How to Reply to a Brand Collab DM: 10 Templates for Every Offer

Your first reply to a brand DM does more than answer a question. It sets the price anchor, the professionalism bar and who controls the conversation. Most creators improvise it, and improvised replies tend to undersell: too eager, too vague or too fast to agree. Here are ten templates for the offers that actually land in a creator's inbox, plus the checks to run before you send any of them.

Before you reply: three quick checks

1. Is it real? Fake brand deals are common, and the most convincing ones are written to look exactly like a genuine offer. Read our guide to Instagram DM scams that target creators first if anything feels off.
2. Are you still inside the window? Instagram only lets tools send a DM within 24 hours of the person's last message. Reply inside that window, or you may not be able to reply at all through your inbox tool. More in our explainer on the 24-hour messaging window.
3. Do you have your materials ready? A media kit and a rate card mean the second message can be "here they are" instead of a week of back-and-forth. See how to build a media kit and a rate card.

10 brand DM reply templates

Swap the [brackets] for your details, and keep the tone yours.

1. A paid offer with the details stated

Hi [name], thanks for reaching out and for the details. This sounds like a good fit for my audience. To confirm, you're proposing [deliverables] for [budget], live by [date]. Could you send the brief, usage terms and payment terms? Happy to confirm quickly once I've seen them.

2. An offer with no budget mentioned

Hi [name], thanks for thinking of me! I'd love to learn more. Could you share the budget, the deliverables you have in mind, the timeline and any usage or exclusivity requirements? Once I have those I can confirm whether it works and send a quote.

3. Gifted product only

Thank you for the offer, [product] looks great. I work with brands on paid partnerships, so a gifted-only collaboration isn't something I can take on. If there's budget for [deliverable], I'd be glad to talk. My media kit and rates are here: [link].

4. Affiliate or commission only

Thanks for reaching out! I do take on affiliate partnerships when they're a strong fit. Could you share the commission rate, tracking window and payout schedule, and whether there's a fixed fee on top? I'd also want to try the product first.

5. A budget below your rate

Thanks for the offer. For [deliverables] my rate is [amount], as in my rate card: [link]. If the budget is fixed at [their number], I can do [smaller scope] instead. Let me know which works better for you.

6. Usage rights, whitelisting or exclusivity

Happy to. Usage beyond organic posting (paid ads, whitelisting, or reposting on your channels) and category exclusivity are priced separately. Here's how I structure that: [terms]. Which of these do you need, and for how long?

7. A tight deadline

Thanks for the quick-turnaround request. I can make [date] work with a rush fee of [amount], because it means moving other work. If you have flexibility until [later date], the standard rate applies.

8. Not the right fit

Thank you for thinking of me! This one isn't the right fit for my audience right now, so I'm going to pass. I'd love to hear about future campaigns that suit [my niche].

9. Following up after silence

Hi [name], just following up on [campaign] in case my last message got buried. I'm still interested if the timeline works. Happy to jump on a quick call if that's easier.

10. "Can you send your rates?"

Thanks for asking! My media kit, with audience stats and current rates, is here: [link]. Tell me a bit about the campaign and I'll confirm what would fit.

Rules that protect you in every reply

• Move paid work out of DMs. Use the DM to qualify the offer, then get scope, dates, usage rights and payment terms in an email or a contract. Our list of contract red flags shows what to look for.
• Never pay to get paid. Upfront "processing", "insurance" or product fees are a scam signal, not a deal term.
• Quote from your rate card, not from the mood you're in. If you need a starting point, read how much to charge for a sponsored post.
• Ask for the brief before agreeing to deliverables. "Sounds good" in a DM can be read as a yes.

How IG Suite's Inbox helps

The Money Inbox sorts every DM that isn't already part of an Auto-DM flow into four lanes: Money, Needs a reply, Handled for you, and Spam & pitches. Brand inquiries land in Money with the offer already pulled out: who's writing, the budget they stated, the deliverables they asked for and the deadline they gave. Anything they didn't say shows as "Not stated" instead of a guess, and a parsed budget always shows the words it came from, so you can check it at a glance.

• Optional minimum budget. Set a floor and inquiries that name a number below it move out of Money. Leave it empty at first: most real brands open without naming a figure, and those always stay in Money.
• Auto-replies (Max). Once per person, the first time they write, the brand-deal reply can send your media kit, so a brand sees your audience and rates within seconds. If your media kit isn't published, that line is dropped rather than sending a dead link.
• Reply from the inbox, then mark the conversation Won or Lost so your pipeline number stays honest.

For the bigger picture, see how to stop losing brand deals in your DMs. knit.bio's IG Suite sorts your DMs on every plan. See how it works, read the Inbox docs, or start free.