I Signed Up for Cameo as a Creator. Here's Why Text Q&A Made More Sense.

I enrolled on Cameo because I kept hearing creators talk about how easy it is to make money there. Set your price, record a quick video, get paid. Simple enough.

And honestly? The platform itself is well-made. The onboarding is smooth. The app works. I can see why it's a huge business.

But here's what happened when I actually started using it.

The Requests Weren't What I Expected

The first few requests I got were birthday shoutouts. "Can you wish my friend Jake a happy 30th?" "Can you tell my sister she's awesome?" Sweet, but not what I had in mind. I wanted to share my experience, answer real questions, help people figure stuff out.

Cameo's audience is there for entertainment and personal moments. That's totally valid — it's just not what I have to offer. I'm not going to light up someone's birthday party. I can, however, give you a really solid answer about whether your startup idea has legs.

The Video Format Added Friction

To record a Cameo video, I needed to find decent lighting, make sure I looked okay, find a quiet spot, and then record. For a 2-minute video, the actual process took 10-15 minutes. And sometimes I'd re-record because I stumbled over something or the background was distracting.

Compare that to typing out an answer. I can write a thoughtful, detailed response from my phone on the couch, on the subway, in bed at midnight. No setup required. No re-takes. Just think and type.

For advice specifically, text is actually a better format than video. The person can re-read it, screenshot specific parts, search it later. A video shoutout is great for feelings. A written answer is better for information.

The 75% Thing

Cameo takes 25% of every booking. So on a $40 request, I keep $30. That felt steep — especially for birthday videos that take 10 minutes of setup for 2 minutes of content.

When I switched to text-based Q&A on Nudge, the platform fee dropped to 10%. Same $40 question, I keep $36. Over a month of answering questions, that difference adds up.

What Actually Worked for Me

I ended up setting up a Nudge page with three tiers. $5 if you want a quick opinion (I'll give you a couple paragraphs). $15 for a real answer with some context and reasoning. $40 if you want me to actually dig into your specific situation.

The questions that come in are so much better than what I was getting on Cameo. Real stuff: "I'm deciding between two job offers, here's the situation." "I want to start creating content but I don't know where to begin." "What would you do differently if you were starting over?"

These are questions I love answering. And now I get paid for it instead of doing it for free in DMs.

I'm Not Anti-Cameo

I want to be clear: Cameo is a good platform doing exactly what it's designed to do. If you're a comedian, actor, athlete, or musician — it's perfect. Your fans want to see and hear you. A personalized video from their favorite person is genuinely meaningful.

But if you're more of an "advice person" — people come to you with questions, not for vibes — the shoutout format is a mismatch. You end up squeezing advice into a format that was designed for "happy birthday, Jake!"

The takeaway: match the platform to what your audience actually wants from you. My people want answers. Cameo's audience wants moments. Different thing entirely.

What I'd Tell You If You're Considering Cameo