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How to get Opt-ins (Contacts) for your WhatsApp πŸš€

Elisa Updated by Elisa

According to the updated WhatsApp Business Messaging Policy in November 2024, businesses must obtain opt-in permission before messaging customers on WhatsApp. This permission can be general and not specifically for WhatsApp, as long as the business follows all local laws. You are allowed to contact your customers on WhatsApp if they have provided their mobile phone number and have given opt-in permission for future messages or calls from your business.

What is the Opt-in process and when and why do I need it?

The opt-in process refers to the consent you need to obtain from your users before contacting them proactively through your WhatsApp channel.

To this day there are two different types of messages on WhatsApp:

  1. Reactive messages - messages are considered reactive when the final user initiates the conversation for a period of 24 hours since the user's last message.
  2. Proactive/Push Messages - messages are considered proactive when they are initiated by the company outside of this 24-hour window.

Before you can send these proactive messages to your users; they must previously give you their consent. This consent is the opt-in and is part of WhatsApp's policies to avoid SPAM to users.

Proactive messages can only be sent as Message Templates, please read the full guide we've created on these type of messages here.

Guidelines to follow

We kindly ask that you follow these guidelines when obtaining opt-in consent:

  1. Please make sure to clearly inform your customers that they are opting in to receive communication from your business.
  2. It's important to also state the name of your business so that customers know exactly who they are opting in to receive messages from.
  3. Lastly, please ensure that you are in compliance with all relevant local laws and regulations.

Sending messages to users without their consent may be perceived as unsolicited or spam, increasing the chance of your number being reported. Such reports can negatively impact your quality rating on Meta. Opt-ins not only help ensure your customers view your messages as relevant and welcome, but they also protect your brand’s reputation, prevent potential bans on Meta, and help you maintain a High Quality Rating.

Tips to consider

We also recommend you follow these tips for optimizing your user's experience while obtaining opt-in:

  1. It's important you set clear expectations for the messages that customers will receive. This can be achieved by:
  • Obtaining an opt-in that covers all types of messages your business may send, such as order updates, relevant offers, and product recommendations (for more information on the categories of the message you can send proactively, please click here)
  • Obtaining separate opt-ins for each message category to avoid customers blocking the business due to receiving unsolicited messages.
  • Providing easy to-follow instructions for opting out of specific message categories.
  1. Make sure that the opt-in and opt-out processes are user-friendly and easy to understand (click here on more information on how users can opt-out)
  2. Clearly communicate the benefits of receiving this information to customers.
  3. Monitoring the Quality Rating of your account, especially when implementing new opt-in methods. (click here for more information on how to check and keep track of your Quality Rating on Meta)

Collecting opt-in from your users

It is up to businesses to determine the method of opt-in, that they have obtained opt-in in a manner that complies with laws applicable to their communications, and that they have otherwise provided notices and obtained permissions that are required under applicable law.As long as the opt-in method meets the above requirements, it will be policy compliant. The following are examples of supported opt-in methods:

  • SMS
  • Website
  • By phone (using an interactive voice response (IVR) flow)
  • In person or on paper (customers can sign a physical document to opt in
Opt-in form
Growth Tools is on of the sections of your WhatsApp channel inside Landbot, and it will be active only if you have the WhatsApp add-on or a custom plan and an approved business phone number!

Once you have an active Official WhatsApp channel, you'll be able to enter the Growth Tools section.

Within that section, you will find the options to:

1. Generate an opt-in form that you can use to get opt-in in many different ways

2. Manage and edit your current Opt-in forms

To see the list of all subscribers to your WhatsApp channel, you should check the Contacts section instead:

1. Creating an opt-in form

This is our former snippet, a programming term for a small region of re-usable source code, machine code, or text, let's explain it with some more context.

For example:

You've just had your number approved by WhatsApp, integrated with Landbot, and want to start opting in users so you can reach out to them proactively in the future.

So if visitors of your website leave their phone number in this form, and tick the consent checkbox, they will be automatically registered as new subscribed contacts.

Here are the steps to follow:

  1. Opt-in form name: Choose a name to identify your forms.
  2. Opt-in confirmation message- select a message template: If you want to send a WhatsApp message immediately after the user has opted in. The most common use for this section is sending a "thanks for subscribing message". You'll also be able to add a pre-approved Message Template
    Read this article to know more about Message Templates and how to use them!

If you click on Select message template it will bring up a modal with all your approved template messages. Select the one you'd like to send.

If the selected template message contains variables (parameters saved in Landbot) in the content, you'll have to fill out the blank with the variable of your choice.

The variables are going to be displayed as numbers surrounded by double brackets:

In this particular example you could use the variable @name to replace the {{1}} with the name of the person.

  1. Choosing the Bot (optional): You are also able to choose a bot that will be linked to the message template. It will be triggered only if the user replies to the message template.
    If you don't link a bot in this section and the user sends a message to your integrated number, the main bot linked to your account will be triggered.

When you click on Choose the bot, this is what you'll see:

  1. Customise the consent message: Add a message for your customers to know they must tick the checkbox in order to be registered as subscribed contacts.
The snippet has to be contextual and explicit about its purpose, as defined by WhatsApp's Terms of Use.

β€œIn order to send a WhatsApp message to a person, you must receive opt-in permission in-line and contextually during the relevant user flows. For example, to receive a receipt via WhatsApp, a person must opt-in during a purchase flow.

Opt-in obtained without context and in any manner not related to an action the user is already taking, does not comply with this policy.β€œΒ 
  1. Once you've filled everything out, click on SAVE CHANGES and you will have successfully configured your snippet.
  2. You can preview the snippet by clicking on the "eye looking" icon to see what it would look like if you posted it on your website (more information about that in the next chapter).

2. Using the Snippet to obtain Opt-in from your users

Now that you've generated the snippet, you can use it to get your users to opt-in in many different ways. We'll highlight the most common ones below.

  1. Get Opt-ins using the snippet
  2. Get Opt-ins with a Web bot
  3. Get Opt-ins with a custom form on your website
  4. Obtain the Opt-in directly through a WhatsApp bot.

We will explain each one of those methods in this article, so that you can choose the Opt-In option that works best for your case πŸ˜‰

1. Get Opt-ins using the snippet

This is probably the quickest option, however, it's the one you can personalise the least.

Below are some of the characteristics:

  1. The snippet option can only be set up in English
  2. Only the fields explained in the previous chapter can be personalised
  3. Parameters other than the phone number cannot be sent with this option

If this option is your choice you just need to copy and paste the snippet code onto your website.

2. Opt-in Using a Web bot

If you still want to get opt-in from users on your website but want to have the option to personalise it, using a web bot is a great option!

You'll have to set it up in a similar way as the snippet. In other words, your bot must:

  1. Be contextual and explicit about its purpose
  2. Ask the user for their phone number in a specific format country code + phone number

For example, the country code in Spain is +34

A random phone number in Spain could be 612345678

The format for the number on Landbot should be 34612345678

To ease the process, we've prepared the following Brick workaround called Opt-in WhatsApp v3

Ask for consent with the Opt-in Brick Workaround

Want to learn more about Bricks? Read this article!

This option will allow users from different countries (different country codes) to Opt-in.

For this option, you should build a web bot from scratch, and use the Opt-In Brick Workaround to validate the phone number and opt it in.

To use this option you should:

  1. Start building a bot from scratch
  2. Import the opt in brick from the Brick selector
  1. Go to the Get opt-ins section in Channels
  2. Copy the snippet code
  3. Travel back to the bot and open the opt in brick
  4. Paste the code in the first Set Variable block

2.1 Sending Variables collected by the web bot to WhatsApp
This can be done both for option a (Using the Opt-in Bot template) and option b (Ask for consent with the Opt-in Brick Workaround)

If you'd like to send the data collected by your web bot to WhatsApp and assign them to the opted in user so you don't have to ask them for the details again, you can do it from the Webhook block under the note titled Webhook edit.

  1. Open the Webhook block
  2. Add the variables you have added to your bot flow in the Send Params section

For example, if you asked a user for their name during your bot flow, you can add the Key: name and the variable @name in the Value field.

  1. Once you have added the Params, you will see that the Preview URL will add these variables automatically, appearing right under the Webhook's URL & Method Field we have previously set up:

Save and finish

Don't forget to Apply the changes in the Webhook and save the bot. And there you have it πŸš€

3. Opt-in using WhatsApp bot

It is possible to get Opt-ins directly through a WhatsApp bot. This is the most immediate, easy-to-use and frictionless option.

By following an initial flow to Opt-in, users will be able to give their consent to receive future notifications through WhatsApp.

When a user interacts with a WhatsApp bot, their phone number will be captured automatically and saved under the variable @phone, unlike in the Opt-in for Web, where we have to ask for it πŸ˜‰
How to create a WhatsApp Opt in bot:

a. Ask for consent using Opt-in block

Now it's easier than ever to get opt-ins through the WhatsApp bot with our new Opt-in block🀩

For more information on how to configure it, please check this article.

Tip: Provide an excellent experience to your users and avoid asking the consent to those who have already opted-in with the Opt-in Check block!

b. Ask for consent (Keyword Options or Reply Buttons block) with Webhook block

First of all, we must ask for the User's consent to be contacted proactively by your company.

To do that, after the first Welcome or simple Message Blocks, just add a simple question asking for the user's consent to receive WhatsApp notifications, using a Keyword Options or a Reply Buttons block.

Make sure to differentiate the flow, leading the user to a different path if they do not accept to Opt-in.

Please check this article for more information on how to use the Keyword Options block πŸš€
Please check this article for more information on how to use the Reply Buttons block πŸš€

Adding a Webhook block to validate the opt-in

Add a Webhook block and follow the steps below:

  1. Keep the URL method as POST
  2. Go to the Opt in section in Channels
  3. Create a snippet as explained in chapter 1 of this article
  4. Copy the URL in the code and go back to the WhatsApp bot
  5. Paste the URL into the top field
  6. Open the Send params subsection in the Webhook block
  7. Add the word "phone" to the Key field and the variable @phone to the Value field

Your Webhook block should look something like this:

And that's it, your WhatsApp opt in bot is ready! Easy right? πŸ˜‰

How to view your subscribers list

New integrations

  1. Click on the WhatsApp logo on the left dashboard
  2. Select your channel
  3. Click on the Contacts section

You will be able to export a CSV file with all your subscribers by clicking on the Export CSV button.

You will see two metrics:

-> Total Contacts - the total number of numbers who have subscribed to your WhatsApp channel;

-> Valid Subscribers - the total number of subscribers who have successfully interacted with your number and can exchange messages.

User Opt-out

In case a user does not want to receive notifications from you anymore, you must make the Opt-out.

By accessing the Contacts section, you will find a button with the option "Opt Out" at the user's details.

By clicking on it and accepting the Opt out, this user will be removed from your list and you will no longer be able to contact this use proactively.

Warning: The Opt-out button permanently deletes a user from your subscribers list, and can't be restored by the Landbot team.
Please use it ONLY if one of your users asked you to remove his contact from your list.

Next Steps

Once you have your subscriber list, you may want to send them broadcast messages or notifications. If that's the case, please read this article on how to send broadcast messages/notificactions.

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