> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.askyazi.com/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://docs.askyazi.com/reach-participants/send-a-broadcast.md).
# Send a broadcast
Send an approved WhatsApp template to a list or to participants in a study, now or on a schedule, in batches.
A broadcast sends an approved WhatsApp template to many people at once. Use it to invite people to a study, chase people who have not finished, or send a message between activities.
{% hint style="info" %}
**In short:** click **Send broadcast** on a study's **Share** tab (or send from **Broadcast Messages**). Four steps: pick who, pick the template and fill its variables, choose now or a schedule with batches, then review and send. The study must be published. Each delivered message carries a Meta fee.
{% endhint %}
## Before you send
You need:
1. **An approved template.** See [Broadcast templates](/reach-participants/broadcast-templates.md). You can create one from inside the send window with **+ New template**, but you then wait for Meta's approval before you can send it.
2. **A published study**, if the template has a start button. Broadcasts to unpublished studies are blocked.
3. **People to send to:** participants already in the study, or a contact file (CSV, XLSX or XLS) with phone numbers including the country code.
4. **Enough sending capacity.** Your number has a daily limit set by Meta. See [Number health and limits](/set-up-whatsapp/number-health-and-limits.md).
## Send a broadcast
Sending from a study's **Share** tab (**Send broadcast**) and from **Broadcast Messages** (**Send**, or the send icon in a template's **Actions**) opens the same four-step window.
{% stepper %}
{% step %}
### Choose who gets it
Step 1 of 4 reads "Choose who to send this message to". You can:
* **Upload a CSV or Excel file of contacts**, which adds new people and broadcasts to them in one step. **Download example CSV** gives you a file in the right layout.
* **Enter data manually**, typing or pasting phone numbers one by one.
* Pick from the people already in the study by status. Each option shows how many people it covers (see [Who you can pick by status](#who-you-can-pick-by-status) below).
On a multi-activity study you can choose a single activity, for example Activity 2. If you upload a file, every extra column (surname, region, product) becomes available as a message variable.
{% endstep %}
{% step %}
### Choose the template and fill the variables
Type to search your approved templates. Pick the study the start button should open. For each variable, such as `{{1}}`, pick the column it should come from. The preview shows the message as it will look. Give the send a clear batch name, such as `wave_1_invites`, so you can find it in Send History.
{% endstep %}
{% step %}
### Send now or schedule
Choose **Send now**, or **Schedule send**. A schedule lets you set:
* the days it may send on (for example weekdays only) and the start date
* a sending window (for example 09:00 to 17:00)
* the number of sends per batch
* the time between batches, from 5 minutes to 2 hours
The window shows the total number of contacts so you can see how long the send will take.
{% endstep %}
{% step %}
### Review and send
Check the audience count, the template, the study and the timing, then send. Scheduled sends appear on [Scheduled Messages](/reach-participants/scheduled-messages.md).
{% endstep %}
{% endstepper %}
## Who you can pick by status
When you pick from people already in the study, these are the options. Each shows a count.
| Option | Who it covers |
| ---------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Everyone in this study | All participants, whatever their stage |
| Ready to invite | Added, but no message sent yet |
| Delivered | Delivered or opened, no answer yet |
| Read | Message opened, no action yet |
| Started | Answered at least one question |
| In survey | Actively answering the survey |
| Survey done | Survey complete (includes people awaiting or in an interview, and those who completed) |
| Awaiting interview | Handed over to the AI interview, which has not started yet |
| In interview | AI interview in progress |
| Completed | Finished the whole study |
| Screened out | Left early through a screening question because they did not qualify |
The interview options only matter on studies with an AI interview.
## Why send in batches
Sending thousands of messages at once floods WhatsApp's system for your number. Messages get throttled or refused and some never arrive. Sending in batches also lets you watch the first results and fix a problem before everyone has been messaged.
A pattern that works well: 50 messages per batch, 5 minutes between batches, inside office hours on weekdays. Adjust to your audience. If WhatsApp throttles a batch, Yazi pauses the send briefly and then carries on with the next batch.
Your daily limit still applies. If a send goes over it, WhatsApp refuses the extra messages; it does not hold them for the next day. Plan large sends over several days, or get your business verified to raise the limit.
## Chase people who have not finished
1. On the study's **Share** tab, click **Send broadcast** (and choose the activity if it is a multi-activity study).
2. In step 1, pick **In survey** or **Started** (began but have not finished) or **Delivered** or **Read** (got the invite but did not start).
3. Choose a template with a **Continue** or start button and send.
To do this automatically instead, set up [Reminders](/reach-participants/reminders.md).
## Good timing
* Avoid early mornings and late nights in the participant's time zone.
* For consumer audiences, weekday evenings often work well. For professional audiences, mid-week mornings.
* Spread a large send over two or three days and look at the first day's results before sending the rest.
## Limits and things to know
* **Cost.** Each delivered template message is charged by Meta. Messages that are not delivered are not charged. See [WhatsApp costs and the 24-hour window](/reach-participants/whatsapp-costs-and-the-24-hour-window.md).
* **Failed messages are not retried automatically.** A number that is not on WhatsApp, or that has blocked you, will fail again if you resend. Fix the data or share the link another way. See [Send history and statuses](/reach-participants/send-history-and-statuses.md).
* **Variable mapping is per send.** If you send the same template to a new file, map the variables again.
* **Changing the list on a schedule.** If you replace the file on a scheduled broadcast, Yazi checks that the new file still has every column the message needs, clears any variable whose column is missing, and makes you pick again.
* **Marketing limits.** Meta caps how many marketing messages a person receives and lets people turn them off. Some people will not get a marketing invite however many times you send it.
* **Number reputation.** Only message people who expect to hear from you. Blocks and reports lower your number's quality rating and your sending limit.
## Related
* [Broadcast templates](/reach-participants/broadcast-templates.md)
* [Scheduled Messages](/reach-participants/scheduled-messages.md)
* [Reminders](/reach-participants/reminders.md)
* [Send history and statuses](/reach-participants/send-history-and-statuses.md)
* [People and contacts](/reach-participants/people-and-contacts.md)
