Instagram auto-replies for life coaches

Few first messages are only about price. People want to know whether coaching fits their situation and whether you're the right person for it. Answer the common questions once, on the page the CLARITY card opens, and the automation can send it at any hour.

• “Is this like therapy?” Explain the difference plainly: coaching works on goals and next steps, and you refer people to a therapist or doctor for mental health concerns.
• “Are you certified?” Say what training you have. Life coaching isn't a licensed profession in most countries, so credentials such as the International Coaching Federation's ACC, PCC and MCC are voluntary, and the person asking is probably comparing coaches.
• “How many sessions will I need?” Describe your packages and how often you meet, without promising change in a set number of weeks.
• “Do you work with people in my time zone?” Show your hours in two or three time zones on the booking page.

Messages that always need a personal reply

• Anyone describing a crisis, thoughts of self-harm or abuse. Reply yourself, and point them to local emergency services or a crisis line.
• Long personal stories. They deserve a human answer, even a short one.
• Questions about a partner's, child's or friend's situation, which you can't judge from a DM.

Coaching posts often say “comment STUCK if this is you.” As a trigger, a word that describes a feeling is risky. Keywords match the whole word anywhere in a message, so “I've been stuck in bed for weeks and I can't cope” would get the same cheerful reply as a passing comment.

• Don't make HELP, SAD, LOST, ALONE or STUCK a DM keyword, where it would answer every message that contains it.
• If a post really needs a feeling word, attach it to that one post and read its comments yourself.
• Prefer words that name the thing being sent: PROMPTS, WHEEL, VALUES.
• Write the first message so it still reads kindly to someone having a hard day. “Here's the worksheet” lands better than “Let's crush this week.”

Tip: Automation answers keywords. It can't tell when someone is struggling, so read your DMs yourself every day.

• A carousel with five prompts from the month, ending with PROMPTS.
• Your own wheel of life as a Story, scores included, with “reply WHEEL” on the last frame.
• A Reel of three ways to say no at work, with BOUNDARIES for the full scripts.
• A Sunday evening Story showing how you plan the week, with RESET.
• A client's story, shared with written consent and details changed, ending with CLARITY.
• An Instagram Live Q&A. Set the word up before you start, because comments made during a Live can only get a private reply while it's running.

January and September are natural fresh starts, when people review the year or return to routines after summer. Breakups, moves and children leaving home happen all year, though, which is why evergreen posts such as PROMPTS and WHEEL are worth leaving switched on.

1. A post or Story offers PROMPTS, WHEEL or RESET. The first message to a commenter is plain text; the resource follows once they answer it.
2. Collect an email for the bigger resources. You can export the list to your email software as a CSV, and throwaway addresses are turned away.
3. Your newsletter and Stories invite people to a workshop or a clarity call. Anyone who replies CLARITY to a Story gets the booking link at once.
4. The call is yours. Send the proposal and agreement by email afterwards, where they won't get lost in a DM thread.
5. For a group program, open a waitlist with CIRCLE and email the list when places open, since automated DMs can't go out to everyone at once.

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• Don't promise outcomes. “Find your purpose in 90 days” is a claim nobody can guarantee, and rules on advertising claims and testimonials differ by country.
• Client stories need written permission, with names and details changed so nobody can be identified.
• Keep session notes and anything sensitive off Instagram.
• Meta allows one private reply per comment, within 7 days of it, and automated messages only within 24 hours of the person's last message.