UGC is something I’m sure you’ve heard of because of Tiktok. UGC means User Generated Content. This is something fairly new, where people can create content for brands and get paid. This I know, sounds like influencing,, except the content doesn’t need to be posted on your account. This can be product photography that is taken and sent to the brand and boom, you’re paid. The thing about UGC is that literally anyone can do it. If you have an eye for creativity or just want to promote products, this is for you.
If you think about it, you spend so much money already on your favorite products, so why not have the opportunity to get paid or even get sent free products? This was so far-fetched at the beginning for me because I thought I didn’t have a big enough following for brands to send me PR or work with me but I was proven wrong.
I first started using these websites where you can apply for campaigns. The first website I used was BzzAgent, which is where you apply for campaigns, get free products and write reviews for them. A lot of the brands I was interested in were makeup companies, so I’ve been sent a good amount of free makeup and written a review.
The next company is Cohley, which is also a campaign based company. This is more centered toward influencing, so posting on your own feed and these campaigns do have a bit more criteria and rules but for the most part they are reasonable and they actually pay well.
This website works with big brands like Nair for content creation, many of these campaigns do require a post from your own page, so if that’s not your interest I would filter to review based opportunities.
My favorite way to get started is the easiest, reaching out to brands. I paired with one of my best friends that is also into content creation and we went through all the brands of products we used and wrote them down and then went to Target and found brands we were interested in working with. We sat down and started searching for brands, socials, emails, and contact info. We crafted together a pitch email, basically stating who we were, how we loved or was interested in the brand, our goals, and that we were interested in free products or paid collaborations.
The fun part was the replies from the brands, obviously some brands just won’t contact you back and that’s perfectly fine but you will be so surprised by the amount of replies you will get back. I was sent PR from my favorite soap/body wash brand named Dr. Bronner’s, it was so surreal for me and such an amazing and genuine opportunity. I always try to show up and show out for the brands that do gifting me, by making stories, Tiktok, and reels not only to show appreciation but just for an accountability aspect, showing other brands and people your talent and your creativity and how it can also be reflected in their company or brand.
If this is something that interests you, I would definitely get a jump start and go for it. It’s a way to get yourself out there, creative hands flowing, and be able to say on your resume that you have reached out and executed to brands.