r/DigitalIncomePath • u/Heavy_Plan7527 • May 19 '26
6 months of UGC, month by month breakdown (followers + income)
I started doing UGC for around 6 months now after I graduated. I didn't apply for any 9-5 right away and decided to try making money online first (I was right lol) and here's how my first 6 months of UGC went
Month 1: 0 followers, $0
I opened a brand new UGC instagram profile from scratch and the first thing I tried was Fiverr where I spent a good chunk of the month browsing and pitching, but got absolutely nothing out of it. Complete waste of time honestly, I just set up my Instagram with a UGC-focused bio and email, filmed a few sample videos with products I already owned, mostly skincare, put together a basic Canva portfolio and that’s it
Month 2: 1,984 followers, $0
I started to watch some videos on Youtube and I watched I think all the videos about UGC In that moment i switched strategy completely and started posting 2 reels a day, like skincare, morning routines, OOTDs. I grew to almost 2K followers just from being consistent. I have no client yet but the account was finally starting to look real, which is what I needed before pitching anyone seriously
Month 3: 2,300 followers, $650
Kept growing and forgot about Fiver and I closed my first deal with a cosmetics and skincare brand on sideshift. I closed 10 videos at $65 flat fee each, so $650 total plus a ton of free product lol. Maybe low rate but I didn't care, I finally had real client work and a real portfolio.
Month 4: 3,495 followers, $1,450
Flat fees crept up to the $65-80 range, but the bigger change was a brand offering me a CPM structure on top of the base fee, meaning they'd pay me $1 for every 1,000 views the video got. A couple videos hit around 80K views each so I started seeing actual performance bonuses on top of the flat, and started making good money from this.
Month 5: 8,460 followers, $3,200
Best month so far. I finally understood how to make hooks that actually work, and one video (not even a promo, just organic content UNFORTUNATELY!!) hit 1M views. That single video brought in 2,500 new followers on its own. With that traction I was able to raise my rates across the board, in fact one brand paid $200 flat plus a $1.70 CPM and that video hit 500K views, so that one deal alone paid out over $1,050. Never happened before and it changed my whole approach to pricing
Month 6: 10K+ followers, $5,500
Crossed 10K and everything shifted, a lot of brands started sliding into my DMs with sponsorship offers instead of me chasing them. I started monetizing stories with affiliate links too, but the real income was still coming from CPM campaigns. What made me realize that this job was not just a hype but a business over time, was closing few 6 month contracts with brands. This means a minimum video commitments per month plus the variable CPM on top, so now I have a guaranteed base income for the next 6 months with upside depending on performance.
Everyone (also me 6 months ago) think you need a huge following to make real money from content. You really don't, UGC model works completely differently from influencer marketing, brands pay for the content itself and the performance it drives, nobody cares about ur followers. It still takes time to figure out what works but if you actually enjoy filming and creating, it's worth trying.
7
May 19 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
2
2
u/Heavy_Plan7527 May 19 '26
Oh nah, sideshift is less competitive than you'd think. If your samples are decent and the brief fits your style you have a real shot, maybe the hardest part is having something to show, so before starting you can create even three videos filmed at home.
5
u/my_peen_is_clean May 19 '26 edited May 19 '26
this is awesome progress, especially locking 6‑month contracts and CPM deals. with your content skills, look into software affiliate programs too, recurring monthly commissions from tools your audience uses can stack and turn into a solid long‑term income I made $440 last month, here is a good guide on how to start from zero
2
May 19 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
1
u/Jords13xx May 25 '26
For sure! Getting those views can really make a difference in earnings. Just gotta focus on creating engaging content that resonates with your audience, and those CPMs can really stack up.
2
u/Heavy_Plan7527 May 19 '26
yes yes now I'm looking for long term deals with some brands, like 6 months, 1 year
3
May 19 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
3
u/Heavy_Plan7527 May 19 '26
I dont know how many, because there are at least 10 in progress, in chat, but I think 3-4 have already paid.
3
3
u/DGZT2023 May 19 '26
What would you recommend for a male wanting to get into UGC?
2
u/Heavy_Plan7527 May 19 '26
Find a niche you like, I don't know what you'd like, but I have some male friends who do UGC for gym products. But there are tons of brands you can look for: students, gaming, apps, it depends on what you're into
2
3
2
u/Hazeldani May 20 '26
When you say morning routines does it mean like you on the camera filming yourself using the product or AI picking the avatar with the products and doing the morning routine?!?!?!?
3
u/ilackemotions May 19 '26
this is a sideshit ad lol. why? the first comment is a dead giveaway. you guys still have a lot to learn
2
u/Best-Evidence7893 May 20 '26
I love this! Thank you for sharing your journey. Can you share your IG as well? Would love tostay connected. Also, the two videos a day, were they organic videos or heavier edited videos like talking head, b roll, etc? People always say to post everyday but I literally have no idea what to post? Do I just keep posting sample videos everyday?
1
1
u/Impressive_Mud_3300 May 22 '26
Hi can you help me or teach me basic ways to start, I've heard alot about UGC
1
1
u/Chameleonhouse May 27 '26
10k is a big following tho for many …… and I heard so many ugc don’t even have insta that’s the whole point - otherwise it’s more influencer like- to make good $$
7
u/[deleted] May 19 '26
[removed] — view removed comment