# How to Make Money with UGC ## what UGC is and how to get into it Grace Lemire May 28, 2024 Hey. We’ve gotten a few questions about UGC, what it is, and how to make money offering UGC. So today we’re diving into it. In today’s newsletter: - What UGC is - How to get started with UGC - How to find UGC clients - What to charge - A few updates on the world of social media ## What Even _Is_ UGC? UGC stands for User Generated Content. It’s content created by _users_ of the product, as opposed to the brand. The goal is for the content to feel more authentic and real because it shows a real consumer’s perspective and experience. You can create UGC for both organic and paid media, although the latter will earn you more. Here’s a great example of UGC for paid media: > TikTok Embed > > Video currently unavailable > Find more trending videos on TikTok > [Discover more on TikTok](https://www.tiktok.com/?referer_url=news.trykarat.com%2Fp%2Fmake-money-ugc&refer=embed&embed_source=121374463%2C121468991%2C121439635%2C121749182%2C121433650%2C121404359%2C121497414%2C122349556%2C122221973%2C122122240%2C121351166%2C121811500%2C121960941%2C122122244%2C122122243%2C122122242%2C121487028%2C121679410%2C122258714%2C121331973%2C120811592%2C120810756%2C121885509%3Bnull%3Bembed_discover_button&referer_video_id=0) The format of this video likely isn’t anything new to you. While UGC has picked up in the last few years, it’s been around for quite some time—before the term UGC even existed. UGC is so popular for a few reasons: - You don’t need a following to do it. - You can make great money doing it. - It allows you to get free product to create content with. - Depending on the scope, it can lead to recurring clients and steady revenue for you. ## How to Get Started with UGC To get started with UGC, you need a couple things: - Knowledge of how to make a good video (we’ll assume you’ve got this) - A portfolio ### Building a Portfolio You can’t _just trust me bro_ your way into a UGC gig. You need to have proof of good work. That said, your experience as a creator should make creating a portfolio pretty simple. **Step 1: Make Some Videos** Or pull from what you have. Consider the kinds of UGC content you want to create for clients. Are you interested in food brands? Beauty products? Home items? Tech? Create sample pieces around that. Think _“If I were to create a UGC video for \[insert favorite brand\], how would I approach that video? What would I make?”_ Then make it. Create it as if it _were_ going to be used, even though it isn’t. If you want to know what good UGC looks like, check out the examples from these creators: - [Tran](https://www.tiktok.com/@heyimtran?lang=en&utm_source=news.trykarat.com&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=how-to-make-money-with-ugc) - [Emma](https://www.tiktok.com/@lorraemarketing?utm_source=news.trykarat.com&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=how-to-make-money-with-ugc) - [Laura](https://www.tiktok.com/@ugcwithlauraa?lang=en&utm_source=news.trykarat.com&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=how-to-make-money-with-ugc) - [Austin](https://www.tiktok.com/@itsaustingregory/video/7350728220020428074?lang=en&q=male+ugc+creator&t=1716300546398&utm_source=news.trykarat.com&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=how-to-make-money-with-ugc) **Step 2: Pick Your Portfolio Platform & Build It** Most UGC creators use [Canva](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DAZ90UMcFtE&utm_source=news.trykarat.com&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=how-to-make-money-with-ugc). They use the website feature to build a real, live website with their work. Now, this works. But if you want to stand out, consider using something else. I’m a big fan of [Carrd](https://carrd.co/?utm_source=news.trykarat.com&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=how-to-make-money-with-ugc)—it’s user-friendly, looks professional, and stands out amongst the Canva portfolios. ## How to Find UGC Clients Now that you’ve got a portfolio, it’s time to find clients. As a creator, you may find that UGC clients come directly to you, reaching out via email. However, there’s a few places you can go to find them for yourself. | **Place to Find Gigs** | **Pros** | **Cons** | | --- | --- | --- | | Upwork (freelancing platform) | Easy to navigate, lots of gig opportunities | Potential spam, can be oversaturated | | [Backstage](https://www.backstage.com/casting/open-casting-calls/ugc-jobs/?utm_source=news.trykarat.com&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=how-to-make-money-with-ugc) (casting platform) | Lots of opportunities, great for super niche content | Common to have location-specific opportunities | | [Billo](https://billo.app/?utm_source=news.trykarat.com&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=how-to-make-money-with-ugc) (UGC marketplace) | UGC-specific platform with lots of opportunities; good for beginners | Might be competitive, might pay lower than you hope | | [Insense](https://insense.pro/for-creators?utm_source=news.trykarat.com&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=how-to-make-money-with-ugc) (collaboration platform for creators) | Tons of eComm brands looking for UGC creators; good for beginners | Might be competitive, might pay lower than you hope | | [UGCOpportunity Newsletter](https://ugcopps.beehiiv.com/?utm_source=news.trykarat.com&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=how-to-make-money-with-ugc) (exactly what it sounds like) | Tons of new opportunities shared 1x/week; Summarizes/pulls together the best opps from multiple platforms | Can’t sort/filter the opportunities listed, and you might not qualify for all of them (ie. in need of XYZ City-based creator) | | [UGC Opportunities X Account](https://x.com/UGCOpportunity?utm_source=news.trykarat.com&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=how-to-make-money-with-ugc) | Posts and retweets UGC opportunities that might not be listed on platforms/marketplaces | You’ll need to reply to the tweets pretty quickly before the competition does. | You can also cold pitch clients, but we’ll save the info on that for another newsletter issue. _If you want us to dive into cold pitching, hit “Reply” on this email and let us know you’re interested._ ## What to Charge for UGC This is where things get tricky. For UGC creators _without_ a following on social media, charging a lower rate might make sense. But, for creators _with_ a following, there’s this tough battle of wanting to charge market rates while also recognizing that the use of your image might be worth more. Ultimately, what you charge is up to you. For the time, energy, and money that goes into creating UGC, what feels like a fair rate to you? Make sure the juice is worth the squeeze. [Giphy](http://imgur.com/gallery/pqGR8D6?utm_source=news.trykarat.com&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=how-to-make-money-with-ugc) With that said, here’s a few rates we found from successful UGC creators: - [This creator](https://www.tiktok.com/@thesamanthajd/video/7303984027353091370?lang=en&q=ugc+rates&t=1716314264421&utm_source=news.trykarat.com&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=how-to-make-money-with-ugc) suggests $200/organic video - [This creator](https://www.tiktok.com/@lorraemarketing/video/7241620925660155179?lang=en&q=ugc+rates&t=1716314264421&utm_source=news.trykarat.com&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=how-to-make-money-with-ugc) also charges $200/organic video - [This creator](https://www.tiktok.com/@creativelylinda/video/7339622184593280298?lang=en&q=ugc+rates&t=1716314264421&utm_source=news.trykarat.com&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=how-to-make-money-with-ugc) charges $200-$300/organic video - [This creator](https://www.tiktok.com/@aplussocials/video/7296286940276493611?lang=en&q=ugc+rates&t=1716314264421&utm_source=news.trykarat.com&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=how-to-make-money-with-ugc) charges $275/organic video - [This creator](https://www.tiktok.com/@tayla.maybon/video/7308624628308593921?lang=en&q=ugc+rates&t=1716314264421&utm_source=news.trykarat.com&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=how-to-make-money-with-ugc) charges $450/video for paid media As you can see, the $200-$300 range is standard for organic UGC videos. When they’re used in paid media, the rates can increase quite a bit.