Diwali sale on Instagram: a comment-to-DM campaign plan

The Diwali 2026 campaign at a glance

The dates come from the Central Government's 2026 holiday list as published by PIB (Diwali, Sunday 8 Nov) and Shubh Panchang (Dhanteras, Friday 6 Nov). Lunar festival dates can shift by a day by region, so check your own panchang if your audience celebrates on a different day. Our festive season content calendar has the rest of the October to December dates.

Week 1: teaser Reels that build a list

Most creators announce a Diwali sale on the day. By then feeds are full of offers. Start about 10 days earlier, when people are planning gifts and outfits but have not spent yet.

• Show the problem, not the product. A makeup creator shows a festive look that took 10 minutes. A finance creator shows a Diwali gifting budget sheet. The product comes later.
• Give a reason to comment now. "Comment EARLY and I will DM you the moment the sale opens, plus a small Diwali freebie today."
• Deliver something today. A teaser keyword that only says "wait" feels empty. Send a one-page freebie now, such as a gifting checklist, a rangoli template or a festive look guide.
• Ask for an email in the teaser DM. This is your list for launch day and for after Diwali. More on why below.

Pick the keyword: one per offer

Your keyword is the whole campaign in one word. Keep it short, easy to spell on a phone and tied to the offer. A good festive keyword is one most people will type correctly the first time.

• One offer, one keyword. DIWALI for the sale, EARLY for the waitlist. Different keywords tell you which Reel drove the most DMs.
• Several products? Use one keyword each, like GLOW for a makeup guide and GIFT for a hamper list. With per-keyword delivery, one automation can send a different product or link for each keyword.
• Say it on screen and in the caption. "Comment DIWALI" as text on the Reel, in the first line of the caption and out loud in the voiceover.
• Expect typos and Hinglish. Fans will write "diwaali" or "DIWALI pls bhai". Keyword matching ignores capitals, and smart match on Pro catches spelling variations.

Need more ideas? Our list of comment keyword ideas has keywords by niche.

Write the DM: the code goes in the first message

Instagram lets an account send one private reply per comment, within 7 days of it, according to Meta's Private Replies docs. So the first DM has to carry the value. Do not make the fan reply to get the code. Many will not.

• Lead with the thing they asked for. The code or link in the first two lines, before any story.
• Name the deadline. A date and a time, not "limited period". It is honest and it works.
• Keep it short. Three or four lines read well on a phone. Save the details for the product page.
• One emoji is enough. A diya or a gift box sets the mood without looking like spam.
• Keep the launch DM to one step. Leave the email ask and the follow invite on the teaser automation, so the sale DM sends the code straight away.
• Turn on a public reply. A short "Sent! Check your DMs 🪔" under the comment shows other viewers the keyword works, and nudges them to comment too.

Deliver a file, a code or a link

What the DM delivers depends on what you sell. There are three common shapes.

• A free file. A Diwali recipe card, a gifting budget sheet, a preset pack. Upload it once in theZio's digital products and every fan gets their own private download link in the DM, not a public Drive link that gets forwarded around. Free covers 3 products; Pro is unlimited.
• A discount code. Write the code in the DM text and add the link to your shop. The checkout happens on your own store or payment page, not inside Instagram.
• A product link. If the Reel sells one thing, link straight to it. A page of ten links loses people. Our post on selling digital products from Reels covers the shop side.

Running a code that should go out once per person across many Reels? On Pro, re-trigger control can send an automation's DM once ever, so the same fan does not collect the code again on every post.

Capture emails, because the DM window closes

Here is the part most Diwali campaigns miss. After the festival, you cannot simply DM everyone who commented. Meta's Messaging API lets an app message a person only after they have messaged the account, and only within 24 hours of their last message. A comment opens one private reply, and that is it.

Email does not expire. So ask for it inside the DM, while the fan is paying attention. theZio's email collection works on every plan: the DM asks for the address, asks once more if the reply is not an email, and then sends the freebie either way. Because the ask comes before delivery, put it on the teaser automation, where the freebie is a bonus, not on the launch DM where every second counts.

• Make the ask specific. "Drop your email and I will send the last-call reminder on 10 Nov" beats "Join my newsletter".
• Never hold the freebie hostage. Every fan still gets what they asked for, email or not.
• Find the emails later in Contacts, and export them to CSV for your email tool.

You can also invite fans to follow you in the same DM with Ask For Follow. The DM invites them to tap Follow, sends one light reminder if they do not, and delivers the freebie either way, which keeps you inside Meta's spam rules. Our guide to collecting emails with a lead magnet goes deeper.

When a Reel takes off: pacing a viral spike

Festive Reels spread fast. A good one can pull thousands of comments in an evening. That is the moment manual replies collapse and badly built bots get accounts flagged.

• Let the queue work. theZio queues every DM and paces it under Instagram's hourly limits. If a spike builds a backlog, the DMs keep going out in order. Do not switch the automation off and on.
• Comments that arrived before you saved still count. Pick "last 24 hours plus new" (every plan) so early commenters get the DM too. Pro can go back through all old comments; ones older than 7 days get a public reply only.
• Watch your Free allowance. Free covers up to 1,000 auto DMs a month. A Diwali Reel can pass that in a day. Pro has no monthly DM cap and costs ₹499 a month.
• Answer every real comment on one Reel. On Pro, "any comment on this post" DMs every genuine comment on your launch Reel, even "price?" and "interested", and skips emoji-only and spam.

Instagram DM limits explained covers Meta's pacing rules in detail, and safe sending shows how theZio handles them.

After Diwali: the week that pays for next year

The sale ends, but the list you built does not. Use the week after Diwali to turn one-time buyers into regulars.

1. Close the sale on time. Post a last-call Reel on 9 or 10 Nov, then update the DM so late commenters hear that the sale has ended and get something small instead.
2. Post a thank-you Reel. Show what people bought or made. It is social proof for next time, without inventing numbers.
3. Email your list. Thank them, share one useful tip, and tell them what is next: Bhai Dooj gifting, wedding season or a December drop.
4. Read your results. Your analytics show which Reel and which keyword drove the most DMs. Repeat the winner for the next festival.
5. Write down what worked. Note the keyword, the DM text and the posting times. Next Diwali you start from a working setup, not a blank page.

Your Diwali comment-to-DM checklist

1. Pick one offer and one keyword per offer.
2. Make or upload the file, or create the discount code in your shop.
3. Connect your Instagram professional account to theZio with Instagram Login.
4. Set up the EARLY automation with a small freebie and email capture, and post teaser Reels from about 26 Oct.
5. Set up the DIWALI automation with the code or link in the first DM and a public reply.
6. Test with a second Instagram account: comment the keyword and check exactly one DM arrives.
7. Launch on Dhanteras, 6 Nov. Post reminders on 7 and 8 Nov.
8. Close on 9 or 10 Nov, update the DM, and email your list.

New to all this? Start with how Instagram auto DM works when someone comments, then come back to this plan.

Frequently asked questions