ngl when I first started learning UGC I felt like every video was leaving out half the information 😭 like people would say “just start posting” but never explain what to actually post, how to reach out to brands, how portfolios work, etc but once I finally was able to put everything together it started to seem easy. The most important things are learning hooks and how soon to use them, making a good portfolio and getting your first week planned out!
I kept seeing people talk about UGC like it was a simple side hustle — just film a few videos on your phone and get paid by brands.
So I decided to try it myself.
What I didn’t expect is how different it feels once you actually start trying to get results instead of just learning about it.
The biggest things I got wrong at the beginning:
I thought better video quality was the main thing that mattered
I didn’t realize how important structure is (hooks, pacing, and how ads are built)
I was copying trends instead of learning how UGC content is actually used by brands
I didn’t understand that positioning yourself matters just as much as the content itself
The biggest shift for me was realizing this:
UGC isn’t just about making “good videos” — it’s about making content that already feels like it belongs in an ad.
Once I started thinking about it that way, everything started to make more sense.
If you’re in that early stage where it feels confusing, you’re probably not bad at content — you just haven’t learned how it’s supposed to be structured yet.
I ended up writing a lot of this down for myself because I kept forgetting what actually helped me improve.
If anyone is also figuring this out, happy to talk about what’s worked so far in the comments.