Auto-PDF: Turn a Long Instagram DM Into a PDF With Open Tracking
Instagram DMs are not built for long text. A 600-word checklist arrives as a wall of grey that nobody scrolls, and the person who commented "CHECKLIST" leaves with a worse impression than if you had sent nothing. Viralyze handles this with Auto-PDF: when your Auto-DM message is long, it becomes a downloadable PDF on its own, and the DM carries a short message plus the download. You also get open tracking, so a delivered PDF and a read PDF are two different numbers.
Here is how the feature works and how to write for it.
How does Auto-PDF work?
You write the content in the DM field as normal. When the message exceeds what reads comfortably in a DM, the app converts it into a PDF and sends a brief message with the download link instead.
There is nothing to design and nothing to upload. The text you typed is the document. If you later edit the message, the PDF updates with it.
What can I see with open tracking?
Whether each recipient opened the PDF, and in aggregate how many opens an automation produced. That sits alongside the per-automation funnel of comments, matched, delivered, clicked and signed up.
The difference between delivered and opened tells you something useful. If 300 people received the PDF and 90 opened it, the DM's first line is not selling the download. If 280 opened it, the content is doing its job and the next question is what they do after reading.
What kind of content suits a PDF rather than a link?
Anything self-contained that people will want to keep. Checklists, recipes, templates, reading lists, routines, a mini-guide.
A concrete example from a career coach: her reel on "5 questions to ask at the end of an interview" uses keyword "QUESTIONS". The DM content is the five questions with two lines of explanation each, about 400 words. That becomes a PDF the candidate can save to their phone the night before the interview, which a link to a blog post would not do as well.
How should I write the DM so the PDF lands well?
Think of the DM as two parts: the short cover note and the document.
1. Open with one line that names the document: "Here's the 5-question interview PDF you asked for." 2. Write the content with clear headings and short lines, as you would want it to look on a page. 3. End the document with a next step: a booking page, a product, or a question to reply to. 4. Test it in the live tester and open the preview on your phone.
AI variations apply to the cover note, so the opening line reads a little differently for each person, while the PDF content itself stays exactly as you wrote it.
Does the PDF work with story replies and the follow-gate?
Yes. Any trigger that sends a DM can send a PDF: comments on a specific post, comments on any post, or story replies. The follow-gate works the same way, asking non-followers to follow first with up to three polite nudges before the download is sent.
Everyone who receives the PDF becomes a contact with a source tag, and the list can be exported to CSV at any time.
Is there a cost for PDFs or a limit on downloads?
Auto-PDF is part of Auto-DM, which is included in the Starter plan at ₹199 a month with unlimited DMs. There is no per-download charge.
If you want to charge for the document, create it as a digital download in the Viralyze shop instead. A checkout page is made for you, payments go through UPI or cards at 0% platform fee, and the same automation can send that checkout page rather than the free PDF.
Frequently asked questions
**Can I upload my own designed PDF instead of typing the content?** Auto-PDF generates the document from your message text. For a designed file, host it as a digital download in the shop and send its page by DM.
**Does the recipient need an app to open the PDF?** No. The DM contains a link that opens the PDF in their phone's browser, where they can save it.
**Will the PDF show my branding?** It carries the content you wrote, laid out cleanly. Put your name and handle in the first and last lines so it is attributed wherever it is shared.
Start your 7-day free trial of Viralyze, no card needed, and send your first checklist as a PDF today.