How to automate brand collab enquiries on Instagram

What to automate

• The first reply to "collab?", "PR?", "partnership?" and similar.
• Sending your media kit link.
• Sharing your business email.
• Telling them how fast you reply.

What to keep personal

• Rates and negotiation.
• Contracts and deliverables.
• Anything about a specific campaign.

Set it up

1. Put your media kit on a shareable page or PDF link.
2. Create a DM keyword rule for COLLAB and variants: collab, collaboration, PR, partnership, sponsor.
3. Write the reply: thanks, media kit link, business email, reply time.
4. Mention "For collabs, DM COLLAB" in your bio.
5. Test from a second account.

A reply that looks professional

"Thanks for reaching out! Here's my media kit with audience details and past work: [link]. Please email [address] with your brief and timeline, and I'll reply within two working days."

Your media kit

• Who your audience is: age range, top cities, interests.
• Your best-performing content, with links.
• Brands you have worked with.
• The formats you offer: reels, stories, carousels.
• How to contact you.

Rate cards: share or not?

Some creators include a starting rate in the media kit to filter out low budgets; others prefer to quote per brief. Either is fine. If you share rates, keep them current, because an automated reply with old rates is awkward to walk back.

Disclosure when the deal is done

ASCI's influencer guidelines ask creators in India to label paid, gifted and affiliate content with a clear tag such as "Ad", "Collaboration", "Affiliate" or "Free gift", not buried among hashtags.

Spotting real brands

• Real brands usually write from a verified or established account, or a business email.
• They mention a product or campaign, not just "collab?".
• Be wary of requests to pay a fee to join a campaign, or to share login details.

Your automated reply asks every enquirer to email you, which filters out most low-effort messages without you lifting a finger.

When a brand asks for rates in the DM

Thank them and ask them to email their brief, so you can quote for the actual work: format, number of posts, usage rights and timeline. Rates given without a brief are guesses, and guesses tend to be too low.

Keep a simple pipeline

Track your enquiries

Count how many brands asked each month and how many became deals. If many enquiries never email you, your reply may be asking too much, or the media kit link may be broken.