---
title: "Run a ticket presale for your Instagram followers | Ticket Fairy Guides"
description: "Fans comment a word under your Instagram post, follow your account and reply with their email to join the presale list for your event. One launch then sends each of them a personal link to buy tickets before the public on-sale."
canonical: "https://www.ticketfairy.com/guides/run-a-follower-only-presale"
---

1. [Ticket Fairy](https://www.ticketfairy.com/)
2. [Guides](https://www.ticketfairy.com/guides)
3. Run a ticket presale for your Instagram followers

Social media

# Run a ticket presale for your Instagram followers

An artist team or a club promoter with a big Instagram following can turn it into early ticket sales and more followers at the same time. A fan comments your word under a post, follows the account and replies with an email address to join the presale list. When you are ready, one launch emails and messages every fan on the list a personal link to buy.

Fans comment a word under your Instagram post, follow your account and reply with their email to join the presale list for your event. One launch then sends each of them a personal link to buy tickets before the public on-sale.

For:  Selling early tickets to the fans who follow you on Instagram

Takes:  10 minutes

- [Open Auto-replies under Outreach](#step-1)
- [Choose the event](#step-2)
- [Select the presale list](#step-3)
- [Optional: change the keywords](#step-4)
- [Check which posts it watches](#step-5)
- [Optional: change the two sign-up messages](#step-6)
- [Turn the presale on](#step-7)
- [A fan's way onto the list](#step-8)
- [Check the presale is on](#step-9)
- [Open the presale sign-ups](#step-10)
- [Start the launch](#step-11)
- [Enter the email and the direct message](#step-12)
- [Optional: choose the ticket types the links open](#step-13)
- [Launch the presale](#step-14)
- [Check the fans were invited](#step-15)

## Before you start

- You're an owner or an admin of the brand. If you can't open Auto-replies, ask an owner or an admin to run the presale.
- Your Instagram account is connected to the brand. Connecting it is its own job, done once.
- Your event and its tickets are set up. To keep the presale tickets out of sight of everyone else, hide that ticket type before you launch.

1. ## Open Auto-replies under Outreach

   Open your brand, select **Social**, then **Outreach** and **Auto-replies**.

   **Note:** **Event flows** at the top of the page holds the auto-replies made for each of your events, the presale list among them.
          ![Ticket Fairy Event flows for an event not on sale yet, with the presale list and the ticket link marked as suiting the event now](https://www.ticketfairy.com/embeds/posters/marketing-social-workflows--presale-flows.png)    Event flows for an event whose tickets are not on sale yet.
2. ## Choose the event

   Choose the event the presale is for under **Event**.

   **Note:** While its tickets are not on sale yet, **Presale list** is marked **Suits this event now**.
3. ## Select the presale list

   Select **Presale list**.

   **Note:** **Set up an auto-reply** opens on **Review**, filled in: fans who comment PRESALE on the posts about your event join its presale list.
          ![Ticket Fairy Set up an auto-reply dialog on Review for the presale list, with the keyword, the event, the message a fan gets and the options](https://www.ticketfairy.com/embeds/posters/marketing-social-workflows--presale-builder.png)    Set up an auto-reply, on Review for the presale list.
4. ## Optional: change the keywords

   Optional: Select **Change** beside **When**, then enter each word under **Keywords** and press Enter after it.

   **Note:** You can add up to 30 keywords, and capital letters don't matter. A fan who sends one of them to the account in a direct message joins the list too.
5. ## Check which posts it watches

   Check the choice under **Which posts should we watch?**, on the same step.

   **Note:** The first choice watches the posts you publish from Ticket Fairy for this event, including later ones. For a post you publish in the Instagram app, choose **All posts** or **Selected posts**.
6. ## Optional: change the two sign-up messages

   Optional: Select **What they get**, then change **Ask them to follow** and **Ask for their email**.

   **Note:** You choose which ticket types the personal links open when you launch, so leave **Ticket types** here empty.
   **Tip:** Ask fans to reply to the first message once they follow. Their reply is what moves them on to the email question.
7. ## Turn the presale on

   Select **Review**, then **Turn on now**.

   **Note:** From now on, every fan who comments one of your keywords receives the first sign-up message in their direct messages. **Save and turn on later** saves it switched off.

## A fan's way onto the list

A fan the account already knows as a follower is asked for their email straight away. Anyone else is asked to follow first, and moves on to the email question when they reply after following. Once the fan replies with an email address, they are ready to invite, and nobody receives a ticket link until you launch.

8. ## Check the presale is on

   Find the presale in the list below **Event flows**. Its switch under **On / off** reads **On**.

   **Note:** A presale carries **Sign-ups** on its row, where the other auto-replies carry **Results**.
          ![Ticket Fairy list of auto-replies with a presale list switched on and Sign-ups on its row, beside ticket link and event answer auto-replies](https://www.ticketfairy.com/embeds/posters/marketing-social-workflows--workflows.png)    Your auto-replies, with the presale switched on.
9. ## Open the presale sign-ups

   Select **Sign-ups** on the presale's row.

   **Note:** The buttons along the top count the fans at each stage and narrow the list to one. **Ready to invite** is the count your launch reaches.
          ![Ticket Fairy Presale sign-ups list with fans asked to follow, asked for their email and ready to invite, and the launch button](https://www.ticketfairy.com/embeds/posters/marketing-social-workflows--presale-signups.png)    Presale sign-ups, with 148 fans ready to invite.
10. ## Start the launch

    Select the launch button at the foot of the list. It names how many fans are ready to invite.
11. ## Enter the email and the direct message

    Enter **Email subject**, **Email message** and **Message**, with {link} in the message where the fan's link goes.

    **Note:** The email carries a Get Tickets button with the fan's link, so the email message needs no link of its own. The direct message reaches only fans who can still be messaged; every ready fan gets the email.
           ![Ticket Fairy Launch presale dialog with the email subject, email message, direct message and ticket type fields](https://www.ticketfairy.com/embeds/posters/marketing-social-workflows--launch-presale.png)    Launch presale, with the three messages entered.
12. ## Optional: choose the ticket types the links open

    Optional: Choose the presale ticket types under **Limit to ticket types**.

    **Note:** A hidden ticket type you choose here opens for each fan through their personal link. Leave the field empty to let the links buy any ticket type on sale.
13. ## Launch the presale

    Select **Review & launch**, then **Launch now** in the confirmation.

    **Warning:** The launch sends real emails and direct messages, and it can't be called back. Each fan's link is for them alone and buys once.
14. ## Check the fans were invited

    Open **Sign-ups** again. The fans you launched to now read **Invited**.

    **Note:** A fan who buys with their link moves to **Bought** in the next daily update.

## Try these steps on your own event

Create a free account, build your event and follow the steps above in your own dashboard. It takes a few minutes and you do not need to book a sales call.

    Your email address    [Create a free account](https://manage.ticketfairy.com/welcome) [Book a demo](https://www.ticketfairy.com/event-ticketing/book-a-demo)

No setup fees. No required monthly ticketing fee. No credit card required.

## Or have it done for you

Fai, the assistant inside your dashboard, sets up the presale list from your event's ready-made auto-replies with your words and messages, switches it on, tells you where every fan on the list has got to, and launches it. She asks you to approve the auto-reply, switching it on and the launch, and the launch sends real emails and messages that cannot be called back.

### In your dashboard, with Fai

Set up a followers-only presale on our Instagram for \<EVENT NAME\>: fans who comment PRESALE get asked to follow and reply, then asked for their email

## Let Fai do it for you

Fai works inside your Ticket Fairy dashboard. Create your account, open Fai and paste the prompt above.

   [Create a free account](https://manage.ticketfairy.com/welcome) [Book a demo](https://www.ticketfairy.com/event-ticketing/book-a-demo)

No setup fees. No required monthly ticketing fee. No credit card required.

## Invite the fans who joined after the launch

Open **Sign-ups** and launch again. Only fans who became ready since the last launch receive a link, so nobody is sent a second one.

Fai tells you how many fans have become ready since the launch and launches to them, after you approve the email and message she will send.

### In your dashboard, with Fai

How many fans are ready in the followers-only presale for \<EVENT NAME\>? Launch to them with the same email and message as last time

## Stop taking sign-ups

Turn off the switch under **On / off** on the presale's row.

**Note:** New comments and messages with your keywords stop joining fans to the list. Fans already on it stay there, and you can still launch to the ones who are ready.

Fai switches the presale auto-reply off after you approve it.

### In your dashboard, with Fai

Switch off the followers-only presale auto-reply for \<EVENT NAME\>

## Questions you might have

Why can't I select Presale list?:  None of your connected accounts can confirm who follows it, and the presale list shows "Needs an account that can check who follows it." Connect your Instagram account, which can.

A fan followed but is still marked Asked to follow. Why?:  The fan moves on when they reply to the account after following. Ask them to reply in the conversation, and word the first sign-up message so it asks for that reply.

Does a fan have to comment, or can they send a direct message?:  Either. A direct message to the account containing one of your keywords starts the same sign-up while the presale is switched on.

Why doesn't the presale answer comments on my Instagram post?:  The posts about your event are the posts you publish from Ticket Fairy with the event chosen. For a post published in the Instagram app, choose All posts or Selected posts under Which posts should we watch?.

Can a fan join the list twice?:  No. Each fan appears once per event on the list, however many times they comment.

How do fans get their link if the direct message cannot reach them?:  By email. Every ready fan is emailed their personal link when you launch, and the direct message is an extra copy for fans who can still be messaged.

When does a fan show as Bought?:  Once a day, early in the morning UTC. A fan invited in the last 90 days who has paid for an order with their personal link moves from Invited to Bought.

Can someone else use a fan's link?:  Yes. Anyone with the link can use it, and it buys once, so a link a fan forwards and another person uses is spent for that fan too.

## Still have a question?

Book a demo and we will answer it on a call, on your kind of event. Or create your account and see it for yourself.

   [Book a demo](https://www.ticketfairy.com/event-ticketing/book-a-demo) [Create a free account](https://manage.ticketfairy.com/welcome)

No setup fees. No required monthly ticketing fee. No credit card required.

## Related guides

- [More ways to use Ticket Fairy](https://www.ticketfairy.com/features/social-media)
- [Send fans your ticket link automatically when they comment or message](https://www.ticketfairy.com/guides/send-fans-your-ticket-link-automatically)
- [Connect the social accounts that promote your events](https://www.ticketfairy.com/guides/connect-your-social-accounts)
- [Unlock hidden tickets with an access code](https://www.ticketfairy.com/guides/unlock-hidden-tickets-with-an-access-code)
- [Sell tickets by personal invitation](https://www.ticketfairy.com/guides/sell-tickets-by-personal-invitation)
- [How can fan club members get presale access?](https://www.ticketfairy.com/guides/give-fan-club-members-presale-access)
- [Schedule the social posts that sell your tickets](https://www.ticketfairy.com/guides/schedule-your-social-posts)
- [Let the Social Assistant draft your event posts and replies](https://www.ticketfairy.com/guides/let-the-social-assistant-draft-your-event-posts-and-replies)
- [Answer what ticket buyers ask you on social](https://www.ticketfairy.com/guides/read-what-your-audience-says-on-social)
- [Post an update to fans when your event changes](https://www.ticketfairy.com/guides/post-an-update-when-your-event-changes)
- [Every Ticket Fairy guide](https://www.ticketfairy.com/guides)

## Do this on your own event

Create your account, build your event and follow the steps in your own dashboard. You do not need to book a sales call.

  [Create a free account](https://manage.ticketfairy.com/welcome) [Book a demo](https://www.ticketfairy.com/event-ticketing/book-a-demo)

## Sell tickets with Ticket Fairy

Everything in these guides is in your dashboard from the day you sign up.

- Set up your event in minutes
- Free events are free
- Fai, your co-pilot, is built in

 [Create a free account](https://manage.ticketfairy.com/welcome)

No setup fees. No required monthly ticketing fee. No credit card required.

## See it on a call

Book a demo and we will show you how Ticket Fairy handles your kind of event.

 [Book a demo](https://www.ticketfairy.com/event-ticketing/book-a-demo) [More ways to use Ticket Fairy](https://www.ticketfairy.com/features/social-media)

### Tips for selling more tickets

Practical advice from working organizers, and every new guide as it is published.

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This page is on Ticket Fairy, a ticketing, marketing and operations platform for live events and the venues that host them: festivals, club nights, concerts, conferences and tours, and night clubs, beach clubs and concert venues. It grows revenue with fan rewards that turn an audience into a sales channel, and runs the money side with payments and payouts, Vault business banking, and working capital advanced against ticket sales. [How Ticket Fairy ticketing works](https://www.ticketfairy.com/event-ticketing) · [Ticket Fairy for AI assistants](https://www.ticketfairy.com/llms.txt)