How I Started Making Amazon Review Videos (Even Though I Didn’t Feel Like an Influencer)

When I first learned about the Amazon Influencer Program, the part that stopped me wasn’t the technology.

It was me.

All I could think was…

I don’t look like an influencer.
I’m not young.
I’m not dressed up every day.
I don’t even wear makeup anymore.

I stopped wearing makeup years ago when the texture of my skin changed in my early 40’s. I remember looking in the mirror one day and thinking, I am not doing this again. I wasn’t going to spend my time trying to look like someone I wasn’t just to fit into something.

So when I started seeing all these people online making videos, most of them young, perfectly put together, and confident on camera, I automatically assumed that wasn’t for me.

I thought influencers were supposed to look a certain way.

But then I stopped and asked myself something.

Do those people actually influence what I buy?

And the honest answer was… no.

When I want to know if something works, I don’t look for the youngest person with perfect makeup and perfect lighting. I look for someone real. Someone who actually uses the product. Someone who looks like they live a normal life.

Most of the time, I want to hear from people my age.

People who have tried things.
People who know what works.
People who aren’t pretending.

The days of celebrity endorsements don’t mean the same thing they used to. We all know those people get paid to say what they say. It doesn’t feel real anymore.

People want real opinions now.

And if I’m being honest… I’ve never really had a problem sharing my opinion.

I don’t know about anyone else reading this, but at 54 years old I don’t mind saying what I think. In fact, more often than not I’m already telling myself,

“Cleo, hold your tongue. Not everyone wants your opinion.”

But the funny thing is… when it comes to product reviews, people actually do want your opinion.

They want to know if something works.
They want to know if it’s worth the money.
They want to know if a real person would buy it again.

Once I realized that, making Amazon review videos didn’t feel like pretending anymore.

I didn’t need to look like an influencer.
I didn’t need perfect lighting.
I didn’t need makeup.
I didn’t need to be 25.

I just needed to be honest.

The first videos I made weren’t fancy, and they definitely weren’t perfect, but they were real. And the more I made, the more comfortable it felt.

Looking back now, making that first review video wasn’t about becoming an influencer.

It was about realizing that being real is actually what people are looking for.

And that’s something I can do without even trying.