Writing a welcome message that gets replies
Two sentences: thank them specifically, then ask one easy question. No link in the first message. A delay of fifteen to sixty minutes stops it reading as automated.
- 1
Keep it to two sentences
Thank them for the follow, then ask what they are working on. That is genuinely all. A message that asks for nothing gets replies; a paragraph explaining your product does not.
- 2
Leave the link out
The first message starts a conversation. If the reply goes somewhere useful you can send a link in the second one, and it will actually get opened.
- 3
Set a delay of 15 to 60 minutes
An instant message is a tell — nobody types a reply in four seconds. A delay inside the hour is recent enough that they remember following you and slow enough to be plausible.
- 4
Set active hours
Somebody who follows you at 2am should get their message at breakfast. A notification that wakes a person up to be marketed at is not the first impression you wanted.
- 5
Preview the tokens before switching it on
Display names on X are not first names. Plenty read "Kate | building in public", and "Hey Kate | building in public," is worse than no personalisation. Check a sample of real followers, and drop a token if it resolves badly more than occasionally.
What to expect
A short, non-promotional greeting to a relevant audience typically gets replies from 15 to 35 per cent of recipients.
Under 10 per cent almost always means the message is too long, too promotional, or ends in a question that takes effort to answer.
Read the replies rather than the percentage. Forty "thanks!" responses are not the same as ten conversations, and only one of those is worth automating for.
When to leave it switched off
If nobody can answer the replies within a day or two, do not turn it on. A greeting that generates conversations you ignore is worse than staying silent, because it proves the greeting was not sincere.
More on messaging
- Running a mass DM campaign
Write a message under forty words with no link, test two openers on a few hundred people, then let the campaign pace itself across days. You can only message people who follow you.
Still stuck? Email info@tweeksocial.com.