Two reminders
One 24 hours before and one 2 hours before, each with a reschedule link.
How to take bookings through Instagram DMs
If clients already ask for appointments in your DMs, you can let them book right there. This guide covers the three ways to take Instagram bookings, how DM booking works, and how to set it up so it fills your calendar without double bookings.
Three ways to take bookings from Instagram
The simplest is a booking link in your bio. It works, but it asks people to leave the post or chat, find your profile and tap through. Some will; many won’t.
The second is answering by hand: someone asks, you check your calendar, you send times, they pick one. It feels personal, but it’s slow, and it breaks down when you’re with a client.
The third is DM booking. The person asks in the chat or comments a keyword, and an automation replies with real open times. They reply with a number and the booking is made, in the same conversation, at any hour.
How to set up DM booking
List your services
Give each one a name and a length. Add breaks before and after where you need them.
Set your hours
Your availability and time zone decide which times can be offered.
Connect your calendar
Google Calendar or Outlook keeps busy times out of the offers.
Create a booking automation
Pick the posts and a keyword such as BOOK, or use it on Story replies.
Write your confirmation instructions
Your address, parking, what to bring. They go into the confirmation email.
Test a booking
Book from a second account and check the confirmation arrives.
Ways to reduce no-shows
Easy rescheduling
People who can reschedule in two taps are less likely to just not turn up.
Minimum notice
Stop same-hour bookings you can’t prepare for.
Approval for long services
Check long or costly appointments before they’re confirmed.
Use Stories to fill last-minute gaps
A cancellation on a Friday morning is easier to fill than it looks. Post a Story with your free slots and a keyword, such as “reply SLOT to grab one”. Everyone who replies gets the current open times and can book straight away, while you keep working.
Because the open times come from your real availability, a slot that’s taken disappears from the next person’s options. Nobody is offered a time that’s already gone.
Booking limits on Askenly plans
| Plan | Bookable services | Bookings a month |
|---|---|---|
| Free | 1 | 50 |
| Starter | 3 | 100 |
| Growth | 10 | unlimited |
| Scale | unlimited | unlimited |
Booking is free for your customers on every plan. There is no payment step.
Booking questions
Can clients book without leaving Instagram?
Yes. They pick a time by replying in the DM. The confirmation and reminders arrive by email.
What stops double bookings?
Each booking holds its seat while it’s made, so a slot can only be taken once.
Can clients pay when they book?
Askenly booking has no payment step. Take payment the way you do today.
Booking page or DM booking?
Use both. The booking page suits people who find you through your bio and want to see every option. DM booking suits people who are already in the chat or the comments. They share the same services, hours and rules, so a time booked one way disappears from the other.
Writing booking messages people answer
Keep the offer simple: three times, numbered, and one instruction. “Reply 1, 2 or 3” is easier to act on than a link to a calendar with fifty options, and it keeps the person in the chat.
Use the confirmation instructions for everything practical: your address, how to find the entrance, parking, what to bring and your cancellation policy. They arrive in the confirmation email, where people look for them later.
If you offer several services, create a booking automation for each popular one, with its own keyword. Someone who comments NAILS on a nail post should see nail appointment times, not your whole menu.
Before you announce DM booking
- Every service has the right length and break.
- Your hours are correct for the coming weeks.
- Your calendar is connected so busy times are blocked.
- Confirmation instructions include your address.
- You booked a test appointment from a second account.
Start free today
Connect Instagram and publish your first automation in a few minutes. No card needed.