How to Run a Suggested Posts Campaign in Telegram: An Advertiser's Playbook

Suggested Posts let you buy a native post in a Telegram channel directly from the admin, with Telegram holding the money until the post has been live for 24 hours (Telegram blog). One offer is easy. A campaign across twenty channels needs a process. This playbook is that process.

For how the mechanism works in general, see our explainer on Telegram Suggested Posts.

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The rules you are working within#

• Currencies: Stars or Gram. Price per post: 5–100,000 Stars or 0.01–10,000 Gram (Bot API).
• The channel receives 85%, Telegram keeps 15% (API config).
• Escrow: money is charged when the offer is approved and released to the channel after 24 hours of the post being live; delete earlier and you are refunded in full.
• Timing: you can ask for a specific time from 5 minutes to 30 days ahead; without a date, the admin may publish any time within 30 days (Bot API).
• No edits after payment. A paid post cannot be edited.
• Only channels with direct messages on. That is where the "suggest post" button lives.

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Step 1. Build the channel list#

Start from where your audience is, then filter by what the mechanism allows:

• Open each channel and check for the message button in the bottom bar — that means direct messages are on (Telegram blog). No button, no Suggested Posts.
• Note whether the channel charges for direct messages: that fee is separate from the post price.
• Look at recent posts: does the channel already publish ads? How are they formatted? What happens to engagement?

Keep a sheet: channel, subscribers, average views, DM fee, your target price, status.

Step 2. Decide the currency and fund it#

• Stars are simplest for small offers and can be bought in the app. The cap is 100,000 Stars per post.
• Gram suits larger offers and has no low cap. Top up the Telegram account through Fragment's ads top-up page: a TON wallet (Tonkeeper, MyTonWallet), GRAM bought on an exchange, then "Connect TON". Fragment explicitly lets you fund the account of a colleague — useful when an agency pays for a client.

Fragment's "For Sponsors" block describes exactly this use: "Use Grams to sponsor posts on Telegram by making offers to public channel admins" (fragment.com/ads).

Step 3. Price the offer#

There is no public price list for Suggested Posts. Anchor on what you know:

• the channel's average views and what you are willing to pay per thousand views;
• what the channel charges for ads through other routes, if it advertises;
• the 15% commission the channel will not see — an admin compares your offer with a direct deal net of that.

Start slightly below your ceiling: the admin can counter with a higher price.

Step 4. Write the offer#

• Send the final text and media. After payment, nothing can be changed.
• Add the publication time if it matters (a launch, a sale).
• Keep it native: the post appears as a regular channel post, so write in the channel's voice.
• Follow the law of your market. In Russia, for example, advertising still needs marking with an erid, which Suggested Posts do not provide automatically.

Step 5. Handle the reply#

The admin can accept, decline with a comment, or send back changes to the text, media, price or time. Every change goes back to you for approval. Keep your sheet updated — at twenty channels, the negotiation is most of the work.

Step 6. Track the result#

Use a separate link per channel: a bot deep link with a start parameter, a separate invite link to your channel, or a UTM-tagged URL for a website. Compare cost per subscriber or per lead across channels and keep the ones that pay back.

Step 7. Check the escrow#

If a post disappears before 24 hours, the refund is automatic. After 24 hours the money is the channel's — so if you need the post to stay up longer, agree on it before paying.

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When not to use Suggested Posts#

• You need thousands of channels or audience targeting → Telegram Ads.
• You need closing documents and marking in Russia → a reseller or an exchange that handles it.
• The channel has direct messages off → contact the admin another way.

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FAQ#

Can I cancel an offer after the admin accepts it? Once approved, the money is charged and held until the post has been live for 24 hours. Agree on changes before approving.

Do I pay the DM fee and the post price? If the channel charges for direct messages, that is a separate fee for messaging; the post price is set in the offer.

Is there a limit in Gram? Up to 10,000 Gram per post, per the Bot API.

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Sources: Telegram blog: Suggested Posts, Telegram blog: Direct Messages, Bot API, API config, fragment.com/ads, fragment.com/ads/topup.