No. 022
Your comment-to-DM,live tonight.
Chin Gregory presents · a guide on selling with ai · runtime 45 min
Free guide · No. 022 · Selling with AI

Your comment-to-DM, live tonight.

Someone comments one word on your post, and your free resource lands in their DMs automatically. Set up in ManyChat on its Free plan.

Takes
About an hour
Needs
An Instagram professional account and a free resource to give away
Costs
Free on ManyChat’s Free plan (up to 25 Active Contacts a month)
Start the guide Jump to downloads

By tonight, anyone who comments your keyword gets your free resource in their DMs, whether you’re online or not. You pick one word, write one message, and ManyChat sends it every time.

What you’ll need.

Get these set up first. Everything below uses them.

Some of these are affiliate links. If you sign up through one, I may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you. See every tool I use.

01

Tell this page about your freebie

Your answers write your DM, your caption line and your test checklist. They stay in your browser and nobody else sees them.

One short word that’s easy to spell on a phone.
Call it what it is. People comment for things they can picture.
A Google Drive file, a page on your site, anything that opens on a phone.
It signs off the DM so it sounds like you.
Check your link now. Open it in a private browser window. If it asks you to sign in or request access, change the sharing so anyone with the link can view it.
02

Get your Instagram ready

ManyChat only connects to professional accounts, and Instagram has to give it permission to send messages.

Switch to a professional account (skip this if you already have one)

  1. In the Instagram app, go to your profile and tap the menu to open Settings and activity.
  2. Under For professionals, tap Account type and tools.
  3. Tap Switch to professional account, pick a category, then choose Creator or Business.
Private account? Switching to a professional account makes it public, and any pending follow requests get accepted.

Let ManyChat send your messages

  1. Go to Settings and activity, then Messages and story replies.
  2. Tap Message controls, then find Connected tools.
  3. Switch Allow access to messages on.
Your account is professional and messages are open to connected tools.
03

Connect Instagram to ManyChat

ManyChat watches your comments and sends the DM for you. Its Free plan covers everything in this guide.

  1. Go to manychat.com and click Get started.
  2. Pick Instagram as your channel, then sign up with Facebook or Google.
  3. Choose Connect Via Instagram. It’s the simplest option and you don’t need a Meta Business account for it.
  4. Check the permissions, click Allow, then click Let’s start.
Already have ManyChat? Go to Settings in the sidebar, choose Instagram, and click Connect.
What the Free plan gives you. Up to 25 Active Contacts a month, 4 live automations and 2 channels. Each person who comments counts once a month, however many times they talk to you. The first message a new person gets from you carries a small “Powered by Manychat” line.

Stuck? ManyChat’s own walkthrough is here: How to connect Instagram to Manychat ↗

04

Create the comment automation

This is the bit that listens for your keyword. ManyChat has a ready-made version, so there’s no flow to build.

  1. Click Automations in the sidebar, then + New Automation.
  2. Choose Auto-DM links from comments.
  3. Pick which post it listens to. Choose Next post or reel if you’re posting this one fresh, or A specific post or reel if it’s already up.
  4. Set the words a comment must include, and add your keyword.
  5. Switch on the public reply and paste in the three replies below. ManyChat rotates them.
  6. Switch the Opening DM off and leave the other optional extras off. You want one message with one link.
Your keyword
[YOUR KEYWORD]
Three public replies
Just sent the [WHAT YOURE GIVING AWAY] to your DMs. Have a look in your messages.

Done. Check your DMs, the [WHAT YOURE GIVING AWAY] is waiting for you.

It’s on its way to your inbox now. Enjoy the [WHAT YOURE GIVING AWAY].
Add a second spelling. People type fast on phones. If your keyword is easy to get wrong, add the likely typo to the list as well.
05

Write the DM

This is the message they get. Short, friendly and the link right there.

In the message step, paste the text below and add your link where ManyChat asks for it.

Keep it short. ManyChat won’t publish an Instagram message with a button if it runs over 640 characters.

Your DM
Here’s your [WHAT YOURE GIVING AWAY], as promised.

Tap the link to open it:
[THE LINK TO IT]

Enjoy it.
Click Go Live in the top right. Your automation is running.
06

Write the caption

Nobody comments a word they haven’t been asked to. One clear line in the caption does it.

Your caption line
Comment [YOUR KEYWORD] and I’ll send you the [WHAT YOURE GIVING AWAY] in your DMs.
Or try one of these
Want the [WHAT YOURE GIVING AWAY]? Comment [YOUR KEYWORD] and it’ll land in your DMs.

Comment [YOUR KEYWORD] below and I’ll DM you the [WHAT YOURE GIVING AWAY].

Free [WHAT YOURE GIVING AWAY]: comment [YOUR KEYWORD] and I’ll send it straight to your DMs.
Put it near the top. Make it the first line of your caption, so it’s the first thing people read.
Post it. If you picked Next post or reel, this is the post your automation listens to.
07

Test it before anyone else does

Two minutes now saves you a comment section full of people asking where their link is.

  1. Grab a second Instagram account: a spare one of yours, or ask a friend to help.
  2. From that account, comment your keyword under the post.
  3. Check a public reply appears under the comment.
  4. Open that account’s DMs. Look in message requests too.
  5. Tap the link on the phone and make sure your resource opens.
Each person triggers it once per post. Instagram only fires the automation on someone’s first comment under a post. To test again, use a different account.
When the DM lands and the link opens, you’re live.
08

Take your downloads

Tick what you want. Each file is written from your answers in step 1.

Your tools, one more time.

If something goes wrong.

Someone commented and got nothing

Check the automation says it’s live and points at the right post, and that their comment included your keyword. Then check Allow access to messages is still on in Instagram. If it all looks right, use Refresh permissions under the Help button in ManyChat.

It worked once, then stopped for my test account

That’s Instagram. It only fires on a person’s first comment under a post. Test again from a different account.

ManyChat won’t connect my Instagram

Personal accounts can’t connect. Switch to a Creator or Business account (step 2), then try again.

ManyChat won’t let me go live

Usually the message is too long: 640 characters with a button, 1,000 without. Cut it down. On the Free plan, also remove any block marked as a paid feature.

My DMs show “Powered by Manychat”

That’s the Free plan. It shows on the first message a new person gets. The paid plans remove it.

Instagram is hiding my public replies

Instagram flags replies that look automated. Keep three different replies in rotation, change the wording now and then, and avoid replies that are only emojis.

What’s next

Now turn comments into customers.

Your comments now send a link. In my free live workshop I show you how I use Claude to sell my digital products and bring in customers every day.

Format
Free live workshop
Save my free seat
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