How do I make a Text-Message Storytime?

An iMessage conversation types itself out on screen while a VO narrates. Story + screenshots = held attention.

model⚡ HTML gen + ElevenLabs
agency would charge$700
you'll spend~$2
runs onTikTok · Shorts

THE REFERENCE — HOOKED — THE CHAT-STORY AD ERA

THE PROMPT — COPY, SWAP THE BRACKETS, RUN

FORMAT: an iMessage thread animates itself message by message — typing bubbles, authentic send/receive sounds — over a softly blurred bedroom photo background, while a VO narrates between messages. Build the thread in a text-story generator or CapCut's chat template. Vertical 9:16, about 25 seconds.

THREAD (exact messages, in order):
You: "dude I can't keep doing [PAIN POINT — e.g. "my budget in a spreadsheet"]"
Friend: "still?? I told you about [PRODUCT — e.g. "Ledgr"] months ago"
You: "does it actually work or is it another app"
Friend: "[SPECIFIC RESULT — e.g. "it found $140 in subscriptions"] in [TIMEFRAME — e.g. "the first week"]"
You: "...link"
Friend: "sending. don't say I never did anything for you"

VO SCRIPT (ElevenLabs — casual young narrator, amused, like recapping drama to a friend): "So my friend had been complaining about this for literally a year. A YEAR. Watch this conversation. ... See — I told him. Months ago. ... 'Does it actually work.' The audacity. ... And that number is real, by the way. ... And that's how it ends every single time."

TIMING: first message pops at 0.3s with a loud send sound — that pop plus the VO's first line is the hook. Sync every send to a VO beat; hold the final message's typing bubble for two full seconds before it sends (the cliffhang). No watermark; no captions beyond the chat itself.

HOW TO RUN IT

  1. Text-story generators export these animations directly
  2. Message sends must sync with the VO beats
  3. Cliffhang the last message 2s before it 'sends'
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