My first official month as a UGC creator is complete. The month of July came and went and I can’t believe that it is already August. This has been the most challenging month of my freelancing career I would have to say.
Although I have technically been a “UGC creator” since 2021, I didn’t know that it was possible to provide this kind of service to brands on a consistent basis.
I previously had a month to month contract with a skincare brand where I provided three photos for $125.
I’m not sure why I didn’t think of offering this type of service to other skincare brands, but with the popularity and traction that UGC has gained in the last couple months, I decided to actually give it a try in July.
What is UGC?
But first, what is UGC? UGC stands for User Generated Content. Content creators provide brands with photo or video content for them to use on their own platforms as organic content or for advertising purposes.
When you’re scrolling on Tiktok and a video comes up that feels more organic, but is attached to a brand, it is more than likely UGC.
Brands pay creators to specifically tailor videos that attracts customers, without being too salesy or looking like too much of a commercial advertisement.
This type of marketing is extremely beneficial because it pulls the average customer in without the higher price point of a full commercial video shoot and with a more relatable figure.
UGC creator income breakdown July 2022
As I previously stated, this month is the first month that I actively pursued becoming a UGC creator. I’m not going to list the companies because I do work with brands individually and develop packages according to their needs.
I also like supporting small businesses. I may not charge a small business the same price as a brand that is currently in Sephora. I think that it only makes sense and I think that it is a fair way to conduct business.
Breakdown
Product Photography $210
Video Content $80
Bundle $250
Overall Paid UGC income $540
Completed Work/ Awaiting Payment $40
Rollover UGC from previous month Awaiting Payment $750
Overall, I would say that my income from UGC in July was $540.
I know it’s not like what the Tiktok creators say. I didn’t make thousands of dollars in July from working with brands as a UGC creator, but I know that it is possible.
I guess to be completely transparent, I also need to discuss that I am a nano influencer. I currently have a community of 4,700 on Instagram, so most of my collaborations during July were actually inbound collaborations with brands that already liked my photography and I offered my services to.
Nano influencer income breakdown
Tiktok $100
Instagram $300
Overall Paid Nano influencer income $400
Completed Work/ Awaiting Payment $250
I didn’t even realize that I got paid more in July as a UGC creator vs a nano influencer. The only difference is that my nano influencer income only constitutes 3 pieces of content vs 21 for UGC.
You definitely still get a significantly higher price point as an influencer, even as someone with a smaller platform. Imagine if I had a bigger platform.
I would also say that the content I created for my own platforms were easier for me because I already knew what my audience likes for the most part. I had an idea of what kind of content would perform.
I also didn’t have to deal with revisions, which is a big bonus in my opinion.
Last Thoughts
I will definitely continue with my UGC journey. I think the one thing that I learned from starting my UGC journey is to get out of my comfort zone.
I’m still trying to get used to cold email pitching brands and sliding into their DMs asking for work.
I’ve always been the type of creator that waited for good things to happen to me, but realistically, UGC taught me that I need to get out there and ask for the work that I want to do.
There are a million creators in the world and brand managers can only do so much to find you, you know.
I’m not sure if I’m comfortable pitching as an influencer quite yet, but I’m feeling better about pitching as a UGC creator. Maybe because everyone else is doing it, maybe because it was the push that I needed.
UGC Creator Portfolio
Also, this month taught me to create a landing page for my portfolio, which was a struggle at first since I’m self hosted.
You can view my portfolio for inspiration or for ideas on what to include on yours.
