March 26, 2021
Have you ever wanted to talk to the people we see on screen, on stage, and online? And just feel noticed by the famous people we all look up to? Well, the Bugle Staff decided to DM (direct message) 75+ celebrities on social media to see if they would respond, so you wouldn’t have to.
DMing celebrities is a vicious cycle. You may start with one celebrity, but then see the recommended accounts and end up messaging another, and another, and another, until you end up with 30 sent messages, and two hours of your time wasted.
The process can be stressful, as you question the prospect of rejection. As I was writing my 30+ DMs, I thought, “what if they don’t respond?” and “Will they like the message?” I figured, you have to add a fair amount of flattery and a few questions to even have the possibility of them responding.
So, for every DM, I talked about what an inspiration they were and so on. And, one by one, I carefully crafted funny and engaging messages, doing everything in my power to be unique to get them to see the message.
Now, every morning when I wake up, and any time I have during the day, I check my Instagram for an expected response. But, sadly, I have yet to receive one.
But, one Bugle staffer received a response from Rabbi Sandra! Rabbi Sandra is “a rabbi who creates Jewish content on TikTok,” Contributing Writer Atticus Dickson said. Her content mostly centers around Jewish songs and parshah, a weekly Torah portion analyses. Rabbi Sandra has about 24,000 followers on TikTok!
Though DMing celebrities seems impossible, it is an opportunity to talk to successful people and form connections. And, while it is a longshot, there’s no harm in trying!
Here is an example for Nick Jonas! Nick is my favorite celebrity so, using the tips to the right, I will write a sample DM…
Hey Nick!! My name is Amber and I am a highschooler in Florida! I am a HUGE fan of the Jonas Brothers! I came to the Happiness Begins concerts in Orlando and Jacksonville!
I love your music and I can’t wait for the “Spaceman” album to come out! You did an amazing job on SNL and your new song “This is Heaven” was great!
I can’t wait for The Voice to premiere! Who is your battle advisor for this season?
I know this is a longshot, but if you are willing, I am on my school newspaper and would LOVE to interview you for my story!!
At this point, I could attach some fan art to try and get him to share the art on his account. Or, I could keep commenting on his posts and be active on his IG lives.
Introduce yourself… Try to soften them up by talking a little bit about yourself.
Add some compliments… Show them that you know a little about them and are not just DMing them to get noticed.
Ask questions… Ask things that they will want to answer. For example, if they are a singer, ask them if they are working on a new album.
Message during the right time… DM during the window of 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. to try to be polite.
Try to get them to follow you… This is the golden rule in celebrity DMing; if they follow you, then your message will show up in their inbox, not in their requests. To do this, do not ask them directly, instead share things that get noticed, use hashtags, and repost their posts.
