How to Require Users to Follow You Before Sending a Link on Instagram

08 Apr
DM AutomationFeaturesContent Creation

You post a reel. You offer something free. A hundred people comment, asking for the link. You send it, and your follower count sits exactly where it was.

The problem is not your content. The problem is that you are delivering value with no condition attached. People get the link and leave because they have no reason to follow you first.

The fix is simple: ask them to follow you before the link goes out. Zorcha has a built-in feature for exactly this: Ask for Follow Before DM. This guide walks you through how to set it up, customise it, and go live.

TL;DR

  1. Ask for Follow Before DM is available inside Comment to DM, Story to DM, and Respond to All DMs automations in Zorcha.
  2. When a user taps the I’m Following button, Zorcha checks in real time whether they have actually followed your account. The link is only sent after the follow-up is confirmed.
  3. The following prompt message and both button labels, Visit Profile and I’m Following, are fully customisable.
  4. The feature works the same way across all three automation types. Once you know the setup for one, you know it for all of them.
  5. New followers gained through this flow are tracked separately in the New Followers metric on your Zorcha dashboard.

What Is the Ask for Follow Before DM Feature?

Ask for Follow Before DM is a step inside Zorcha’s automation flow that holds your link until the user follows your Instagram account and Zorcha verifies it.

Instead of sending the link the moment someone comments or messages you, the automation first sends them a prompt asking them to follow your profile. They see two buttons: one to visit your profile, and one to confirm they’ve followed. When they tap the confirmation button, Zorcha does a real-time check. If the follow is confirmed, the main DM with your link goes out automatically. If they have not followed the link is not delivered.

The gate is real, not an honour system.

Where to Find It in Zorcha

The Ask for Follow Before DM toggle is inside the message setup section of any automation. You will find it the same way across all three automation types:

  • Go to Automations in the left-hand sidebar
  • Open an existing automation or click New Automation to create one
  • Choose Comment to DM, Story to DM, or Respond to All DMs
  • Complete the trigger setup (post/story selection and keywords)
  • In the message setup section, scroll down to find the Ask for Follow Before DM toggle and enable it

How the Follow Gate Flow Works

Once enabled, here is exactly what happens from the user’s side:

  1. The user comments on your post, replies to your story, or sends you a DM.
  2. Zorcha sends them a message asking them to follow your account before receiving the link.
  3. The message shows two buttons: Visit Profile and I’m Following.
  4. The user taps Visit Profile, goes to your Instagram, and follows you.
  5. They come back to the DM and tap I’m Following.
  6. Zorcha checks in real time whether the following has happened. If yes, the main DM with your link is sent. If not, the link is withheld.

Setting Up the Visit Profile Button

The Visit Profile button takes the user directly to your Instagram profile when tapped. It is automatically linked to your account, no URL needed. What you control is the label.

The button label is editable in Zorcha. Tips for writing it:

  • Keep it action-oriented. “Follow My Account” or “Go to My Profile” is clearer than the default.
  • Short is better; button labels should be readable at a glance.
  • Match the tone of your follow-up message. If the message is warm and conversational, the button should feel the same way.

Setting Up the I’m Following Confirmation Button

The I’m Following button is what the user taps after they have followed your account. Tapping it triggers Zorcha’s real-time follow check. If the follow is confirmed, the link goes out. This is the moment the gate either opens or stays closed.

This button label is also editable. A few ideas for making it feel less robotic:

  • “Done! Send me the link.”
  • “I’m following, send it!”
  • “Yep, following, send it over.”

The goal is to make this feel like a natural next step in the conversation, not a form submission.

What Gets Sent After the Follow Is Confirmed

Once Zorcha confirms the follow, the main DM is delivered automatically. This is the message you set up in the Send a DM step of the automation. It contains your link and whatever text you want alongside it.

A few things to know about the main DM:

  • You can add links directly in the Send a DM step using the Add a Link option. Multiple links are supported in one message.
  • You can attach one image per message alongside the link, useful for a resource preview or branded visual.
  • Keep the delivery message short. Something like “Here you go! Let me know if you have questions.” feels human. A wall of text does not.

Tracking New Followers Gained Through the Feature

Zorcha tracks the results of your follow-first automations directly in the dashboard. Here is where to find what you need:

  • New Followers: In the analytics section of the main dashboard, this metric shows the number of followers gained specifically through follow-first automation flows.
  • Messages: Shows how many times the follow-first prompt has been sent to users across your automations.
  • Conversion funnel: The dashboard shows Messages sent, Seen, and Pressed, giving you a clear picture of where users are dropping off in the flow.
  • Runs: Inside each automation, the Runs counter tells you how many times that specific automation has triggered.

Conclusion

Learning how to require follow before sending a link on Instagram does not require a complicated setup. In Zorcha, the Ask for Follow Before DM feature handles the entire gate, the prompt, the buttons, the real-time follow check, and the link delivery, all automatically.

You are already doing the hard part by creating content people want. This feature just makes sure that effort compounds into an audience, not just link clicks.

Ready to turn your next post into a follower acquisition flow?

Zorcha is an Official Meta Partner that lets you automate DMs from comments, stories, and direct messages, with built-in follow gating, real-time follow verification, and link delivery, all from one dashboard.

Start for free at Zorcha!

Frequently Asked Questions

  1. Does Zorcha actually verify the follow before sending the link?

Yes. When the user taps I’m Following, Zorcha does a real-time check. The DM is only sent after the follow-up is confirmed. If they have not followed the link is not delivered.

  1. Which automation types support Ask for Follow Before DM?

All three: Comment to DM, Story to DM, and Respond to All DMs. The setup is identical across all of them.

  1. Can I customise the follow message and button labels?

Yes. The following prompt message, the Visit Profile button label, and the I’m Following button label are all fully editable inside the automation setup.

  1. Will adding a follow gate reduce how many people receive my link?

Some users will drop off at the following step, which is expected. But the ones who complete the flow are actively choosing to follow you, which makes them far more valuable than passive link recipients.

  1. Can I use this on any post or reel, or just specific ones?

Both. You can apply the automation to a specific post or reel, to your next post, or to all posts and reels. For stories, you can choose a specific story or apply it to any story reply.

  1. Where can I see how many followers I gained through this?

In the analytics section of the Zorcha dashboard, the New Followers metric tracks followers gained specifically through follow-first automation flows, separate from your organic growth.