Jenna Kutcher figured out how to make Instagram pay her (instead of the other way around).
In just 12 months, she pulled in $1.7 million in sales and 53,000 fresh email leads, all from her Instagram DMs. No paid ads. No cold pitching. Just pure, organic engagement.
How did she do it?
Great news! You’re about to find out her exact strategy. Swipe it, use it, and watch your audience engage (and convert!).
The Instagram “Traffic Jam” Problem
As a digital marketing expert and New York Times bestselling author, Jenna Kutcher was already crushing it on Instagram. She had 1 million followers, a thriving business, and a bestselling book.
But she had a problem: Her audience loved her content. Most were die-hard fans. They commented, liked, and watched her Stories religiously. But when it came to actually buying? Well, they ghosted.
She sent folks to her link in bio, but that’s where they often dropped off, got lost, or just didn’t press that “buy now” button. RIP to sales.
Jenna needed a way to turn engagement into real, trackable sales.
That’s when Miami-based marketing agency School of Bots introduced her to Instagram DM automation.
Tackling the challenge head-on, the School of Bots team automated 40+ chat funnels that collected 38,490 email addresses, and Jenna raked in nearly $1M, all from free, organic content.
New Instagram Rule: If They Comment, They Convert
Natasha Willis, co-CEO at School of Bots, coined the term “DM funnels”.
Now we’re not the best at math, but here’s an equation we understand: DM funnels = landing pages + email sequences inside your Instagram DMs. For example:
- A follower comments? Boom! They get an instant message.
- They reply? Bang! You collect their email.
- They engage? Bam! They get a product recommendation or exclusive offer.
They’re automatically heading down your funnel from comment through to purchase in instant, high-converting conversations that sound like you (fun!).
#1: How to Crank up Webinar Registrations (and Your Bank Account)
Jenna was already running successful launches for her course, The Pinterest Lab, but she wanted more sign-ups without spending more on ads.
So, she swapped out the old-school email sign-up ads for an Instagram DM funnel.
How it works
- Step 1: Jenna dropped an Instagram post promoting her free webinar.
- Step 2: Followers commented with her ✨magic keyword.✨
- Step 3: Manychat sent them a registration link directly to their DMs (no leaving Instagram, no getting lost).
- Step 4: Boom! 12,489 folks signed up (with 55.6% of those coming from chat funnels alone). 💅
The results
- 85% of people who commented on a post, ended up registering for the webinar (vs. the typical 30-40% on landing pages).
- 13% of them bought her course
- $491,659 in revenue.
Why this works (and why you need it, too)
The old way: Send people to a landing page and pray they don’t get distracted. Boring!
The new way: Keep them inside Instagram, where they’re already engaged, and make sign-up effortless. AH-MAZING.
Swipe this strategy
Drop a post or Reel about your freebie or webinar. Set up a simple automation in Manychat using our “Boost webinar sign-ups” template. Then watch the DMs blow up your phone (ya might want to turn off your notifications, though.)
#2: How to Use a Quiz to Give Folks What They Want
Ever wished your audience would just tell you exactly what they need so you could hand them the perfect offer?
Jenna Kutcher did just this with her Level Up Quiz, a chat funnel that qualifies leads, shoots off personalized recommendations, and builds her email list, all inside the DMs.
By doing this, Jenna bypassed the clunky landing pages and link-in-bio drop-offs.
How it works
- Step 1: Jenna asks people to DM her the “QUIZ” keyword. Followers take a fun, fast quiz in DMs, answering a few strategic questions.
- Step 2: They engage. Based on their answers, they get a custom resource (freebies, course recommendations, next steps).
- Step 3: She collects data, like email addresses or where they are in their business journey. Every quiz-taker is a new lead. Every answer provides insights on what her audience actually wants.
The results
- 5,836 emails collected (without driving traffic off Instagram)
- 85% quiz completion rate (because who doesn’t love a good quiz?)
Why this works (and why you need it too)
The old way: Send followers to a quiz on an external site. They drop off, forget about it, or never finish.
The new way: Keep them on Instagram with a fun and instantly rewarding quiz.
“What’s incredible about how we were able to set this one up is that people can literally take the quiz in their DMs by answering super simple questions and then getting the correct result delivered again in their DMs,” says Jenna.
“We’re never inviting them off the app, never asking them to stop scrolling their newsfeed. They’re already there and they’re getting served.”
Steal this strategy
Got a quiz, freebie, or qualification questionnaire? Let people interact, engage, and convert without leaving Instagram by using our “Qualify with a quiz” template.
#3: How to Get Folks Familiar With Your Products
Jenna Kutcher authored a book, How Are You, Really?, but when selling through platforms like Amazon, she realized she had no way to track buyers, follow up, or continue the conversation with leads.
“With Amazon, you’re not able to gather their customer information,” says Jenna. “But with Manychat you can.”
How it works
- Step 1: A follower comments BOOK or BOOK CLUB on her post.
- Step 2: They instantly get a DM with a special offer: Buy the book and get $997 in free bonuses.
- Step 3: Once they purchase, they can claim their freebie inside the DMs!
“[The book is] something that I’m very proud of and something that I want to get into more people’s hands,” Jenna explains. “So we created a very simple chat funnel so that whenever I talk about a content theme that includes my book, I can drive a result.”
The results
- 3,187 emails collected
- 1,164 confirmed purchases
- 37% conversion rate from comment to purchase
Why this works (and why you need it too)
The old way: Send people to Amazon, hope they buy, and lose all customer data.
The new way: Collect emails, track purchases, and follow up in the DMs. (And track it all inside Manychat’s dashboard!)
Steal this strategy
Don’t lose buyers to third-party platforms. Use Instagram automation to capture their info, reward them with an exclusive freebie, and keep them engaged post-purchase.
Bonus: How to Slash Lead Costs With Ads That Click to Instagram Direct
When Jenna did run ads, she had a clear goal in mind: She wanted more sign-ups, lower lead costs, and higher conversions for her evergreen webinar, but the traditional ads-to-landing-page-registrations funnel sucked.
So, with the help of School of Bots, she ran click-to-Instagram ads that sent leads right into the DMs instead.
Jenna scored more leads at a cheaper cost, and nearly 3x higher webinar conversions.
How it worked
- Step 1: Jenna ran an ad that clicks to Instagram Direct, with a simple call to action: “Comment TRAFFIC to get my free webinar.”
- Step 2: When someone clicked the ad, they were prompted to type the word “TRAFFIC.”
- Step 3: The Manychat automation instantly sent a personalized DM with a follow-up question to keep engagement high.
- Step 4: The automation also collected their name and email, and even registered them for the webinar.
- Step 5: Folks received a custom webinar link via DM and email.
- Step 6: After the webinar, an email sequence nurtured leads and converted them into buyers.
The results
- 7.9x increase in ad engagement (comments on clicks-to-Instagram ads vs. traditional Instagram ads jumped 690%).
- Lead cost dropped from $6.56 to $4.88 (a $1.68 reduction per lead).
- Webinar sign-up conversion rate increased from 30% to 75%.
Why this works (and why you need it, too)
The old way: Send folks to a landing page and hope they’ll fill out a clunky form, surrender their details, and register for your webinar.
The new way: Keep them inside Instagram, where they’re already engaged, and make sign-up instant.
Swipe this strategy
For evergreen webinars, ads that click to Instagram Direct work best when you set clear expectations in your ad creative and copy. Tell folks exactly what will happen when they click the ad to keep response rates high and prevent drop-off.
💡 Don’t be afraid to add a reminder; some folks click and forget, so add a “Check your DMs for the link!” in your creative and ad copy to nudge them. Just make sure you follow Meta’s 24-hour rule for DM automation.
Jenna’s 3-Step Instagram Strategy for Organic Sales
1. Make your content “unignorable”
Instagram is about showing up and serving your audience. But if your audience isn’t engaging, they aren’t buying.
“Think about what your brand pillars are. What do people think about when they think of you, and ‘how do I make somebody care about this content that I’m sharing?’” Jenna explains.
Do this today:
- Identify your three brand pillars. What do people instantly associate with you?
- Turn each pillar into content that makes people care. Think catchy Reels, relatable Stories, and DM triggers that pull them in.
- Use storytelling to hook attention. Instead of “Here’s my offer,” try “Here’s why this changed my life (and can change yours too).”
People engage with what feels relevant, real, and irresistible. Make your content impossible to ignore.
2. Automate (but make it feel human)
Automation frees up your time and increases sales, but here’s what you must understand: The best funnels don’t feel automated. They feel personal.
“Make it simple, but an effective funnel so that you can start to see real results,” Jenna says. “Sometimes the more covert methods work better than being super overt about what it is you’re talking about.”
Do this today:
- Start simple. Set up one Manychat funnel. It could be a quiz, a freebie, or a product recommendation — just get it running.
- Test different angles. Instead of “Sign up for my webinar,” try “Want to learn [insert transformation]? DM me ‘YES’ and I’ll send it over.”
- Make it feel like a conversation. Your audience shouldn’t feel like they’re talking to a bot! They should feel like they’re chatting with a friend who gets them.
3. Test, tweak, repeat!
Your first call to action (CTA) won’t be your best one. Your first funnel won’t be your highest-converting. And that’s OK! The key is to keep testing.
“You will not get results, and you will not get insights if you’re not trying different things,” Jenna says. “Create that first automation and then consistently share it over and over and over again to figure out what works best for you and your audience.”
Do this today:
- Switch up your CTAs. Instead of “Click the link,” try “DM me [keyword] for instant access.” Instead of “Join my list,” try “Want [result]? I got you. Drop a comment below.”
- Look at the data. What’s working? What’s flopping? Double down on what’s getting engagement.
- Rinse and repeat. Don’t just post once and move on. Repackage your best content, reshare your best offers, and keep optimizing.
Feeling ready to go? Get started with Manychat today, in three easy steps:
| Step 1: Sign up for Manychat (oh, did we mention it’s free?!) Join 1 million+ smart brands and sign up for a risk-free trial. No lock-in contracts here. | Step 2: Build your first automation (with a lil help)Choose from one of our ready-to-go templates and get it up and running before your espresso shot even kicks in! | Step 3: Secure the bag! 💅No, really. Get more sales from Instagram every time you post. |
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