Be The Thing Before You Post It
Stop doing social media. Be the expert people want to watch, then point a camera at it.
- Difficulty
- Moderate
- Time to result
- ~months to results
- Steps
- 6
- Confidence
- 85%
Sapp's answer to how she went from under 10,000 followers to nearly 600,000 in a year is deliberately unglamorous: most people try to do social media instead of just being the expert in something people want to watch. Because sales is all she thinks about, she can pull out her camera and talk about a closing tip anytime — and when she hears a pitch on the street, that becomes a video. The corollary is that she does it all herself; the two intern copywriters only touch story bullets, never her videos, because when it's not you, people can tell. Her growth mechanic is a two-bucket split: B-roll is for fun, but funny sales-tip videos — open with something out of pocket, resolve with a genuinely smart tactic — are what actually grow the page. And because the sale starts with the content, raw genuine content produces materially better leads than neon-text scripted content.
Origin
Sapp grew from under 10,000 followers to roughly 600,000 on Instagram in a year by refusing to delegate her content, and had a video about the 'Porsche Pilates matcha' lifestyle go mega viral, which crystallized the hot girl sales brand identity her community now adopts.
Core principles
- 01Most people try to do social media instead of actually being the expert.
- 02Audiences see through hashtag-and-timing optimization — social media is sales, and they read the pitch.
- 03If you're consumed by the topic, content is a byproduct of your day, not a task.
- 04When it's not you, people can tell — post less and have it actually be you.
- 05The sale starts with content, long before the sales call.
- 06Shock the viewer with an out-of-pocket claim, then justify it with a genuinely smart tactic.
How to run it
- 1
Be consumed by the thing first
Be the expert in something people want to watch before you think about posting it. Sapp: it's all she thinks about throughout her day, so hearing a stranger's sales pitch on the street becomes a video.
Pro tip The test: would you still be thinking about this without a camera?
Watch out Audiences see through hashtag, timing, and format optimization — that's the substitute people reach for when they aren't actually the expert.
- 2
Don't outsource the face
Do the videos yourself. Sapp has two intern copywriters who only do bullet points for stories — nobody touches her videos or broadcast channel. She tried delegating and stopped: when it's not you, people can tell, and it isn't fun to post.
Pro tip Rather put out less content and have it actually be you.
- 3
Split content into fun and growth buckets
Bucket one is B-roll with funny copy over it — five to seven second clips with text. Those do well but are just for fun. Bucket two is the funny sales tip. The tip videos are what actually grow the page.
Pro tip Know which bucket each post is for before you make it.
Watch out B-roll views don't convert to followers the way tactic videos do.
- 4
Shock, then resolve
Open the tactic video with something out of pocket — 'you have to be a brat in sales' — so people go 'wait, what?' Then follow immediately with a genuinely good tactic: when somebody asks you a question, ask them a question back. That's bratty, but that's how you get the deal done.
Pro tip The viewer's arc is shock, then 'okay, that makes sense.' Those videos gain the most followers.
Watch out The shock must be redeemed by a legitimate tactic — otherwise it's just bait.
- 5
Let the brand be a lifestyle, not just a topic
Sapp's viral video — girls want the Porsche, Pilates, matcha lifestyle and can give it to themselves through sales — created an identity her community adopted: ponytails, gold hoops, posting their matcha.
Pro tip Be dynamic: show the workout, the food, the life. People want the real you, and the surrounding identity is what makes it a community rather than an audience.
- 6
Treat content as the front of the sale
The sales process doesn't start on the sales call — it starts with content and first points of contact. Everything is a sale.
Pro tip When evaluating an offer to sell for, look at the content, the lead flow, and how interactive they are. Big neon text and scripted delivery produce worse leads than raw, genuine, upfront content.
Watch out Today's buyers are super turned off by scripts and salesy sales pitches — the content sets the buyer's posture before the call begins.
In the wild
Asked how she came out of nowhere to dominate the female sales niche, Sapp's answer is that people try to do social media instead of being the expert. She's consumed by sales, so she can pull out a camera and talk about any closing tip — and hearing a pitch on the street becomes tomorrow's video.
→ Under 10,000 Instagram followers to nearly 600,000 in roughly a year, with a page people recognize as the go-to for sales.
Sapp opens a video with 'you have to be a brat in sales.' Viewers react with 'wait, what?' She then delivers the tactic: when somebody asks you a question, you ask them a question back — bratty, but that's how you get the deal done.
→ Viewers land on 'okay, that makes sense.' These shock-then-resolve tactic videos gain the most followers, while B-roll videos are just for fun.
About nine months prior, Sapp posted that girls want the rich Porsche-Pilates-mom lifestyle — walks, Pilates, a nice car — and 'you don't have to marry an ugly bald dude, you can give it to yourself, and the way I give it to myself is sales.' It went mega viral.
→ It created a whole brand identity — Porsche, Pilates, matcha, hot girl sales — that her community now lives: ponytails, gold hoops, posting their matcha.
Common mistakes
Optimizing the mechanics instead of the expertise
Worrying about hashtags and posting times is what people do instead of being the expert. Audiences see through it because social media is sales and they read the pitch.
Outsourcing your own content
Sapp tried it and reversed course. When it's not you, people can tell, it performs worse, and it stops being fun to post.
Shocking without substance
The out-of-pocket opener only converts because a genuinely smart tactic resolves it. Shock alone leaves the viewer with nothing to make sense of.
Scripted, neon-text content
Sapp evaluates offers by their content: scripted, over-produced marketing-agency content produces materially worse leads than raw, genuine, upfront content, because the sale starts before the call.
Is it for you?
Best for
Founders and experts with genuine domain obsession who can be the face of their own brand.
Not ideal for
Businesses whose founder doesn't want to be public-facing, or anyone trying to build authority in a topic they aren't genuinely consumed by.
From the transcript
“A lot of people try to do social media instead of just actually being the expert in something that people want to watch. Like everybody's…”
“It's actually being the thing before you like put that on social media. That way when people see it, they're like oh this girl actually…”
“I'll start a video by saying something out of pocket. Like, you have to be a brat in sales. And people are like, wait, what?…”
“I think today's sales process doesn't even start with the sales call. I think it starts with content of whatever you're selling and those first…”
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