Side Hustle Spotlight: UGC Creator

If you are someone who loves making content on their phone/computer and are looking to make extra cash, being a User Generated Content, also known as UGC, Creator may be the perfect side hustle for you! 

UGC creators are people who advertise a product, either through a video or a picture on social media. The brand being advertised then pays the creator for their time, and potentially for the sales or traffic that the advertisement brought to the product. 

How to Get Started

If you have a smartphone, you are one step closer to becoming a UGC Creator. If you have a product or brand that you love, that’s another step! 

Picking out a specific niche of products or brands to advertise for is going to bring more work your way. 

Once you have decided what you would like to promote, start making content about it! This content you make can be used to build a portfolio that can be sent to the brands you would like to work with and advertise for. 

Training, Certificates, and Permits

When it comes to advertising online, you do not need any experience. Using your smartphone, a ring light, or another lighting, and your voice, can be all you need to get started as a UGC creator. No professional training or experience is needed. 

Depending on which products you are advertising, your face or voice may not be needed in the photo or video, making this the perfect side hustle for us, shy people. 

Once you start working with specific brands, they may have you sign contracts involving their product and how they would like you to advertise it. That would be the only instance of a “permit” you would have while being a UGC creator. 

Always read all contracts thoroughly and seek legal advice if needed. 

Job Opportunities 

The great thing about being a UGC creator is the number of job opportunities. The limit does not exist.

Reaching out to brands you would like to work with and marketing yourself and your skills are essential to getting more clients and opportunities. 

Expanding your content from one specific item to multiple will also open the door for more clients and advertising jobs. 

Ways to get your name and content out there:

• Posting your portfolio on sites like LinkedIn, and Social Media like TikTok will get you noticed. 
• Keep up with trends, like hashtags and what products are popular (or have the potential to be popular), and you will gain a following, and more brands will want you to advertise them. 
• Keep making content! It can be discouraging if you aren’t getting responses from brands you are networking with, but keep at it! Reach out often, and show them what you have to offer. Make content often; the more content you make the better. 
• Advertise your services on freelance websites like Influee and Fiverr.  

Expected Returns

So, the question on all our minds is, how much can you make being a UGC creator? 

The earning opportunities are endless. How much you can make is determined by several factors like the brand you are advertising, the platform you are advertising on, etc. 

Larger platforms like YouTube, on average, see their UGC creators make between $2K-$10K annually. The numbers can be more, or less, depending on how much you work at it. 

The more you put yourself out there, the more you will make. UGC Creation is the perfect side hustle because anyone can do it! Talk about what you love, and get paid for it! 

Related: How to Know When to Take Your Side Hustle to the Next Level!