> ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.useinvent.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Broadcasts > Reach your contacts on the channels they already use, in bulk or one event at a time Your customers reached out to you through WhatsApp, Instagram, or your website. Broadcasts let you reach back out on the same channels. Send a product announcement to a whole segment, or fire a one-time passcode the instant someone signs in. Both run on the same templates, channels, and personalization. Broadcasts dashboard listing broadcasts in a table ## Two ways to broadcast Every broadcast is one of two types, chosen when you create it and fixed afterwards. | | Marketing | Transactional | | - | - | - | | **Best for** | Announcements, updates, offers, newsletters | OTPs, receipts, confirmations, password resets | | **Who receives it** | A segment or all contacts, chosen up front | One recipient, named on each trigger | | **When it sends** | Now or scheduled for later | The moment your backend calls the endpoint | | **How it is sent** | One send to many people | One API call per message | | **Unsubscribes** | Respected; unsubscribed contacts are excluded | Not applied; the trigger is rejected only if the contact is blocked or the address is on the [suppression list](/guides/audience/suppression) as Bounced, Marked as spam, Legal request or Added manually | | **Lifecycle** | Draft to Scheduled to Sent | Draft to Active, then triggered many times | Send one message to a group at once, immediately or scheduled Trigger a single message through the API when an event happens ## The Broadcasts dashboard The Broadcasts page lists every broadcast in a table: | Column | Description | | - | - | | **Name** | The name you gave the broadcast, with a type icon and the type below it | | **Channels** | A badge per channel configured, each with its integration icon | | **Status** | Current state (see [Broadcast statuses](#broadcast-statuses)) | | **Recipients** | The total, above a bar split by delivery state. Hover it for the exact count per state | | **Last Activity** | When the broadcast was last sent, or last edited if it has not sent yet | Above the table, a search box filters by name and a set of chips filters by type: **All**, **Marketing**, or **Transactional**. Both are reflected in the URL, so a filtered view can be bookmarked or shared. Each row has a three-dot menu to duplicate or delete the broadcast. Alongside the list, the Broadcasts area has a **WhatsApp Templates** view for building and managing your templates (see [WhatsApp](/guides/broadcasts/channels/whatsapp#whatsapp-templates)) and an **Analytics** view for delivery reporting. Opening a single broadcast gives it its own **Overview** and **Recipients** tabs, plus an **Analytics** tab once it has left Draft. ## Creating a broadcast Use the **+ Create Broadcast** button in the top-right corner. Give the broadcast a descriptive name, for example "Black Friday Sale" or "Login OTP". Pick **Marketing** or **Transactional**. This sets how the broadcast sends and cannot be changed later. * **Marketing**: send to a group at once, now or scheduled for later. * **Transactional**: send via API, one message the moment something happens. Create Broadcast dialog with a name field and a choice between Marketing and Transactional types The broadcast opens in **Draft**. The sections you configure depend on the type: marketing broadcasts have an **Audience**, transactional broadcasts have a **Send** section. Both share **Channels** and **Variables**. ## Channels Channels determine how your message is delivered. Every broadcast needs at least one, and you can add several to reach contacts across platforms in a single broadcast. Channels section of a broadcast ### Available channels | Channel | Description | | - | - | | **WhatsApp** | Send messages via approved WhatsApp Templates | More broadcast channels are coming soon. Follow the channel guide to set up and configure it: Set up WhatsApp Templates and configure the channel ### Adding multiple channels After your first channel, click **+ Add Channel** to add another. Each channel is configured independently with its own template and settings, so a single broadcast can reach contacts on several platforms at once. A broadcast with multiple channels configured ### Editing a channel After a channel is added you can: * Click **Edit** to change the template, variables, or settings. * Click **x** to remove the channel. Editing reopens the full dialog with your previous settings, a **Remove channel** button, and **Save Changes**. Channels can only be edited while the broadcast is in Draft. ## Variables Every field a channel exposes is a variable with a name: a WhatsApp template's placeholders (`body_1`, or `body_customer_name` on a named template), an email `subject` or `body`, an SMS `message`. Nothing has to be declared. Three rules cover it all: | Rule | What it means | | - | - | | **A slot is a variable** | It exists because the template exists. The **Variables** section lists every slot with the channel it belongs to. | | **What you see is the default** | A WhatsApp slot opens prefilled with the template's own sample value. Whatever is in the editor goes out. Change it there or straight from the **Default value** column. `{{name}}` in a slot means the contact's name. | | **Override by name** | A send or an import that carries the name replaces the slot for that recipient. Leave it out and the default goes out. | Pick a template and it is ready to send. Change a default only when you want a different one, and pass values only for the recipients that need their own. Email and SMS channels are not generally available yet; their slots apply once they ship. ### Your own variables Click **+ Add variable** to add a name of your own with a default, for example `coupon` with `SAVE10`. Use it in any channel as `{{coupon}}`, and pass it by name on a send or in an import when a recipient needs a different value. A variable no channel uses yet stays listed under **Not used**, ready for an API send that fills it. Variables card with the template slots, a custom variable and the contact variables ### Importing values For marketing broadcasts, you can give each contact its own values from a spreadsheet. Name a column like a variable (`body_1`, `coupon`) and it fills it for every row. The **Import values** row sits at the bottom of the **Variables** section: The import dialog opens with a file upload area. Drag in a **.csv**, **.xlsx**, **.xls**, **.numbers**, or **.ods** file with a column to identify recipients (email or phone) and a column for each variable. Click **Download sample CSV** for a correctly formatted template. Map each column from your file: * **Recipient identifier**: map at least one column to **Email** or **Phone** so Invent knows which contact each row belongs to. * **Slots**: a column whose header matches a slot name is matched for you. Every slot of every channel is offered, so an email `subject` and a WhatsApp `body_1` can come from the same file. * **Skip column**: anything unmatched is skipped. Click **Review**, then **Import**. A success message confirms how many values were imported. Import values dialog matching columns to variables Transactional broadcasts do not import values up front. Their per-recipient values arrive with each [trigger](/guides/broadcasts/transactional#variables) instead. ### Using variables in templates Write a variable anywhere in a channel as `{{name}}`, with no spaces inside the braces: ``` Hi {{first_name}}, your order {{order_number}} ships tomorrow. ``` Typing `{{` opens a picker with the contact variables (`name`, `first_name`, `last_name`, and the channel identifier such as `phone` or `email`) and your own. A name you write that does not exist yet shows up in the **Variables** section as **Missing default**; give it a default there and it becomes a variable of the broadcast. The broadcast cannot be sent or activated while a variable it uses has no default. Contact variables always win: a value named `name` can never override the contact's name. The older `{{properties.coupon}}` form keeps working. ## Broadcast statuses | Status | Applies to | Description | | - | - | - | | **Draft** | Both | Being configured, not sent yet. All sections are editable. | | **Scheduled** | Marketing | Queued to send at a future time, with a live countdown. | | **Sending** | Marketing | Currently being delivered. Cannot be edited. | | **Sent** | Marketing | Fully sent. Analytics and tracking are available. | | **Active** | Transactional | The endpoint is open and sending when called. | | **Paused** | Transactional | The endpoint is closed and new sends are rejected. Configuration is preserved. | | **Cancelled** | Marketing | A legacy status kept for older broadcasts. Cancelling a send now returns the broadcast to Draft. | | **Failed** | Marketing | Something went wrong during delivery. Fix the issue and re-send. | ## Duplicating a broadcast To reuse a setup, open the three-dot menu on any broadcast and select **Duplicate**. This creates a copy in Draft with "(Copy)" appended. It keeps the audience (all contacts, segments, or imported contacts) or trigger, the channels, and every variable with its default. The per-recipient values from an import are not copied: import them again on the copy. ## Next steps Audience, scheduling, and analytics for bulk sends API triggers, variables, and the live endpoint Set up WhatsApp Templates and configure the channel Manage contacts and build segments for targeting This documentation is built and hosted on [Mintlify](https://mintlify.com), a developer documentation platform.