DM Automation to Email List
Never say 'link in bio' — use comment-a-keyword DM automation to funnel followers into your email list.
- Difficulty
- Moderate
- Time to result
- ~weeks to results
- Steps
- 3
- Confidence
- 92%
This is Brock's lead-capture engine: never sell with a link, always use DM automation. Instead of 'click the link in my bio,' you tell followers to comment or reply with a keyword, which triggers an automated DM delivering a free resource or low-ticket item. He is obsessed with Many Chat — noting that of an estimated 200 million Instagram creators and businesses, only about a million use it, so nearly everyone who should is missing it. The purpose is to build an email list, which Brock argues is a far better predictor of revenue than follower count, and which — unlike a social account that can be hacked or lost overnight — you actually own.
Origin
Brock has championed Many Chat for about five years. His conviction hardened after his family personally experienced hacks that wiped out hundreds of thousands of followers in a day, proving the email list is the durable asset.
Core principles
- 01Never sell with a bare link ('link in bio'); use DM automation instead.
- 02A comment or reply keyword triggers an automated DM delivering a free or low-ticket thing.
- 03The email list, not follower count, is the real predictor of revenue.
- 04Social accounts can be hacked or lost overnight; an email list is owned and durable.
How to run it
- 1
Replace links with keyword automation
Stop directing people to 'link in bio.' Instead, ask them to comment or reply with a specific keyword to receive something.
Pro tip Set this up in Many Chat, which very few of your competitors are using.
Watch out A bare link converts poorly and creates no engagement signal.
- 2
Offer a free or low-ticket hook
Deliver a freebie, digital download, or a $7 low-ticket item via the automated DM. Brock has over 30 such assets.
Pro tip The free thing lowers friction and starts a relationship you can nurture.
- 3
Funnel everything into the email list
Route the automation into email capture, then into your low-ticket ladder (e.g. freebie to $7 trial to $47 membership).
Pro tip Track email subscribers, not followers, as your true revenue predictor.
Watch out Relying on follower count alone is fragile — accounts get hacked and lost overnight.
In the wild
Brock funnels leads from one of 30+ freebies into a $7 two-week trial and then into a $47/month membership, rarely promoting the $47 tier directly. Every sale runs through DM automation, never a link.
→ A low-friction automated funnel that captures emails and converts followers into recurring paying members.
Brock's family personally experienced hacks that cost them tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands of followers in a single day.
→ The loss cemented his belief that an owned email list, not a rentable follower count, is the bread and butter of an online business.
Common mistakes
Selling with 'link in bio'
Bare links convert poorly and generate no engagement; comment/reply keyword automation both delivers the offer and boosts the post.
Prioritizing follower count over email subscribers
Followers can vanish in a hack and predict revenue poorly; the owned email list is the durable, more accurate predictor of your bottom line.
Is it for you?
Best for
Creators and small businesses selling low-ticket offers who want to capture leads and build a durable email list from Instagram.
Not ideal for
Purely high-ticket sellers whose primary funnel is consultation calls rather than automated lead capture (though it still feeds the top).
From the transcript
“every single time I'm selling I am never using a link... It's always DM automation. It's always comment a keyword to get a thing”
“I don't care how many followers you have. I care how many email list subscribers you have. That will be a much better predictor of…”
From the episode
Brock Johnson: Is Instagram Dead? Unlock the Secret to Explosive Social Media Growth
Brock Johnson