Learn how to become a UGC creator in 7 simple steps. Discover essential tools, monetization strategies, and tips to build your portfolio as a successful content creator.
Forget the staged ads and influencers. User-generated content (UGC) is where it’s at. UGC is content created by people, not brands. It's basically individuals sharing their experiences, opinions, or creativity online.
Real people show their genuine experiences to connect with their audience in an authentic way. UGC creators save brands money while talking about the stuff they love! It’s no wonder this industry is absolutely exploding - if you’re ready to become a UGC creator, then let’s dive in. 💪
Introduction to UGC Creation
A UGC creator is an expert in a particular niche who makes content for brands. While this content is sponsored, it feels like it is coming from an average user and seamlessly fits in with other organic posts. This type of content differs from influencer posts as it feels much more authentic than a popular YouTuber plugging a product they know nothing about. 😎
UGC is so important in today’s modern landscape for several reasons. ⚡
Content type and reach: It can be any type of content, such as videos, images, reviews, or social posts, and it can be posted on a wide range of platforms to target exactly the audience you’re looking for. This flexibility also means that your total reach is not limited at all; you can choose to use as many channels and platforms as you want. 😉
Authenticity and engagement: Consumers trust content from other users rather than branded content, advertisements, or influencer posts. When a user starts a conversation, it encourages more engagement between anyone who shares this interest. It is easier to start a community of peers who share the same interests and feel equal. 🤝
Cost-effective: As other people create the content for you, your initial marketing costs are much lower than if you needed to do all the work yourself. Because the content is created by expert users, they more easily build trust, increasing your brand awareness and ultimately driving more sales. In fact, UGC ads' cost-per-click is 50% cheaper than traditional ads. 🥇
Considering how vital UGC creators are in the digital economy, it is no wonder why so many more people want to start their journey. Let’s take you through the steps you need to take to successfully start your UGC creator career.
The 7 Steps to Successfully Starting as a UGC Creator
If you’re planning on becoming a UGC creator, you probably have a good idea of how you want to approach it. That’s great! It’s important to be yourself and do it your way. It’s also important to learn from people who have been there and done it. Here are the seven steps used by successful UGC creators. 🧡
Choosing Your UGC Niche
When starting out in any form of content creation, marketing, or business, you need to choose a niche to focus on. This means choosing a specific topic that you are interested in and knowledgeable in. When you narrow down your topic area like this, your potential audience size gets smaller, but by remaining laser-focused on your topic, you can make a genuine connection with people who share your passion. If you try to talk to everybody, you’ll end up talking to nobody. 😉
As a UGC creator, it is essential to carefully choose your niche because you need to be able to build up authority and authenticity. This means you should pick something that you’re genuinely passionate about. This enthusiasm for the subject will come through in your content, and viewers will see that you authentically care about it - people who genuinely love something will spot a fake immediately, so don’t pretend to care about something you don’t.
Another reason you need to have a real passion for the niche is that you will need to spend a lot of time with it. Not only producing the content but also researching and staying up to date with the latest trends. People will be relying on you to be the expert in the field, keeping them in the know. They need you because they are too busy in their lives to do all the research themselves - this is your job - so if you aren’t prepared to live your niche completely, don’t bother starting. 🤝
Most people will have several interests they would happily spend most of their time with. So, how do you choose the best niche out of all your interests?
Start by considering the audience size and the competition. If you’re interested in something and feel like you’re personally not getting as much content as you would like, others probably feel the same - you can be the person to fill this gap! 💪
If you feel your interests are too broad, narrow them down to target a more specific niche. If you’re into sports, you might pick a specific sport like football, but if this is still too broad, you might pick college football, and to get even more granular, you might just focus on one college football team. 🤔
Another example of a broad niche is fashion. If this is more your sort of thing, you could go to the sub-niche of sustainable fashion, then to a micro-niche of vintage-sustainable fashion, and even further to the hyper-niche of streetwear vintage sustainable fashion. 🧡
Whatever niche you choose, make sure it's something you’re really interested in, research the market and competition, and then choose how specific you want to get based on these factors. 😎
Essential Tools and Resources for UGC Creators
The tools you use as a creator significantly affect the quality of your content. In the 2000s, you could still create content with grainy video and poor-quality microphones, but those days are gone.
Viewers expect a certain level of quality in the content they consume. The good news is that all the tools and resources you need to create amazing content are easily accessible to anyone. 💪
The first thing you need to consider is the hardware you will use to create content. A good smartphone is the backbone of modern content creation. Any top smartphone brand will have a high-quality camera built into the phone. Most will have advanced features like image stabilization, slow motion, and multiple lens choices. Other simple edits can usually be finished in your phone's video editor. ⚡
Of course, if you are looking to really make a name for yourself as a top UGC creator, you need to go beyond the basic in-phone editing. You need editing software that gives you what you need to stand out, engage your audience, and make viral content. 😉
The advanced features you need are things like automatically adding subtitles, emojis, and sound effects to create truly immersive content. Submagic has all these AI-powered features, so even novice content producers can get started immediately. If you’re more experienced, you will see how much your workflows can be optimized through these AI-powered tools.
Once you have the right hardware and editing tools in place, you should check for further resources to help improve your production's quality and speed. Of course, YouTube should be your first stop for learning anything for free. The top tools, like Submagic, produce easy-to-follow tutorials in-house and many UGC tutorials that support the community. 🧡
Finding the Right Platforms for UGC Content
Once you have defined your niche and the tools you need to create your content, you should already have a clear view of who your audience is and which type of content you are going to produce for them. 🤝
The next step is to choose the platform on which to post your content. The type of audience and content you choose will heavily influence this decision because each platform has unique features.
Instagram: Instagram is a visual platform, focusing more on images and short-form videos called Reels. It is good for building communities through its strong engagement features. Instagram is great for brand partnerships but it is highly competitive and often difficult to beat the algorithm without paid ads.
TikTok: TikTok uses short-form video content, and its algorithm is much more favorable for new creators than Instagram’s. Entertaining videos can quickly go viral and propel the creator in front of a huge audience. The user base of TikTok is generally much younger, so it is great for UGC creators in niches that appeal to this audience. The downside of TikTok is that it is heavily trend-based, and you need to post regularly to see consistent results.
YouTube: Of course, YouTube is video-based, and its long-form approach is a great way for UGC creators to create in-depth tutorials, reviews, and vlogs. It can take time to build an audience on YouTube, but once you do, there is a clear way to monetize your content without the need for outside sponsors. YouTube also hosts short-form video content through YouTube Shorts, which are becoming incredibly powerful on the platform.
So, we can see that the three largest platforms approach content style, audience, and monetization slightly differently. However, one consistent trend exists across all three platforms: short-form video content. ⚡
The savvy UGC creators among you will see the opportunity this presents. If you choose to make short-form video content, you can create one piece of content and then post it to all three major platforms (as well as Facebook through Reels) and simply make simple platform-specific edits. This allows you to reach the audience of all the platforms without increasing your production workload. 😎
When you add in a tool like Submagic that uses AI-powered features to create viral short-form content for you, it’s a no-brainer to decide which direction to take. 😉
Build Your Portfolio as a New UGC Creator
Normally, a portfolio of work will be showcased on a separate website if you are a writer or graphic designer. But as a UGC creator, your portfolio will be on the platforms you plan to post on. So, if you’re going to focus on Instagram, then create the account and get started making posts right away. 💪
Of course, you can use a private account to test your content on friends and family. Once you have improved your initial content based on their feedback, you can open up your profile to the public. 🧡
When starting out, don’t be afraid to try different content styles, such as reviews, unboxings, or lifestyle videos. Once it becomes apparent which one you enjoy the most, focus on that and make that style of content as good as possible. 🥇
For your first few posts, focus on products that you know really well and have used a lot. This will take much of the pressure off, as you don’t need to do as much product research. You will already be focused on optimizing the quality of your content in terms of everything from script and authenticity to lighting and sound. And remember - take your time when building up your portfolio; quality is much more important than quantity. ⚡
Monetizing Your UGC Content
As a UGC creator, there are several ways to monetize your content. You are not limited to one; the top creators will have multiple income streams. Diversifying this way takes the pressure off, allowing you to focus on creating great content. Here are the top income streams for UGC creators. 🧡
Brand Partnerships: This is the most common income stream for established UGC creators. Brands pay you to create content showcasing their products through posts, reviews, unboxings, tutorials, etc. The amount you get paid depends on your audience size, experience, scope of work, and product value. 😎
Affiliate Marketing: This is where you earn a commission by driving traffic to a brand's website. You can either be paid per click or per sale. This is a good option because you don’t need to establish a formal relationship with a brand, which can take time. You simply join an affiliate marketing network, and then you can start selling other people’s products. 💪
On Platform Monetization: Each platform will also pay you for the number of views you get on your videos. Top platforms like YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok have slightly different ways of determining how much creators are paid.
Selling Your Own Products Or Services: Once you have established yourself as an expert within your niche, you can start creating your own products and services to sell. Digital products such as guides, templates, or online courses are popular because you don’t need to worry about physical inventory or delivery, and they can be sold repeatedly. 🧡
Merchandise: Similar to selling your products or services, if you have built a popular personal brand, you can also make money from selling branded merchandise. This is made easy through print-on-demand services, where you can add your logo or unique designs to clothing, mugs, or posters, and they will handle the production and delivery for you. 😉
Collaborating with Brands as a UGC Creator
As a UGC creator, securing valuable, long-lasting brand partnerships is the ultimate goal. Because these are so lucrative, they are not easy to come by. Of course, once you know the right way to approach brands for collaboration, it becomes much more manageable.
The first thing to do is build a strong online presence. A leading brand isn’t going to work with you if you haven’t already built up an audience.
So, if you are still building up your following, consider approaching smaller brands that are more in line with your size as a creator. This way, you can keep building up your quality portfolio while earning money, and you're on your way to working with more prominent brands.
As a UGC creator within your chosen niche, you need to be active within the community. This means engaging with your community comments, networking with other creators, and actively engaging with the type of brands you want to work with. These relationships help opportunities develop naturally and put you on popular brands' radars. ⚡
When you reach out to brands, make sure you’re prepared. You don’t want to waste their time, so develop a creative pitch that fills a need they haven’t considered.
When you’re coming up with ideas for pitches, put yourself in different people’s shoes. Think about what the brand is looking for and missing, consider the content users love by checking for likes and comments on other creators’ posts, and finally, factor in what makes you stand out as a creator and why you’re a great fit. 🤔
Then, contact them directly on the platform where you want to work with them. This way, you don’t just tell them what you can do; your profile will prove it by showcasing past successes. 😎
While you are building up your organic reach, don’t be afraid to join creator platforms. Places like Influee connect brands with content creators like you without needing to do outreach yourself. These connections help you create a real-life portfolio to jumpstart your success as a UGC creator. 💪
Here’s a template you can use:
Subject: Let’s Boost [Brand Name]’s Engagement Together!
Hi [Brand Name/Team],
I’m [Your Name], a UGC creator specializing in [niche]. I’ve been following [Brand Name] and love [specific positive aspect, e.g., how you make sustainable living stylish and accessible].
I noticed [specific problem or gap, e.g., some of your posts aren’t sparking as much engagement as they could]. I’d love to help by creating authentic content like [specific example, e.g., “short-form product demos” or “relatable lifestyle visuals”] that connects directly with [target audience] and drives more [specific goal, e.g., comments, shares, or clicks].
You can see my portfolio of proven results right here on [platform]. I’d love to talk more about how my content has helped similar brands and how I can help yours too.
Looking forward to connecting!
Best,
[Your Name]
Staying Consistent and Evolving
Staying consistent and evolving simultaneously may sound like they are opposing each other, but they should actually go hand in hand. 🤝
You must stay consistent in your underlying style to maintain authenticity. If your audience doesn’t trust you, they will stop watching your content and won’t take your purchase recommendations.
You also need to be consistent in your content production. This is key to success with all social media algorithms, particularly when getting started. Maintaining a regular posting schedule makes it easy for people to follow your new content releases as they get into a routine of when to watch you. 🧡
Of course, when you get as big as Mr Beast, you create your own schedule, but until then, maintain a consistent pattern of new content. 😎
When we talk about evolving, you need to listen to your audience and how their tastes are changing. What was popular 10 years ago isn’t going to cut it anymore. You need to be on top of the latest production tools and which content styles are currently trending.
Staying on top of trends can be hard when you have a busy content schedule. That’s why Submagic constantly updates templates with trending styles, so you don’t need to worry. Everything from caption styles to emojis and sound effects is updated in real-time to ensure our users cannot fall behind the current trends.
Get Started as a UGC Creator
Now that you know how it’s done, it’s time to start! Choose your niche, pick your hardware, and experiment with editing tools. You can create a free account on Submagic to see how easy it is to create professional videos using AI-powered tools.
Remember, every successful creator starts from the beginning. Be patient, be enthusiastic, and have a great time creating content about a topic you absolutely love!
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