How To Sell Courses and Info-Products Using These Instagram Automation Tools
Have you ever had so much knowledge and advice in your head that there's no other choice but to share it with the rest of the world?
I hear you, and that's how SO many course creators feel nowadays.
However, with the overcrowded space, it doesn't always matter whether your content is life-changing or perfectly solves the problems you're targeting.
Most of the time, it's just sheer luck (or throwing money at retargeting ads) that will get you in front of your ideal audience.
And yet, there is a way to go past relying on luck or wasting away from useless spending to concentrate on what works.
Take it from this creator, who went from $0 to $22k/month in less than 30 days with her first online course.
So, how did she do it?
We'll get there, don't you worry, but first a bit of context.
If we haven’t met, I’m Liz, and since 2019 I’ve been running a DFY AI chatbot agency on a mission to change how online brands monetize their Instagram and Facebook channels, one conversation at a time.
In this blog, I'll break down the exact strategy my team and I deployed for this creator to help her validate her offer, gather feedback, and increase sales by following our fail-proof guide for Instagram posts and story posting.
Oh, and did I mention that she used only Instagram DM automation to convert 13.71% of those who engaged with these posts into buyers?
So, let's jump on this boat ride to learn the step-by-step process of this well-guarded Instagram automation tool secret that has helped dozens of content creators make money like nothing else in the space.
Automation for Instagram 101
Before we get into the technical details, let's paint the picture of this content creator's background before she began working with my team and me.
This influencer had 800k Instagram followers, which she’d never monetized before.
She wanted to launch and sell her first course and maximize the Instagram opportunity by collecting emails from her followers.
This is a crucial step every business owner should take:
Moving your followers from a rented audience, owned by Zuck (social media) to an audience owned by you (email list).
Our first step was to get her whitelisted with Meta, where she joined a closed beta program that allowed her to build Instagram DM lists.
This is very similar to your average email list, but it allows your page to send out daily promotional free push notifications outside of Meta’s 24-hour restriction.
And don't worry, this is 100% Meta-compliant.
So, this feature was now active on her Instagram account, which allowed her to re-engage her DM list.
But what was the secret formula that compelled people to buy?
The Low-Hanging Unpicked Fruit of Instagram Posts
We set up specific guidelines from the fail-proof internal content library we've developed over the years; however, this content was different from what she usually produced, which went from entertainment-forward content to subtly educational.
But as an influencer, she was very good at being on camera, and seeing the business owner at the forefront of the brand builds trust and a deeper connection with the audience.
If we have the talent, we should take advantage of it, right?
Once this new content strategy was done, we needed to auto-DM everyone who engaged with it.
Just like a good fisherman needs the right bait in their toolbox to catch the award-winning snapper, this step-by-step is exactly what any content creator needs to reel those sales in.
Here's what we did:
- Step 1: Instagram stories and posts were going up, making sure they were following the new structure. (Scheduling Instagram posts will ensure you stay one step ahead.)
- Step 2: People could either comment on the post or reply to her stories; both these actions sent an auto-DM
Step 3: The chatbot captured the email address, sent it to her email service provider and triggered an email at the end of the conversation (so now she was in front of this audience via two channels: DM and email.)
Step 4: The chatbot got people to opt-in to her DM list
Step 5: It qualified them by figuring out why they were here. The bot asked one simple question, but the reply was where the real personalization came in. She replied in a video she had pre-recorded, tackling the exact answer the user gave.
While people watched the personalized “made for them” video, she dropped the offer in the DMs and also sent it via email.
And here’s the crazy part:
She eventually got a 13.71% CVR on this specific DM funnel, compared to her original 4.9% CVR.
Why have tilapia for dinner when you can have fine bluefin tuna sashimi, right?
Of all these people who purchased, 52.03% bought on the spot because the experience was so personal and contextual to their current needs.
You can do most of what I showed you so far on your own using ManyChat.
My revenue software comes into play in tracking and deploying this Instagram marketing strategy, which can't be done using only ManyChat.
The biggest bonus our revenue tracking system gives our clients is the ability to gather crucial data, and we'll share some of that towards the end, so keep on reading.
The initial state of our strategy is similar to sending people to your website, showing them an offer, and telling them to go buy it.
Some will, but most won’t.
We all know this game:
Time to chase those who dropped off around the internet with retargeting ads, hoping to get them back to your website, but with no guarantee of that happening, right?
Wrong.
The days of playing the role of the coyote chasing the roadrunner are behind us.
Using our Instagram automation tools, we have a direct line of communication with your followers in the DMs.
If a purchase doesn’t come from that user, the chatbot will know, and my software will start new conversations over the following 4–8 weeks.
It will educate users, answer FAQs, and entertain them UNTIL a purchase is made.
The key here is making these follow-ups 80%+ value-driven.
This means offering your potential customers things that matter to them, such as valuable information, a creative video, a how-to, or a cheeky discount code that will subtly convince them to buy the product.
Seeing what's beyond the DM Automation Backstage Door
Usually, magicians never let people in on their secrets, but today we want to let you take a peek behind the curtain.
How do people BUY in such a large percentage, and most importantly, what made them buy?
And for the course creator we're talking about here, did I mention she sells a $997 course?
This isn't just pocket change AOV here.
However, our strategy has worked for products and courses across a wide spectrum of price ranges.
Here's how:
In this example, this user opted in, got the offer, and didn’t buy.
He then got a follow-up but didn’t buy.
Then another one and didn’t buy it.
(Keep in mind that users can stop the follow-ups at any time by replying, “No thanks, maybe later, not right now,” so this is not spam.)
No worries; you can get as soft or aggressive as you want with this frequency.
Keep in mind that these follow-ups should only be sent to people who HAVE NOT bought; otherwise, it's just annoying folks who could be repeat customers.
Now, it's time to shift gears with the strategy.
We sent him a bonus, but he didn’t take it.
Then we sent him another follow-up.
Eventually, he tapped the button, watched the video TWICE, and made the first purchase of $97.
But it doesn't end here; we're going for the big fish—the $997 course I mentioned earlier.
And just like going on a boat and trying to catch that bluefin tuna, we played the waiting game.
Ten days later, he got another follow-up.
He said he had a question, and the bot swiftly answered it, which led him to buy the $997 course.
Time to take the picture by the dock with our prized bluefin.
Wrapping up with Some Hard Data
Remember that tracking system I mentioned earlier?
Here are the final stats for the first 30 days of launching this new course:
- 13.71% overall conversion rate, with 52.03% of all these buying immediately
- 77.91 email capture rate
- 90.11% of people also opted into the DM list, and now this creator can send out free push notifications via Instagram
- $22k made in the first 30 days from a few posts and stories.
Why did this work so well?
Well, you might have seen creators say “Comment the word” or “DM me X” to increase Instagram comments, but none of them are doing it at this level.
Users will comment and get an auto-DM with a link to their website, and that’s it.
Doing it at this level means there is ZERO competition right now and A LOT of money to be made.
The real reason it worked so well is that this creator executed everything my team and I advised her on.
More importantly, she let us handle all the technical aspects for her, so all she had to do was create the Instagram content we advised her on and schedule Instagram posts.
THAT’S IT.
Making money through your Instagram presence is a well-kept secret that most businesses are not taking advantage of.
With the Instagram growth that a lot of businesses are currently experiencing, applying these DM automation tools is the true secret to any online business's path to happiness.
If you liked this blog, check out my video here to learn how to double your sales without ads.
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