DMs Should Be a Key Part of Your Business Strategy — Here’s How I Structure Mine

Direct messages have been at the core of my business for years.

Feb 26, 2024

Hi there! 👋 My name’s David - I’m a writer and solopreneur from Northern Ireland. In this publication, you’ll find a growing archive of resources (created by myself and a collection of valued guests) for those hoping to become - or grow as - solopreneurs. While you’re here, you should also check out:

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Thanks for stopping by! Now, back to the article.

“Hey bro, how’s it going?”

Uh-oh.

“I noticed you’re trying to build your following.”

Here we go.

“I’ve made something that’ll help with that. Can I send it to you?”

Delete.

How many people have “slid into your DMs” this year?

Dozens? Hundreds?

It happens to me almost every day. And most of the time, I ignore them completely.

Why? Do I dislike direct messages? Am I just an old misery-guts?

No (and sometimes). DMs are just a part of business for many people these days, myself included. In fact, a huge chunk of my income rests on a foundation of direct, private contact with fellow business owners.

I respond to DMs when they’re done right. I ignore them when they aren’t. Nothing personal — other folks do the same to me every day.

But what makes a good direct message? What’s likely to grab my attention and prompt me to respond?

Photo by Guilherme Stecanella on Unsplash

Here’s the simple checklist I apply to my own DMs (and use as a litmus test for the ones I receive):

1. Personalisation

In all cases, a good direct message has to include at least some personalisation. “Hey bro” isn’t going to cut it, unless I’ve interacted with that person before and that sort of familiarity is appropriate.

Start with the person’s name (because they are a person, after all) and shoot for the zone between professional and casual with your salutation (ie. more “Hello” and less “Yo!”).

2. Conversation warmer

There’s probably a better way to phrase that, but hopefully you’ll catch my drift. After the greeting comes a warm-up statement or question to ease your respondent into the conversation.

It could be something as simple as “Hope you’re doing well” or “How’re things?”, or even “I appreciate your time”. You’ll know best — try to write like you talk in this section to avoid jarring the reader with what comes next.

3. Cut to the chase

Don’t drag it out. Tell the recipient exactly why you’re messaging them. Keep it clear, concise, and don’t beat around the bush.

They’ll want to know why you’re reaching out and you’ll only have a couple of seconds to explain before they move on. A single short sentence is easier to digest than a paragraph of information.

4. Link when appropriate

Only include links in your DMs when necessary — some people are rightly suspicious of them, and if you don’t state exactly what it’s for, they may delete your entire message without reading it properly.

I send new social media followers a link to my newsletter in a thank-you message, but that’s it. Too much, and you’ll drive potential contacts away before the conversation’s even started.

5. CTA

Round your DM off with a simple, unimposing call-to-action. If you’ve invited the recipient to check out your newsletter, say something like “See you there?”, and then thank them for their time. Leave it at that.

The CTA should feel completely optional and not necessarily require a response. If it feels like an obligation, it’ll quickly put the reader off, and that’ll be the end of that.

Easy does it

Direct messages are a fantastic — and horribly underused — strategy in business.

Too often, we let our personal experience receiving bad DMs inform our decisions around sending our own. I held off sending DMs for a long time because I was afraid of annoying or offending people (which a badly-worded message can certainly do), but the truth is, most people won’t overly care either way.

I’ve sent thousands of DMs over the last 3+ years building my business and the following stats have always been true for me:

80% of your DMs will be ignored
19% will receive a response (usually positive)
1% will provoke a negative reaction

So if you send 100 properly-constructed direct messages, you’ll likely only have 1 annoyed recipient. It’s a fairly low-risk approach, despite what many people believe.

But always remember:

You must have something of value to offer. Don’t waste anyone’s time by starting a conversation with no end goal.
If the potential recipient clearly states “No DMs” on their profile, respect their privacy and leave them alone.
In most cases, don’t follow-up if there’s no response — they aren’t interested. But if it’s someone you really want to connect with and you can offer them value in return for their time, wait at least a couple of weeks before approaching them again. And if there’s still no response, draw a line under it.
Always be kind and polite.
Never be pushy or start off by telling the recipient they’re doing a bad job (believe it or not, some people think this actually works as a strategy).
If you receive a rude response, just ignore it and move on. Unfortunately, that’s just how some people are and there’s nothing you or I can do to help them.

Slide away

DMs are the backbone of my business (or part of it, at least) and I always advocate using them, as long as they’re handled properly.

And as with everything, practice makes perfect. You’ll never become adept at DMing people unless you start DMing people, so slide into some conversations and test your approach.

Start experimenting with it today and see where it leads.

What’s been your experience of sending and receiving direct messages?