Your First 30 Days as a UGC Creator: The Exact Week-by-Week Plan I Give Friends

Whenever a friend says “I want to try UGC,” I send her a version of this. It’s not a course. It’s the four weeks I’d do if I were starting over, with the boring specifics that nobody puts in a TikTok.

Before you start: this plan assumes about an hour a day, a phone, and one product niche. Pick a niche now. Mine is beauty and wellness, and within that mostly skincare, because it’s what’s in my bathroom anyway. “Beauty” is fine; “skincare + body care” is better; “everything” is not a niche.

Week 1: film before you’re ready

Goal: three spec videos that look like ads.

• Day 1: Pick three products you already own and genuinely like. Different types if you can: a cleanser, a lip product, a candle or a supplement.
• Day 2: Set up your corner. Window, plain wall, phone on a tripod or a stack of books. My whole setup guide is here, but the short version is: face the window, clear the background.
• Day 3–4: Film. One product per session, three angles each: face to camera, hands and texture, wide shot. Write the first line before you hit record (hooks that work).
• Day 5–7: Edit in CapCut. Under 30 seconds each, captions on, one clean cut every 2–3 seconds. Don’t chase perfection, chase “done.”

You’ll hate the first one. Everyone does. The third will be noticeably better, and that’s the whole point of week one.

Week 2: three more videos and a home for them

Goal: a six-video portfolio on a page you own.

• Day 8–10: Film three more in the formats you skipped. If week one was all talking head, do an ASMR texture video, a before-and-after intro, and an unboxing. Variety is what brands look for; the six formats are in the portfolio guide.
• Day 11–12: Build a one-page portfolio. Your name, “[niche] UGC creator, [city]”, the six videos, brand names if you have any, one button that says “Work with me” going to your email. Not a Canva link, not a Google Drive folder, a page.
• Day 13–14: Send it to two honest friends and ask one question: “Does this look like someone a brand would hire?” Fix what they say. Then stop touching it.

Week 3: the list and the first 20 emails

Goal: 40 brands researched, 20 pitched.

• Day 15–17: Build your list. Small brands in your niche: 10k–100k Instagram followers, a Shopify store, a founder who’s visible, and ideally already running creator-looking ads (check the Meta Ad Library). Find the right person’s email, not info@. How I find contacts is a whole article, but a spreadsheet with name, brand, email, date and status is enough to start. If you want a head start, my free list of 50 beauty brands that pay creators is at the bottom of this page.
• Day 18–21: Send 20 emails, five a day, each personalized with one real sentence about their product. Under 120 words, one link, one question. The template. Log every send.

Decide your rate now, before anyone asks. Write it in the spreadsheet. Beginner beauty UGC is $150–$250 per video with organic usage (the full rates guide). Pick your number so you never say it in a panic like I did.

Week 4: 20 more, follow-ups, and the first “what are your rates?”

Goal: 40 emails out, all week-3 pitches followed up, first real conversation.

• Day 22–25: Twenty more pitches, five a day. New brands, same process.
• Day 26: Follow up on every week-3 email that got no reply. One line, same thread (my follow-up templates). This is where most first replies come from.
• Day 27–30: Answer replies within a few hours. When a brand asks for rates, send the number you decided in week 3 plus a one-line explanation of what it includes. If they say “we only gift,” say thank you and that you take paid projects, and keep them on the list for later.

What the numbers usually look like

From my own tracking and from friends who actually did all four weeks:

So it’s completely normal to end day 30 with a portfolio, 40 pitches out, a couple of conversations and no money yet. The deal usually lands in week 5 or 6, from a follow-up. The people who quit on day 30 are the ones who didn’t know that.

What to skip in the first 30 days

• Buying gear. A phone and a window. Kit under $200 if you must, but after week two.
• Growing your own account. Not needed. Post if you want, but your followers don’t get you hired; your portfolio does.
• UGC platforms and marketplaces. They’re fine later, but the rates are low and the competition is everyone. Email gets you better clients.
• Pitching big brands. Sephora isn’t reading your email in month one. The indie skincare founder is.
• Contracts and LLCs and all of that. A simple agreement by email is enough for a $200 deal. Once you’re doing bigger ones, read my contract checklist.

Day 31

You’ll have a portfolio, a list, a rate, a system, and probably one or two brands who are interested. That’s more than most people have after a year of “thinking about it.” From here it’s repetition: 20 emails a week, one new video a week, raise your rate every five deals. And keep the spreadsheet. Two years later mine is the most valuable thing I own.