Quick Start
Connect a sending channel and launch your first campaign in a few steps.
This walks through the fastest path from a new account to a delivered message.
1. Create your account
Sign up at mersal.it and verify your account. Mersal supports login via email, phone, or username, with WhatsApp OTP, one-tap, or the Mersal Authenticator app for verification.
2. Connect a sending method
You need at least one working gateway before you can send. From the dashboard sidebar, open Gateways and pick one:
If you don't have API credentials from a provider yet, connect your personal WhatsApp via QR code — it's the fastest way to send a real test message while you set up official channels.
- WhatsApp (QR / personal device) — scan a QR code with WhatsApp on your phone, same as WhatsApp Web. No Meta Business account needed.
- WhatsApp Cloud API — connect an official WhatsApp Business Account via Meta's embedded signup, for production-scale sending.
- SMS API — add credentials for an external SMS provider (Twilio, Vonage, or any HTTP-based provider).
- Android SIM Gateway — pair an Android phone running the Mersal bridge app to send SMS through a physical SIM card.
- Email / SMTP — add your SMTP provider credentials, then verify with a test send.
Until a channel is connected, campaign screens show a "Connect a sending method" prompt instead of letting you send.
3. Add contacts
Go to Contacts, then either:
- Import an Excel file (Mersal cleans phone numbers and upserts existing contacts automatically), or
- Add contacts manually and assign them to a group (every account starts with a default My Customers group).
4. Send your first message
You have two options:
- Single message — under Messaging, pick your channel, choose a contact, and send directly.
- Unified campaign — under Campaign, select one or more channels (SMS/WhatsApp/Email), write your message (with a live WhatsApp preview), pick a recipient group, and either send now or schedule it.
Recipients are required
Every send form blocks submission until at least one recipient is selected — this is intentional, to prevent accidentally sending to nobody or losing a composed message.
5. Check delivery
After sending, open Reports to see delivery status per channel (total/success/pending/failed) and the overall delivery rate on your dashboard's KPI cards.
Next steps
- Dashboard Overview — a full tour of what's on the customer dashboard.
- Building an Automation Workflow — react to incoming messages automatically instead of sending one-off campaigns.
- API Reference — send messages from your own backend instead of the dashboard.