How to Actually Start UGC in 2026 (Beginner's Guide Step-by-Step)

0:00If you are wanting to understand UGC in

0:022026, you're probably hearing, "Oh, go

0:04grab things from around your house and

0:05make a sample portfolio and then just

0:07pitch brands."

0:07>> Or you're probably hearing things like,

0:09"Just sign up for this platform and then

0:10you'll start getting PR and then brands

0:12will start to reach out to you and then

0:13it's just as easy as that." Or maybe

0:14you're hearing, "It takes 2 or 3 hours a

0:16day and I'm making $10,000 a month. Just

0:18the money, no how, no strategy, no

0:20systems, no playbook, nothing." I'm here

0:22to help you with that. Today, I'm going

0:23to be walking you through some of the

0:24biggest pitfalls or misconceptions that

0:26people have about UGC. what it is, what

0:28it isn't, and how you can land your very

0:30first paid deal starting as a complete

0:32beginner all the way to a seasoned pro.

0:34In this video, I'm going to go through a

0:35couple of different phases. First phase

0:36is the research phase. The second phase

0:38is going to be the baby beginner phase.

0:41The third phase is going to be the

0:43mid-range level up phase. The fourth

0:45phase is going to be the pitch perfect

0:47phase. And the sixth phase is going to

0:49basically be rinse and repeat until you

0:50are a full-time UGC creator or an

0:52influencer, whichever you want to be. I

0:54also have some really cool goodies in

0:56this video, opportunities for UGC

0:57creators that you don't want to miss out

0:58on towards the middle of the video. And

1:00towards the end, I'm going to tell you

1:01about how you can skip a couple of these

1:04steps and phases if you are a very

1:05specific kind of person. Now, don't go

1:07skipping all the way to the end. If you

1:08don't watch these phases and understand

1:10how they relate to you, you might skip

1:11to the end and think that you're that

1:12person and you're not. So, go through

1:14the phases with me and determine if you

1:15[music] are that kind of person. And

1:17then I'll tell you how that might apply

1:18to you towards the end. So, let's start

1:19with the basics. What is UGC content?

1:22UGC content is usergenerated content.

1:24It's basically [music] brands paying

1:26real people like me or like people who

1:28own cats or people who own a home to do

1:30pet food content or homeowner content.

1:32It's more relatable and it's more real

1:33and authentic because the person who's

1:35doing the ad is actually someone who

1:37owns or does that thing. So for me as a

1:39cat owner, if I do a video on cat food

1:41or cat toys, people are more likely to

1:43listen to me. That's basically UGC. User

1:45generated content is a little bit

1:46different from influencer content

1:48because influencer content is posting

1:50[music] content to your social media

1:51pages and UGC is creating content for

1:54brands that they post to their social

1:56channels. A lot of brands get this mixed

1:57up and they'll reach out to UGC creators

1:59and basically start pitching things that

2:00are influencer collabs and projects but

2:02phrased like their UGC projects. And

2:04this is where a lot of creators get

2:05confused because even the brands don't

2:07really know what they're talking about

2:08yet because UGC is still fairly new and

2:10they're still trying to understand it.

2:11So if you're interested in user

2:12generated content, where do you start? I

2:14want you guys to get a notepad and a

2:16pencil because you're going to want to

2:16take some notes. This is going to be a

2:18longer video, but it's because I'm

2:19giving you everything that you need from

2:20start to finish. So, first phase is the

2:22research phase. This is where you're

2:24going to watch UGC creators for about 1

2:26to two weeks. This is vital. You start

2:28watching how they talk, how they create

2:30their videos, how they post to social

2:31media, what they talk about when it

2:33comes to brands, and then you're going

2:34to create an email that is specifically

2:36for UGC. So, something like perhaps

2:37Britney u@gmail.com.

2:39Totally fine. You don't need to pay for

2:41anything at this point because you are a

2:42complete beginner. Researching is going

2:43to look like understanding user

2:45generated content. So you could do a

2:46couple Google searches, read some

2:47articles, get caught up on the news of

2:49UGC, get caught up on trends, why it's

2:51working, buyer psychology, marketing.

2:53This is the unsexy stuff that people

2:55don't talk about when it comes to UGC

2:57because they just want to flash the

2:58money or they just want to flash the PR

2:59boxes. UC is a business. It is an

3:02awesome business. It's a business I

3:03love, but it is definitely a business.

3:05You're basically growing your personal

3:07brand from square one all the way to

3:09pro. So, after 1 to two weeks, and I say

3:111 to two weeks because you can spiral

3:13here. I've done it. You can start

3:14consuming more than you're creating and

3:16just watching creators endlessly because

3:18you think that you're taking in

3:20knowledge and you think that you're

3:21getting better. It's [music] not true.

3:22>> You need to start taking action. So,

3:23some of the first things that you want

3:24to do when you're a beginner UGC creator

3:26and you're going to start signing up for

3:27some low-level platforms that may not

3:29pay as well as other platforms, but

3:32they're easier to pick up, they're

3:33easier to learn, sometimes they're

3:34easier to get jobs. So, these platforms,

3:36I'm going to list them in the

3:37description. I'll also put them here in

3:38the video are going to be things like

3:40join brands, billow, hummingbirds if

3:42it's in your area and perhaps things

3:44like incense, social cat. Now, these

3:46apps and platforms, they're free to sign

3:48up. I can't really speak on if they're

3:49available in other countries. I know

3:51they're available in the US, so I'm so

3:52sorry if you're watching this from

3:53another country, but I will try to find

3:54some apps and platforms for you that you

3:56can use. You want to sign up using your

3:57email that you use for UGC. Try to keep

3:59all of your business and UGC things

4:01separate. Then, for join Brands or BO,

4:03you're usually going to have to upload

4:04an introductory video or a couple sample

4:06videos. This is not a portfolio. So many

4:09people get confused when I post videos

4:10about UGC like this and they say, "Oh,

4:12well, I do need a portfolio."

4:13>> Stop right there. A portfolio is a whole

4:15resume of work that you've done as a UGC

4:18creator. One sample video plus an intro

4:20video is not anywhere close to a

4:22portfolio. And this is probably where

4:23the confusion is lying. A great intro

4:25video for a beginner is going to focus

4:27on things like your demographic, your

4:29unique skills, your age, do you have any

4:31pets, are you a rock climber, are you an

4:33amputee, are you a cancer survivor?

4:34Things that make you unique and

4:36different. Think about your unique

4:37story. I've done a couple videos on this

4:38and I don't want to go too deep, but a

4:40great intro video would look something

4:41like this. Hi, my name is Britney. I'm a

4:4329-year-old UGC creator. I have two cats

4:45and I live in an area with great hiking

4:47trails and coffee shops. And I do have

4:49some experience in customer service and

4:50retail, so I understand how buyer

4:52psychology works. I would love to work

4:54with you and bring your vision to life.

4:55Now, simply showcasing confidence on

4:57camera is honestly 80 to 90% of the

4:59game. So many brands want creators who

5:01can speak confidently and convey that

5:03their product is the best or their

5:04service is the best. So, if you can gain

5:06confidence on camera, you're going to do

5:07so well. Start working on these lower

5:09level apps and platforms and apply to

5:11jobs. If you don't get jobs right away,

5:12please don't give up. I didn't get jobs

5:14for 6 months. Now, a lot of that was

5:16because I was getting married and I

5:18totaled my car and I was moving cities.

5:20All kinds of crazy stuff was happening,

5:21but it was also because I was listening

5:22to the wrong creators and I just wasn't

5:24applying as much as I should have been.

5:25Your success is going to directly

5:27correlate [music] to how many

5:28applications you put in on these

5:29platforms. So, please don't give up if

5:31you don't get a job after the first five

5:32or 10 applications. You have to keep

5:34going. This is like putting in probably

5:35a hundred to get one. As a beginner,

5:37just like with anything, a sport [music]

5:39or a career, you're working from the

5:40bottom up. So, it's going to be harder

5:42towards the bottom. You'll gain momentum

5:43and slowly gain traction. [music]

5:44Honestly, the beginner phase is so slept

5:47on because this is where you build your

5:48understanding of creative briefs, of how

5:50to negotiate with brands, of how to talk

5:52to brands. All of those different things

5:54happen in the beginning stages on the

5:55lower level apps. So, take it seriously.

5:57Once you've done about 15 to 30 jobs, I

5:59would say 30, move up into the mid-range

6:02apps and platforms. Now, mid-tier

6:03platforms are a little bit more

6:04difficult to use, but they are going to

6:06bring you much more income. They are

6:08going to have better briefs with better

6:09pay and better incentives. You're going

6:10to get free stuff most likely. If you

6:12are getting free stuff in exchange for a

6:14video, as a complete beginner, that's

6:15still a win. Just make sure that you

6:17don't hang on to that for too long to

6:18move up into paid work. I want to take a

6:20moment to separate between PR and gifted

6:22collaborations. PR is when a brand sends

6:24you something called public relations.

6:26It's basically a box or a gift or

6:28something from the brand that they are

6:29hoping that you'll start posting about

6:31that thing that they sent you. It's

6:32basically free marketing for them

6:34because they know that people love

6:34getting free stuff and then people talk

6:36about when they get free stuff. Gifted

6:38collaborations are when a brand or a

6:40company sends you a product in exchange

6:42[music] for a video and they are

6:43expecting you to post. Now, these can be

6:45tricky because gifted collaborations can

6:47sometimes take advantage of the creator.

6:48Whereas PR is almost always no strings

6:50attached. It's fun to post and it's fun

6:52to share. Now, for phase two, the

6:54mid-level apps and platforms, these are

6:56going to be things like Fiverr,

6:57Backstage, and things like Vidzy or

6:59things like Vidovo. be a little bit more

7:01difficult to use, but they will yield

7:03higher pay. So, I'll stick them in the

7:04description box below. These are

7:06sometimes going to require money

7:07upfront. So, backstage is a subscription

7:09where people post things like gigs for

7:11actors and actresses, narration, UGC,

7:13and Fiverr is fantastic. It's basically

7:16where you can set your gigs on an open

7:17marketplace and people can select you as

7:20a creator and hire you and pay you. It's

7:21a lot more work up front to set this up,

7:23which is why it's a mid-level platform,

7:24but you will make more money from it. I

7:26don't want to dive into this too deeply,

7:27but you want to update your portfolio

7:29with some sample videos from when you

7:31were on those low-level apps. And when I

7:32say portfolio, maybe three to five of

7:34your best videos, plus an updated intro

7:36video that you can put in a Google Drive

7:37folder and you can add as assets to

7:39these platforms because usually you

7:40can't upload a Canva portfolio or a

7:43website link. [music] Anyway, on Kohi,

7:45Backstage, Fiverr, these are going to be

7:46places where you can make from $300 to

7:48$1,000 per video. It just depends on

7:51your expertise [music] and how much time

7:52and effort you put into the platforms.

7:53So once you've gotten some experience

7:55under your belt, this is where you're

7:56going to move to making an actual

7:58portfolio because you're going to start

7:59pitching brands next. Now mid-level apps

8:01and platforms and moving up to pitching

8:03[music] is where a lot of creators get

8:04confused because contracts start to get

8:06involved. Let me say this now. If you

8:08don't understand your contracts, you are

8:10in for a world of hurt. You may sign

8:12something that you don't understand. You

8:13may leave yourself open to being sued.

8:15You may get taken advantage of by a

8:17brand. If you need help understanding

8:18your contracts, I am not a lawyer,

8:19[music] but I created a guide with some

8:21of the best known contract terms that

8:22I've come across as a creator that's

8:24available down below if you'd like to

8:25grab it. Now, moving into the pitching

8:26phase, this is where you'll use

8:28something like Canva or a separate

8:30website to put together a portfolio. I

8:32love using Beacons. Beacons has been

8:34such a powerful tool for me as I've

8:36worked through my content creator

8:37journey. Canva is a great way to put

8:38together your portfolio. Just make sure

8:40it is a website and [music] not a

8:42presentation. Now, when you're pitching

8:43brands, you're going to do things a

8:45little bit differently. This is

8:46basically cold emailing brands to say,

8:48"Hey, I [music] want to work with you."

8:49This can be either email or DM.

8:51Essentially, you want to have a really

8:52strong pitch. It says why you would

8:54benefit the brand. And then a portfolio.

8:56This is where you take your very best

8:58videos from likely [music] your mid-tier

9:00level platforms as you've gotten better

9:02and you've gained more experience. And

9:04you put them together into a portfolio

9:05with typically a short intro video about

9:07yourself, some of your [music] best

9:08videos, the best ways to contact you,

9:10some testimonials, data about your

9:12videos if you have it, and then your

9:14social metrics. Now, this is where

9:15people say that you don't have to have a

9:16social media following to be a UGC

9:18creator. [music] That is just not true.

9:20Inherently, do you have to have a social

9:22media page to be a UGC creator?

9:23Technically, no. But that's where people

9:26leave out all the other stuff in the

9:28technically. As a UGC creator, remember

9:29I said you're creating content for

9:31brands that they will post on their

9:33social channels. But if they go to your

9:35Instagram and they can't see any

9:36examples of how you manage a social

9:38media page and how you create content,

9:40they have nothing to go off of. So many

9:42brands have found me based on my Tik Tok

9:44or my Instagram or my YouTube

9:45especially. This is where you need to

9:47understand that creating an audience on

9:49Tik Tok or Instagram or YouTube is a

9:51critical part of being a UGC creator and

9:54connecting to other creators and brands

9:56and showcasing brands that you love. Not

9:57to mention creators who don't have

9:59social media pages typically don't get a

10:01lot of PR. And if they are, well, we

10:03wouldn't know about it because they

10:04don't have social media pages. So it's

10:06really misleading saying, "Oh, you don't

10:08need any followers to do UGC." cuz yeah,

10:10technically, but not really. Now, the

10:12way that I love to pitch my brands is to

10:14use Bento. It's a platform that pulls

10:16together all of the emails and contacts

10:18from brands all over like E.L.F.

10:20Cosmetics, Road, Rare Beauty, uh, Kopari

10:22Beauty, all kinds of things that you can

10:24think of, and they have it in their

10:25database for you to email their

10:26influencer manager, their PR manager,

10:28all of these different people. And if

10:29you are not at a point where you

10:31understand how to cold pitch yourself,

10:33[music] how to put together a great

10:34portfolio, how to put together a great

10:36email signature to just really look

10:37professional, you are one, never going

10:39to get a response from these brands, and

10:41two, going to make yourself look really

10:43embarrassing if you jump all these steps

10:44and go [music] straight to direct

10:45pitching. This is exactly why I get so

10:47frustrated when creators on social media

10:49tell beginners in UGC to just start

10:51pitching and create a portfolio. You're

10:53basically ruining your chances before

10:54you've even gotten started. You're going

10:56to get stuck pulling things together

10:57into a portfolio. you've never made a

10:58portfolio before. You don't even know

11:00what it is. And then you're going to try

11:01to directly pitch someone. This is like

11:02throwing someone into door-to-d dooror

11:04sales when they've never done sales

11:05before in their life. It's the hardest

11:07version of UGC. It is the most

11:08lucrative, but this is where you being a

11:10business owner really comes into play.

11:12Now, I know that I've shared so much

11:14about starting UGC and getting your

11:15first brand deal. If any of this was

11:17confusing, I completely understand.

11:19There's a lot to take in. I'm going to

11:20be doing a 2-hour long master class

11:22where I will dive into everything that

11:24you need to become a successful UGC

11:26creator and land your first paid brand

11:28deal. And if you are a fairly seasoned

11:30UGC creator, I'm going to leave some

11:31time in our master class to talk about

11:33some of the ways that you can level up

11:34your systems and improve overall as a

11:36UGC creator. Tickets for that will be

11:37down below. Now, I do have a really

11:40exciting offer for any UGC creator who's

11:42watching this right now. If you're

11:43thinking about buying a course or a

11:45pitching template or a portfolio

11:46template, first of all, I'm going to

11:47tell you that as a beginner, you don't

11:48need a lot of that stuff. What you do

11:50need is hands-on experience, real world

11:52insights, coaches who know what they're

11:53talking about, information that's going

11:54to get you from zero to paid faster. If

11:57you're seeing this video when I'm first

11:58posting [music] it, you are in a very

12:00special position because you have 5 days

12:02left to grab a ticket to UGC Creator

12:04Connect in Salt Lake City, Utah on March

12:0614th. Now, tickets are going to be down

12:08below. If you are one of the first 10

12:10people to grab a ticket to this event, I

12:12am going to give you a free [music]

12:13ticket to my master class. So, 2 hours

12:15with me where I'll also have a live Q&A

12:17session at the end and I'll answer

12:19questions for all of those good things.

12:20But that's only for the first 10 people

12:22who grab a ticket through that link down

12:23below. I will be so excited to see you.

12:25UC Creator Connect is going to be where

12:2710 plus of the biggest names in UGC,

12:29coaches and business owners like Anaman

12:32Yellow and Tran UGC and so many other

12:34people are going to be [music] speaking.

12:35Brands are going to be there scouting

12:36creators. We're going to talk all things

12:38UGC. The host of the UGC 101 podcast,

12:41Nate, is one of the amazing founders

12:43that put this event together. I know 5

12:45days is not a lot of time to decide if

12:47you want a ticket to this event, but let

12:48me level with you really quickly. You

12:50could spend [music] easily $500,700.

12:52I've seen so many courses 2,000, $3,000,

12:54$4,000 for UGC. You could spend $400 and

12:57get a full day event [music] with 10

13:00plus leading UGC coaches who have been

13:02doing this for years. You can meet

13:04[music] with me. You can have a seat to

13:05a free 2-hour master class where I am

13:07literally going to guarantee that you

13:09will leave there knowing how to get your

13:11first brand deal. Or you could spend

13:12money on a course that's going to sit on

13:14your computer that you're not going to

13:15take any action on. This event is a once

13:17ina-lifetime thing. We don't have nearly

13:19enough UGC creator events. And I know

13:21it's going to be incredibly valuable.

13:23So, I would love to have you in the

13:24room. Now that you're pitching, you're

13:25going to be talking with brands and

13:27negotiating rates. You almost never give

13:29your rates right off the bat when you

13:30are pitching brands. You want to

13:32negotiate the rate and almost always

13:33say, "Hey, I would love to understand

13:34the scope of your project, the

13:36deliverables, the exclusivity, the usage

13:38rights, and then I can create a bundled

13:40package that fits your project the

13:42best." Because every collaboration is

13:44unique. Brands will almost always try to

13:45lowball creators in the beginning, not

13:47because they're evil, not because

13:48they're bad, but because it's just

13:49business. [music] You need to understand

13:50how to stand your ground and decide

13:52what's important for you and what's not.

13:54Typically, once you're at the pitching

13:55phase, you're going to have to start

13:56managing your projects really like a

13:58business. You need either a notion

13:59template or a Google spreadsheet. you're

14:00going to need to set aside about 30 to

14:0235% of your income for taxes, [music]

14:04typically through a 1099. Some people

14:06like to get an LLC because it protects

14:07their assets in varying ways. This is

14:09really a business once you get to the

14:11pro level of UGC. And it is a personal

14:13brand. So, the way that you present

14:14yourself on social media, the way that

14:16you share products, the way that you do

14:17all of these things is going to be

14:19critical in how far and how fast you go

14:21as a UGC creator. Now, if you have any

14:23questions about, well, there's just so

14:25much information. I don't know what step

14:26to take next. I don't know what to do

14:28next. Seriously, please put your

14:29questions down. below. I love answering

14:31them and it is what helps me make these

14:33videos. Now, I mentioned in the

14:34beginning of this video that you have to

14:35be a very specific person if you want to

14:37skip all of these phases and kind of go

14:39straight to pitching. That person is

14:40going to be someone with either acting

14:42experience, narrating experience, TV or

14:45music experience. So, someone who was

14:46say for instance a news anchor,

14:48marketing or sales experience, or

14:49someone who just overall understands the

14:51influencing world. The reason for this

14:53is one, you probably are really

14:55confident on camera already. You don't

14:57really need to work that muscle. Two, if

14:59you are an influencer or a creator

15:00already, you may already understand how

15:02to create great content and you may

15:04already have big social media channels

15:05built up. That automatically puts you

15:07ahead of the game. Three, if you have

15:08some marketing or sales experience, then

15:10you understand what a pitch is. You

15:11understand what a portfolio is. You

15:13understand how these things play

15:14together in UGC. So, even though you

15:16don't have UGC experience, you have

15:18marketing [music] experience, which is

15:19inherently UGC. Also, if you are a

15:21leading Tik Tok shop creator or someone

15:23who does e-commerce, you'd probably do

15:24really well in UGC. I truly hope this

15:26video was helpful. I am so excited to

15:28see any of you in Utah in March. It's

15:30going to be an incredible event. I can't

15:32wait to see you there. I'll see you guys

15:34next time. All right. Watch out, Felix.