This transcript was generated from the episode audio and may contain minor errors.
[Music]
Hey, what's up? Chris Guillebeau here. Once again, wishing you a happy Independence Day. Even after the 4th of July, any day can be Independence Day. We're all about creating independence, creating economic empowerment through the form of a side hustle, money-making project, whatever you like to call it, whether you're building a business or just wanna make some extra money to pay off your debt.
I don't know, go on vacation, do something fun. I went on vacation recently, been hanging out a bit in Croatia, and of course, continuing to work on the podcast, continuing to prepare for book launch next month, but it's fun to do it in a different environment. So I'm thankful that I've been able to kind of create a path in my life that allows me to do what's important to me. And my greatest hope with this podcast and everything else I do is that it encourages you and gives you a nudge in that same direction as well. Again, in whatever way makes sense to you.
So in terms of today's episode, last month we talked about buying Cameo shoutouts to promote a business. And at the time, I think I said, I'm not sure it's the greatest use of money. It can be fun, but I don't know that it's, you know, the best use of resources for marketing. And today's caller has a different idea. They wanna create a fictional character and offer shoutouts for sale.
So Cameo, if you're not familiar, it's where a bunch of celebrities are offering like personal shoutouts. And you know, if you've got a friend, you wanna send a birthday message from an actor or a musician, various reality TV stars and others, then you can pay for that. So this guy's idea, this is Felix from Texas, I believe. He's an entertainer at heart. And he's asking, why should only celebrities get all the attention on platforms like Cameo?
What if he created a character, developed a following and started selling the shoutouts himself? Well, I love the creativity. I always respect creative ideas. So let's talk it out. Detailed question coming up in just 30 seconds.
[Music]
Hey, this is Felix from Dallas, Texas. I have an idea that might sound a little bit out there, but bear with me. So we all know Cameo is filled with minor celebrities, but I've been thinking, what if I created a unique character? Let's say a witty alien who gives shoutouts in a humorous, memorable style. The character would be entirely fictional, but the entertainment value could be real.
I have a background in theater, so developing this character and delivering entertaining performances is definitely within my wheelhouse. My question is, do you think there might be a market for this on a platform like Cameo where perception is key? Could a fictional character gain traction alongside the minor celebrities typically found there? [Music]
Felix, man, as I said, I respect the creative approach. I love the ingenuity of it.
This is the good news. I'm gonna get to the bad news in a moment. Yeah, as I said, respect the innovation, the novelty, the challenge here, and here's the bad news, I was looking on Cameo. I'm like, can you actually do this? Like, are they gonna let you do this?
And it looks like they're not going to. Like in the terms of conditions, it says don't provide a false identity or submit any incorrect or misleading information about yourself when you sign up for an account. Use your real name, your own photographs. And partly they're concerned with impersonation. They're concerned with somebody pretending to be some other celebrity.
These days, they're probably concerned with AI and like deep bake accounts, that kind of thing. But just in general, I think the only way this would work, if you made a fictional character, is if that fictional character actually had some platform already. Like people do make different characters and personas and build TikTok and Instagram profiles around them. If you did that and you had a good following there, then it might work, right? Because people might actually want to buy shout outs from that person because they have that following.
So basically what you're looking for is a path to minor celebrity itself. And then you can leverage that on a platform like Cameo. I don't think it'll work to just create a random character, even one that's well-acted or interesting or funny. I'm not sure it would work. I'm not sure it would pass their test, basically.
I mean, you could try, right? Like there's nothing wrong with trying. I just would hate for you to put a lot of work into creating this character and like get it all set up. And then on your first day, the whole project is shut down. So that's what it looks like to me.
But Felix, you're a smart guy. I mean, try some other stuff, experiment. Or if you like the idea of building up that character's accounts elsewhere, then maybe that's the path. But there could also just be a different idea for you. That's my two cents, Felix.
Good luck. Listeners, if you have a question, sidehustleschool.com/questions. If you have a question or a creative idea, I should say. I love the creativity. I just love to know what you're working on.
I want to encourage you to do something today to get closer to a goal that's important to you, whatever that is. We're gonna do our best to support you. New episode every day. I've got a new book coming out soon. So in fact, much more is on the way.
It's all completely free here every single day. My name is Chris Guillebeau. You're listening to Side Hustle School. [Music]
From the Onward Project.
