Instagram DM templates for salons and barbershops

Templates have a bad name because most of them are written by people who have never stood behind a counter. “Thank you for reaching out! We appreciate your interest in our services” is not a reply, it is a stall with punctuation.

These are written the other way round: what you would actually say, shortened to fit a DM, with the reason it works. Prices and names are examples. Swap them for yours and keep the shape.

The short answer

Three rules make the difference between templates that book and templates that annoy:

1. Answer the exact question asked, in the first line, before anything else.
2. Put a real time in it. Two or three specific slots, not “let me know when suits.”
3. Ask one question, or none. Two questions in one message gets you one answer, usually the less useful one.

Every template below is an application of those three. If you only take one thing: replace any reply containing “DM for price” or “here’s the link” with a price and two times.

Price questions

Far and away the most common DM a shop gets, and the one most commonly answered badly. The full argument for answering it is in should you put your prices on Instagram; this is the wording.

When the price is fixed:

Hey! A skin fade is £22 and takes about 30 minutes. I’ve got Thursday 4pm or Saturday 11:30 — want one of those?

When it genuinely depends:

Hey! Balayage is £140 to £220 — it depends on your length and how much lift you need, so I’d want to see a photo before I promise a number. Send one over and I’ll tell you exactly. If you’d rather talk it through, I do free 15-minute consultations, Tuesday or Thursday evenings.

When they asked about the cheapest thing and you think they want more:

A tidy-up is £14. If you’re after a full fade with the beard shaped up it’s £28 and takes about 45 minutes — happy to do either, just say which. I’ve got Friday 5pm or Saturday 10am.

When they ask “how much for everything?”:

Depends what you fancy! The two people usually book together are a cut and beard at £28, or cut, beard and a wash at £34. Both about 45 minutes. Which sounds closer?

What all four avoid: the price list screenshot. A client who asked one question and received twelve answers has to do your job for you, and some of them will not.

Availability questions

The standard version:

Saturday I’ve got 11:30 and 2pm left. Either of those any good?

When you are full on the day they asked:

Saturday’s gone unfortunately. I’ve got Friday 5:30 or Sunday 10am if either works — otherwise I can let you know the moment something frees up on Saturday, people do move things.

That second half matters. “We’re fully booked” ends a conversation; “I’ll tell you if something opens” keeps it, and cancellations are not rare.

When they ask for a time you do not work:

I finish at 6 on weekdays, so 7pm isn’t one I can do. Saturday I’m on until 4 though, and Thursday I’ve got a 5:30 if that’s any use?

Name the constraint, then immediately offer the nearest thing. A refusal with no alternative is a lost booking.

When they want this afternoon:

I’ve got 3:15 free today if you can get here. After that I’m out until tomorrow 10am.

Urgency deserves a reply in the same tone. This is the one message where speed beats everything.

The vague opener

A third of DMs are one word. “Hi.” “Hey 👋.” “Hello, are you open?”

The instinct is to reply “hi, how can I help?” which hands the work back and starts a two-message round trip. Guess instead, and make the guess easy to correct:

Hey! If it’s an appointment you’re after, just say which service and I’ll tell you what’s free this week. Most people want a cut or a cut and beard.

For an account where the services vary a lot:

Hey! What are you after — nails, lashes or brows? I’ll check what’s free.

For a story reply or an emoji with no words:

Hey! Thanks for that 🙌 If you want in for one, I’ve got Thursday and Saturday free this week.

That last one is worth setting up because story replies are the warmest lead on the platform and the easiest to leave sitting unread.

After hours

Most booking enquiries arrive when you are closed, and most away messages waste them. The longer version is here; the wording is this:

Bad:

Thanks for your message! Our opening hours are Mon-Sat 9-6. We’ll get back to you as soon as possible.

Better:

Thanks for messaging! We’re closed now, back at 9am. If you tell me the service and the day you want, I’ll have times for you first thing — or there’s the full price list and booking here: [link]

The difference is that the second one gives them something to do. The client answers at midnight, you wake up to a conversation that is already halfway to booked instead of a notification.

If you can answer properly out of hours:

A skin fade is £22, about half an hour. Saturday I’ve got 11:30 or 2pm — want me to put you down for one? Anything else and someone will reply when we open at 9.

Someone who went quiet

You asked a question. They never answered. This is the highest-value template in the list because the client was already most of the way there.

Hey! Still want that Saturday slot? I’ve got 11:30 and 2pm left, happy to hold one for you.

Next day, if they had picked a service but not a time:

No rush — just say the word and I’ll get you in. This week I’ve got Thursday evening or Saturday morning.

One follow-up. Not two, and never three. A second nudge reads as keen; a third reads as a bot, and the people most likely to report a business account are the ones being chased.

Deposits

The wording is the whole job here. The same policy lands as either normal or insulting depending on one sentence. Which appointments need one.

Asking:

That’s a three-hour appointment so there’s a £30 deposit to hold it, which comes off the price on the day. Here’s the link: [link] — I’ll have the slot held for you for the next few hours.

Why it works: the reason comes first, the money comes off the total rather than on top, and there is a deadline that is not a threat.

When someone pushes back:

Totally understand. It’s only on the long appointments — if that chair sits empty for three hours there’s nothing I can do with the time, so it’s the one way I can hold it. Happy to book you a shorter service without a deposit if you’d rather start there.

When they cancel inside the window:

No problem at all, thanks for telling me. The deposit holds for 30 days so just message when you want to rebook and I’ll put it against the new appointment.

Rescheduling and cancellations

Make this easy on purpose. Every barrier you put in front of rescheduling converts a reschedule into a no-show, which costs you more.

Someone wants to move it:

No problem. I’ve got Thursday 4pm or Saturday 11:30 — either of those better?

Someone cancels with notice:

Thanks for letting me know, that’s no bother. Want me to find you something next week while you’re here?

Someone cancels with no notice:

Thanks for the heads up. That one’s quite short notice so I probably can’t fill it, but it happens — message me when you want to rebook.

Keep the last one factual. The point is not to make them feel bad, it is that they know for next time and still come back.

No-shows

The message you send after a no-show decides whether that client ever returns, and most shops either say nothing or say too much.

Hey, we had you in at 2 today — everything alright? Happy to get you booked in again if you still want it.

Note what is absent: no guilt, no policy, no fee mentioned. If you charge for no-shows, that is a separate message and it should quote the policy you sent at booking rather than inventing it now.

If it is the second time:

No problem. To be straight with you though, that’s twice now, so next time I’d need the £10 deposit up front to hold the slot. Still happy to have you in.

Saying no

Four situations, all of which go badly when fudged.

Fully booked, no alternative:

Genuinely nothing left this week. Next free is Monday 10am — want it? Otherwise I’ll message you if someone moves something.

A service you do not offer:

That’s not one we do, sorry. [Name] on the high street does them properly though, worth a message.

Sending someone elsewhere costs you nothing and is remembered for a long time.

A discount request:

I don’t do discounts, I’d rather keep the price the same for everyone. What I can do is the shorter version at £14 if the budget’s the issue.

Out of area:

We’re only in Leeds unfortunately. If you’re ever over this way I’d love to do it.

Comment to DM

When someone comments a keyword, Instagram allows exactly one private reply, so it has to carry the whole thing. How that mechanism works and where it falls over.

For a price keyword:

Thanks for commenting! Fades are £22, cut and beard £28. I’ve got Thursday and Saturday free this week — want me to put you down?

For a link or a guide:

Here you go! [link] 📎 Any questions about it just reply here, I read these myself.

For a booking keyword:

Thanks for commenting! I can get you booked in — tap below and I’ll show you what’s free this week.

The public reply under the comment is separate and should be short, because everyone else reading the post sees it:

Sent you a DM 💌

Review requests

Timing beats wording here, and the window is the few hours after the appointment while they still like what you did. The full version.

Hope you’re happy with it! If you’ve got 10 seconds, a Google review really helps a small shop: [link] 🙏

For a regular:

Thanks again today. You’ve been coming a while now — if you ever fancy leaving us a Google review it’d mean a lot: [link]

Never offer anything in exchange. Incentivised reviews breach Google’s policies and can take down the whole profile, which is a bad trade for a handful of stars.

Rebooking regulars

The quietest source of revenue in any shop, and almost nobody does it.

Hey Sam, you’re about due for a fade — want me to put you in Saturday? I’ve got 11:30 or 2.

Send it on roughly the cycle they actually book at, not a round number. A four-week client nudged at six weeks has already been somewhere else. Note that past Instagram’s 24-hour window this has to go out by text or email instead: why.

Handing over to a person

If anything automated is answering your DMs, these two are the most important templates you have.

Handing over:

Let me get [name] to answer that properly — she’s in the shop today and will reply shortly.

Picking it up as a human:

Hi, it’s Jo here. Just read the thread — about the colour correction, I’d want to see it in person before quoting. Can you come in Thursday for ten minutes?

Saying who you are changes the conversation. The client relaxes, and the switch from automated to human stops being a thing they have to work out for themselves. More on where that line sits: what to automate and what to keep human.

The words that cost you bookings

Instead of	Say
DM for price	A skin fade is £22, about 30 minutes
Here’s the link!	I’ve got Thursday 4pm or Saturday 11:30
Let me know what suits you	Saturday I’ve got 11:30 or 2pm, either good?
We’ll get back to you ASAP	Back at 9am. Tell me the service and I’ll have times for you
We are fully booked	Saturday’s gone. Friday 5:30 or Sunday 10am?
Unfortunately we cannot accommodate	I can’t do 7pm, but Thursday I’ve got a 5:30
Thank you for reaching out	Hey!
A deposit is required	It’s a three-hour appointment, so there’s a £30 deposit that comes off the price
Please visit our website to book	Want me to put you down for 11:30?

The pattern: every replacement is shorter, names a specific thing, and leaves the client with one easy decision.

Making them sound like you

Templates go wrong when they are written in a voice nobody in the shop uses. Three adjustments:

Read it out loud. If you would not say it at your own counter, it is wrong. This catches almost everything.

Match your own posts. If your captions are full of jokes and your DMs read like a bank, clients notice the seam. The DM should sound like whoever writes the captions.

Pick a punctuation habit and keep it. One exclamation mark per message is friendly. Three is a different kind of business. Emoji are fine if you use them elsewhere; forced emoji read worse than none.

What does not need adjusting is the structure. Answer, times, one question works in every voice, from a Hackney barber to a Harley Street clinic. Only the words change.

The five to set up first

If you are starting from nothing, these cover most of the volume:

• Price question, for your two or three most-asked services
• Availability question, with real times in it
• Vague opener, guessing the most likely intent
• After hours, giving them something to do rather than a closing time
• Confirmation, with service, price, date, time, address and the cancellation line

Then, as you meet them:

• Went quiet, one follow-up
• Deposit ask, and the pushback reply
• Reschedule, cancellation, no-show
• Fully booked, and the four ways of saying no
• Comment to DM, public and private
• Review request
• Rebooking nudge
• Handover, both directions

Write them once, in your own words, and the whole thing stops being a daily decision.