The short answer
You land your first UGC deal by showing a brand the video before they pay for it. UGC means a brand pays you for content, a video or photos they run on their own channels and in their own ads, not for a post to your audience. That is why your follower count barely matters here. The starter sequence is simple: film three example videos with products you already own, put them on one simple portfolio page, and pitch brands directly with a short email and your examples attached. This post walks through each step, what to charge starting out, and the two mistakes that quietly cost new UGC creators the most money.
This post includes my referral links; I may earn a bonus if you join through them, at no cost to you.
What is UGC, in plain terms?
UGC stands for user generated content. A brand hires you to make the kind of video a happy customer would make: a demo, a review, a before and after, a morning routine with their product in it. Then the brand posts it on their own account, puts it on the product page, and very often runs it as an ad. You never post it to your feed at all.
Brands buy a lot of it because one video is never enough. Ads wear out, and a brand testing products needs a steady supply of fresh, believable content from different faces and homes. That steady demand is the opening for a small creator. They are not buying your audience. They are buying your camera skills, your home as a set, and a video that feels real.
Step one: film three example videos
Brands cannot hire what they cannot picture, so your first job is proof. Pick three products you already own and genuinely like, and film one video of each style brands ask for most:
1. The demo. Show the product doing its job, start to finish, with the result on camera. A skincare product going on, a kitchen tool handling the annoying task, a sweater surviving the wash.
2. The problem and solution. Open on the frustration in the first two seconds, then the product as the fix. This is the format most UGC ads follow, because it is the format that sells.
3. The routine. The product woven into a normal moment: getting ready, making coffee, tidying a room. No hard sell, just the product living in a real day.
Film on your phone, in natural light, and keep each one under a minute. Do not wait for perfect. A brand is judging whether your video feels trustworthy and clear, not whether it looks like a commercial.
Step two: build a simple portfolio page
Your three videos need one home that is not your social profile. A single page is enough: your three examples at the top, two or three lines about the kinds of products you film, and a contact email. A free Canva site, a Google Drive folder with view access, or a page on your own blog all work. Mine lives on a simple page I can link in any pitch in one tap.
What matters is the friction. If a brand has to scroll your grid, guess which posts are ads, and hunt for your email, the pitch dies there. One link, three videos, one email address.
Step three: pitch, in the right places
Brands that buy UGC are findable, and most creators never look. Start here:
Brand websites. Scroll to the footer and look for pages named Collaborate, Creators, Ambassadors, or Work With Us. Smaller brands especially keep an open door there, because they need content constantly.
Affiliate platforms. ShopMy and LTK both connect creators and brands, and brands already on those platforms are used to paying creators. Getting set up there also builds the sales history that supports your rates later. I covered the approval process in how to get approved for ShopMy and LTK.
Direct email. Pitch brands whose products are already in your house. Your pitch is short: who you are, the specific video idea you have for their product, a link to your portfolio, and your starting rate. Four or five sentences. Then send more of them than feels reasonable, because UGC is a volume game at the start, and every yes makes the next pitch easier.
What to charge starting out
Beginners with solid example videos commonly start at $100 to $250 per video, and bundles of three videos are how most first deals actually close, because brands would rather test you across a few concepts. Once you have a couple of paid deals and any results to point to, $300 to $500 per piece is a normal next step. I laid out the full logic in my UGC pricing guide, and the wider rate landscape is in how much influencers get paid for brand deals.
One rule from the start: usage is separate. Your base rate covers making the video and the brand posting it organically. If they run it as an ad, that is paid usage, priced by the window, and it belongs in the quote as its own line.
The mistakes that cost new UGC creators money
Handing over usage for free. The most expensive sentence in UGC is "sure, use it however you want." Perpetual usage given away in a $150 video can be worth more than everything else you will earn that month. Price the window, and let perpetual cost what it should.
No written agreement. You do not need a lawyer or a formal contract to protect yourself. You need the essentials in writing before you film: the deliverables, the rate, the usage window, the revision rounds, and when payment lands. An email thread that confirms all five counts. A handshake in the DMs does not.
Filming before the terms are clear. If the rate, usage, and payment timing are not settled, the video is not started. Every awkward negotiation happens before the work or not at all.
My honest starting point
I built my setup as a small creator, at around 12,000 followers, over roughly a year and a half. My last three paid brand deals landed between $2,000 and $2,500, including $2,500 for one reel with perpetual usage, which tells you where the money in this work actually sits. Those are my results, not a guarantee of yours. The part that transfers is the sequence: examples first, one simple portfolio, direct pitches, and terms in writing before the camera comes out.
The whole sequence, in one place
My UGC Starter Kit walks through this entire path in three plain guides, including the pitch templates I actually send and the getting paid part nobody explains, like usage windows and payment terms. It is the shortcut I wish someone had handed me before my first pitch.
Join ShopMy through my link and skip the application queue: shopmy.us/join/alyssaknightbc
Apply for LTK through my referral: creator.shopltk.com/apply (a referral helps your approval odds, and you get a $25 bonus after approval and your first post).
Frequently asked questions
Do you need followers to get UGC deals?
No. Brands are buying the content itself to run on their own channels and ads, so your audience size is close to irrelevant. What they judge is your example videos: whether your filming is clear, your delivery feels natural, and your home works as a set.
How much should a beginner charge for UGC?
With solid examples, $100 to $250 per video is a common starting range, and bundles of three are how most first deals close. Charge usage separately whenever the brand plans to run the video as an ad, priced by how long they will run it.
What should my example videos be about?
Products you already own and genuinely like, in the three formats brands buy most: a demo that shows the result, a problem and solution video, and a routine video with the product woven into a normal moment. Owned products keep it free to start and make the videos believable.
Do I need a contract for UGC work?
You need the terms in writing, which can be a simple email confirmation covering deliverables, rate, usage window, revision rounds, and payment timing. What you cannot skip is agreeing on usage before you film, because that is where new creators lose the most money.