Writing DM message templates: tone, length and one clear call

The technical part of setting up automation takes an afternoon. The hard part is deciding what goes inside the flow. Most automations fail not because the logic is wrong but because the messages read like adverts.

The short answer: split every message into three parts — a short acknowledgement, one piece of information, one next step. Stay under three lines, use no more than two variables in a message, and turn button labels into actions. Instead of advertising language, ask how a person would have written that message.

The three-part skeleton

Almost every automation message fits this shape:

1. A short acknowledgement. Meet what the person did or asked in one sentence. “You're asking about your delivery — let me check.”
2. One piece of information. One subject per message. If you have two things to say, send two messages or leave one for the next step.
3. One next step. A question, a button or a link. A message pointing two ways goes unanswered.

The one place to step outside this skeleton is bad news: a cancellation, a delay, a refusal. Don't leave those to automation.

Length: the channel's real limits

There are two different limits here.

The technical limit. Instagram measures message length in bytes. Accented and non-Latin characters take 2 bytes and emoji take 4. So a 1,000-byte limit fills up far earlier than you would expect in a language like Turkish. WhatsApp counts characters and its limits are wider, but its button labels and list rows are short too.

The readability limit. This kicks in long before the technical one. A message longer than three lines looks like a wall on a phone and gets scrolled past. A practical target: a greeting at most two lines, an information message at most four.

Splitting a long message almost always works better. Two short messages get read more than one long one.

Tone

There is no single right answer, but there is one rule: pick one and use it everywhere. A shift in tone is the clearest sign that a message was copied and pasted.

A rough guide: brands selling to a younger audience on Instagram usually sound more natural being informal; corporate services, healthcare and finance are safer being formal. If you are unsure, read your own existing conversations — how do your customers write to you?

On emoji, the measure is: at most one per message, and only in greetings or confirmations. A message with an emoji in every sentence automatically reads as an advert. Remember too that on Instagram emoji eat extra room against the length limit.

Variables

Filling name, order number and date from variables both speeds things up and reduces mistakes. Two rules:

• Define the empty case. If you don't decide what to show when a name is missing, people receive “Hello ,”. Most tools let you set a default for a placeholder.
• Don't use more than two. Messages with three or more variables read as a form, and when one comes back empty the sentence falls apart.

Button labels

Buttons are the most measured part of a flow and the most neglected piece of writing. Three rules:

• Write an action, not a category. Not “Shipping” but “Track my order”. Not “Info” but “See the size guide”.
• Start with a verb. The first word is the one that gets read while scanning.
• Keep them short. Instagram and WhatsApp truncate button labels; stay under 20 characters.

And on the number of options: more than three makes the decision harder. If you have four or more, split them — a main category first, then a sub-option.

Patterns to avoid

• “We'll get back to you as soon as possible.” It says nothing. Write a range you can keep.
• “We prepared this specially for you.” Not believable in an automated message, and the reader knows it.
• All caps. It reads as shouting, and it is viewed unfavourably in WhatsApp template review.
• Strings of exclamation marks. Same reason.
• Fake urgency. Write “only 2 left”, have stock reappear the next day, and the trust does not come back.
• Three links in one message. One link, one next step.

An example, improved

Before:

Hello dear customer! 🎉🎉 Thank you so much for your interest in our brand!! To get detailed information about our products, see our price list, hear about our campaigns and place an order, you can click the link below. You can also visit our website and follow our Instagram page!

The problems: five separate calls, two emoji, two exclamation marks, boilerplate language, not one concrete piece of information.

After:

Hi! Here's our price list: [link] If you have a particular product in mind, send me its name and we'll check stock together.

Two lines, one piece of information, one next step — and a question that keeps the conversation going.

Three checks after writing

1. Read it out loud. If it is not a sentence you would say, change it.
2. Look at it on a phone. Try it in the simulator or on your own number; how many lines does it take?
3. Predict the reply. What would someone receiving this write back? If you cannot guess, the next step is not clear enough.

For starting points, the message templates page has 16 texts written to this skeleton.

Frequently asked questions

Should I say that a message is automated?

You do not have to write “this is a bot”, but don't mislead people either. The middle ground that works is being explicit about the handover point: “I'm passing this to a colleague — they'll write in a few minutes.” People don't mind automation; they mind not getting an answer.

Can I use the same text on Instagram and WhatsApp?

You can, but adapt the shape. Instagram suits shorter, freer text; WhatsApp suits more structure (menus, lists, buttons). The length limits also differ: Instagram counts bytes, so accented characters and emoji take extra room.

How often should I review my messages?

Every three months is enough, with two exceptions where you should do it immediately: when a campaign ends, and when a policy changes (return period, carrier, opening hours). The sneakiest risk in automation copy is a well-written message that has been sending outdated information for months.

Does it make sense to draft messages with AI?

It can speed up a first draft, but don't ship it as-is: generated text tends to be long, over-polite and brand-agnostic. The practical method is to take the draft, force it into the three-part skeleton, and read every sentence asking “would I say this?”

Can I leave bad-news messages to automation?

We would advise against it. For cancellations, delays, refusals and rejected returns, a boilerplate text makes the situation worse rather than better. Automation's right job at those points is to hand the conversation to a person quickly and tell the customer when to expect them.

In summary

Writing automation copy is closer to writing customer service than writing advertising. Keep it short, one subject, one call — and read it once as the recipient before you publish.

To see whether the wording actually works, look at automation funnel metrics, and run the checklist before you go live.