“Impressions are up!” Cool. But are sales?
How about $70 million in sales straight from the DMs?
Meet Natasha Willis, co-CEO of School of Bots, the Miami-based agency specializing in Instagram and Messenger automations.
She launched it in 2016 with her business partner (now husband) Kyle — on a whim, in college, with nothing but a one-way ticket and a wild idea.
Fast forward to today, and they help e-learning businesses scale to over $10 million in annual revenue with DM marketing funnels, designed to generate qualified leads and sales on Instagram and Facebook. They also build SMS, email, and website funnels and run paid ads for clients.
In 2017, they released the School of Bots online course to help agencies turn Manychat automations into a revenue-driving service.
“It got quite a bit of traction,” Natasha says. “Though at the time we didn’t have the PR or brand recognition.”
Safe to say they do now. With clients like Jenna Kutcher, Amy Porterfield, and Mindvalley, they’ve built one of the most effective DM systems on Instagram.
Here’s how their approach — powered by Manychat — has generated over $80 million in sales, and why you might want to steal it. 😉
The Challenge
Everyone talks about “engagement” on Instagram. But you can’t pay rent with likes. Trust us, we’ve tried.
And traditional methods (ahem, “link in bio”) are outdated, underperforming, and totally missing the mark.
“Link in bio actually came out in 2013…the same year Miley Cyrus dropped Wrecking Ball. If that doesn’t make you feel old, just know that was over a decade ago,” says Natasha.
“Link in bio has limited engagement, and it has the highest drop-off when it comes to actually generating leads and revenue from your Instagram content.”
And when it comes to new strategies, most businesses are still playing it safe (and small) with DM automation. They do the usual: “Comment below to get the freebie,” drop a link in the DMs, and call it a day.
But that’s just scratching the surface.
“If you’re still using Manychat like this or thinking about using it in this way,” Natasha says, “you’re missing out on 95% of the revenue that you could be making from your content.”
Do this instead.
The Goal
Natasha wanted to ensure business coaches, course creators, eCommerce brands, and influencers generate income from their posts.
Not someday. Not after five funnel steps. Right now. And without the sales calls or the dusty old “link in bio.”
Natasha pioneers “DM funnels” or “chat funnels.” (And a little note: She refers to them as “DM funnels” or “DM systems” interchangeably.)
“A DM funnel is an automated marketing funnel that generates leads and sales 24/7 through the DMs on Instagram and Facebook,” she explains.
“People feel that they’re on this content hamster wheel, and sometimes don’t see what it is actually doing for their business. You want it to be profitable, so you can continue to create more content, reach more people, and grow your business.”
How it Works
This isn’t your average “hey, here’s a link” DM. Natasha’s DM funnels are psychology-backed convos.
She’s tested this framework on 3,000+ Instagram accounts and built DM funnels that qualify leads, capture emails, and land more sales automatically.
Step 1: Start with a freebie
Think: free guides, discounts, quizzes, waitlists, challenges. Something folks actually want.
Then, turn that freebie into a data collector — ask for their email address or phone number — in the same conversation.
“Every piece of content now becomes a lead-generating asset for you when you have at least one DM funnel built within your account,” Natasha says.
Step 2: Ask a qualifying question
Natasha uses psychology-backed questions to find out someone’s biggest pain point or goal. Then she tailors the message accordingly, like so:
“Here’s the guide. But let me ask: What’s your biggest priority right now?”
This is how she starts to bridge the gap between “freebie” and “buy now.” Smart.
“We’re using upsell psychology to let them know, ‘Hey, that’s a solution for you. But to really help you with your problems, let me ask you a question and see if I can better support you here,’” explains Natasha. “You’re going to have a very high response rate to this question.”
Step 3: Drop the sales generator
Coaching programs. Digital courses. Affiliate links. High-ticket masterminds. Doesn’t matter what it is: once the DM funnel’s built, it sells for you.
And it works for any follower size or price point.
“We have sold offers from a dollar to $100,000, so there is no price point that I’ve seen yet that cannot be sold with a DM funnel,” adds Natasha.
The Results
This is the good part! Natasha’s DM systems have generated:
- $80M+ in revenue
- 300M+ messages sent
- 70%+ email opt-in rates (vs 25% on landing pages)
- 85% funnel completion rates
- 60,000 emails added in 12 months from one account
And there’s more:
- One client, the most-followed lawyer online, got 160,000 comments on a single post, which generated 145,000 leads.
- Another creator, Her First $100K, has made $1.3M in sales and counting.
- And Amy Porterfield made over $2M in revenue from her DM system in the first year.
“I truly believe to my core that DMs are the most underpriced attention channel that you can possibly be marketing on right now.”
Why This Works (And Why You Need it Too)
The old way: Link in bio, clunky landing pages, and dead-end DMs with zero personalization, low conversions, and no way to qualify or upsell. 😭
The new way: Smart, scalable DM funnels with 85% completion, 75% click-throughs, and 15%+ conversions — right inside the IG inbox your audience’s already glued to.
And Natasha has ensured it works for businesses of all sizes.
Swipe This Strategy
Want Natasha-level revenue? Here’s what to do:
- Build a real DM funnel (not a one-click auto-reply) using Manychat
- Offer a high-value freebie and collect email addresses
- Ask smart qualifying questions to get ‘em primed for an upsell to solve their problem. (You can even use our free “Qualify with a quiz” template.)
- Drop your sales generator in the DMs
You don’t need more content. You just need a better way to convert.
And it’s sitting in your DMs.
Want to build yours? Start free with Manychat — your first DM funnel’s waiting.
| 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 faster than ever before. | Step 3: Secure the bag! 💅No, really. Get more sales from Instagram every time you post. |
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