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The WhatsApp Template Approval Checklist — 28 points, one A4 page.

The same sweep I run on every template before submitting to Meta. Print it, tick it as you fill the form, ship templates that don't get rejected.

One email, the PDF attached. No newsletter unless you reply asking for one.

// what's in the PDF

Six sections. One page. Built from real submissions.

01–02
Category & variables

The two areas Meta rejects most often. Quick checks for category honesty, sample value realism, and the variable placement rules that quietly fail submissions.

03–04
Format and opt-out

Punctuation, caps, emoji rules, and the POPIA-aligned opt-out language that Marketing templates must include in 2026.

05–06
Forbidden content & pre-submit sweep

Industry traps (alcohol, fintech, healthcare) plus the final-sanity-check section nobody runs but everybody should.

// also inside
Page 2: three approved vs. rejected templates, with the "why" for each.

Real patterns that recur across hundreds of submissions — category mismatch, variable-at-start, and the all-caps urgency trap. Side by side, with annotations, so you can scan and self-correct.

// got a specific template?

Want a human to audit your actual template? The checklist covers the patterns; a free template audit covers your specific wording, category, and rejection risk — with a rewrite if needed.