How to Sell Tickets to a Workshop on Instagram
Selling workshop tickets on Instagram fails in two predictable ways: people cannot find the link, or you sell more seats than you have. Both are fixed by selling from the comments. Announce the workshop in a reel, ask for a keyword, and let the Viralyze app DM the checkout link to each person, with an automatic cap on how many links go out.
Here is the full setup, with a worked example you can copy.
What should the ticket product look like?
One product per date, with the price, time, format and what attendees receive. For a two-hour online pottery glazing workshop, the product page might say:
Glazing Basics, Saturday 7 PM to 9 PM, Google Meet, ₹899. Includes the live session, a recording for 14 days and a glaze-mixing PDF.
Viralyze builds the checkout page with UPI, cards and net banking. Because there is no platform fee, a ₹899 ticket pays you ₹899 before the payment aggregator's own charges.
How do I take registrations from a reel?
With a keyword automation on the announcement post.
1. Post the reel with "Comment TICKET for the registration link" spoken and written on screen. 2. Create an Auto-DM automation on that post with keywords TICKET, ticket, "seat" and "register". 3. Paste the checkout link into the DM with the date and price repeated. 4. Set auto-pause after the number of seats you have, for example 30 DMs. 5. Use the live tester to check "ticket pls" triggers it, then switch on.
The public reply rotates between lines such as "Sent you a DM 💌", so the comment thread shows social proof without looking automated.
How do I avoid overselling seats?
Cap the DMs, then watch the funnel. Auto-pause after 30 DMs means at most 30 people get the link from this reel. Not all will pay, so check the per-automation funnel (comments, matched, delivered, clicked, signed up) the next morning and raise the cap if seats remain.
For an in-person workshop with a fixed room, this cap matters more than any other setting. For an online one, it is a tool for creating a visible "first 30" scarcity you can stand behind.
Can I sell a workshop as a booking instead?
Yes, when it is small enough to behave like a session. Add "Workshop, Saturday 7 PM" as a service on your booking link, connect Google Calendar, and every buyer is invited to the same event with a Meet link.
This route gives you WhatsApp reminders automatically and a confirmation page where attendees can add the event to their calendar. Use the product route for large groups and the booking route for anything under about a dozen people where you want the calendar invite handled for you.
What do I send after they pay?
Three things, on a schedule. The joining link and PDF straight away, a reminder the day before, and the recording link afterwards.
The Viralyze Inbox keeps each buyer's conversation with their original comment attached, so a question such as "is it recorded?" can be answered inside Instagram's 24-hour reply window. Export the contacts to CSV after the workshop; these attendees are the first people to tell about the next date.
Frequently asked questions
**Can I offer an early-bird price?** Yes. Create two products, early bird and standard, and run two automations with different keywords, pausing the early-bird one on a date.
**What if someone comments after the seats are gone?** Once the automation is Paused, no DM is sent. Pin a comment saying the workshop is full and announcing the next one.
**Do attendees need to install anything to pay?** No. The checkout opens in Instagram's browser and UPI hands off to the app they already use.
Start the 7-day free trial of Viralyze, no card needed, and sell your next workshop from the comments instead of the bio.