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Festive sale WhatsApp broadcasts: a campaign calendar

By DilKart Editorial. Updated 16 October 2026.

Diwali and the wider festive season are the biggest sales weeks of the year for most Indian D2C brands. They are also when WhatsApp inboxes are busiest, and when brands most often damage their quality rating with too many broadcasts.

This guide sets out a calendar that sells without burning your list.

Three weeks before

  1. Add or refresh the WhatsApp opt-in at checkout and on Instagram.
  2. Decide your offers and their end dates.
  3. Submit templates for the teaser, the launch, the reminder and the last call.
  4. Check your messaging limit and quality rating.

The festive calendar

Four messages across the season
WhenMessageWho gets it
About a week beforeTeaser: what is coming and whenEngaged buyers from the last six months
Sale dayLaunch: offer, end date, linkAll opted-in buyers, staggered
MidwayReminder or bestsellersClicked but did not buy
Last dayLast callClicked but did not buy

Segment instead of blasting

Sending every message to your whole list is the fastest way to collect blocks. Send the launch to everyone who opted in, and the reminders only to people who clicked and did not buy. Fewer, more relevant messages keep your quality rating healthy for the next festival.

Check the cost before you send

Festive broadcasts are marketing messages at ₹0.8631 each to Indian numbers from 1 October 2026. A launch to 20,000 people and two reminders to 5,000 each is 30,000 messages. A tool that shows the cost before you send stops a surprise on the invoice; a tool with a markup makes the same campaign cost more.

Messaging limits in the festive rush

New business portfolios start with a messaging limit of 250 people in a moving 24-hour period, which can rise to 2,000, 10,000, 100,000 and then unlimited as you send high-quality messages and use at least half of your limit in 7 days.

If your list is bigger than your current limit, stagger the launch across the day, starting with your most engaged buyers.

Your inbox on sale day

After the season

  1. Count orders and revenue from each broadcast, not just clicks.
  2. Check opt-outs and blocks per message; drop the message type that caused most.
  3. Note which segment bought most, and start the next festival there.
  4. Thank your best buyers with a small, genuine message in January, not another offer.

Write festive messages that work

Our pick: Tadlo AI

Tadlo AI

Our top pick

Best for: Festive campaigns with predictable costs

Tadlo AI's broadcasts, on Growth at ₹2,499 a month, show the cost before you send and leave opted-out customers out automatically. Meta bills at its own rates, and Tadlo checks your quality rating and messaging limits every 15 minutes during the rush.

Price: Free forever plan with up to 10 messages a day. Starter ₹999, Growth ₹2,499, Pro ₹5,999 and Scale ₹11,999 a month, priced on unique contacts engaged per month. Meta's message charges are billed by Meta directly to your own account, and Tadlo adds no markup. Prices exclude GST.

Strengths

  • No markup on Meta's message charges: Meta bills your own WhatsApp Business Account directly, and Tadlo only charges a flat plan
  • Built for D2C: abandoned cart recovery, COD to prepaid nudges and order updates from Shopify and WooCommerce (Growth plan and above)
  • Instagram comments to WhatsApp chats, which most WhatsApp-only tools cannot do
  • Priced on unique people reached, not on every message, so you can follow up without counting sends
  • Number health checks every 15 minutes, gradual ramp-up for new numbers and automatic opt-out handling
  • Your WhatsApp Business Account is created inside your own Meta business account, so it stays yours

Limitations

  • Newer than AiSensy, WATI or Interakt, with a shorter track record
  • Commerce automations start on the Growth plan (₹2,499 a month)
  • Tadlo AI is onboarding brands in stages, and you request access on its WhatsApp page.

Visit Tadlo AI

Frequently asked questions

How many WhatsApp messages should I send during Diwali?

Three to four across the season for most brands: a teaser, a launch, a reminder to clickers, and a last call.

How much does a Diwali WhatsApp campaign cost?

₹0.8631 per marketing message to Indian numbers from 1 October 2026, times your recipients, plus any provider markup.

Should I send festive greetings without an offer?

One short greeting to your best customers can work well, as long as it is genuine and not followed by a sale message the same day. It is still a marketing message for billing.

When should I start planning festive WhatsApp campaigns?

About three weeks before the sale: that leaves time to grow opt-ins, get templates approved and check your messaging limit.

How do I avoid getting blocked during festive campaigns?

Send only to opted-in buyers, segment reminders, keep opt-out easy, and watch your quality rating after each send.

Sources

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