Guide: Send a DM when someone comments
This page: https://commentwatchdog.com/help/keyword-automations/send-a-dm-when-someone-comments
Topic: Automation
Time: about 5 minutes
Who can do it: Owner, Administrator or Manager
Author: https://anantgupta.xyz (Anant Gupta, founder of CommentWatchDog)
Start in the app: https://app.commentwatchdog.com/en/inbox
Result when done: Someone comments a keyword on your post or ad and gets your link by private message, with the follow ask, the email ask and the public line if you want them.
Context: The recipe behind "comment CATALOGUE and I'll send it": a comment on a post or ad that matches goes private. Meta allows exactly one private reply per comment, so everything in this editor is built around that one message: what it says, whether a follow comes first, whether an email or phone number is asked for afterwards, and whether a short public line goes under the comment once the message is delivered.

Before you start:
1. Starter and above (Lite replies in public only).
2. On Instagram, a private reply to someone who does not follow you lands in their Requests folder.
3. A comment gets one private reply; the second message (the email ask) goes out only after they tap or reply.

Steps:
Step 1 of 5: Choose where it listens.
Where: Step 1, Where: Any post or ad, or Specific posts. Specific posts opens the grid of your posts, and its first tile is Your next post; a post that is not there yet can be pasted as a link. Under it, Ads and posts, Ads only or Posts only.
Screenshot: https://commentwatchdog.com/media/shots/automation-editor-picker.en.webp (Specific posts: the grid, and the link finder under it.)
Screenshot: https://commentwatchdog.com/media/shots/automation-editor-picker-phone.en.webp (The grid on a phone.)
You should see: The step's summary says what you chose; a picked post shows its tile.

Step 2 of 5: Say which comments match.
Where: Step 2, Which comments: Contains a keyword, Exactly these words, or Any comment. Add each keyword with Enter; paste a comma-separated list to add many. Your moderation rules run first, always: a comment they hide never triggers it, and people you restricted never get the message.
Screenshot: https://commentwatchdog.com/media/shots/automation-editor-comment-dm.en.webp (Keywords as chips.)
Screenshot: https://commentwatchdog.com/media/shots/automation-editor-comment-dm-phone.en.webp (The same on a phone.)
You should see: The keywords appear as chips.

Step 3 of 5: Write the message they get.
Where: Step 3, The message they get: the text, up to five variations (one is picked at random), link buttons, and an image above it. On Instagram a message with buttons goes out as a card of 80 + 80 characters; the counter turns amber at 90% and red past the limit. Under the buttons, Add another message adds up to five more: a text, an image or video, a PDF, or a card with buttons. Each lands as its own message.
Screenshot: https://commentwatchdog.com/media/shots/automation-editor-comment-dm-message.en.webp (The message, its variations and the link button.)
Screenshot: https://commentwatchdog.com/media/shots/automation-editor-comment-dm-phone-message.en.webp (The same on a phone.)
You should see: The phone on the right plays it: the comment, the private reply, and each scene you switch on.

Step 4 of 5: Open Advanced settings for the follow ask, the email ask and the public line.
Where: Ask them to follow first (Instagram only): the link goes out after they tap "I'm following" and Instagram confirms it. Ask for their email after: a yes-or-no offer, then the ask, saved on the person and in exports. Also reply under the comment: a short public line, posted only once the message is delivered. Hide their comment after replying, Only once per person, Notify me, Wait before replying.
Screenshot: https://commentwatchdog.com/media/shots/automation-editor-comment-dm-options.en.webp (Advanced settings: follow first, the email ask, the public line, once, notify, wait.)
Screenshot: https://commentwatchdog.com/media/shots/automation-editor-comment-dm-phone-options.en.webp (The same on a phone.)
You should see: Each block switched on adds a scene to the phone; switch it off and the scene goes.

Step 5 of 5: Save. It is live from the next comment.
Where: Save at the top right, or ⌘S. A new automation is live when saved unless you turn the switch off first. The header shows what it did since it started.
Screenshot: https://commentwatchdog.com/media/shots/automation-editor-comment-dm.en.webp (Save, and the live switch beside it.)
Screenshot: https://commentwatchdog.com/media/shots/automation-editor-comment-dm-phone.en.webp (The same on a phone.)
You should see: The toast says Saved, live on your page; the list shows the row.

If something is off:
Problem: People say they never got it
Fix: On Instagram a non-follower gets it in Requests, and Instagram does not report whether it was seen. Switch on Ask them to follow first if you want the link to wait for a follow.
Problem: The public line was refused on an ad
Fix: Meta refuses some public replies on ad comments. The message still went; the row says Needs attention and the runs name each one.
Problem: Someone commented twice and got it once
Fix: Only once per person is on by default. Switch it off in Advanced settings if a second comment should get it again.
Problem: The email offer never went
Fix: It is a second message, so it can only go after they tap or reply. If they never do, it is never sent.
Problem: Someone seemed stuck on the email ask
Fix: They cannot be. A reply that is not an answer gets your usual replies (keyword automations, the agent); if one of those answers, the offer closes; two replies that answer nothing drop it; a no ends it; and Give up after (6 hours by default, under More settings in the block) drops it after silence. The ask is repeated at most once, and never over an answer.

Common questions:
Question: Can it answer when someone shares the post by DM instead of commenting?
Answer: Yes. Under Advanced settings, "Also when they share the post by DM": someone who sends the post to you in a message gets the same message, no comment needed. A share opens the reply window like any message. With specific posts, only a share of one of them counts. Instagram only.
Question: Can it send more than one message: a PDF, a picture, a card?
Answer: Yes. Under the first message, Add another message: a text, an image or video (up to 25 MB), a PDF (up to 25 MB) or a card with buttons, up to five, in the order you set. Meta allows one private reply on a comment, so the first message carries a chip (Send it, or your own word) and the rest goes the moment they tap it or reply. With the follow ask on, the rest follows the link after they confirm.
Question: Can the message have buttons?
Answer: Yes, link buttons. On Instagram the message then goes as a card: 80 characters plus an 80-character subtitle. On Messenger, a button card of up to 640 characters.
Question: Does it work on ads?
Answer: Yes. Any post or ad, Ads only, or a specific ad. An ad that has not had a comment yet can be found by pasting its link.
Question: Can it send to people who commented before I made it?
Answer: From the editor menu, Send to recent commenters offers the people who commented on the chosen posts in the last 7 days and have not had it; each gets it once.
Question: What does the follow ask look like?
Answer: A private reply with the ask, a button to your profile and a tap "I'm following". The link goes out after the tap when Instagram confirms they follow.

Related guides:
- Reply under comments automatically: https://commentwatchdog.com/help/keyword-automations/reply-under-comments-automatically
- What Meta allows: https://commentwatchdog.com/help/keyword-automations/what-meta-allows
- People and exports: https://commentwatchdog.com/help/keyword-automations/people-and-exports

Plain text of this guide: https://commentwatchdog.com/help/keyword-automations/send-a-dm-when-someone-comments.md
All guides for assistants: https://commentwatchdog.com/help/llms.txt