How do I pitch newsletter sponsorships in Instagram DMs?

Instagram DMs are one of the fastest ways I've found to get in front of business owners. It takes minutes, and the replies tell you quickly whether a category is interested.

What did my test look like?

1. Pick a category. Custom home builders, because their lifetime value is so high they should be ideal advertisers.
2. Write the pitch. I had ChatGPT write a good cold two-sentence pitch specifically for custom home builders.
3. Build the list. I asked Perplexity for the biggest custom home builders in my area. It listed 10, and I think they were all on Instagram.
4. Send it. Same message to each. Copy, paste, done. I didn't personalize it.

The whole thing took about five minutes. Four hours later I had one serious reply out of eight, about a 13% response rate. Technically, that's already good.

What should the DM say?

Short and about them. Say who you work with, tell them to check you out, and give the audience: subscribers and open rate. Then ask them to reach out.

A partner of mine uses a version I like: he saw them on Instagram, says how many locals the brand reaches, says he's looking for exactly one partner in their category, and offers a two-minute rundown with no call needed. Asking permission before you pitch makes people lean in. Once they've said yes, they want to be consistent, so they pay attention.

What happens after they reply?

My builder said "just email me." I sent about four sentences: we have 20,000 subscribers and we cover this area, plus a screenshot of a happy email from one of my advertisers. He replied right away asking what the newsletter looks like and for my rates.

A sponsorship is a weird offer. If they just glance at it, it's not obvious they'd want it. That's why I'd add a short Loom video. My favorite sequence: a voice note asking if they want the rundown, then a custom Loom if they say yes. If the deal is valuable enough, or the video only takes two minutes, why not?

How many DMs can I send?

"You don't want to go DM 50 of these. So even though you could do 50 in 30 minutes, don't do that. I just did the eight and I stopped on purpose."

I stopped at eight so Instagram wouldn't ban the account. My plan is one vertical at a time, home builders, then insurance agents, then roofers, at about 8 to 12 a day, split into two sessions of four or five.

A salesperson can do the same thing from their own account. The response rate might be slightly lower, but not by much.

What if they don't answer DMs?

Use every cold channel: ads, DMs, calls, email. The hard part is getting in front of the right person. On a cold call, a gatekeeper usually answers. Tell them the owner needs to hear this for five minutes, and that he can hang up on you immediately if it isn't interesting. Once you get their ear, you'll usually get interest, even if not everyone signs. For email, see whether cold email is worth it.