Bot versus channel
A channel is a public feed. You publish a post and every subscriber sees the same thing. A bot is a private conversation. It knows who it is talking to, so it can address a customer by name, mention their order, or suggest something from a category they bought before.
A bot also does more than send messages. It can answer questions, take orders, show a catalogue and connect payment through Click or Payme. That is why a broadcast should be one part of a wider customer journey in the bot, not a once-a-month announcement.
Consent comes first
A bot can only write to people who started a conversation with it. That is a platform rule, but it is also sound business practice: the person came on their own and expects something useful.
Explain the deal in the very first message. Say why the bot exists, what it will send and how to stop. Customers who understand the terms block the bot less often and tap the buttons more often.
Message types that work
Not every broadcast is the same, and customers react to each kind differently.
- Transactional: order confirmations, delivery status, appointment reminders. People expect these, so they are received best.
- Service: instructions, usage tips, answers to common questions.
- Marketing: offers, new products, promotions. Use with care.
- Surveys and feedback: one short question after a purchase or visit.
Frequency and personalisation
Too many promotional messages is the fastest way to get blocked. Keep promotions to a few a month and shape them around what the customer actually cares about, not around your own sales calendar. Transactional messages follow events, so the customer's own actions decide how many they get.
Personalisation is what makes promotion tolerable. Use the name, purchase history, interests, city and preferred language. A clothing shop that tells a denim buyer about new jeans will usually get a better response than the same shop sending one identical text to everyone. If some customers prefer Uzbek and others Russian, send each group its own version.
Buttons and platform limits
Buttons under a message, such as Order, Book, Open catalogue or Talk to a manager, remove friction. The customer does not need to look for your phone number or switch to Instagram. They act in one tap.
Respect Telegram's rules too. The platform limits how fast mass messages can be sent, so a large audience receives a broadcast in batches, and your setup should account for that. Users can also report spam, and reports hurt your bot. Never use a bot to message strangers or buy third-party contact lists.
What to measure
Judge a broadcast by customer behaviour, not by gut feeling. A minimum set of metrics:
- messages delivered;
- button taps;
- orders or bookings after the message;
- bot blocks.
Where to start
Start with service features: notifications about orders, bookings and payments. Once customers are used to receiving helpful messages from the bot, add careful offers and surveys. Before every send, ask one question: is this message useful to the customer? If blocks rise right after a new campaign, that is a direct signal to rethink the topic, the frequency or the audience.
If you want a setup like this built for your business, from the welcome message and segmentation to buttons, payments and reports, the markdev team can help with Telegram bot development and scenario design. Tell us what you need, and we can decide together which messages to launch first.
FAQ
Can I send Telegram broadcasts to people who never contacted my bot?
No. A bot can only write to users who started a conversation with it. Buying contact lists or trying to work around this rule breaks platform policy and leads to spam reports and blocks.
How often should I send promotional messages?
There is no universal number, but a good guide is a few promotional messages a month, tailored to the customer's interests. Transactional messages go out when events happen. Watch your block rate: if it climbs, you are sending too much.
Which broadcasts do customers like most?
Transactional and service messages: order confirmations, delivery updates, appointment reminders and useful instructions. Promotions work better once customers are used to getting helpful messages from the bot.
Why add buttons to bot messages?
Buttons shorten the path to action. A customer can order, book, open the catalogue or contact a manager in one tap, and button taps give you a clear response metric.
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