Best Instagram DM Templates for Cold Outreach (2025)

How to Use These Templates

The templates below are starting points, not scripts to copy verbatim. The most effective DMs take a template structure and adapt it with specifics about the recipient and the sender's actual offer.

Variables like {name} and {username} should be filled automatically by your DM tool. Bracket placeholders like [your niche] or [specific result] need to be filled manually or via campaign segmentation.

Use WaveDM to send these templates with {name} and {username} personalization at scale, with automated follow-up sequences attached.

Templates for Agencies

Template 1: Direct value proposition

"Hey {name} - noticed you're running a [niche] agency. We help agencies like yours get more clients through Instagram outreach. Worth a quick call to see if it could work for you?"

Template 2: Problem-first approach

"Hey {name} - quick question: is lead gen the main bottleneck for your [niche] agency right now, or is it more on the delivery side?"

Template 3: Social proof anchor

"Hey {name} - helped 3 [niche] agencies add 5-10 new clients in the last 90 days through Instagram DM outreach. Wondering if that's something you'd want to look at?"

Templates for Coaches and Consultants

Template 4: Audience identification

"Hey {name} - your content on [topic they post about] is genuinely good. I work with [niche] coaches to turn their Instagram audience into paying clients. Open to a quick chat?"

Template 5: Curiosity hook

"Hey {name} - quick question about how you're currently converting your followers into clients. What's your main channel for that right now?"

Templates for E-commerce

Template 6: Creator partnership outreach

"Hey {name} - love what you post in the [niche] space. We're looking for a few creators to partner with for [product category]. Would you be open to learning more?"

Template 7: Direct offer test

"Hey {name} - we just launched [product] and it's doing really well with [audience type]. I thought your followers might love it. Any interest in a collab?"

Templates for Freelancers

Template 8: Specific observation

"Hey {name} - noticed your [website/brand/content] and thought your [specific thing you noticed] could be even stronger with some [your service]. Worth a quick look?"

Template 9: Offer framing

"Hey {name} - I do [service] for [niche] businesses. I've got capacity for one new client this month. Any interest in seeing what that could look like for [their business]?"

Follow-Up Templates

Follow-up 1 (send 3-5 days after initial DM)

"Hey {name} - different angle: what's the one thing about [relevant topic] you'd most want to fix right now if you could?"

Or: "Hey {name} - wanted to share something quickly: [one sentence on a relevant result or resource]. Thought it might be useful."

Follow-up 2 (send 5-7 days after follow-up 1)

"Last message from me on this - totally fine if the timing isn't right. If it ever is, I'm easy to find here."

Personalization Tips

• Always use the recipient's first name ({name}) in the opening - it outperforms "Hey there" consistently
• Reference something specific to their account when possible (their niche, content type, or something from their bio)
• Segment your lists by niche so you can customize the middle part of the template without manually editing each message
• Test multiple opening lines across campaigns and track which performs best for your specific audience

Read the full guide: Instagram DM Templates and How to Write DM Follow-Ups. Or download WaveDM to start sending these templates at scale.