ReachleeTurn launch-teaser comments
into a waitlist you can message.
Post the teaser and ask people to comment a word. Reachlee replies to each commenter privately with a join button, files everyone who taps it into a Waitlist folder and asks for their email. On launch day one campaign sends the link to everyone reachable, waits for the rest and nudges the people who didn't click. Works on Instagram and Facebook Pages.
The short answer
Build the waitlist inside the DM, not in the comments. A comment automation sends each commenter a private reply with a button; tapping it adds them to a Waitlist folder and asks for their email. On launch day, send a campaign to that folder: anyone who messaged you in the last 24 hours gets the link at once, the rest get it when they next message you, and their saved emails cover anyone who doesn't.
Why a comment thread isn't a waitlist
A teaser that says "comment LAUNCH and I'll tell you first" collects interest, but a comment on its own isn't a list you can come back to. Meta gives a business exactly one private reply per comment, sent within 7 days, and a comment doesn't open a conversation. If you wait until launch day to answer those comments, the window is gone for most of them. So the list has to be built in that first private reply. Reachlee's comment automation sends it the moment someone comments, with a button such as "Add me to the list". The tap is the person messaging you, which turns them from a Pending commenter into a contact you have a conversation with. The same flow adds them to a Waitlist folder and asks for their email, so on launch day you have two ways to reach each person: the DM, whenever Meta's 24-hour rule allows it, and the email, whenever you like. The launch itself is then a campaign aimed at that folder, and it is honest about the result: it reaches whoever is reachable, waits for the rest, and shows you who never came back.
- Teaser post: a comment automation replies privately to every keyword comment with a join button, and can reply publicly under the comment too.
- Waitlist: the tap files the person into a contact folder, and an email ask saves their address to their contact.
- Launch day: a campaign to the folder sends the link, nudges people who didn't click, and stays open for latecomers.
Two parts: before launch, and on launch day.
Build the waitlist automation
Create a canvas automation with a comment trigger on your teaser post and a keyword such as LAUNCH. Its first message is the private reply, with a button that continues the flow. Connect the tap to an Add to folder step (a folder called Waitlist) and an Ask for an email step, then a short confirmation. The Freebie for an email template already has this shape, so start from it and change the words.
Set it live and let it fill
Click Set live. Every keyword comment gets the private reply, plus a public reply under the comment if you added a Reply publicly step, and every tap adds a contact to Waitlist. If the teaser went out before the automation did, Retrigger (Pro) runs it on that post's comments from the last 7 days.
Write the launch campaign ahead of time
Create a campaign from the Announcement template: a message, a Send a link step with your launch URL, and a reminder connected to its Not clicked after… exit. Set the audience to the Waitlist folder, exclude a Customers folder if some people already bought early, and turn on Keep it open.
Send it when the doors open
Click Send campaign, or use Schedule for later (Pro) for the minute you launch. The dialog shows how many waitlisters get it right away. Then post the launch, and on Instagram add a story that invites replies: each waitlister who replies becomes reachable and receives the open campaign immediately.
Email the people the DM can't reach
Filter Contacts to the Waitlist folder and export it as a CSV (Pro), or on Business have each captured email added to your Google Sheet, then send the launch email from your own email tool. That covers the waitlisters whose DM window never reopens.
What makes the list hold up on launch day.
Each piece exists because of a platform rule: the tap, the folder, the email and the open window.
The tap that makes them reachable
A comment alone leaves someone Pending, and Pending contacts can't receive campaigns. The button in the private reply is what turns a commenter into someone who has messaged you, which is why the waitlist lives in the DM. Commenters who never tap stay Pending, and the launch campaign skips them with the reason never messaged you.
A folder that fills itself
The Add to folder step files each person as they join. The Waitlist folder shows in Contacts and in the Inbox sidebar, so you can see who is waiting, add someone by hand from a conversation, or take out anyone who asks to be removed.
Emails checked at the door
The email ask checks each reply and asks once more if it isn't a valid address. Saved emails go onto the contact, where a Has email segment can find them and an export can take them to your email tool or a Meta Ads audience.
An open window on launch day
Pro and above: the launch campaign stays open for 7 days by default, up to 30. Waitlisters who are Inactive when you send get the link the moment they message you, whether that's a reply to your launch story or a question about the price.
A reminder only for non-clickers
Send a link waits to see who clicks. Connect a short reminder to its Not clicked after… exit and only the people who didn't click get it. Keep that delay to a few hours, because no step can send once a person's 24-hour window has closed.
Results person by person
The campaign results list every waitlister as Waiting, In progress, Finished, Replied or Skipped with the reason, and count who clicked. Filter to Finished or Replied and add them all to a folder for your follow-up, such as a post-launch check-in.
Three launches this is built for.
A course or cohort that opens on a date
Your teaser reel collects hundreds of "when does it open?" comments. On opening day you have no list, just a comment thread, and answering each one by hand takes the whole day while the early comments are past Meta's 7-day reply limit.
Everyone who tapped Add me to the list is in Waitlist with an email. The opening campaign goes out at 9:00 on a schedule, waitlisters who reply to your launch story that morning get the link instantly, and the launch email reaches everyone else.
A product drop with limited stock
You announce a restock in stories, then spend drop morning answering "is it live?" DMs one at a time while the stock sells out to whoever happened to ask first.
The restock teaser fills a Drop list folder. When stock lands, one campaign sends the link to everyone reachable, a reminder follows a couple of hours later for people who didn't click, and replies land in your Inbox for you to answer.
An app, book or product with a waitlist page
Your waitlist lives on a landing page that Instagram commenters never visit, so the people most excited about the launch aren't on it.
The DM does the sign-up: comment, tap, email. The emails go to the same email tool as your landing-page list, by CSV export or Google Sheets, and the DM campaign covers the people still talking to you on launch day.
Test it on Free. Run the real launch on Pro.
On Free you can build all of it: a comment automation on one post, a Waitlist folder, and the launch campaign, sent now to everyone reachable, with up to 10 captured emails. A real waitlist outgrows that quickly, so Pro at $9/mo removes the lead cap and adds Keep it open for up to 30 days, scheduling, contact exports, Retrigger, unlimited DMs and triggers on several posts or any post. Growth at $14/mo adds Reachlee AI to answer launch questions, and Business at $29/mo adds Google Sheets.
Start freeLaunch waitlists in DMs — FAQ
Can't I just DM everyone who commented on my teaser?
No. A comment earns one private reply, sent within 7 days of the comment, and it doesn't open a conversation. That is why the waitlist is built inside that private reply: the button tap is the person messaging you, and from then on a campaign can reach them whenever the 24-hour rule allows. Commenters who never tap stay Pending and can't be messaged later, by Reachlee or by any other tool on Meta's API.
Will everyone on the waitlist get the launch DM?
Everyone who is reachable will. Waitlisters who messaged you in the last 24 hours get it the moment you send. With Keep it open, the others get it the next time they message you, for up to 30 days. Someone who never writes to you again can't be DMed, and that is exactly why the flow asks for an email: export the folder and send them the launch by email.
Will the launch-day campaign get my account flagged?
It only messages people inside Meta's rules, and it sends gradually rather than in one burst, like every Reachlee campaign. Skip recently reached, on at 72 hours by default, also stops anyone getting this campaign right after another one. Reachlee runs on Meta's official API as a Meta-verified Tech Provider and pauses an account automatically if Meta asks it to slow down.
Is it fine to ask for emails in Instagram DMs?
Yes. The person starts the conversation by commenting and tapping your button, and you ask for their email inside a conversation they began. Reachlee checks the reply and saves only addresses that look valid. Say plainly what they're signing up for, such as the launch announcement, in the message that asks, so the email you send later is the one they expect.
My teaser is already live. Is it too late?
Not if the comments are recent. Set the waitlist automation live on the teaser post, then run Retrigger (Pro) on it: Reachlee works through the comments from the last 7 days that match your keyword and sends each person the same private reply, skipping anyone already replied to. Comments older than 7 days can't get a private reply from any tool, so pin a comment asking people to comment again.
Does this work on a Facebook Page?
Yes. Comment automations, folders, email asks and campaigns all work on a Facebook Page, with the conversation in Messenger and the same 24-hour rule. Pages don't send story events, so on launch day invite comments or messages instead of story replies. Free covers a single Instagram account; Facebook Pages start on Pro.
Can I schedule the launch campaign?
On Pro and above, yes. Schedule for later sends it at the date and time you choose, and it stays editable until then; Cancel schedule turns it back into a draft. The audience is worked out when it sends, so anyone who joined the Waitlist folder after you scheduled it is included. On Free, you click Send campaign yourself when the doors open.
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