DM templates · Instagram and Facebook
DM templates for creators who can't answer everyone
Most of a creator's DMs fall into a few types: thank-yous, requests for advice, “where's the link?”, repost requests and brand messages. Below are 14 replies for them, written to sound like you, and a guide to which can run on their own. Meta's rules decide that part: tools can answer people who messaged you, commented or replied to your Story, but never message your followers out of the blue.
Updated 6 October 2026 · 14 templates
14 messages to copy
Tap a card to copy the message. Swap anything in braces, like {name}, for your own words before you send it.
Auto-reply that points to your FAQ Highlight
Hi, and thanks for writing! This reply is automatic: more DMs arrive each day than I can answer, though every one gets read. Questions about my kit, my editing app and my routine are answered in the FAQ Highlight on my profile.
Build the Highlight first, from the ten questions you get most. It sits on your profile, where people already are, and you update one place instead of fifty chats.
First DM when a Reel takes off
Hi! You commented {word}, so this message is automatic. That Reel got much busier than I expected, so sorry if this took a while to reach you. Still want the {thing}? Reply YES and I'll send it.
Swap this wording in once comments pile up. On a Reel with thousands of comments some replies arrive hours late, and an apology up front heads off “did you forget me?” comments.
The link, once they say yes
Here you go: {link} If you try it, tag me in your Story. I love seeing how it turns out, and I reshare my favourites.
A Story tag brings them back to your DMs as a mention, which you can answer with a quick thank-you. Only promise to reshare if you really do.
A fan says a video helped them
{name}, thank you for taking the time to tell me. Messages like this are why I keep posting, and I'm really glad it helped. Is there anything you're stuck on that I could cover next?
Answer these yourself, even days later. A reply you type in the Instagram app isn't bound by the 24-hour limit that applies to automated messages.
Asked for one-to-one advice
I wish I could answer this properly, but I can't give one-to-one advice in DMs: there are too many, and you'd only get a rushed reply. The closest thing I've made is this: {link} If it doesn't cover your question, send it again and it might become a video.
Keep it as an Instagram saved reply and change the link to fit. For health, legal or money questions, point people to a qualified professional instead.
“Can you make a video about…?”
Ooh, good one. I keep a list of video ideas from DMs and I've added yours. So I get it right: what exactly are you stuck on with {topic}?
Their answer is research you can't buy. The words people use to describe a problem often make the best opening line for the video that solves it.
A viewer spots a mistake
You're right, I got that wrong, and thank you for catching it. I'm adding a correction to the caption and pinning a comment about it. Is it OK if I mention your handle?
A quick public correction wins back more trust than the mistake cost. Ask before naming them, since not everyone wants the attention.
Turning down a shoutout request
Thanks for asking, and good luck with the new account. I don't do shoutouts, paid or unpaid, because I only share things I've used myself. Keep posting, though: everyone's first few months are slow.
One kind no with a reason is enough. A paid shoutout would be an advert and need labelling as one, so a single rule for both keeps it simple.
Asked for a follow back
Thanks so much for following! I don't follow back, purely because I'd never keep up with my feed, but I read the comments. Say hi under the next post and I'll see it there.
Pointing them to the comments turns a request you'll refuse into a reason to come back. Only say you read the comments if you do.
Yes to a repost, with conditions
Thanks for asking first, I really appreciate it. Yes, you can repost it, as long as @{handle} is credited in the first line of the caption and the video isn't cropped or re-edited. Using it in an ad is a separate conversation, so ask me before that.
Put the conditions in the same message as the yes. If the repost doesn't match them, you can point back to the chat where they agreed.
Your video was reposted without credit
Hi, the {topic} video you posted on {date} is one of mine; the original is on my profile. You're welcome to keep it up if you add “🎥 @{handle}” to the start of the caption by {time}. If not, please take it down. Thanks.
Sent by hand to an account that may not follow you, it can land in their message requests. If it's ignored, Instagram has a form for reporting copyright infringement.
A brand message that just says “collab?”
Hi, thanks for reaching out. Is this a paid campaign, a gifted product or an affiliate deal, and what would you like made? Send the details to {email} and I'll get back to you within {time}.
Paid, gifted and affiliate are three different offers. Knowing which one you're dealing with tells you whether the brief is worth reading. Rates come later.
Drawing a line with a personal DM
Thank you for the kind words. I keep my DMs for questions about my videos, so I'll leave this one here. Take care.
You don't owe a reply to messages that make you uncomfortable. If they keep coming, Restrict or block the account, and add words to Hidden Words so similar requests are filtered out.
When someone shares something heavy
Thank you for trusting me with this. I can't give you the support you deserve through DMs, but please talk to someone you trust today, or contact a local helpline. If you're in danger right now, call your local emergency number.
Never automate this one, and don't offer advice you're not qualified to give. Keep it short, kind and pointed towards real help.
Set it up in DMFast
Comment RECIPE under a cooking Reel
Someone comments on your post
RECIPEPublic reply under their comment
Sent! If you don't follow me, it's waiting in your message requests 🍲First DM (plain text)
Hi! This message is automatic because you commented RECIPE. I've written the whole thing out, with quantities, timings and ingredient swaps. Would you like it? Reply YES and I'll send it straight over.Yes pleaseThe full recipe, with quantitiesGet the recipeQuantities and oven times rarely fit on screen, so the comments fill up with people asking for them. The first DM can only be plain text, so it promises exactly what the video left out and asks for a yes. Swap the word for PRESET, PLAN or ROUTE and the same set-up works in other niches.
Pick a post
Connect your Instagram account or Facebook Page, then choose the post or Reel it runs on, or every post.
Set the word: RECIPE
Anyone who comments RECIPE gets a reply under their comment and a DM. Capitals don't matter.
Paste the message
Add the public reply and the first DM shown here. Once they answer, your link follows as a card.
Free plan, no card. Instagram professional accounts and Facebook Pages.
Rules to know
- A comment can get one private reply, sent within 7 days of the comment. Nothing more can follow until the person responds, and then only within 24 hours of their response.
- Instagram allows at most 750 private replies to comments per hour on each account. DMFast stays under 700 and works through the rest in turn, so on a viral Reel some replies arrive hours later.
- Comments left during an Instagram Live can only get a private reply while the broadcast is running. Once it ends, they can't be answered privately.
- Automated messages must go out within 24 hours of the person's last message. Replies you type yourself in the Instagram app aren't bound by that window.
- Where the law requires it, Meta's policy says automated chats must tell people they're talking to an automated service, and Meta recommends saying so even where it isn't required.
- Official tools can only answer people who messaged you, commented, or replied to or mentioned you in a Story. None can DM all your followers when you post something new.
Sources
Which creator DMs to automate, and which to answer yourself
A message can run on its own when everyone who sends it should get the same answer. Anything personal, or anything where you're agreeing to something, needs you. This is how a typical creator inbox splits.
| Message | Who answers | Why |
|---|---|---|
| “Where's the recipe, preset or link?” | Automation, from a comment word | Everyone gets the same answer, and it can arrive in seconds |
| “Can you make a video on…?” | You, when you have time | Their wording is free research for your next post |
| “This video helped me” | You | An automatic thank-you to a personal story reads as cold |
| Requests for advice | You, starting from a saved reply | The boundary is the same each time; the person isn't |
| Repost and credit requests | You | You're granting or refusing permission, so read exactly what they want |
| Brand messages | An auto-reply that routes them to email, then you | Every brief is different, and a deal needs a written trail |
| Rude or creepy messages | Nobody | Restrict, block or filter them; a reply only invites more |
Tip: Instagram's saved replies let you store a template under a shortcut word. Type the shortcut in a chat, tap the saved text, adjust a detail or two and send. Pick shortcuts you'd never type in a normal message.
When a Reel takes off
A comment-to-DM set-up meets its real test the day a Reel spreads far beyond your followers. Instagram caps private replies at 750 an hour per account and DMFast keeps under 700, so the replies queue. At that pace, 5,000 comments take at least seven hours to answer and 20,000 take more than a day. A comment stays answerable for 7 days, which is far longer than queues like these take to clear.
- Pin a comment saying DMs may take a few hours today. It saves you a wave of “still waiting” replies.
- Leave the keyword alone. Changing it halfway splits the comments between two words, and anyone still typing the old one hears nothing.
- Expect the same fans to comment twice. DMFast answers each person once a day per auto-reply, so five RECIPE comments from one fan in a day get one DM, and comments that are only links or promo spam are skipped.
- Check that the page behind the link loads quickly on a phone. Thousands of people may open it within a day or two.
- Plan for a long tail. Reels can pick up comments for months, so when a freebie or an offer ends, update the link or switch the automation off.
Tip: Asking for a comment word during a Live is a gamble: once the broadcast ends, comments that haven't been answered can't get a private reply. Put the word on a Reel instead.
Keeping a creator inbox under control
Templates only help if you can find the messages worth answering. Instagram gives professional accounts a few tools for that, and none of them needs an app.
- Primary and General. Keep Primary for collaborators, friends and anything urgent, and move chats you'll deal with later to General.
- Requests. Messages from people you don't follow land here first. Check it every week, because brands and press usually start there.
- Hidden Words. Message requests containing offensive words, phrases or emojis go to a separate hidden folder, and you can add words of your own.
- Restrict. A restricted account's messages move to your requests, and its new comments on your posts are visible only to that person unless you approve them.
- A fixed time. Two hours a week set aside for hand replies beats answering in fragments all day, and your auto-reply can say which days those are.
If a manager or assistant answers for you, ask them to sign with their own first name. Most fans are fine with a team; what upsets people is finding out later that “you” weren't you.
Mistakes that cost creators replies
- Picking a word that's already in every comment. If your sign-off is “iconic”, ICONIC can't be the trigger, or every fan gets a DM they never asked for.
- Writing the first DM like a sales page. It has one job, getting a reply, and two lines with a question do that better than a paragraph about the product.
- Letting a catch-all auto-reply meet heartfelt messages with a link. If it answers every DM, word it so it doesn't sound cold next to a personal story.
- Forgetting Facebook. If you cross-post Reels to a Facebook Page, the comments there are separate, so set the word up for the Page too or those commenters get silence.
- Hiding the comment word. Show it on screen, in the first line of the caption and in a pinned comment, spelled exactly as it has to be typed.
- Judging a freebie Reel by comments alone. What matters is how many people answered the first DM and opened the link, and a tracked link shows the second number.
Questions people ask
Can a creator account use DM automation?
Yes. Creator accounts are professional accounts, so they can use Meta's messaging API and the tools built on it, DMFast included. Personal accounts can't. Switching a personal account to a creator account is free in Instagram's settings, and you can switch back later.
Is it rude to send fans an automatic reply?
Not if it's honest and useful. Say it's automatic, point to where the answers are, and reply to personal messages yourself when you can. What feels rude is an auto-reply pretending to be you, or one that meets a heartfelt message with a sales link.
How many commenters can get a DM if my Reel goes viral?
All of them, given time. The hourly cap on private replies only slows things down, because each comment can be answered for up to 7 days. DMFast also sends each person one DM a day per auto-reply, however often they comment, so the queue is shorter than the comment count suggests.
Do these templates work for creators on Facebook?
The wording does. If you post as a Facebook Page, DMFast can answer comments with a Messenger message and reply to DM keywords, under the same 24-hour rule. Story replies and the follower check are Instagram-only, and DMFast connects to Pages rather than personal profiles.
Can my manager answer my DMs without my password?
Yes. If your Instagram account is connected to Meta Business Suite, you can give them access there, limited to the tasks they need, such as answering messages. Ask them to sign replies with their own first name so fans know who they're talking to.
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