or the frequency is irritating people.
When a number gets banned
If a ban happens: don't immediately link the same number on another device, and don't keep sending. Review the audience and the content first. Most bans are caused by a non-consenting list, not by the sending software.
The practical steps, in order:
- File an appeal from inside the WhatsApp app if the ban is shown there, and don't submit it repeatedly.
- Pause every campaign on that number until you get a response.
- Audit the last campaign: where did the numbers come from? Was there an opt-out? What was the reply rate?
- If the number is restored, start again from the top of the warm-up schedule — not from the volume you stopped at.
- If it isn't, understand the cause before linking a replacement; the same list will burn the new number too.
Frequently asked questions
Can I message numbers that aren't on WhatsApp? No, but Mersal can fall back to SMS automatically so the message still lands.
How many numbers can I connect? There's no fixed cap — you can link several and spread the load across them, which is the better setup at scale.
Do messages send while my phone is off? On QR linking the number needs to stay connected. On the official API sending runs from Meta's servers and doesn't depend on your phone.
