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Answers for UGC creators

Short, specific answers to the things that cost creators money: what you are actually being asked to give away, what it is worth, and what to say back.

Every page here started as a question somebody asked out loud.

• A brand wants to run your video as an "Ad Partnership". Should you charge?

  A brand wants to run your UGC video as an Ad Partnership or Spark Ad and says there is no cost to you. Here is what that permission actually grants, what to charge, and the four questions to ask before you reply.

• The brand went quiet after you delivered

  The escalation sequence for a UGC brand that stops replying after delivery, the three emails that recover most of them, and the contract terms that stop it happening again.

• Should you sign an exclusivity clause?

  What category exclusivity actually restricts, why it is priced per month and not once, the three words that decide how much it costs you, and when to refuse it outright.

• Getting your first UGC client

  What to make before anyone hires you, why 200 cold pitches get ignored, the outreach that actually gets replies, and how to price the first few jobs without anchoring yourself low forever.

• "Our budget is $200." What now?

  How to read a lowball UGC offer, why the counter is never a discount, and the exact reply that keeps the relationship while protecting your rate.

• What a UGC contract actually needs

  The eight things a UGC agreement must say, the four clauses worth striking or renegotiating, and how to send one to a brand without it becoming a legal negotiation.

• Do you need followers to do UGC?

  Brands ask UGC creators for a follower minimum all the time. It usually means they have mislabelled the job. How to tell which one you are being offered, and what each is worth.

• How to invoice a brand for UGC work

  What belongs on a UGC invoice, the fields AP will bounce it for, why the deposit is the whole game, and a copy-ready template you can adapt.

• What to charge when you are starting out

  Real starting numbers for UGC deliverables, how to move from beginner rates to established ones, and the two mistakes that keep new creators underpriced for years.

• Is this UGC offer a scam?

  UGC scam emails now arrive with real brand names, professional briefs and believable rates. One structural rule catches nearly all of them, plus the specific red flags and how to verify a sender in under a minute.

• UGC, influencer, ambassador, canvas: four different jobs

  Four different jobs get advertised as UGC and they pay completely differently. One question sorts any offer into the right category, and it decides whether a follower count matters at all.

• What usage rights actually cost

  Organic, paid ads, whitelisting, full buyout. What each tier means, what it is worth as a percentage of your content fee, and why the term length matters more than the percentage.

Written for UGC creators in the US. Market-informed starting points, not fixed prices, and not legal or financial advice. Your market, niche and results should move them.