Glossary · messaging-automation
What is Opt-in?
An opt-in is a customer's clear permission to receive messages from a business on a particular channel — WhatsApp, email or SMS. It should be specific (they know it is you and what kind of messages to expect), recorded (you can show when and how they agreed), and easy to withdraw. WhatsApp's business policy requires opt-in before a business messages people proactively, and email systems punish senders whose lists were bought or scraped through spam complaints and blocking. Beyond the rules, opted-in lists simply perform better, because people who asked to hear from you open, reply and buy, while people who did not report you.
What does Opt-in mean for a business in Pakistan?
Buying number lists or adding every customer from the khata register to a broadcast is common in Pakistan and is exactly what gets WhatsApp numbers blocked. A checkbox at checkout, a 'Send me updates' button, or a customer messaging you first all count as clear, recordable permission.
A worked example
A hypothetical Saddar electronics shop prints a QR code at the till: 'WhatsApp par naye offers chahiye? Scan karein.' Scanning opens a chat with the prefilled text 'Updates ON'. Over three months 400 customers opt in, and the shop's broadcasts go only to them.
Terms that go with this one
These come up in the same conversations and are worth reading together.
- Template messagetemplate messageA template message is a pre-written WhatsApp message that Meta has approved for a business to send through the WhatsApp Business Platform, mainly to…
- Broadcast listbroadcastA broadcast list is a WhatsApp feature that sends one message to many contacts at once, with each recipient receiving it as a private one-to-one chat…
- WhatsApp Business APIWhatsApp APIThe WhatsApp Business API, now officially called the WhatsApp Business Platform, is Meta's version of WhatsApp for businesses that need more than one…
- List segmentationlist ko groups mein baantnaList segmentation means dividing your email or WhatsApp contacts into groups so each group receives messages that fit them, instead of sending…
- Sender reputationsender reputationSender reputation is the trust score that mailbox providers like Gmail and Outlook quietly keep for your sending domain and IP address. It rises when…
Opt-in — quick answers
What does Opt-in mean?
An opt-in is a customer's clear permission to receive messages from a business on a particular channel — WhatsApp, email or SMS. It should be specific (they know it is you and what kind of messages to expect), recorded (you can show when and how they agreed), and easy to withdraw.
Opt-in ko Urdu mein kya kehte hain?
آپٹ اِن (اجازت) — though in practice almost everyone in Pakistan says "ijazat lena". Buying number lists or adding every customer from the khata register to a broadcast is common in Pakistan and is exactly what gets WhatsApp numbers blocked.
Why does Opt-in matter for a business in Pakistan?
Buying number lists or adding every customer from the khata register to a broadcast is common in Pakistan and is exactly what gets WhatsApp numbers blocked. A checkbox at checkout, a 'Send me updates' button, or a customer messaging you first all count as clear, recordable permission.
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