1:28:42Maria Wendt · Tutorial
How To Use Instagram To Sell Digital Products
A 7-day whiteboard course walking through the entire chain from viral product idea to automated Instagram checkout.
January 28thThe argument in one line.
Reel underperformance is a diagnosable three-stage funnel problem — no views, no comments, or no sales — and each stage needs its own fix, not a generic content trick.
Read if. Skip if.
READ IF YOU ARE…
- You post Instagram Reels regularly to sell a digital product or course but aren't seeing consistent sales.
- You don't know whether your bottleneck is views, engagement, or your checkout page.
- You're running (or considering) a comment-to-DM funnel on Instagram to sell directly from Reels.
SKIP IF…
- You don't sell anything through Instagram Reels — this is a sales-funnel diagnostic, not a general growth video.
- Your funnel doesn't route through Instagram comments at all; the mechanics here are specific to that model.
The full version, fast.
Most Reels don't sell because creators treat 'not selling' as one problem when it's actually three separate ones. Stage one is not getting views — fixed by 90+ days of uninterrupted consistent posting, actively improving hooks and production quality, and experimenting with different content styles. Stage two is getting views but no comments — fixed by making the call-to-action prominent, single, and attached to a genuinely no-brainer reason to comment. Stage three is getting comments but no sales — diagnosed against three benchmarks (30+ comments/day, 50-100 checkout views/day, 1%+ conversion rate) and, if conversion is the weak link, traced back to the checkout tool itself. The actionable conclusion: diagnose which stage you're actually stuck in before changing anything, because the fix for one stage does nothing for the others.
Free for members
Chat with this breakdown — free.
Sign in and you get 23 free chat messages on us — ask for the hook, quote a framework, find the exact transcript moment, generate a markdown action plan. Bring your own key when you want unlimited.
Create a free account →Where the time goes.
00:00 – 00:34
01 · The promise
Hook and credibility claim: $2,500+ per Reel, millions sold through Instagram, and a promise to diagnose exactly what's broken.
00:34 – 01:11
02 · The 3-stage framework
Introduces the three-stage structure viewers should self-identify within before anything else.
01:11 – 04:37
03 · Stage 1 — Not getting views
Three-question checklist: 90-day posting consistency, improving hooks/lighting/camera presence, experimenting with different content styles.
04:37 – 07:24
04 · Stage 2 — Views but no comments
Seven-question checklist on CTA clarity, no-brainer comment incentives, keyword rotation, and avoiding a diluted comment+DM ask.
07:24 – 09:37
05 · Stage 3 — Comments but no sales
Conversion benchmarks (30+ comments/day, 50-100 checkout views/day, 1%+ conversion) and the SamCart checkout-tool pitch.
09:37 – 09:58
06 · Outro
Points viewers to a follow-up video on growing Instagram followers without posting.
Lines worth screenshotting.
- Reel underperformance isn't one problem — it's three stages (views, comments, sales), and each has a different fix.
- 90+ days of uninterrupted consistent posting is the floor before content quality or style even matters.
- Posting consistency works like a credit score: one missed post dings the algorithm's trust in you the same way a missed payment dings a credit score.
- A comment call-to-action needs one single ask, not two — asking for both 'comment' and 'DM me' dilutes the response.
- A genuinely no-brainer reason to comment (a free 88-page guide) outperforms a vague comment prompt.
- Rotating the keyword viewers comment prevents call-to-action fatigue across repeat viewers.
- 30 or more comments per day is the minimum volume needed before a checkout-page conversion problem can even be diagnosed.
- A checkout page converting below 1% (one sale per 100 views) points to the checkout tool, not the content.
- 50-100 checkout page views per day is the traffic floor needed to make a conversion-rate diagnosis meaningful.
Diagnose which stage is broken before you change anything.
WHAT TO LEARN
A Reel that isn't selling has exactly one of three specific problems — no views, no comments, or no sales after comments — and fixing the wrong one wastes effort.
- Treat 'my content isn't selling' as three separate, sequential problems (views, comments, sales) rather than one vague complaint — each has a different root cause.
- Posting consistency has a floor: 90+ days without a missed post, because algorithms penalize inconsistency the way a credit score penalizes a missed payment.
- A call-to-action needs a single, unambiguous ask — mixing 'comment' with 'also DM me' measurably dilutes response.
- An incentive to engage needs to be a genuine no-brainer (a specific, named freebie), not a generic 'let me know what you think.'
- Rotating your engagement keyword prevents repeat viewers from tuning out a call-to-action they've already seen too many times.
- Before blaming your offer or content for low sales, check the numbers: comments per day, checkout page traffic per day, and checkout conversion rate — the weak number tells you where to actually focus.
- A checkout page converting under 1% is a tooling problem worth fixing directly, not a signal to make more content.
Terms worth knowing.
- ManyChat
- A messaging automation tool that detects when someone comments a specific keyword on a post and automatically sends them a DM, typically routing straight to a checkout link.
- Checkout page conversion rate
- The percentage of visitors to a payment page who complete a purchase; used here as a diagnostic benchmark, with 1% (one sale per 100 views) treated as the acceptable floor.
Things they pointed at.
Lines you could clip.
01:53
“If you aren't getting views, you certainly won't be getting sales.”
06:38
“It's like a credit score. If you miss a payment, it dings your credit score. It's the same thing with the algorithm.”
08:31
“Instagram comments equals money for us.”
08:06
“Are you hitting the bare minimum sales page conversion rate? One sale for every 100 checkout page views.”
Word for word.
Read-along
Don't just watch it. Burn it in.
See every word as it's spoken — crank it to 2× and still catch all of it. The same dual-channel trick behind Amazon's Kindle + Audible.
analogy
00:00Okay. Real talk. If you aren't making money sales from every single reel you publish, we've got to fix that.
00:07So I make at least $2,500 from every single reel on Instagram that I publish.
00:12I've sold millions of dollars in digital products, most of which through Instagram, so you girls got you covered. We're going to fix it. There's nothing more to I mean, you aren't creating content on Instagram for a hobby, would be my guess.
00:23You're creating content on Instagram because you want to get paid. You want to make money, and so we need to diagnose this problem. Why aren't you getting sales from every single Instagram reel, and then what can we do to sell more digital products with your Instagram account?
00:34Basically, it's kind there we're going to run through this together, and at the end of it, you're going to have a very, very, very clear understanding of what you are doing wrong personally, because I've gotten this question enough times from my students to actually sit here and diagnose the problem in a pretty formulaic way, which is going be very helpful to you.
00:52So my advice, grab a notebook or just at least be prepared to pay attention because there's three different stages, and I want you to identify which stage you are in because the stage that you are in with your Instagram reels and why you aren't getting sales from those Instagram reels, that's going to determine what we do to fix it.
01:08Got it? Okay. So stage one, not getting views.
01:13So if you aren't getting views, you certainly won't be getting sales. A lot of you guys fall into this camp, the not getting views stage.
01:21So if you're in stage one and your reels really aren't even getting very many views, ask yourself these three questions or do just like fix fix it with this. One, ask yourself, are you posting consistently without missing one single time for ninety days or more?
01:38Not necessarily posting every day, but consistently hitting the posting schedule you set for yourself without missing one time.
01:48If you aren't doing that, you haven't earned your views, go back to zero, try again. So number one, step number one, are you posting consistently without missing one time for at least ninety days?
01:59Most of you can't even answer yes to that. Therefore, that's where you start. Post consistently, not even necessarily every day, but consistently with the schedule you set for yourself for ninety days or more.
02:09Bare minimum. Two, and this is still in stage one, not getting views.
02:15If for some unbelievable miracle you've done that, you're consistently posting, congratulations. You are already so much further than most people. Second thing you got to ask yourself in stage one is, are you working to improve your content over time?
02:29Better hooks, better visual video footage. A lot of people who are consistent, their video footage really sucks, and so that's a big one. Better lighting, better camera presence, that's another one a lot of people need to practice on, and better content topics.
02:40So if you answered yes, I am posting consistently, I'm still not getting views, are you working to improve your content over time, basically looking better, sounding better, and talking about better things? Most people, again, are going to answer no on that, so that's your homework.
02:56If you are, you're like, yes, I'm actually really practicing. Um, I'm really researching my content. I'm actually really paying attention to the hooks.
03:04That's a big one. Okay. Now you move on to state to this third section of stage one.
03:09We're still in stage one, not getting views. Are you experimenting with completely different styles of content? Talking heads, following trends, b roll plus music, stitching other reels together, collaborating.
03:23You have to be experimenting with different we constantly are experimenting with different styles of content to see what's going to click even more for me and take it up to an even greater level. So I'll give you an example.
03:35Right now, we're seeing a lot of view success, which again, we're talking about stage one not getting views, by doing trends.
03:43More views than we would typically get for, like, a b roll and music style, but it's not necessarily we're still seeing if it's actually converting into sales, but the point in sharing that is that we're experimenting.
03:57So if, yes, I have been posting consistently and I haven't even missed one time because it's like a credit score. If you miss a payment, it dings your credit score. K?
04:04It's the same thing with the algorithm. The consistent posting schedule that you set for yourself and, yes, you're working to improve your content over time.
04:14Final thing is you need to be experimenting with different content styles, so switching it up to see, um, like, it's not just about I've seen people who they were very, very, very, very, very, very consistent, and that's amazing because most people can't even be super consistent, but they were just consistently doing the same shit that wasn't working over and over again, wondering why it wasn't working.
04:31You have to it's it's all three. It's post consistently, improve your content, experiment with different kinds of content. If you're actually happy with your views, but you're not getting enough comments, you're not getting enough ManyChat, like leads basically, this is what you're to do.
04:46This is stage one. You're getting views but not engagement. So you feel like you should be getting more ManyChat comments, or you feel like you should be getting more engagement and you're just not.
04:56And just for those of you who are kind of new to the channel, if you are selling your content on, you know, selling your digital products on Instagram, people will comment a keyword and then be automatically taken to a checkout page. So for those of us who are doing that and making money with Instagram, Instagram comments equals money for us.
05:13And so we want more comments because more comments equals more sales. So if you're getting views, and I get this question sometimes from my student and my students and my coaching group where they're like, I'm actually really happy with the views I'm getting. I'm just not getting, like, comments.
05:27People aren't commenting on my stuff, which is a whole different thing we have to diagnose and fix for, solve for.
05:35So you have, what is that, seven questions I'm going to ask for this stage.
05:42So this is stage two. You're getting views but not comments. One, are you actually asking for comments?
05:47Two, are you making sure the call to action is displayed prominently, not buried? Three, are you clearly communicating what they will get when they comment?
05:56Most of you are not doing that. Four, are you giving them a no brainer reason to comment?
06:01For example, one of mine is I'm going give you an 88 page guide. By the way, can get a copy of this in my, um, just in the description, but on Instagram, I'll say, by the way, if you comment the word 88, I'm going give you an 88 page guide to, like, how I sold millions of dollars in digital products. Super freaking compelling.
06:16That's a no brainer reason to comment. Number question number five, are you switching up the keyword they're supposed to comment so they're not getting, like, um, call to action fatigue? Um, next question.
06:28Is the call to action actually to comment, or are you saying comment and DM? Give them one call to action, and that's to comment. And then finally, is the keyword itself relevant to the result they're going to get?
06:40Example, comment explode if you're ready to explode your Instagram growth. If you aren't happy with the number of ManyChat comments you've got, I've actually did a video doing a very, very deep dive into how to get more ManyChat comments.
06:51That's on my channel. Go find that. Highly recommend that one.
06:54Basically, fundamentally, if you're getting views but not comments, most people are a, not even pitching properly to ask for comments, and b, they're not really giving a good reason to.
07:04So if people don't have any reason, like, they're seeing it, but they could give two shits about commenting or they could give two shits about what it is you're offering, um, and that's what we want to solve. So if you're getting views, congratulations. It's so much easier to get comments and sales.
07:16Once you're past that, it's hard for people to even get views. So once you're in stage two, you can, like, breathe a little bit. We just need to tweak and optimize.
07:24And then finally, I should have brought my water in here. Finally, if you're in stage three, which is you're getting comments but not sales, that's a problem.
07:34Obviously, we need to solve for that. So basically, that means people are, like, commenting, they're interested in it, but then they're not actually buying from you. So they're sort of like you're getting them almost to the finish line, but you can't quite close the sale.
07:46How do we do how do we solve that? So first question is, are you getting 30 or comments 30 or more comments per day?
07:55If you're not getting at least 30 comments per day, go back and concentrate on solving stage two. You should be getting at least 30 comments a day. If you're not, you're in stage two and you need to really focus on getting more ManyChat comments.
08:06Second question, are you hitting the bare minimum sales page conversion rate? One sale for every 100 checkout page views. If not, you need to work on your checkout page, which most of you are.
08:19I don't think most of you guys who have gotten this far are having a less than 1% conversion rate. That's not most people's problem. Number c, question number like, the third question, are you getting at least 50 to 100 checkout page views per day?
08:33If not, go back to stage two and get more comments. Have you built your checkout page on SamCart?
08:40Don't use Stanstor. Don't use Gumroad. Don't use Etsy.
08:44Don't use any of the other things that people recommend. I I've done tons of videos here on this channel on why the only one that you should use is SamCart. Um, they are optimized for conversion, so where some people will get one sale or maybe two sales, we'll get six sales or up to 25 sales.
09:01So SamCart is just built to have people who come to your page, like, very excited to buy. And so it's it's super well done.
09:10I've used them for, like, fourteen years. If you get a free no, since 2014, so eleven years.
09:18I've used them for eleven years. If you go I can give you a free trial if you use my link in the description. I've recommended them for a long time.
09:25I really, really like them. So I highly recommend SamCart, and I always tell people, like, go use a free trial of mine, go make more sales with the free trial, and then you'll pay for the software and then some. Okay.
09:39So real talk, real talk, the more Instagram followers you have, the better this all works together. I created a video on how to get more Instagram followers without posting.
09:52Click the video somewhere on the screen and watch that one next. I'll see you there.
The Hook
The bait, then the rug-pull.
Maria Wendt opens with a credibility claim — $2,500 minimum per Reel, millions in digital-product sales through Instagram — before walking through the three-stage diagnostic that makes up the rest of the video.
Named ideas worth stealing.
01:11model
The 3-Stage Reel Sales Diagnostic
- Stage 1: Not getting views
- Stage 2: Views but no comments
- Stage 3: Comments but no sales
A funnel-diagnosis model that identifies which link of the views-to-comments-to-sales chain is broken and prescribes a stage-specific fix instead of a generic content tweak.
Steal fordiagnosing any content-to-sales funnel, not just Instagram Reels
07:50list
Stage 3 Checkout Benchmarks
- 30+ comments per day
- 50-100 checkout page views per day
- 1%+ checkout conversion rate (1 sale per 100 views)
Three numeric floors used to isolate whether a sales shortfall is a traffic problem or a conversion-rate problem.
Steal forany funnel with a comment-to-checkout flow
How they asked for the click.
VERBAL ASK
08:40product
“I can give you a free trial if you use my link in the description. I've recommended them for a long time.”
Woven directly into the Stage 3 diagnosis rather than a separate ad break — the checkout-tool recommendation is framed as the literal fix for the viewer's stated conversion problem, which lowers resistance to what is otherwise an affiliate pitch.
MENTIONED ON CAMERA
FROM THE DESCRIPTION
PRIMARY CTAWhere the creator wants you to go next.
OTHER LINKSAlso linked in the description.
Visual structure at a glance.
