How to Set Up Stan Store AutoDM and Reply to Comments Instantly

Are you still manually replying to every Instagram comment? That might work for a little while—but as soon as a post pops off, you’ll be bombarded by comments like “Link?”, “Where do I get this?”, “Send me the guide!”

Suddenly, you’re staring down 400 people who all want the same thing. So you start copying and pasting the same DM, one by one, until your thumbs give out and half those warm leads have already moved on.

There’s a much better way to handle this. It’s called AutoDM. And today, I’m showing you how to set one up inside your Stan Store so every one of those comments turns into a lead on its own.

By the end, you’ll know exactly what an AutoDM is, how to connect it to Instagram, and how to build your first keyword-triggered reply from scratch—so a single post can send your link out hundreds of times without you needing to lift a finger.

If you’re new here, I’m Professor T 👋 I help Creator-Entrepreneurs turn their audience into leads and income on Stan Store—the link in bio store built for selling digital products, courses, communities, coaching, memberships, and more without stitching together a bunch of different tools.

We’ve helped Creators earn over $600M so far, like Mehr, Zee, Steph, and Jalen. And with my help, you could be next.

In this lesson, we’ll cover:

💜 What Instagram DM automation is and why it turns comments into customers
💜 How to connect the Stan AutoDM feature to your Instagram
💜 How to build your first keyword-triggered auto reply
💜 What your followers will see and how to test it yourself

Prefer to watch and follow along? Check out the full lesson right here or get access to more tutorials inside Stan’s Success tab 👇

What AutoDM Is and Why It Works

Have you ever seen Creators share posts that say to comment a specific word to receive something—whether it’s their downloadable guide, favorite tool, or a link (like their Stan Store URL)? That’s called DM automation.

Instead of manually sharing something on Instagram with every person who asks for it, AutoDM allows you to send a direct message when someone comments a keyword automatically. It’s one of my favorite business growth strategies because you can set it up ahead of time and seamlessly nurture your audience toward a sale while saving HOURS each week.

Here’s how it works:

1. You pick a keyword like “Travel Guide.”
2. You share a post on Instagram and tell your audience to comment or DM that word.
3. The second someone replies, Stan instantly leaves a reply comment and sends them your custom message with your link inside it. That’s it!

The days of ending every post with “Check out my link in bio” are over. People want a frictionless experience when they’re scrolling their social feeds, and AutoDM gives it to them.

Plus, it’s one of the top lead capture tactics you can use. Think about it: Someone commenting your keyword is raising their hand and saying, “I want this.” That’s about as high-intent as a follower gets. AutoDM meets them in that exact moment—while they’re still excited—instead of hours later when you finally get around to replying to comments.

How to Sell On Autopilot With Stan AutoDM: 5 Steps

One post. Hundreds of hands raised. Every single one gets your link in seconds. And it only takes five minutes to set up. Here’s how.

Step 1: Connect Instagram to Your Stan Store

AutoDM runs on Instagram, so before you do anything else, we’ve got to connect your Instagram account to your Stan Store. There are two ways to do it:

1. Connect Through Your Stan Store Settings

In Stan Store, go to your Settings, click Integrations, then click Connect next to Instagram. Enter your login credentials and hit Allow to grant Stan permission to access your Instagram. Then, hit Done.

2. Connect Through the AutoDM Tab

Alternatively, you can click the + More tab where you’ll see AutoDM with a grayed-out toggle. Switch AutoDM on, and it’ll pin to your left sidebar so it’s always one click away. From there, click Connect Instagram, enter your Instagram login, and hit Allow.

Once your Instagram account is linked to your Stan Store, your AutoDM tab is ready to build in.

Step 2: Create Your First Auto Reply

With Instagram connected, open your AutoDM tab and press Let’s Go! Then press Create Auto Reply.

Now you’re inside the builder, where we’ll configure everything top to bottom—your trigger, your keywords, your posts, and the message itself. I’ll walk you through each piece.

Set Your Trigger

Your trigger decides what a follower has to do to kick off the automation. You’ve got three options: when they DM, when they comment, or when they DM or comment.

I almost always recommend DM or comment. Here’s why—you never know how a follower is going to respond to your content. Some will comment. Some will slide into your DMs. Some will get the instructions mixed up and do the opposite of what you asked. Selecting both means nobody slips through the cracks.

Add Your Keywords

Next, head to the keyword or phrases field. This is where you’ll enter the keywords that should trigger your AutoDM. You can add up to five slots per automation.

Just type in your desired word or phrase and press Enter after each one to activate them.

Stan AutoDMs aren’t case-sensitive, so you don’t need to waste a slot on variations like “guide” vs. “GUIDE”—they’re treated the same. Instead, use those five slots to catch the ways people might mistype your word in real life. For example, if your keyword is “guide,” you might add “guode,” “guyde,” and “guide!” Want to be thorough? Look up the most common misspellings of your word, or go off what you’ve seen your own audience type. The goal is to make sure a typo never costs you a lead.

Step 3: Choose Your Posts and Turn On Comment-Back

Select Your Posts

Now, choose the intended posts your AutoDM ties back to. You can press Enable for All Posts, or pick specific ones if you want the keyword isolated to a single piece of content.

I usually go with all posts. Same logic as the trigger—you want to cover your bases so that no matter where someone drops your keyword, they get the goods. It even works on your Instagram Stories, so a keyword reply to a Story fires the AutoDM too.

Enable Comment-Back

You’ll also want to configure your AutoDM’s on-comment setting, which defaults to no reply. I’d recommend switching it to Comment back.

A public reply on the comment does two things: It tells your follower the Instagram automation went through, and it nudges them to check their DMs for the link. Without it, plenty of people won’t even realize a message is waiting for them (especially if it’s sitting in their message requests folder).

Step 4: Write Your Message and Add Your Link

This is the most important part of the whole build. The message is the entire reason someone commented your keyword in the first place—they want what you promised, so don’t overthink it. Keep your message short, friendly, and clear.

Stan gives you a generic starter message, but I recommend swapping that out for something in your own voice. If you’re handing over a free guide, you might write something like: “Hey! Here’s the link to grab your free guide. I can’t wait to hear what you think of it! 👇”

Then, paste your link right below it. That link can point to the checkout page for a product in your Stan Store, or straight to a free resource like a public Canva file, Google Doc, or Notion link. If you’re delivering a lead magnet or digital download, this is where it goes.

Step 5: Publish and Test It

When you’re happy with everything, you’ve got two choices:

1. Press Save Draft to park it and come back later.
2. Or click Publish to take it live right now.

Once you hit publish, you’ll see a “changes published” confirmation. Back in your AutoDM tab, your new reply will show as active—with columns for how many messages were Sent, Opened, Clicked, and Opted in.

Now for the fun part—experiencing the magic in action. Head to one of your posts and comment your AutoDM keyword. Within seconds, you’ll see the auto-reply pop up on your comment, and when you open your DMs, you’ll see your message with the link. Click it, and you’ll land on the same checkout or landing page your audience will.

That’s the entire experience from your follower’s side: they comment one word, your link shows up in their DMs instantly, and they get exactly what they came for. You get a lead, a happier follower, and a real shot at turning them into a paying customer down the line.

Turn Every Comment Into a Lead on Stan Store

There you have it—a fully automated workflow that turns your Instagram comment section into a steady stream of leads, working around the clock whether you’re online or asleep.

The best move is to start simple. Pick one keyword, one offer, and one clear message, then watch the DMs work their magic. Once you see it working, you can layer on more automations for every post that pops—and never be caught copy-and-pasting DM replies in the middle of the night again.

Want more simple tips to grow your Creator business faster? Stan’s Success tab has everything you need—with more lessons and tutorials from Professor T. Try it yourself with a free trial of Stan Store.

FAQ: Stan Store AutoDM