The numbers side by side
| WhatsApp broadcast | Email newsletter | |
|---|---|---|
| Open rate (SA, our accounts) | 88 – 95% | 22 – 38% |
| Click rate | 15 – 35% | 2 – 5% |
| Cost per message | R0.50 – R1.50 | Under R0.02 |
| Consent | Explicit opt-in, POPIA | Opt-in, POPIA |
| Tolerance for frequency | Low: 2 – 4 a month | High: weekly or more |
| Best for | Launches, restocks, cart recovery, VIP, bookings | Education, stories, catalogues, flows |
What belongs on WhatsApp
The messages that need to be seen today: a restock of the product someone waited for, a launch with limited units, an abandoned cart with a one-tap link, a delivery update, a booking reminder. Keep it to a few a month, make each one worth opening, and the list stays alive. Blast it daily and the block rate kills your quality rating within weeks.
What belongs on email
Everything with more than two sentences: the weekly newsletter, the how-to-use content, the founder story, the catalogue, the automated flows that run for months. Email tolerates frequency and depth; it just does not get the urgent opens.
How they work with the ads
Paid ads buy the first purchase. Email and WhatsApp buy the second and third for almost nothing. In the pet food account WhatsApp reminders halved churn, which doubled what each new customer was worth and let the ads spend more to acquire them. In the wine account the release newsletter now outsells the ads on release days. Retention is what makes acquisition affordable.
Both channels are add-ons to our ad management. See WhatsApp broadcasts and email newsletters.