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Working with brands as a UGC creator can be an incredibly rewarding experience. Not only do you get to collaborate with companies that you love, but you also get paid for doing what you're already passionate about! However, getting started with brand deals can be overwhelming, especially if you're new to the game.
That's why we've created this blog post to help you navigate the world of UGC brand deals. We'll be sharing tips and tricks on how to find brands and how to negotiate a fair deal. Let's dive in and start landing some partnerships!
How To Find Collabs
There are a few different routes you can take when looking for work. Here's 5 different strategies and platforms you can use to find UGC brand deals and take your UGC career to the next level.
Organic Outreach
If you're not an established creator, organic outreach will be your starting point. Brands often use #hashtags to promote their products and engage with their audience. Keep an eye on popular hashtags in your niche and look for opportunities to create UGC that features a brand's products. If you're a niche creator, such as a beauty blogger or a foodie, research brands that are relevant to your niche. Check out the brands that your followers are already engaging with and consider reaching out to them. You can directly DM brands or looking up PR emails on websites.
>> PRO TIP: when you see a paid ad from a brand, reach out! If they're running ads it means they have a budget for UGC, and you'll be one step closer to booking a job with them. If you're strapped for time and want to level up your UGC, you can find 1,000+ vetted brands working with creators on movig, and reach out to them directly on the platform!
UGC Platforms
UGC platforms are designed to hold creators accountable while acting as a middle man between content creators and brands. Think of them as a match-making service. Brands post listings with exactly what content they're in need of and content creators have the opportunity to apply (pitch themselves).
- Pros: You don’t have to look for jobs on your own!
- Cons: You don't have visibility on the application process and can't scale your business - you basically apply to brands, then sit and wait for them to reach out to you.
- movig: Combines the advantages of an UGC platform, as it provides UGC job listings, but allow creators to keep control over their business and scale faster!
Here's our recommended list of UGC platforms:
If you want to explore more platforms you can check out our UGC Brand Deals Hub.
Contractor Websites
You'd be surprised how many collabs you can find by creating a profile and custom UGC listing on Fiverr or Upwork. It involves another level of effort as you need to create a detailed profile but after months of no bookings, you can slowly start getting 1-5 inquiries a month.
Amazon Website (PRO TIP)
Another potential source for brand deals is Amazon. Log into your account and start searching through the products that you like. Click on a product you like, and on the right-hand side under "In Stock" you can see the seller's brand name next to the "sold by". Then research the brand name and see if they have any social media accounts where you can find an email to reach out. NOTE: Remember you are only allowed to create UGC videos for the brand to use for ads, on their socials, or an unboxing video for their amazon page. It is against the law for Amazon sellers to ask you to buy their product and leave a review on their page.
Job Listings
Finally, don't be afraid to browse UGC or content creator job listings online! You never know what they might lead to. Remember to always reiterate you're a contractor (unless you're wanting to be hired PT or FT).
How To Approach Brands
Once you've identified potential brand partners, it's time to reach out and pitch yourself as a UGC creator. Here are a 3 tips to keep in mind when approaching brands:
Be professional
Approach your outreach to brands in a professional manner. Start by introducing yourself and your content, and then explain why you believe that a partnership with their brand would be a good fit. Make sure to include relevant statistics, such as your follower count and engagement rate.
Highlight your unique selling points
What makes you stand out from other UGC creators? Highlight your unique selling points, such as your photography skills or your ability to create engaging video content. This will help you stand out and show brands why they should work with you.
Share examples of previous UGC work
If you've created UGC content for other brands in the past, include examples in your pitch. This will show brands that you have experience creating content that resonates with their audience.
if you want to know more about pitching brands you can read our article "How to Pitch UGC Brands", where you can also find a UGC portfolio example.
How To Price Your Work
When it comes to negotiate your compensation as a UGC creator, there are a few different options. If you're very new brands may offer to compensate you with free products or discounts. This can be a good way to get experience and maybe further specialize in a certain niche or decide what type of content you want to create (if you haven't already). Once you become more expert and the quality of your content improves, you should ALWAYS ask for a monetary compensation!
Given that the UGC creator industry is relatively new, pricing remains somewhat subjective. Remember that creating high-quality UGC content takes time and effort. Consider how much time and effort you'll need to put into creating content for a certain brand, and factor that into your compensation negotiation.
You can get a sense of how other creators are pricing their services by utilizing a few approaches. For instance, you could join a few groups on Facebook or Reddit and as to a community of other UGC creators. An alternative could be visiting Fiverr or Upwork and searching for "UGC" to locate a broad range of UGC creators with their pricing details. Then, filter the results to show "new sellers" and identify those with the highest number of reviews. You can calculate an average of their rates and utilize that as a starting point for your own pricing.
Conclusion
The most successful brand partnerships are those that feel authentic and aligned with your personal brand. At the end of the day is not very important how you find brand deals. What matters is looking for and working with brands that share your values and interests. Don't sell yourself short when it comes to compensation. Know your worth as a UGC creator and negotiate a fair compensation that reflects your experience, your work and audience engagement!
Learn how to start and scale your creator business here and check out our ultimate creator success bundle. Schedule a demo so we can answer any questions and to show you how our tool works.
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