Hey! In this short blog we will break down exactly how YOU reading this right now can start your own UGC career, from complete scratch. Read through it carefully and you'll know exactly what you need to know by the time you're finished.
What UGC actually is
UGC stands for user-generated content, and it's nothing more than making promotional videos for a brand, in an entertaining way. There are a lot of different ways to do UGC as a creator, and with that also a variety of ways of getting paid. In this guide we'll focus specifically on tech UGC, which is by far the easiest way to do UGC, especially as a beginner.
Important to know upfront:
- You do
NOTneed any social media following to get paid - You do
NOTneed any prior experience to get paid - You do
NOTneed extraordinary editing or scriptwriting skills to get paid
Why? Because platforms like UGC Jungle provide all of that for you. All a creator has to do is pick up the phone, hit record, and upload the video.
We've covered the real truth on why your following doesn't matter in a different blog, in case you're interested. :)
The two ways you get paid
It's extremely important to understand how you get paid, since there are a lot of misconceptions about this within the UGC space. First we'll break down the ways to get paid, and then how to get started.
There are two main ways you as a creator will get paid:
Pay per video / Retainer
You get a fixed amount per video, which adds up into a monthly guaranteed retainer.
A brand agrees a price per video before you film. You deliver, you get paid, done, whether the video flops or goes viral. Some brands turn that into a monthly retainer: an agreed number of videos every month for a set fee.
It's predictable, and predictability is worth something when you're starting out. But the ceiling is the ceiling. Your best video ever pays exactly the same as your worst.
Pay per view / Performance based
You get a fixed amount per 1,000 views, commonly known as CPM.
You post on your own account and get paid for every thousand views you actually deliver. CPM stands for cost per mille, mille being a thousand. Nobody is buying your time here; they're buying attention that already happened.
A video nobody watches pays nothing. A video that takes off keeps paying for as long as people keep watching it. No ceiling, and no floor either.
Here is the same video, under both deals:
The same video, two deals
Many creators prefer retainers over performance-based deals, yet the highest-paid UGC creators are actually all taking performance deals only. This is a big misconception in the UGC space, and we wrote a separate article breaking down why UGC retainer deals are keeping you broke.
What you actually need to get started NOW
A phone. That's it.
That's the honest answer, and it irritates people who were hoping for a longer list. Not a Sony FX30 or some four-figure camera in a high production studio. That is actually exactly why UGC is so powerful.
Sounds funny, right? Lower quality videos bring a sense of authenticity to a consumer, a form of originality that makes the video feel like a genuine guide rather than an ad. This is the entire reason UGC is so profitable for brands. Consumers don't want to watch ads. They want to watch entertaining and educational content, made by ordinary people.
There's really only one thing you as a beginner have to be willing to do, and that's being on camera. If you're not afraid to show your face, you'll be able to make money today. Here's how.
Your first video, step by step
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Choose a platform.
We recommend starting on UGC Jungle, but you can also try signing up on a free alternative. We wrote a separate blog on why paid UGC platforms beat free alternatives, in case you're interested.
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Pick a campaign.
Don't try to start with five campaigns at once. We'll talk about scaling your UGC income further below.
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Pick an inspiration style.
Straight from the inspiration tab inside UGC Jungle. As mentioned earlier, you don't have to reinvent the wheel when it comes to content. We give you the exact frameworks that get creators paid, so as a beginner we highly recommend just following those.
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Film it, badly, today.
Your first video won't be perfect, and that's the whole point. If you don't post your first video and actually get started, nothing will happen, ever.
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Make a new account and post your first video.
Before you post, warm up the account first. We wrote an entire blog on account warm-up as well.
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Submit it and start the next one.
Don't sit and refresh. Keep posting and submitting. If you need help there's a guide on how to submit your UGC videos the right way.
100 people join a campaign
22 film something
The other 78 join, look around, and never submit a single video.
And of the ones who get a video approved, nearly half come back for a second campaign.
What happens after you hit submit
Once a video is submitted on UGC Jungle, the moderator team reviews it and approves it. Videos rarely get rejected. It only happens if you're not following the campaign requirements, or if we suspect you're botting your views.
What month one actually looks like
Another big lie in the UGC industry is the unrealistic series you see on TikTok, creators claiming they're making $10k a month in under 28 days. UGC is just like any profession in life: it takes time and effort.
Be prepared to accept that your first video will probably make you a couple of bucks at most. Many creators don't understand that you're only able to secure long-term growth if you can get the brand an ROI. We've written a separate article about the inflated creator economy, which goes over these exaggerated claims you see on the internet.
When the money actually arrived
Your first couple of videos will make you pennies. That's the reality. However, that doesn't mean you can't make a lot of money with UGC. If you want to know more, read our comprehensive guide to scaling to $10k a month with UGC.
Give it a month
That's all I can tell you. I'm not here to supply you with more fake dreams, I'm here to tell you the truth. Give UGC a month and watch your income grow. I guarantee you won't stop posting, because you'll be able to see the potential yourself, especially surrounded by people in a community like the one we have inside UGC Jungle.
If you've read this far, you already have the only piece of equipment required.
Make an account, pick a campaign, and get started. Today.
Start with UGC Jungle →