How I became a UGC creator & made it a full time job..
The UGC industry is absolutely huge now, everyone and anyone is jumping on board and trying to become a UGC Creator, but it’s not hard to see why. User Generated Content is something you can create from the comfort of your own home, often promoting products that you genuinely love, and get paid for doing it. We’ve moved way past the days where only celebrity influencers with millions of followers could be creating videos for brands, because now the general public can too. The only difference is, this time it’s going on the brand channel instead – which really, makes much more sense doesn’t it?
How I started out in UGC
I personally just dropped on to UGC because I was already creating and posting content online, which I think is the real key thing here. You could have less than ten followers and you should still be pushing that content out there, because at the end of the day it all forms part of your portfolio and is good practice for when it comes to working with brands.
Some of my first jobs were just through the TikTok platform itself, in the creator centre there are opportunities you can either apply to, or be contacted by brands and I remember being approached and offered a UGC job that didn’t even involve posting any videos to my own TikTok channel. It was kind of unheard of back then to be creating videos that you wouldn’t even get to publish yourself, and it was a bit of the unknown when it came to the right amount to charge the brand, but I just winged it, because at the end of the day a job is a job.
I was also emailed from the SoSquared team (which is an app you can download and sign up to!) about some available UGC opportunities, so I signed up and started applying to lots of those too. The easiest part for me was that I’d already built myself a social media page so I didn’t need to put any kind of portfolio together. I already had Instagram and TikTok pages full of my content, and if any platforms asked me to upload videos, I just downloaded them straight from my platforms and uploaded them really quickly.
Once I got into the swing of things, I had a mix of being approached by brands as well as applying through platforms and apps for work. I got a lot more confident with working with brands in this way too, which meant that I was getting better at creating content that was for a brands channel, and this meant I could increase my prices.
What I Charged
I only charged small amounts of money to begin with, because again, it was the unknown at that point and it was so new that I honestly had no idea what brands would and wouldn’t accept. I think my first ever UGC videos were sold for about £100 each which I actually think is shocking payment now, considering how much time goes into creating videos. But I know if you’re new to the game, you’ll think that any amount of money for one of your videos is worth taking and that’s okay whilst you get started!
Once I became more confident in creating UGC videos and had lots of experience under my belt, I gradually increased my prices. I honestly just winged it with what to charge, when brands ask for your rates, what’s the worst that can happen? They say no? Offer you a smaller rate? It’s really not that big of a deal. In the social media industry, it’s all one big game of negotiation and UGC is no different.
I now charge differently based on the brief, project, deadline, and so many other things. I do have a media kit with set rates on, but I’ll mostly price up a job over email and give a personalised quote rather than just send this out. UGC jobs can vary massively, from a simple speaking to the camera for 30-60 seconds, to having to travel to places, go shopping and film in store, pick up products, cook an entire dinner… there are endless types of jobs and not a single job is ever as same as another.
Are you interested in becoming a UGC Creator? Read my other posts here:
