# Campaigns

> Sending an approved template to many contacts, scheduling, throttling and reading the results.
> Source: https://onpad.in/docs/campaigns

A campaign sends one approved template to many contacts and reports what happened to each one.

Campaigns can only use **approved templates** — that is Meta's rule for messaging people who have not written to you recently. See [Your first template](https://onpad.in/docs/your-first-template).

## Creating one

**Campaigns → Create campaign.**

### 1. Choose a template

Only approved templates appear. A template pending review or rejected cannot be used.

### 2. Choose the audience

Two ways:

- **All contacts** — everyone in the workspace.
- **By tag** — everyone carrying a particular tag.

The audience count updates as you choose, so you see exactly how many people will receive it before committing.

> **Contacts who opted out of marketing are never included.** They are excluded from the count and from the send automatically — you do not have to maintain that list yourself.

### 3. Fill in the variables

If the template has `{{1}}`, `{{2}}` and so on, map each to either a contact field — so each person gets their own name — or a fixed value that is the same for everybody.

ONPAD pre-fills from the template's sample values. Replace them; the samples were for Meta's reviewer, not for your customers.

### 4. Media header, if the template has one

Templates with an image, video or document header need the actual file for this send. Upload it here.

### 5. Send or schedule

Send now, or pick a time. **Scheduled campaigns run in your workspace's timezone** — check Settings if you are unsure which that is.

## Throttling and send windows

Two controls worth knowing about:

**Throttle per minute** limits how fast messages go out. Useful when you do not want a thousand replies landing in the inbox at once, and gentler on your quality rating than a sudden burst.

**Send window** restricts sending to certain hours. A campaign that would otherwise run at 2am waits until the window opens. Messages arriving at a sensible hour get better responses and fewer blocks.

## Campaign statuses

| Status | Meaning |
|---|---|
| `draft` | Being built, nothing sent |
| `scheduled` | Waiting for its time |
| `running` | Sending now |
| `paused` | Stopped partway; can be resumed |
| `completed` | Every recipient has a final result |
| `cancelled` | Stopped and will not resume |

A running campaign can be **paused**. Messages already sent cannot be recalled — WhatsApp has no such thing — but pausing stops everything not yet sent.

## Per-recipient statuses

| Status | Meaning |
|---|---|
| `queued` | Waiting its turn |
| `processing` | Being sent right now |
| `accepted` | Meta accepted it |
| `sent` | On its way |
| `delivered` | It reached the phone |
| `read` | The customer opened it |
| `failed` | It did not go; the reason is on the row |

The campaign page shows the totals — sent, delivered, read, replied, failed — and lets you open the recipient list filtered by any of them.

**Replied** is the number that actually matters for most campaigns. Delivered means it arrived; replied means it worked.

## Reading failures

The campaign page groups failures by reason, so you see the shape of the problem rather than scrolling a list.

| Reason | What to do |
|---|---|
| Invalid phone number | Fix the data. Usually a wrong country code on import |
| Not on WhatsApp | Nothing to do. That number has no WhatsApp account |
| Messaging limit reached | Meta caps new conversations per 24 hours. Send in smaller batches |
| Template paused or disabled | Meta paused it, usually for poor quality. Check Templates |
| Payment issue | Meta has no valid payment method on your account. Fix in Meta Business Manager |

Temporary failures are retried automatically. Permanent ones — an invalid number — are not, because retrying cannot help.

## Before a big send

**Send to yourself first.** Create a campaign for a tag containing only your own number and run it. You see exactly what the customer will see, including how the variables filled in.

**Check the variables rendered properly.** A mapping mistake that leaves `{{1}}` in the message, or puts the wrong field in it, is visible only in a real send.

**Start small on a new number.** Meta's messaging limit begins low and rises as you send well-received messages. A new number cannot message everybody on day one.

**Send at a sensible hour.** Use the send window. Messages at 11pm get blocked and reported, and blocks cost quality rating, which costs you the number.

## Things campaigns cannot do

**Recall a sent message.** WhatsApp does not offer it.

**Send an unapproved template.** No exceptions.

**Skip the opt-out list.** By design — this is a protection, not a limitation.

**Message people who never gave you their number.** Technically it will send; practically it is the fastest route to a red quality rating and a suspended number.

## Next

- [Contacts](https://onpad.in/docs/contacts) — building the audience
- [Inbox](https://onpad.in/docs/inbox) — where the replies land
- [API](https://onpad.in/docs/api) — sending from your own software instead