Let’s Yap About Yapping: What the Latest Online Obsession Can Teach You About Messaging
It’s time to yap about yapping.
Now I’ve intentionally waited to record this episode. Because every time something goes properly feral on the internet (as the Jessi Jean $1.2 million Yap Challenge did), I like to observe and also let all the think pieces settle before I add my perspective to the mix.
And if you’re thinking “Tahryn, what the fuck are you on about?” – stay with me.
In today’s episode of the How I Do Content Podcast, I’m going to tell you more about the latest online obsession, coined “yapping,” and whether you should become a certified yapper yourself.
The online space is divided (what’s new), so I want to share my thoughts and how it applies to your business AND specifically your messaging.
So let’s yap.
What even is yapping?
So – what even is yapping?
To give you the muggle version – yapping is talking to the camera. Specifically, face to camera video to be shared as a Reel.
It’s like you’re on FaceTime with your bestie, talking and sharing stories. It’s meant to feel like a conversation, not a presentation or a performance.
So why is the internet going feral over yapping?
Well, you can thank Jessi Jean for that.
She started yapping on her Instagram profile back in November last year and as a result, grew her account to 400,000 followers in about 5 months. Recently, she launched the Yap on Camera Challenge (a 6-week challenge teaching people to talk on camera) – and 4,500 people bought it, meaning she made roughly $1.2 million dollars in about 2 weeks.
That’s the backstory, so why was the online space so divided about this launch?
Yapping divided the online space
Well, there was Camp One.
They said something along the lines of “How inspiring! Showing us what’s possible and if you don’t celebrate her you’re a terrible human who’s probably just jealous.”
And then there was Camp Two.
Slightly more skeptical. Saying something along the lines of “Meh. I’ve been yapping for years, can we please stop trying to make yapping happen.” Whilst also raising some valid copycat allegations and the fact that Jessi isn’t exactly the brand new business owner that some of the launch messaging has been focused around.
Now everyone is welcome to their opinions, obviously. And if you want to know mine, well I sit somewhere in the middle.
I’ll always argue the nuance which after observing this launch is greatly missing from the conversation.
So let’s go there first…
Because this wasn’t Jessi’s first rodeo, so the “zero to $1.2 million” story is missing some context. She didn’t appear out of nowhere five months ago. She’s been running an online business since 2019 – it’s just the yapping iteration of her business that’s new.
And this is important because if you’ve been watching this launch feeling three steps behind – breathe. You’re not comparing your start to her start. You’re comparing your start to her seventh year.
Of course, none of that takes away from what she pulled off – but it’s still important context.
Why the yap actually took off
The reason yapping blew up is because people LOVE it when things sound easy.
And I said this to one of my Micro Messaging clients this last week when she asked me about the yapping trend.
There is nothing new here. We’ve been doing talking head videos for years. Face-to-camera is not a new concept.
But it never took off as a movement, did it?
Because learning the skill of storytelling and public speaking sounds hard and slow, and nobody’s running out to buy “hard and slow.”
It’s why business owners are constantly going on random side quests in the hunt for the secret shortcut to 10x their business overnight.
So when presented with yapping – talking on camera suddenly sounds fun and easy and like anyone can do it! Because it’s just talking right?! And you yap with your mates all day.
And THAT is what people are more likely to buy.
Find the feeling under the feature
But here’s where it goes even deeper. Because it’s not just about making talking head videos sound easy.
And it wasn’t selling “how to make Reels” or “get better video skills to grow on Instagram”
She sold the transformation – to stop hiding. To kill the cringe. Stop overthinking. Stop worrying about getting it perfect. Stop talking yourself out of every video you never post.
And here’s why that matters – way more people are scared to be seen than are out there shopping for a skill. They have a problem that they need a solution for. A problem that is a priority for them to solve.
So the lesson here is to find the feeling underneath the feature AND SELL THAT.
Before you go off and sell your thing, ask yourself: what’s the fear underneath what I’m offering? What’s the cringe they’re trying to kill? What’s the identity shift they actually want?
Should you become a certified yapper?
Well, I’m going to give my favourite response to most questions about marketing, and should you do something: It depends
If yapping videos aren’t your thing, you don’t have to make them just because everyone else is doing so.
This kinda reminds me of when Reels were first introduced, and all the gurus told you to use them or get left behind. But the result was people creating content they clearly didn’t want to.
And there’s 2 things that happen when you obviously hate doing something:
- It’s so fucking clear that you hate it, that everyone else can tell too. And that’s not the energy you should be putting into your content. Your audience shouldn’t be able to tell that you hate creating it. It can damage your brand and the trust you have with your audience.
- The second thing is, when you hate doing something, you avoid doing it. And you can’t avoid creating content. When you signed up to be a big girl business owner, you also committed to creating content. Because if you want to be in business, stay in business and make money – content is non-negotiable. So if you have to do it, at least have some fun doing it, so it doesn’t become something you avoid.
And these 2 things are a big reason why I just don’t recommend yapping as something that everyone needs to do. I’ve worked with enough clients to know this behaviour and how it plays out.
So if you watch a yapping video and go “oh I love that, that feels fun to me” – go for it. Genuinely. But if you’re going “I feel like I should because everyone else is – for the love of dogs don’t do it.
There are so many different ways to create content and so many ways that work, so choose one that works for you, because that means you’ll do it more often.
Now there’s one last thing I want to say about yapping…
The real lesson from the yapping obsession
Yes, the yapping trend is cute and the launch is impressive.
BUT here’s what I need you to hear…
You can yap it up for 3 minutes straight and still say absolutely nothing your people need to hear.
I could yap about dogs underwater, but is that actually helpful for my audience and for my business – sadly not.
Yapping won’t help your business if it doesn’t have the right intention and meaning behind it.
What Jessi did brilliantly wasn’t just talk to camera. It was that she had a clear audience, a clear message, a clear fear she was solving, and a community that felt genuinely looked after. That’s the foundation. The yapping was just the delivery mechanism.
And that’s exactly what I teach inside Micro Messaging. Not the format. The foundation. Because it does not matter if you’re yapping, writing carousels, recording a podcast or sending weekly emails – if the message isn’t clear, none of the formats are going to save you.
Find the feeling under the feature. Sell to the fear, not the tactic. And build something that’s undeniably yours.
That’s the lesson. Whether you yap or not.
Alright. That’s enough yapping from me today. If this gave you something to think about, send it to a business friend who’s currently spiraling about whether they need to start a yap series – they need to hear it.
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It’s a two-week, get-in-and-get-it-done program all about your top-of-funnel messaging: getting found and saying the right thing to the right people (yapping very much optional).
It starts on the 29th June and it’s the easiest, lowest-lift place to start working with me.
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