DM templates: first reply, follow-up, booking the call, and after

Allen drafts a DM for everyone who replies to your comments. You will find it on their card in Pipeline, written in your voice, picking up the thread. These templates are the shapes behind the good ones, so you can write your own, or tell at a glance whether a draft is right.

The three rules every template follows

1. Refer to the thread. The reason this message is not cold is the comment they replied to. Say so in the first line.
2. Give before you ask. A checklist, a two-paragraph write-up, a name, an introduction. Something they would want even if they never buy.
3. Make the no easy. "If useful" and "no pitch" are not weakness; they are why people reply.

Replace everything in [brackets]. Keep each message under 80 words. Send the same day the reply comes in.

1. First message after they reply to your comment

"Thanks for the reply on [the post topic]. Your point about [their point] is the one most people miss. Not pitching anything: if a short write-up of [the thing you mentioned] would be useful, say the word and I will send it."

2. Connection note, after two weeks of comments

"We have crossed paths a few times under [author or topic] posts, and your take on [their point] stuck with me. Adding you here so I stop losing the threads."

LinkedIn limits connection notes, so this one has to be short. Allen cannot send it for you; copy it into the request.

3. They said thanks and nothing else

"No reply needed, but one thing from your post I keep thinking about: [one specific observation]. If you ever want to compare notes on [topic], I am around."

Then leave it. Allen keeps commenting on their posts; the next reply comes on its own.

4. No answer after a week

"Sending the [checklist or write-up] I mentioned, since I said I would. [Link or two lines of it.] No need to reply."

Deliver the promise whether or not they answered. It is the single best follow-up there is.

5. They asked what you do

"Fair question. I [one plain sentence about what you do and for whom]. Most of my work with [their role] starts with [the problem from the thread]. Happy to say more if it is relevant; if not, the [write-up] still stands."

6. Booking the call

"If it would help to talk it through, I keep [day] afternoons open for twenty-minute calls like this. Here is the link: [link]. If a different time works better, say so."

Only after they have asked what you do, or raised the problem twice. Never in the first message.

7. After the call

"Good to talk today. Three things I heard: [one], [two], [three]. The next step on my side is [what you will do by when]. If I got any of that wrong, tell me."

8. Re-engaging someone who went quiet

"Saw your post on [new topic] and it reminded me of our thread about [old topic]. No agenda; curious whether [the thing they were deciding] went the way you expected."

Judging Allen's draft

Open the draft in Pipeline and check: does it mention the thread, does it give something, is the no easy, is it under 80 words. If yes, send it. If not, edit one line; Allen learns from the edit.

Templates by industry

The setup guide for your industry ends with a first DM written for your buyer. See Setup guides by industry.