DM message types: plain, product card, image, and batch

When you build a DM (or Target Collab + DM) automation, the message step is a sequence of blocks: an initial message, optional additional messages sent right after it, and follow-ups that only go out if the creator doesn't reply. This article walks through each block type and when to use it.

Initial message types

You pick one block as the first thing the creator receives.

Plain Message — A text message of up to 2,000 characters. This is the only type with insertable placeholders and link chips: click Affiliate Name to drop in [affiliate_name], and use the Creator Brief and Community chips to insert a link to a brief, a community campaign, or your Brand Hub. Templates, prior-automation reuse, and the AI writer all live here too.

Product Card — A TikTok product card for one product from your shop. The creator sees the product image, name, and price and can tap through to it. No text of its own, so pair it with a Plain Message before or after.

Image (png/jpeg) — A single image, uploaded or picked from your library. Like the product card, it has no caption, so put your copy in a separate Plain Message.

Products & Message (batch) — A titled message (50-character title, 500-character body) with up to 5 open plan products attached. See the batch section below.

Image & Message (batch) — A titled message (50-character title, 500-character body) with one image attached. Both batch types have an AI writer button next to the Message label that drafts the title and body for you. See the batch section below.

In a Target Collab + DM automation, the initial block is always the Invite Card from the invite step. Your DM blocks follow it.

Additional messages

After the initial block you can stack more blocks that send immediately afterwards: Plain Message, Image, and Product Card. An automation whose initial block is Products & Message can't add a separate Product Card, since the batch card already carries its products.

Follow-up messages

Follow-ups are sent only if the creator hasn't replied after a number of days you choose, counted from the first message. Each follow-up can be a Plain Message (with placeholders), a Product Card, or an Image. Follow-ups keep sending after the automation shows Completed until they've all gone out. See Troubleshooting Automations for how that looks in the status badges.

Batch messages: faster, but not personal

The two batch types, Products & Message and Image & Message, work differently from everything else. Standard blocks are sent one creator at a time. A batch block is one message delivered to up to 50 creators at once, which is why it carries a Batch badge in the message builder.

Placeholders are not supported. Because the same message goes to 50 people in a single send, there is no per-creator personalization. [affiliate_name] and the other placeholders won't be filled in; they'd arrive as literal text. The builder shows a note under the message field reminding you of this. Write batch copy so it reads well without a name.

Speed. If your goal is volume, batch is the way to get it. A batch block sends at a much higher rate than 1-by-1 standard DMs. Adding additional messages after a batch block slows delivery back down, since those extra blocks are sent individually, so keep a volume-focused automation to the batch block alone (or at most one short Plain Message after it).

One batch block per automation. Once you've added a Products & Message block, the option disappears from the picker, and the same goes for Image & Message.

Content rules. Don't include other company names (Amazon, AliExpress, WhatsApp, and so on), email addresses, or profanity in a batch message. TikTok rejects them.

Products & Message must use open plan products

The products attached to a Products & Message block must be on an open plan (Open Collaboration) in Affiliate Center. If any attached product isn't on an open plan, TikTok rejects the message. To send a product that isn't on an open plan, use a regular Product Card instead. The product picker in this block only lists open plan products, and the AI writer can draft the title and body from the products you select.

This is the way we recommend getting open plan products in front of creators, and it's the best route for sample requests that don't depend on Target Collab invites:

• Refundable samples. Set up refundable samples on the product in Affiliate Center, then send it in a Products & Message block. Creators tap the product, buy the sample, post, and get refunded. Full setup in Refundable samples.
• Standard samples without TC invites. Creators can request a free sample straight from the open plan product card, no invite needed.
• You're at your TC invite limit. Products & Message doesn't consume Target Collab invites, so it keeps working when your shop has hit its invite cap. See Outreach caps and limits.
• You'd rather not use TC at all. Some brands prefer open plan commission rates for everyone. This block sends those products at scale with no invite step.

Which should I use?

• Personal, one-to-one feel with the creator's name → Plain Message, optionally followed by a Product Card or Image.
• Exclusive rate for a chosen creator → a Target Collab + DM automation, where the invite card does the work.
• Maximum volume, open plan products, samples without invites → Products & Message.
• Maximum volume with a visual and no product → Image & Message.