How I Use ManyChat to Build My Email List (Free Template)

If you've ever commented a word on one of my posts and got a DM back straight away, that was ManyChat. It's the tool that turns a comment into an email address, and it's the reason every post I publish grows my list rather than just my likes.

This is how I use it, the template I built, and how to save it to your own account.

What ManyChat is for

ManyChat connects to your Instagram and watches for things. When someone comments a particular word on a post, replies to a story, or sends you a message, it can reply automatically in the DMs. That's it. It's a DM robot, and once it's set up it runs on its own.

I use it for one job. Every post I publish has a keyword. Someone comments the keyword, ManyChat DMs them, asks for their email address, and sends them the link to what I promised. Their email goes onto my list. I didn't do anything.

How the flow works

Every keyword flow I run has the same five steps. Here's what the person sees, and what's happening behind it.

1. They comment the keyword. The trigger fires. ManyChat also fires if they reply to a story with the keyword or send it as a DM, so it works wherever they are.
2. They get the first message. "Hey there! I'm so happy you're here! Just to confirm, you're here for the prompt I use to create proposals?" with a button that says YES PLEASE!
3. They press the button and get asked for their email. "Fab! Drop your email below so I can send it over." ManyChat waits for them to type it.
4. ManyChat tags them. Behind the scenes it adds a tag with the keyword's name, so I always know which post someone came from.
5. They get the link. "Awesome, below is the link to the post to check it out" with a button that opens the blog post.

Five steps, one comment, one email address, and they've got what they came for within about ten seconds.

The email lands in ManyChat as a contact. I push it into my email tool from there, tagged by keyword, so the right people get the right follow-up. That's a separate post, because it's a separate tool. This one is just the flow.

The template

Rather than build this from scratch, save mine.

Get the ManyChat template

You'll need a ManyChat account connected to your Instagram before this will work. If you haven't done that yet, ManyChat walks you through it when you sign up.

To save it:

1. Open the link. It opens a page where you can see the whole flow laid out.
2. In the bottom right corner, click Save to ManyChat.
3. Choose your account. The flow is now in your Automations, and it's yours to edit.

The four things to change

Open the flow in your Automations and click Edit. There are only four places you need to touch. Everything else can stay exactly as it is.

1. The keyword, in the triggers.

There are three triggers at the start of the flow: someone comments on your post, someone replies to your story, and someone sends you a message. Open each one, add your keyword, remove the placeholder, and save. Make sure the toggle on each trigger is on. Do it in that order, because ManyChat won't let you save a trigger with no keyword in it.

Pick a keyword that's one word, easy to spell, and obviously about the post. I use the topic and 101, so PROPOSAL101, SKILLS101, WEBSITE101.

2. The first message.

Click the first Send Message step. Keep the opener and the YES PLEASE! button. Change the middle so it says what this post is giving them. "Just to confirm, you're here for the template I use to build landing pages?" That's the only line that changes.

3. The tag, in Actions.

Click the Actions step. There's an Add Tag entry. Change it to your keyword. This is what lets you see later which post each contact came from.

4. The link, in the last message.

Click the final Send Message step, then click the button on it. Change the button title to a short call to action that fits the post, like GET THE TEMPLATE. Set it to open a website, paste the link to your blog post or download, and click Done.

Then click Update in the top right. The flow is live.

Test it before you post

Comment the keyword on one of your own posts from another account, or get a friend to. You should get the first message within a few seconds. Press the button, type an email, and check the link arrives. Then look in ManyChat under Contacts and check the tag is on them.

If the first message doesn't arrive, it's nearly always one of two things: the trigger toggle is off, or the keyword in the trigger doesn't match what you typed. Check the spelling.

Then put it in the caption

The flow only works if people know the keyword. Every caption ends the same way:

"If you want the full walkthrough and the template I use, comment PROPOSAL101 and I'll send it to you."

That line is the whole strategy. The post gives value, the keyword gives more, and the more lives on your email list rather than on Instagram.

One flow per post

I make a new copy of this flow for every post, with its own keyword, its own message, its own tag and its own link. It takes about five minutes once you've done it twice. It's worth it, because every post becomes its own way onto your list, and you can see exactly which ones are working.

If you haven't got the thing to send people to yet, that's the other half of this. Every post I publish has a blog post behind it, and that's what the link goes to. Here's how I write them.

And if what you want is the whole system - the pricing, the positioning, and the tech and AI that lets you run a business on three days a week - that's what I teach.

Watch the free training →