Tolstoy conversations follow the same logic as real-life conversations. If you provide a more thoughtful experience for your leads, they will be more willing to engage with it. The percentage of leads that will answer your questions is directly correlated to the type of questions you ask.
Here, we collected a few best practices from some of the most successful Tolstoy scripts, to help you write truly engaging Tolstoys.
Keep individual scenes as short as possible. We recommend keeping each scene at under 25 seconds. This accomplishes 2 things: it keeps your viewers engaged, and allows you to ask more qualification questions.
To see how Charlotte from Yotpo kept her script short and to the point, download her full lead qualification template here.
Make sure your audience knows what’s in it for them if they continue watching your Tolstoy. Will they get a discount? A personalized product recommendation? Pique their interest to ensure that they click through to see what happens next.
As much as possible, your Tolstoys should come off as honest and real. Successful Tolstoys can be filmed on an iPhone or your computer camera. You don’t need a studio, you can be outside or sitting at your desk. The text should reflect this same casual vibe.
These are choices that make the viewer stop and think. This can be a deep question about your viewer's business. Or it can be a dilemma that you’ve set up, and are asking them to solve by making a choice.
Instead of focusing on your product or features, highlight how the features benefitted a particular employee or brand, and the results they saw. Focusing on a particular individual's story will create a stronger emotional connection with your viewers.
The real magic of Tolstoy happens when you create a conversation once, and it provides you ongoing value forever.
Not sure if your Tolstoy is good? Share it internally to get feedback. We recommend sharing your Tolstoy with at least 2 co-workers – but make sure they don't just tell you what you want to hear. Ask for honest feedback.
Prepare to iterate. Very often, after launching a Tolstoy, you'll see top of the funnel working, but not bottom of the funnel, and you will need to think of why, and make some change that will completely revolutionize the results. This is very common.
You can also join the Tolstoy Community Slack Channel for inspiration and any questions you might have.
Need more help getting started? Check out our other guides or shoot us an email!