How to get WhatsApp opt-ins the honest way

A WhatsApp list is only worth something if the people on it want to hear from you. A hundred customers who asked for your messages will read them and reply. A thousand numbers copied from old invoices will mostly ignore you, and some will tap Report.

Here's how a small business can collect WhatsApp opt-ins with real consent, what to send once people say yes, and how to let them leave just as easily.

Why opt-in matters#

WhatsApp asks for it. WhatsApp's Business Messaging Policy says you may message people only if they gave you their number and agreed to get messages from you on WhatsApp. That's the rule, whichever tool you send with.

People who expect you don't report you. A message nobody asked for gets blocked or reported, and enough reports can get a number limited or banned. A message someone ticked a box for last week is welcome, not spam.

A good opt-in has three parts:

• It's clear. People know they'll get WhatsApp messages, from whom, and roughly what about.
• It's active. They tick a box, scan a code or send a message. A box that's ticked for them doesn't count.
• It's easy to undo. Every message they get tells them how to stop.

Simple ways to collect opt-ins#

A tick box at checkout or booking#

The place people already give you their number is the easiest place to ask. Add an unticked box under the phone field:

☐ Send me order updates and occasional offers on WhatsApp

Keep it separate from your terms and say what you'll send. "Order updates" and "offers" are different promises: if you plan to send both, say both.

If you sell on Shopify, make the phone number required at checkout: WbizTool's Shopify app sends the order confirmation and shipping update to the phone number on the order, from your own WhatsApp number.

A click-to-chat link and a QR code at the counter#

WhatsApp's click-to-chat links (https://wa.me/ followed by your number with its country code) open a chat with you. Add ?text= and a short message, and the customer's WhatsApp opens with it already typed, such as "Hi, please send me your offers". Turn the link into a QR code with any QR generator and put it where people wait:

• the counter or the till
• receipts, bags and packaging
• the menu, the waiting-room wall or the delivery note

The customer writes to you first, so there's no doubt they wanted to.

A "reply YES" keyword#

When you already talk to people on WhatsApp, ask once at the end of a helpful conversation: "Would you like our monthly offers here? Reply YES." Only add the ones who answer.

With the Unibox add-on, a keyword auto-reply in WbizTool answers a message that contains one of its words, or a message that is exactly one of them (the better choice for a short word like YES). It goes out from the number the customer wrote to, usually a minute or two after their message. A welcome message auto-reply answers the first message of a new chat, which suits people who scan your counter QR code and say hi.

A small reward, done fairly#

A short quiz, a spin-the-wheel, a scratch card or a plain "10% off your next order" make people more willing to share a number. They also make it easy to cut corners. To keep it honest:

• Say what the tick means before they play: "Tick to get your prize code and our offers on WhatsApp."
• Keep the prize fair. If it's a wheel, every slice should be a real prize, and the odds shouldn't be a trick.
• Give the prize either way where you can, or offer email instead. People who opt in only for a code tend to leave right after.
• Send the prize fast, within minutes, not next week.

Keep track of who said yes#

Note where each opt-in came from. In WbizTool's Contacts you can give contacts tags such as Opted in or Offers, add them one by one or import a CSV file with a Tags column, and later send a campaign or a reminder to everyone with a tag. Opted-out contacts are skipped.

What to send once they opt in#

A welcome message, straight away#

The first message confirms the opt-in and sets expectations, while they still remember signing up:

Hi Priya, thanks for joining! You'll get your order updates here and one offer a month. Here's your 10% code: WELCOME10. Reply STOP any time to stop these messages.

Ways to send it automatically from your own number:

• From a form or sheet: a Google Sheets trigger sends a WhatsApp message for each new row, filled in from its columns, such as Hi {{Name}}. Keep your sign-ups in a Google Sheet and each new row gets its welcome. Triggers need a paid plan.
• From your store: the Shopify app's order confirmation goes out once per order when it's placed.
• From a chat: the welcome message auto-reply answers people who write to you first.

Then, only what you promised#

Send what people signed up for, no more often than you said, such as:

• order, booking and delivery updates
• appointment and payment reminders
• back-in-stock alerts for something they asked about
• one offer a week or a month, not one a day

Use their name, normal case and a full link to your own site: capital letters and bare short links look like spam.

Honour opt-outs, every time#

An easy way out protects your number: people who can't find one are more likely to report you.

• Put an opt-out line in every marketing message, such as "Reply STOP to unsubscribe." WbizTool's campaign check warns you before you send when your messages don't have one.
• Let STOP work by itself. On numbers in the Unibox inbox, someone who replies only STOP (or Unsubscribe and similar words in other languages) is opted out automatically, and replying only START opts them back in.
• Opt people out by hand too. When someone asks in other words, or calls, click Opt out on their contact or add their number on the Opted out tab.
• Make it stick. Nothing is sent to an opted-out number from that workspace again: not from campaigns, reminders, Google Sheets, Shopify or the API.

Questions people ask#

Can I message my existing customers who never opted in?#

Only if they agreed to WhatsApp messages from you. If you're not sure, ask once, in a message they'd expect anyway, such as their next order update, and add only those who say yes.

Does a pre-ticked box count as an opt-in?#

No. The person has to tick the box, scan the code or send the message themselves. A box that starts ticked, or a line in your terms, isn't a clear yes.

Is it fine to give a discount for opting in?#

Yes, as long as people know what they're signing up for and the reward is real and arrives right away.

What should I do when someone replies STOP?#

Stop messaging them, at once and everywhere. With the Unibox inbox, WbizTool opts them out by itself when the reply is just the word. Without it, add their number on the Opted out tab in Contacts.

Start with the people who want to hear from you#

WbizTool sends from your own WhatsApp number, linked by QR code like WhatsApp Web, with no Meta approval and no per-message fees. The free trial has 50 messages in any 30 days and needs no card. Create your free account and send your first welcome message today.