How to Price Your Instagram Automation Services: Advice From Chat Marketing Pros
One of the most common questions Chat Marketers ask is, “What should I charge?” Pricing your work for any channel‚—be it Facebook Messenger or SMS—means walking a fine line.
You don’t want to ask for too much money and scare off clients, yet, you also want to charge what you deserve. Pricing for Instagram Automation is no different. You’re providing a valuable service and should be compensated fairly for your skills and experience!
So, how can you figure out how much to charge? We spoke with some ManyChat pros to get their advice on pricing their services for this new and exciting marketing channel to give you some tactics you can implement immediately.
Pricing starts with providing value based on client needs
Chances are you’ve priced Facebook Messenger or SMS services already as a Chat Marketer. If that’s the case, pricing your Instagram Automation services won’t be too challenging.
John Preston, founder of Superstar Bots, keeps his pricing strategy “the same across Facebook Messenger and Instagram Messenger. It’s about offering a whole package and omnichannel strategy.”
It all starts with a discovery call for John. “Your client discovery call is a fact-finding mission,” he explains. “It’s where you’ll be asking the questions, finding out why a business feels they need Instagram services, what problems need solving, and how you can make a difference.”
You don’t even want to bring up compensation on these calls. The purpose is to learn exactly what your client needs and how you can help.
Having a crystal clear view of your prospect’s business allows you to calculate the value of your offering.
John Preston, founder of superstar bots
John shares an example from his experience selling Instagram Automation services. “I have a coaching client that has a high-ticket offer but has hit a glass ceiling because time is taken up with pre-qualification, follow-ups, low barrier versus high ticket, and low conversion rates on the landing page.”
With this knowledge in hand, John can offer a tailored Instagram Automation package for his client that will save time and pre-qualify leads, satisfying their needs.
“Automation,” John continues, will “add contacts to their list and follow-up strategy, plus help convert users at a higher rate than their landing pages do. That’s potentially going to make them an extra $20,000 per month, not to mention the time saved on lead gen.”
Knowing the monetary value he can add, John would price the above package at $5,000 per month to build the experience, then $2,000 per month to maintain and refine it.
Services shouldn’t be about cost because each customer is different; once they see the value, cost isn’t the question.
It’s all about showing ROI
Natasha Takahashi, founder of School of Bots, adds her spin to this approach by communicating the ROI her team can provide for a potential client.
“If you work with clients to build customized Instagram DM Automation systems, you’ll want to price your services based on the financial value you can generate for your client,” she says. “In other words, what is the hard, cold ROI you can produce with your Instagram DM Automation strategies, processes, templates, and expertise?”
In Natasha’s case, she knows that her Instagram Automation strategy can at least double the conversion rate for info-commerce (courses, coaching, events, etc.) clients. Thanks to her expertise, Natasha can “guarantee a 2:1 ROI policy, meaning that whatever a client pays us, we can promise that we’ll at least double their investment.”
She recommends to “discover what outcome you can guarantee (or as close to it as possible) for your clients by working with a few clients first. You can charge a temporarily discounted rate and be transparent about the fact that you’re essentially growth hacking these clients’ accounts.”
“Once you have a proven track record (e.g., 3-5 consistent results you’ve produced with similar variables),” Natasha advises, “you can charge a rate that you’re excited about and that is justified by your ability to generate at least 2X of that in ROI.”
Upselling to existing clients
Cross-selling and upselling are tactics to earn more revenue from existing clients. It’s 5x to 25x more expensive to acquire a new client than to retain a current one. And when you do retain one, they’ll likely spend more with you. (They are also easier to sell to.
Turn to your current client list first and see who could benefit from Instagram Automation services. Mackensie Liberman, founder of Orca Marketology, uses historical marketing data to upsell existing clients to Instagram Automation. “Since I have a history of working with them [existing clients] and knowing what strategies work in Facebook Messenger, I can offer a ‘current client discounted price’ to test Instagram Automation,” Mackensie explains.
The exact amount depends on the clients:
- Industry
- Target demographics
- Services provided (i.e., just chatbot or Instagram ad campaigns)
“If a client is on the fence about Instagram Automation, offer a pilot project to see what ROI you get,” she suggests. “Be sure to explain direct ROI from Instagram, but also long-term ROI with email and SMS list-building from Instagram traffic.”
Selling to new clients
Mackensie has found prospective clients come to her for a Facebook Messenger chatbot experience first. “I usually discuss Instagram Automation during the discovery phase,” she shares. “Then in my proposal, I offer two or three Chat Marketing options, one of them involving Instagram Automation. You can also offer it as an ‘add-on service’ to your Messenger bot build.”
Mackensie recommends considering the following factors when pricing Instagram Automation:
- The services a client needs: Do they just want a chatbot built and given to them to run? Or do they need a team to maintain and optimize the bot? What about Facebook ads?
- Bot complexity: What goals do they want the bot to achieve, and how much work will it take to achieve them? Do they need special integrations and/or significant logic built into the bot?
- Your time availability: Your week-to-week and month-to-month workload can fluctuate a bit when you have an agency with clients on retainer and those who just want a one-time bot build. When you have less time available or if you’re looking at a large project that will take a lot of time to create, your price should reflect that.
- Average customer value to the business: What you may charge for a little restaurant vastly differs from what you can charge a celebrity or a company that sells high-ticket items.
At the end of the day, many variables influence your Instagram Automation pricing strategy. Choosing the right amount can help build a sustainable business that’s both profitable and scalable. With the tips above in hand, you’ll be well on your way to pitching Instagram Automation services with confidence and generating more sales for your agency.