How to send a link in an Instagram DM (by hand and automatically)

By the Blupi team · Updated

Short answer: paste the full link (starting with https://) into the message and send it. To send it automatically, set up a comment-to-DM automation: when someone comments a keyword like "LINK" on your reel, a tool on Instagram's official API sends them the link in a DM within seconds. Automated DMs can also put the link on a button, which opens the page inside Instagram.

  1. Copy the link from your browser or app. Use the full address, starting with https://.
  2. Open the chat in Instagram and paste it into the message box.
  3. Send. Instagram usually shows a preview card for the page.

Tips that make the link work better:

  • Put the link on its own line with one sentence above it explaining what it is.
  • Use a short, readable link if you can. People trust yourshop.com/sale more than a long tracking URL.
  • Shared posts and reels are sent with the Share (paper plane) button, not as a link.

Why your DM might land in Message Requests

If the person doesn't follow you, a new message from you goes to their Message Requests, not their main inbox. This applies to automated replies too: Meta's documentation says a private reply to a comment lands in the Inbox if the commenter follows the account, and in Requests if they don't.

That's why many creators say "check your requests" in their public reply: "Sent it to your DMs! Check requests if you don't see it."

This is the "comment LINK and I'll send it to you" trick you see on reels. It works better than "link in bio" because the link arrives exactly when the person is interested, one tap away.

How it works

  1. You connect your Instagram Professional account (Creator or Business) to a comment-to-DM tool with "Log in with Instagram".
  2. You choose a post or reel, a keyword (e.g. LINK) and the message with your link.
  3. Someone comments the keyword. The tool sends them a private reply with the link, and can post a public reply under their comment ("Sent! 📩").

With Blupi, that's one automation: pick the post, type the keyword, paste the link, switch it on.

Text link or button?

Automated messages on Instagram's API can include links in plain text, or use a button template: a short text (up to 640 characters) with 1 to 3 buttons. Per Meta's documentation, a URL button "opens a web page in the in-app browser". Buttons look cleaner and are easier to tap than a long URL in text.

The rules every tool follows

  • One DM per comment, sent within 7 days of the comment.
  • The conversation continues only if they reply, and the next message must go out within 24 hours of their reply.
  • Only people who commented or messaged you. No tool on the official API can send links to all your followers.

Sending a link to people who reply to your story

The same works for stories: when someone replies to your story with a keyword (or anything), an automation can answer with the link. Story replies arrive as DMs, so the normal 24-hour messaging window applies.

Common problems

Make sure it's the full address with https:// and has no spaces. If you typed it by hand, copy it from the browser instead.

Ask them to check Message Requests. Also check that the keyword in their comment matches your automation, and that they hadn't already received a DM for that same comment.

Only by hand, and it lands in their requests. Automated messages can only go to people who commented or messaged you first.

For ready-made wording, copy one of these 40 Instagram auto reply messages. New to this? Read the Hinglish guide to Instagram auto DM.

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