The short version
Selling in Instagram DMs is the same four questions repeated all day: what's the price, how do I order, how do I pay, when does it arrive. What grows sales is answering those four quickly and the same way every time, and four Direct Automations do exactly that. A person steps in after the payment confirmation: confirms the order, ships it, sends the tracking number. This page builds the flow step by step, with cards for multi-product shops and a form for order details.
The four questions of the flow
| Question | Trigger words | Reply |
|---|---|---|
| What's the price? | price, how much | current price, promotion, "type order" |
| How do I order? | order (Exactly), how to order, place an order | what to send in one message, how to pay |
| How do I pay? | payment, paypal, venmo, afterpay | payment methods, fees if any, link or account details |
| When does it arrive? | shipping, delivery time, when will it arrive | dispatch and delivery times, cost, carrier |
The four link up by word: the price reply says "type Order", the order reply states the payment route, the shipping reply asks for the order number. At no point is the customer left wondering what to do next. Complete messages for each: Instagram auto reply: three ways, with examples.
Setup in five steps
Automate the price question
Create a new Direct Automation. Add "price" and "how much" as Contains triggers. Reply: the current price, a promotion if there is one, and a last line "Type order to order". Do not add "much" on its own, and keep each word in one automation only.
Automate how to order
A second automation: Exactly on "order" plus Contains on "how to order", "how do I order", "place an order". The reply is a numbered list: product code and size, full name and address, phone; below it the payment route and the shipping terms. Do not add the bare word "order" as a Contains trigger: "where is my order" would get the ordering instructions.
Automate payment and shipping questions
A third automation for payment ("payment", "paypal", "venmo", "afterpay"), a fourth for shipping ("shipping", "delivery time", "when will it arrive"). State any payment fee plainly; in the shipping reply, ask for the order number for tracking.
Show products with cards
If you sell several products, set the price automation's reply type to Card: up to 10, one card per product, each with an image, a title, a short description and up to 3 buttons; video cannot go in a card. Put the price in the title or the description, and let the button open the product page or start the order step (a button with no link takes its title as the trigger of a Direct Automation).
Hand over to a person at payment
When the customer sends their details and the payment confirmation, a person confirms the order, ships it and sends the tracking number. Do not try to automate this step: the automation does not see your stock or your order system. With automatic capture on, a phone number sent on its own lands in Lead Management, so ask for the number as a separate message and your customer list builds itself.
Taking the order with a form
Three details in one message is enough for most customers; if details keep arriving incomplete, collect the order with the Form Builder: someone who types "order now" is asked for the product code, size, address and phone one at a time, and the answers land in Lead Management and export to Excel. Setup: Collecting leads in Instagram DMs. The form collects the details completely; payment and confirmation stay with a person.
Small settings that lift sales
- Reply delay of 10–30 seconds: the reply reads as if a person typed it.
- Quick replies under the price message ("order", "shipping") give people a one-tap answer; test that each tap brings the reply you expect. Quick replies send text only and cannot be mixed with buttons in one reply.
- Comment to DM: a short public reply to everyone who comments "price" under a Reel, then the price and the order step by DM (Instagram comment-to-DM automation).
- A story code: say "reply CODE" in a story and send a code-specific discount; you see which sales came from the story (story reply automation).
- After the sale: thank anyone whose whole message is "it arrived" or "love it" (Exactly, so a complaint never gets the thank-you), ask for a review, leave a small code for the next order.
The legal frame
Common mistakes
- An automation quoting an old price: update the text the day the price changes.
- Cramming everything into one automation: a single 1,000-character reply is not read; four short ones are.
- Everyday words as triggers ("info", "thanks"): wrong replies go out and trust goes with them.
- Leaving the customer to the automation after the payment confirmation: the most critical moment wants a person.
Example messages: Instagram auto reply; the setup with the panel's labels: How to use BixoChat.