DM templates · Instagram

Confirm Instagram giveaway entries by DM

A giveaway entry DM tells each entrant, privately, that their entry counts and what happens next. On Instagram it starts when someone comments your entry word: the first message asks them to reply, and only after they do can you check the follow, share the rules and confirm the entry. These 13 messages run from the first entry to the winner's prize.

Updated 6 October 2026 · 13 templates

13 messages to copy

Tap a card to copy the message. Swap anything in braces, like {name}, for your own words before you send it.

  • Public reply to an entry comment

    Almost there 🍀 Check your DMs to finish entering.

    Save “you're in” for the DM. If entry needs a follow, a public “you're in” could reach someone who never completes it.

  • First DM: confirm the entry

    Hi! You commented ENTER on our giveaway post, so this automatic message is here to confirm it. Reply YES and I'll check your entry is complete.

    Short and plain on purpose: it's a private reply, so no link or button can go with it, and the giveaway rules wait for the next message.

  • Follow prompt

    Nearly done! Entries are for followers, and I can't see a follow from you yet. Follow us, then tap the button below so I can check again.

    DMFast sends this with an “I followed ✅” button, and each tap checks again. Typing “done” works too.

  • “I followed but it still says no”

    Sorry for the hassle! Two things often cause this: following from a different account than the one that commented, or following a lookalike account by mistake. Could you check both and try again?

    Copycat accounts with near-identical names pop up around giveaways, so it's worth checking which one they followed.

  • Entry confirmed, with the rules

    You're entered 🎉 We'll draw the winner on {time} and share the result in our Stories. The full rules, including who can enter, are here: {link}

    Official rules are your job under Instagram's promotion guidelines. Sending them with every confirmation puts them in front of each entrant.

  • Extra entry for mentioning a friend

    Your entry is in! Want a second one? Mention a friend who'd love the prize in a new comment on the post. One friend per comment, please, and only people who'd really want to hear about it.

    Mentioning friends in comments is common. What Instagram's guidelines rule out is inaccurate tagging, such as asking people to tag themselves in a photo they aren't in.

  • Already entered

    Good news: you're already in! It's one entry per person, so extra comments don't add chances, but they won't count against you either.

    DMFast answers each person once a day per auto-reply, so a second ENTER the same day gets no new DM. Keep this for people who ask.

  • Not eligible

    Thank you so much for entering! This one is only open to people living in the countries listed in the rules, so we can't count your entry this time. We'd love to see you in the next one.

    Put eligibility, such as age and country, in the rules from day one. A kind word now beats disqualifying someone after the draw.

  • Answer to “when's the draw?”

    Entries close on {time}. We'll pick the winner at random from everyone who completed their entry, and post the result in our Stories that day.

    Set it up as a DM keyword such as DRAW, so you're not typing the same answer fifty times in the last hour.

  • Entries closed

    Thanks for commenting! This giveaway has closed, so this comment can't count, but stick around for the next one. The winner will be in our Stories on {time}.

    Switch your entry DM to this one the moment entries close, or turn the auto-reply off. A confirmation sent after the deadline is a promise you can't keep.

  • Message to the winner

    Hi {name}, congratulations, you've won our giveaway! 🎉 To send your prize, please reply by {time} with your full name and delivery address. We'll never ask you to pay anything or share a password.

    Send it by hand from the Instagram app. Automated tools can only message someone within 24 hours of their last message, and the winner's entry is usually older.

  • Reply to “did I win?”

    Not this time, I'm afraid. The winner is in our Stories and we've let them know. Thanks so much for entering, and keep an eye out for the next giveaway.

    They wrote to you, so this reply is inside the 24-hour window and can be automatic. A small thank-you, like a discount code, softens the news.

  • Warning about fake winner messages

    Heads-up: accounts copying our name are messaging people to say they've won. We only contact winners from this account, and we'll never ask for money, card details or a login.

    Post it as a Story too when the giveaway ends. People believe a warning that comes from your real account.

Set it up in DMFast

Comment ENTER, confirm entries for followers

Someone comments on your post

ENTER

Public reply under their comment

Your next step is in your DMs 🍀

First DM (plain text)

Thanks for entering our giveaway! This message is automatic. To lock in your entry, reply YES and I'll make sure everything's in place.Yes pleaseYou're entered: the giveaway rulesRead the rules

Their YES opens the chat, and DMFast then checks whether they follow you. Followers get the rules card straight away. Everyone else gets a follow prompt with a button that checks again, so only complete entries are confirmed.

  1. Pick a post

    Connect your Instagram account, then choose the post or Reel it runs on, or every post.

  2. Set the word: ENTER

    Anyone who comments ENTER gets a reply under their comment and a DM. Capitals don't matter.

  3. Paste the message

    Add the public reply and the first DM shown here. Once they answer, your link follows as a card.

Set it up free

Free plan, no card. Instagram professional accounts and Facebook Pages.

Rules to know

  1. Instagram's promotion guidelines make you responsible for the lawful operation of a giveaway, including the official rules, eligibility terms such as age and residency restrictions, and the rules and regulations that apply to the promotion and its prizes.
  2. Each giveaway must include a complete release of Instagram by every entrant and an acknowledgement that Instagram doesn't sponsor, endorse or administer it. Instagram says it won't help you run the promotion, and you use its service at your own risk.
  3. You can't tag content inaccurately or encourage entrants to, for example by asking people to tag themselves in a photo they're not in.
  4. An entry comment can get one private reply within 7 days. The follow check and the rules can only come after the entrant answers, within 24 hours of that answer.
  5. Comments made during a Live can only get a private reply while the broadcast is running, so DM-based entries work best on a post or Reel.
  6. Messages sent through Meta's API, the route every automation tool uses, must go out within 24 hours of the person's last message.

Sources

How a DM entry flow runs

  1. The giveaway post names the prize, the closing date and the word: “Comment ENTER to take part.”
  2. Each ENTER comment gets a short public reply and a plain-text DM asking the entrant to confirm.
  3. When they reply, DMFast checks whether they follow you. This is “Only send to followers”, on Instagram only, from the Pro plan up.
  4. Anyone not following yet gets your follow prompt with an “I followed ✅” button, and each tap checks again.
  5. Once the check passes, the confirmation arrives as a card linking to your rules.
  6. If someone stalls at the follow step, one reminder can go out later, as long as they last wrote to you less than 24 hours earlier.

Tip: Attach the auto-reply to the giveaway post only. Someone typing ENTER under a different post months later shouldn't be told they're in a giveaway that has ended.

What the rules page should cover

The rules settle most arguments before they start. Keep them on one page you can link from your bio, the caption and every confirmation.

  • How to enter: the word to comment, the follow requirement, any extra entries.
  • Who can enter: the minimum age and the countries or regions included.
  • When it opens and closes, with the date, time and time zone.
  • The prize, what it's worth and whether it can be swapped for cash.
  • How and when the winner is picked, where they're announced and how long they have to reply.
  • A complete release of Instagram by each entrant, and a line saying Instagram doesn't sponsor, endorse or administer the giveaway.

Prize promotions are regulated differently from country to country, so check what applies where your entrants live before you post.

Picking and contacting the winner

Draw only from complete entries: people who commented the word and, if your rules require it, follow you. Write down when you drew and how, in case anyone asks later.

Announce the winner from your own account in a Story or post, then message them by hand from the Instagram app. An automation can't reach them unless they wrote to you in the last 24 hours. If they don't follow you, your message waits in their requests, so tag them in the announcement and tell them to look there.

Tip: Give the winner a deadline to reply, such as 48 hours, and say in the rules what happens if they miss it. Then one unanswered message can't hold up the prize for weeks.

Mistakes that sink a giveaway

  • Using an entry word people type anyway, like LOVE or WOW, so compliments get confirmed as entries.
  • Saying “you're in” in the public reply, before the follow check has run.
  • Rewarding mass tagging. One friend per comment is plenty, and asking people to tag themselves in a photo they're not in breaks Instagram's guidelines.
  • Leaving the entry auto-reply on after the deadline, so late comments still hear “you're entered”.
  • Announcing the winner only by DM. Without a public post or Story, entrants can't tell your message from a fake one.

Questions people ask

Can DMFast check that entrants follow me?

Yes, on Instagram. Turn on “Only send to followers”, available from the Pro plan, and the check runs after the entrant replies to the first DM. Facebook doesn't share who follows a Page, so the check isn't available for Facebook giveaways.

Is “follow to enter” allowed on Instagram?

Plenty of giveaways require a follow, and Instagram's promotion guidelines page doesn't mention follow requirements. What it covers is official rules, eligibility, the release of Instagram and honest tagging. State the follow requirement in your rules so entrants know before they comment.

Can I DM every entrant when the giveaway ends?

Not automatically. Through Meta's API, a business can only message people within 24 hours of their last message, so most of last week's entrants are out of reach. Announce the result publicly, DM the winner by hand and answer anyone who writes to ask.

What if the winner never replies?

Do what your rules say. If they give the winner 48 hours, wait that long, then pick the runner-up and say so publicly. Before the deadline, remind them in your announcement Story to check their message requests, where a DM from an account they don't follow ends up.

How can entrants spot a fake account?

Copycats tend to have a near-identical username with an extra letter, dot or underscore, few posts and a recent join date, and they ask for a fee or card details to “release” the prize. Report them to Instagram as impersonation and warn your followers in a Story.

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