Send WhatsApp Messages From a Google Sheet, One Name per Row (2026)

Your list already lives in a spreadsheet. One row is one person, and one column holds their first name. The work left is getting each row into its own WhatsApp chat with a message that uses that name. This guide shows how to send personalized WhatsApp messages from Google Sheets: import the sheet as a contact audience, write one message with a placeholder, and check a small test before the full batch goes out.

What does a Google Sheet need before you import it?

Your sheet needs a header row, one contact per row after that header, and a contact column with the WhatsApp number for each person. It also needs sharing turned on for anyone with the link, because Blueticks reads the sheet from its link. Put the headers in the first row that has data.

Set the sheet up in this order:

1. Keep one contact per row. Every row after the header counts as one contact, so leave out totals and comments.
2. Put the field names in the header row. Short plain names such as First Name or Workshop work best, because those names become the fields you use in your message.
3. Keep a contact column with the WhatsApp number for each person. When you import, one column must be mapped to the WhatsApp number. If none is, Blueticks stops and asks you to map the number column to the contact (phone) field before it continues.
4. Turn on sharing. Click Share, open General access, and choose Anyone with the link. Google's Share and manage access to files and folders help page says anyone on the internet with the link can open the file without signing in to a Google Account.

Empty leading rows and columns are trimmed, so you do not have to delete them. Any text above the header row, though, becomes a field name. Keep the header row at the top.

How do you import a Google Sheet as a contact audience?

Paste the sheet's share link into the Blueticks import dialog, click Fetch Sheets, pick a tab if the workbook has several, and map each sheet column to a field. The import reads the sheet once, at the moment you run it, so what you import is the sheet as it stands at that point.

1. Open the Audiences tab and click New Audience, then choose Google Sheets as the import method.
2. Paste the link into the field with the placeholder "Enter Google Sheet share link" and click Fetch Sheets.
3. If the workbook has one tab, Blueticks selects it for you. If it has several, pick the tab that holds your contacts.
4. Map each sheet column to a field. Map the number column to the contact (phone) field, and map the name column to the field you will use in your message. To keep another column, such as Workshop, click Manage Columns, add a field, name it Workshop, and map the column to it. Columns you leave unmapped are not imported.
5. Let the import check the contact column. When it passes, the audience is ready to use in a campaign.

If you edit the sheet after the import, the audience does not change. Import the sheet again to pick up the edits, then check the contact count on the new audience against your sheet.

How do you write one message with a different name in each row?

Put a placeholder in curly braces where the name belongs, such as {First Name}. Blueticks fills the placeholder with that row's value when it sends that contact's message. Placeholders use single braces, and matching ignores letter case and whitespace.

The canonical tokens are First Name, Last Name, Display Name, Phone and WhatsApp Name. A custom field you added to the audience also resolves as a token, so a field named Workshop becomes {Workshop}.

1. Open the campaign composer and choose the audience you just imported.
2. Type your message and place the cursor where the name goes.
3. Use the Whatsapp name button or type the placeholder in braces, and the composer lists your audience's fields. Map each sheet column first, so the token you pick has a value behind it.
4. Write the message. For example: Hi {First Name}, thanks for signing up for the Saturday workshop.

The failure to watch for is a token that does not fill in. Use the exact name of the audience field, which matches your sheet header only if you named the field that way. The composer warns when a token has no matching column. Check the first test batch for any placeholder text that came through unfilled. Do this before the full run, not after.

How fast do the messages go out, and how long does 500 rows take?

Blueticks sends one contact at a time, about 7 seconds apart by default. The first contact is not delayed, so the total time is the number of contacts minus one, multiplied by 7 seconds. For 500 contacts, that is 499 gaps of 7 seconds, or about 58 minutes.

Some figures to plan with:

• Two contacts take 7 seconds in total.
• 500 contacts take about 58 minutes at the fixed gap.
• 1,000 contacts take just under two hours.
• An optional random gap between 5 and 120 seconds is available. It is off by default, so the 7-second figure applies unless you turn it on.

The sends run through the Blueticks extension and the Baileys engine, and both use the same spacing. Plan around the total span, not the row count. A 500-row batch runs for about an hour, so watch the first few contacts go out before you step away.

Why not send from a native WhatsApp broadcast list?

Use a native broadcast list when the same message for everyone is fine. Use the sheet import above when each person's own name belongs in the message.

For the manual broadcast steps and their limits, see how to send bulk WhatsApp messages.

What should you check before the first real batch?

Before you send to the full audience, check the contact count, the placeholders and the spacing. A test with two contacts takes 7 seconds of spacing, which is enough to see whether each name fills in.

1. Compare the audience's contact count with the number of people in your sheet. Use the real row count, not an estimate.
2. Check the contact column. If no column is mapped to the WhatsApp number, Blueticks stops and asks you to map the number column to the contact (phone) field, then import again.
3. Confirm sharing. Open the sheet link in a private browser window where you are not signed in to Google. If the sheet loads, Blueticks can read it too.
4. Run a two-contact test: your own number and one colleague's. Read both messages for leftover placeholder text.
5. Leave the random gap off unless you have a reason to vary the timing.

The most common failure is a stale sheet. Because the import reads the sheet once, a fix made after importing does not reach the audience. Re-import, then check the count again.

What does Blueticks add once the sheet is imported?

The import turns your sheet into an audience inside Blueticks, which is the saved contact list you send to. Each contact gets the same message with their own values filled in. The sheet stays where it is in Google Drive, and the audience is the copy you send to.

Sends from the extension and the Baileys engine follow the same spacing, so the timing figures above hold for either one. For the wider picture of sending to many people at once, see how to send bulk WhatsApp messages.

Frequently asked questions

Does the audience update when I change the Google Sheet?

No. The import reads the sheet once, when you run it. To use your changes, import the sheet again and check the contact count.

Does the sheet have to be public on the internet?

It has to be set to Anyone with the link. Google's help page says anyone with the link can open the file without signing in to a Google Account, so keep the sheet to the contact columns you need.

Can I import a workbook that has several tabs?

Yes. Blueticks fetches the sheet and asks you to pick a tab when the workbook has more than one. A single-tab workbook is selected for you.

How long does 500 contacts take?

About 58 minutes at the default spacing of 7 seconds between contacts. The formula is (500 minus 1) times 7 seconds, and the first contact goes out without a delay.

When your sheet is ready, sign up for Blueticks, import your Google Sheet as an audience, and send your first personalized batch.