How to become a UGC creator

1. Pick two or three product categories

Brands hire for fit. Choose categories you already buy and use: skincare, pets, home, fitness, tech accessories, food. Two or three is enough to look focused without boxing yourself in.

2. Film three to five sample videos

• Use products you already own. You don’t need permission to review something you bought.
• Film vertical (9:16), in daylight, with your phone at eye level and clear audio.
• Make each sample a different type: a testimonial, an unboxing, a how-to.
• Open every video with a hook: a question, a bold claim or a problem in the first three seconds.
• Keep them short: 15 to 45 seconds, edited, with captions.

3. Build a portfolio brands can scan in a minute

Put your best three to six videos on one page with your categories, a short bio, and how to reach you. Brands look at the first video and decide. The media kit template covers what else to include.

4. Set your rates before anyone asks

Decide your base rate per video and what you charge for hooks, raw footage, paid usage and whitelisting. The UGC rate calculator starts from published survey numbers and lets you change every line.

5. Find your first briefs

• Pitch brands directly: small and mid-size brands already running ads in your categories are the warmest leads. Use the pitch email templates.
• Apply on UGC marketplaces, where brands post briefs and creators apply.
• Tell the brands you already buy from: a short email with a sample video of their product.

6. Get the paperwork right from the first job

Send a contract that spells out deliverables, revisions, usage rights and payment dates (UGC contract template), and an invoice with every field the brand’s finance team needs (creator invoice template).