---
title: "Selfie video"
description: "Phone, front camera, one argument. The top of funnel format and the spine of the content engine, also called a yap video."
canonical: https://tomsharman.com/glossary/selfie-video/
updated: 2026-10-25
---

# Selfie video

Phone, front camera, one argument. The top of funnel format and the spine of the content engine, also called a yap video.

## Why does it matter?

It is the spine of the content engine and the top of funnel format. It is a low barrier to entry, it cuts through, and it does not feel like being sold to.

## How does it work?

1. Say what the viewer gets in the first four seconds.
2. One argument per video.
3. Land on a hard line.
4. No intro. Five a week, turned around the next day.

## Where has Tom used it?

Selfie videos were one of the three formats Tom built for [Sam Stoffel](https://tomsharman.com/case-studies/sam-stoffel/), and one of the two formats Tom never puts up for testing: a selfie clip daily and a podcast clip daily.

## Related terms

- [One person, one problem](https://tomsharman.com/glossary/one-person-one-problem/index.md): The five beats of a top of funnel video: one person, one problem, authority, one solution, then follow.
- [Top, middle and bottom of funnel](https://tomsharman.com/glossary/top-middle-bottom/index.md): The job a format does. The top brings people in, the middle keeps them, the bottom sells.
- [Formats over ideas](https://tomsharman.com/glossary/formats-over-ideas/index.md): A repeatable format beats a one-off story, because the audience can guess what comes next. Repeat it until it becomes a show.

## Where is it explained?

- https://tomsharman.com/playbooks/formats/selfie-and-yap-videos/
- https://tomsharman.com/playbooks/funnel/one-person-one-problem/