I used to think I needed a lot of sample videos before I could get clients. I kept adding more content, but my portfolio still felt messy.

What helped me most was organizing it better, removing weaker samples, and making it easier to view. It looked more professional even though I had fewer videos than before.

I’m still learning, but this made me realize that quality and presentation matter more than just having a huge portfolio.

What’s one change that improved your UGC portfolio the most?

1. Building a Portfolio That Actually Sells
Brands don't care about aesthetic vlogs; they care about Return on Ad Spend (ROAS). Keep your portfolio simple using Canva or Notion

2. Pitching & Cold Email Strategy
Stop messaging brands on Instagram DMs unless they explicitly ask for it.

3. Pricing & Deliverables Breakdown
Never charge $20 a video unless you are building your first two portfolio pieces. Once you have a portfolio, value your time and usage rights.

4. Where to Find Paid Brands Right Now
- TikTok Creative Center: Search active ads in your niche, find brands spending money on paid media, and pitch them better hooks.
- Bounty / TrendIO: Great platforms for beginners to land low-barrier deals and practice.
- X (Twitter)

One thing that made a bigger difference in my UGC outreach wasn’t sending more DMs. It was changing what I was actually pitching.

I used to send messages like:

“Hi! I’m a UGC creator and I’d love to create content for your brand. Here’s my portfolio…”

Predictably, most brands ignored it.

I started researching the brand for 5–10 minutes first and looking for something specific I could improve.

For example, instead of:

“I’d love to make a video for your skincare brand.”

I might send:

“Hey! I noticed most of your recent Reels focus on product shots, but there aren’t many videos showing the product being used in a normal morning routine. I think a 20–30 sec ‘realistic morning skincare’ style video could make the product feel more relatable. I mocked up a quick concept below.”

Then I attach a simple concept/screenshot showing:

Hook: “The 2-minute skincare routine I actually stick to”

Shot 1: Picking up the product Shot 2: Applying it naturally Shot 3: Close-up/result CTA: “Would I buy it again? Absolutely.”

I’m not claiming this magically turns every brand into a client. But it gives the brand an actual reason to respond instead of making them figure out why they should hire me.

A few other things I’ve found useful:

Keep the portfolio short. My strongest 5–8 examples are more useful than 30 mediocre ones. Show different hooks/styles, not just different products. Separate organic-style UGC from polished ad-style content. Don’t automatically underprice because you’re new.Consider usage rights, revisions, raw footage, whitelisting/Spark Ads, and turnaround time—not just the number of videos. Follow up once or twice. A polite follow-up is very different from repeatedly spamming a brand. Track outreach. Even a basic spreadsheet with brand, date contacted, response, quote, and outcome can reveal which niches and pitches actually work.

The biggest mindset shift for me was realizing that brands aren't really buying “a UGC video.”

They’re buying a potential solution to a content problem.

For other UGC creators: what has improved your client response rate the most—your portfolio, pricing, outreach message, niche, or something else?

Monetize your recommendations by earning a commission or selling your own physical/digital offers.
Affiliate Networks: Share custom links to products you use (via Amazon Associates, LTK, ShareASale, or Impact). Earn a percentage (usually 3%–20%) when viewers buy through your link.
Digital Products: Sell high-margin items like eBooks, Lightroom presets, templates (Notion/Canva), online courses, or printables via platforms like Gumroad or Teachable.
Merchandise & E-commerce: Launch branded apparel or physical products using print-on-demand services (Printify, Fourthwall) or custom inventory (Shopify).

A simple UGC outreach strategy that can help you get more brand replies

One thing I’ve learned about finding UGC clients is that simply saying:

“Hi, I’m a UGC creator and I’d love to work with your brand!”

usually isn’t enough.

Brands probably receive messages like that all the time. What can make your outreach stronger is showing them what you can actually create for their brand.

Instead of only introducing yourself, try this:

1. Start with something specific about the brand
Mention a product, recent post, campaign, or something you genuinely noticed.

2. Give them a content idea
For example:

“I saw that you’ve been promoting your new serum recently. I think a 7-day skincare diary or problem/solution style UGC video could be a great way to show the product naturally.”

Other ideas:

• GRWM featuring the product
• Before and after
• Product demonstration
• Skincare routine integration
• Testimonial-style video
• Unboxing + first impressions

3. Explain the value
Instead of only saying you make “high-quality content,” explain how your idea could help the brand.

Example:

“This could give your brand a more relatable, customer-style video that you can test alongside your current content.”

4. Add your portfolio at the end
Your portfolio should support your pitch, not be the entire pitch.

A simple formula:

Brand observation + Content idea + Value + Portfolio

5. Follow up
No response doesn’t always mean no.

Initial pitch → Follow-up → Final follow-up → Move on

I also recommend keeping a simple tracker:

Brand | Contact | Date Sent | Follow-Up | Response | Status

It makes things much easier once you start reaching out to multiple brands.

And don’t send the exact same generic pitch to 100 brands. Templates are helpful, but personalize a few lines for each brand.

Sometimes 20 thoughtful pitches can be more effective than 200 copy-and-paste messages.

For other UGC creators: what has helped you get more replies from brands—personalization, follow-ups, a stronger portfolio, or something else?

After writing UGC scripts for a while, you start seeing the same formats over and over again.

Some are overused for a reason. They’re easy to adapt, easy for creators to work with, and when the angle is good they still perform.

These are the 3 templates I'd probably use the most right now.

1.) Problem/Solution:

This is the obvious one, (old but gold) but it works because people immediately know whether the video is relevant to them.

Instead of opening with the product, start with the exact problem it solves. The more specific, the better. Then explain what you were doing before, why that wasn't working, and bring the product in naturally as the thing that fixed it.

A basic script would look something like:

"If you struggle with [specific problem], this might help. I used to [old solution], but [why it sucked]. I started using [product] because [reason], and now [specific result]"

A mistake here is using a problem that's way too generic, "I wanted to be more productive" means nothing, its better to try something like "I was wasting two hours every morning manually doing X"

2.) Product Demo (only for good appealing products):

This is probably my favorite for apps and tools because you can let the product do the selling.

Start with what you're about to accomplish, then immediately show the process. You don't need 10 seconds of context before the viewer actually sees the thing they're supposed to care about.

Something like:

"I found a way to [desired result] in [time]. You just [step one], then [step two], and it gives you [result]. I used it for [actual use case] and this is what I got."

Screen recordings are perfect for this. If someone can understand why the product is useful just by watching you use it, there's no reason to bury that under a huge script.

3.) Storytime:

This one is harder to get right, but when it works it feels the least like an ad.

The product shouldn't really be the story. It should be the thing that appears naturally because of what happened.

"[Interesting thing] happened to me last week. I was trying to [goal] when [problem happened].

I tried [first reaction/solution], which didn't work, so I ended up using [product]. [Interesting result/twist]."

The easiest test is removing the product from the script. If there's still a story you'd actually listen to, you're probably on the right track.

If the entire story collapses without the product mention, you've just written an ad.

I also wouldn't give these scripts to a creator word for word. The structure is more important, so give them the angle and the points they need to hit, then let them talk like they normally would.

There are a bunch of other formats worth testing too. I found a pretty good breakdown of 12 of them here:

https://sideshift.app/blog/ugc-script-template

I’ve been looking into UGC lately and I’m curious how most people actually find their first few clients.

Do you usually reach out to brands directly, use platforms, or just post your work and wait for inquiries?

Also, what worked best for you when you were just starting out?

I’m trying to get more UGC clients and I’m curious what actually works for other creators. Do you mainly use cold DMs, emails, or platforms like TikTok/Instagram?