Guides
Running a business out of your DMs
What we learn building Margo: what Instagram actually allows, what converts a question into a booking, and what to leave to a human.
Growth
How to get more clients from Instagram
The funnel in four numbers, how to find the step that is actually broken for your shop, and a 30-day plan that does not involve posting more.
12 October 2026 · 13 min read
Getting started
How to take bookings through Instagram DMs
A complete walkthrough: the four ways to book from Instagram compared, what to write in the first reply, how to offer times, and the five places bookings quietly leak.
12 October 2026 · 14 min read
Automations
Instagram DM templates for salons and barbershops
Forty replies you can copy for price questions, vague openers, deposits, reschedules, no-shows and saying no, with the reason each one works.
12 October 2026 · 13 min read
Automations
The Instagram DMs that arrive when you're closed
Most booking enquiries land outside opening hours. What an away message should say, what it shouldn't, and how to stop overnight DMs going cold.
10 October 2026 · 8 min read
Running the shop
How to ask for a Google review after an appointment
The one window where people actually leave reviews, wording that works without begging, and why review gating and incentives will cost you.
10 October 2026 · 9 min read
Platform rules
Will automating your Instagram DMs get your account banned?
The difference between tools built on Instagram's official API and tools that log in as you, and which behaviours actually get accounts restricted.
10 October 2026 · 9 min read
Running the shop
Should you put your prices on Instagram?
The case for and against posting prices, why “DM for price” costs you more bookings than it wins, and how to answer the price question in a way that leads somewhere.
10 October 2026 · 8 min read
Running the shop
Taking deposits without scaring clients off
Which appointments actually need a deposit, how much to ask for, the wording that stops it sounding like distrust, and what to do when someone cancels.
6 October 2026 · 6 min read
Getting started
What to put in your Instagram bio link for bookings
Most salons send everyone to one booking page and lose the people who weren't ready to book. How to structure it so browsers and bookers both convert.
6 October 2026 · 6 min read
Running the shop
Which Instagram numbers actually predict bookings
Reach, saves, profile visits and followers: what each really tells you, which move before the chair fills, and why likes are the least useful number.
6 October 2026 · 6 min read
Getting started
Instagram professional accounts: what actually changes
Business or Creator, what each one gives you, the one real trade-off nobody mentions, and why any booking tool needs you on a professional account.
6 October 2026 · 5 min read
Getting started
Instagram DM automation for salons, without the robot voice
What to automate in your salon's Instagram DMs, what to keep human, and how to set it up so clients book instead of drifting away.
12 September 2026 · 7 min read
Automations
How comment → DM works on Instagram (and its real limits)
The mechanics behind “comment PRICE and I’ll DM you”, what Meta actually allows, and how to use it without annoying people or risking your account.
5 September 2026 · 6 min read
Platform rules
The Instagram 24-hour rule, explained for business owners
Why some replies send and others don't, what the human-agent exception covers, and how to keep reminders arriving when the window has closed.
28 August 2026 · 6 min read
Running the shop
How to cut no-shows without charging everyone a deposit
Why clients miss appointments, which reminders actually work, and how to make rescheduling so easy that people do it instead of vanishing.
20 August 2026 · 5 min read