What is a drip campaign? The WhatsApp edition
A drip campaign is a pre-planned sequence of messages sent automatically over days or weeks to nurture a contact, rather than a single one-off broadcast. On WhatsApp, it is built with a flow trigger to enter the sequence, Wait / Delay steps between messages, and an exit condition, while respecting WhatsApp's rules on messaging outside the 24-hour customer-service window.
- A drip campaign spreads a message sequence over time, unlike a broadcast that sends everything at once.
- Entry usually comes from a flow trigger such as a keyword, a contact joining a group, or an API/CRM stage change.
- Wait steps set to minutes, hours or days turn a simple flow into a drip sequence, saved on the server for up to 30 days.
- A contact who replies mid-wait is still answered by the AI by default; the schedule keeps running unless you choose to continue the sequence early.
- Messages sent outside the 24-hour customer-service window still need an approved template, which matters for any drip step spanning several days.
The definition
A drip campaign is a message sequence spread over time: a welcome message today, a tip in two days, an offer three days after that — sent automatically to each contact on their own timeline, rather than blasted out to everyone at once like a broadcast. The name comes from the idea of water dripping steadily rather than pouring in one go: a slow, planned trickle of contact rather than a single splash.
Unlike a one-off broadcast, a drip campaign reacts to when a contact enters it, not to a single send date. Someone who joins on Monday and someone who joins on Thursday each get their own personal countdown through the same sequence.
The term is borrowed from drip-irrigation, where water is released slowly and steadily rather than all at once, the same principle behind a message sequence designed to build familiarity gradually rather than asking for a decision in the very first message.
One-off broadcast vs a drip campaign
| One-off broadcast | Drip campaign | |
|---|---|---|
| Timing | Sent to everyone at once | Spread over days, per contact's own entry time |
| Best for | Announcements, sales, festive offers | Onboarding, nurturing, re-engagement |
| Built from | A single campaign send | A flow with Wait / Delay steps between messages |
Entry triggers
A drip sequence needs a clear starting point. Common entry triggers include a keyword a contact sends ("info", "join"), a contact being added to a group, the most common pattern, since it can be triggered from a form submission, a CRM stage change, or a manual tag, or a direct API call from another system, such as an e-commerce platform flagging a new signup.
Whichever trigger you use, each contact who enters starts their own personal timeline through the sequence, independent of everyone else already inside it.
Choosing the right entry trigger is often the difference between a drip sequence that feels timely and one that feels random. A sequence that starts the moment someone shows real interest, joining a group after a specific enquiry, rather than being manually added weeks later lands with far more relevance than one triggered arbitrarily.
Waits, and what happens if someone replies mid-sequence
Between each message sits a Wait / Delay step. A few seconds reads as a natural typing pause; set to minutes, hours or days (up to 30 days), it becomes the spacing of a genuine drip sequence, and the wait is saved on the server so it survives restarts.
If a contact replies while waiting, the default behaviour keeps the sequence on its original schedule and lets your AI agent or team answer the message normally. The drip is not interrupted just because the contact said something. A step can instead be set to continue now, ending the wait early and moving straight to the next message, useful when a reply signals the contact is ready to move faster than the default pacing.
This distinction matters in practice: a rigid sequence that ignores replies entirely feels impersonal, sending a scheduled nudge even after the contact has clearly already engaged, while one that always jumps ahead on any reply can skip content a genuinely interested contact would still have benefited from seeing. The default behaviour on Convo360 favours the safer middle ground: answer the reply properly, but do not assume it means the whole sequence should be abandoned.
Exits and template constraints
A well-designed drip sequence has a clear exit, not just an end. A Condition step can check whether a contact has already booked, replied "STOP", or reached a different CRM stage, and remove them from the rest of the sequence if so. There is little value in a booking reminder still arriving after someone has already booked.
Because a drip sequence can span several days, some of its later messages will fall outside WhatsApp's 24-hour customer-service window from the contact's last message. Those steps need to use an approved template (typically Marketing or Utility, depending on content), created and submitted through WhatsApp Studio ahead of time, rather than a free-form message.
Planning a drip sequence around this rule from the start avoids a common late surprise: building a five-message sequence assuming every step can be a casual free-form message, then discovering on launch day that steps three onward need Meta approval first, which can add days to the timeline if the template was not submitted in advance.
How it shows up in Convo360
Build a drip sequence in the Flow Builder by chaining Send Message or Send Template steps with Wait / Delay blocks in between, started from a trigger such as When a contact is added to a group. Web chat cannot receive messages after the visitor leaves, so waits longer than 15 seconds are automatically skipped on that channel, while WhatsApp, SMS and other messaging channels support the full multi-day spacing. See how to build a drip sequence on WhatsApp for a step-by-step example. Because a drip sequence is simply a flow with a particular pattern of triggers and waits, it can call the same sub-flow used elsewhere in your bot for order status or booking, keeping the actual logic consistent even as the surrounding sequence is refined over time.
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Frequently asked questions
How is a drip campaign different from a broadcast?
A broadcast sends one message to a list all at once. A drip campaign spreads several messages over days or weeks, with each contact following their own personal timeline from when they entered the sequence.
What happens if a contact replies in the middle of a drip sequence?
By default, the sequence keeps its original schedule and your AI agent or team answers the reply normally alongside it. A step can instead be set to 'continue now' to skip ahead in the sequence when a reply signals readiness.
Do all the messages in a WhatsApp drip campaign need to be templates?
Only the ones sent outside the 24-hour customer-service window from the contact's last message. Messages sent within that window can be free-form; later steps in a multi-day sequence generally need an approved template.
How long can a drip sequence run for on Convo360?
Wait steps can be set up to 30 days, and are saved on the server so they survive restarts, allowing a sequence to span weeks if needed.
Can I remove a contact from a drip sequence early if they take an action?
Yes, add a Condition step that checks for the relevant action, such as booking an appointment or replying STOP — and branch out of the sequence rather than continuing to send further steps.
Related reading
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