A UGC application that gets picked is 40–80 words: one line proving you read the brief, one concept (hook, format, length), and one sample video in the same format. Platforms like Insense, Cohley and JoinBrands ask for a short note, sometimes 2–3 questions and a portfolio link, and the campaign sets the price. My conversion across six platforms is about one hire per ten applications (Collabstr 10 to 1, JoinBrands 10 to 1, Popular Pays 6 to 1), so apply to 3–5 briefs a week and expect most of them to stay quiet.
What gets a UGC application picked, in my experience, is a short answer that proves I read the brief, says exactly how I’d film it, and links one sample video in the same format. That’s it. Mine run 40 to 80 words, and across the six platforms I’ve applied on, the result is about one hire per ten applications. Sounds low until you do the math: ten applications is one evening on the couch, and one hire is a paid video.
I’m Anastasiia, I started UGC in spring 2026 from my apartment in NYC, and I’ve filled in more of these little boxes than I’d like to admit: Insense, Cohley, Aspire, Collabstr, JoinBrands, Popular Pays, plus a pile of brands’ own creator forms. Here’s the structure I use, three applications to model yours on, what the questions really mean, and my numbers platform by platform.
What a UGC application actually is (platform vs brand form vs cold email)
People mean three different things by “UGC application”, and they need different writing.
1. A platform application. A brand posts a campaign on Insense, Cohley, JoinBrands or similar: product, deliverables, budget range. You hit apply, write a short note, sometimes answer two or three questions, and attach a sample video or portfolio link. The price is set by the campaign, not by you. I compared the big ones in my UGC platforms article.
2. A brand’s own creator form. The “apply to our creator program” page on a brand’s site: name, socials, niche, a “why you” box, sometimes a portfolio link or shipping address. No budget shown; most start with gifted product. Nineteen of the 30 brands in my free list have one.
3. A cold email. Nobody asked, you’re starting the conversation. Different skill; the template is in how I pitch beauty brands.
The difference that matters: in an application, the brand already wants creators and has written down what it wants. Your job is to answer its question, not to introduce yourself. Most applications from newer creators fail because they read like a cold email: “Hi, I’m a passionate content creator who would love to collaborate.” The brand knows. You applied.
The 3-part answer I write every time
One box or three, I always write the same three parts.
Part 1: one line that proves I read the brief. A detail: the claim they lead with, the audience, the format they asked for. “The ‘no pilling under SPF’ point in your brief” beats “I love your brand” because I couldn’t have written it without reading.
Part 2: how I’d film it. The hook I’d open with, the format (talking head, texture close-up, unboxing, ASMR, GRWM), and a length that matches their deliverable, for me almost always 15 to 60 seconds. I always script before filming and shoot one to three hook variations, so I say so; brands love hook options because they test them. If the brief comes with the brand’s own script, which most Insense briefs do, I say I’ll shoot it as written and add one hook option on top.
Part 3: the fit and the sample. One line of who I am (NYC, beauty and lifestyle, a styling background so the product looks good on camera) and one link to a sample in the same format and category. Not my whole portfolio, one video. If you don’t have one in the right format yet, my six-video starter set covers every format I get asked for.
Then I stop. Forty to eighty words. If the form has separate boxes, I split the three parts across them instead of repeating myself.
3 real-style application examples
Built from briefs I actually applied to, with the product details changed and no brand names. Replace the specifics with yours; don’t copy the sentences.
Skincare brief: 30-second talking head, fragrance-free gel moisturizer for combination skin.
Hi! I have combination skin and the “fragrance-free, no pilling under SPF” point in your brief is exactly what I’d want to hear as a buyer. I’d open on a texture close-up with the hook “this is the first gel that doesn’t pill under my sunscreen,” then a 30-second talking head on the two-week results. Scripted, 2 hook options, filmed by window light in my NYC apartment. Sample in the same format: [link].
Home brief: 15–30 seconds, fall candle, cozy evening, no voiceover.
Your brief says cozy evening, no voiceover, so I’d keep this fully ASMR: match strike, the first crackle, then a slow pan across the candle on my windowsill with the city going dark behind it. 20 seconds, 3 hook variations (strike, lid off, flame close-up) so you can test openers. I’ve styled candle videos before (styling background), sample here: [link]. Happy to add a short captioned cut if you want one.
Tech brief: 30–60 seconds, unboxing plus demo, magnetic power bank.
I’m the person whose phone dies at 4 pm every day, so the “full charge in your pocket” angle is easy for me to sell honestly. I’d do a 45-second unboxing into a real-life demo: snap it on at a coffee shop, show the percentage climbing, one line on weight. 2 hooks, scripted, clean captions. Tech is newer on my page but same style as my beauty work, sample: [link].
An application very close to that tech one got me my one Collabstr job, after about ten tries. What the three share: a brief detail in the first sentence, a concept with a hook and a length, one link. Nothing about how excited I am.
The questions platforms ask (and what they’re really asking)
| The question on the form | What they’re really asking | What I answer |
|---|---|---|
| “Why are you a good fit?” | Did you read it, and do you match our audience? | Parts 1 and 3: the brief detail, one line of who I am. |
| “How would you approach this?” | Do you already get it, or will we have to explain? | Part 2: hook, format, length. One concept, not three. |
| “Share a sample post” | Can you do this exact format? | One link, same format and category. Most of mine are clips already on my Instagram. |
| “What’s your rate?” | Are you inside our budget? | On Insense and Cohley the campaign range decides, so it’s a yes or no. On a brand form I give a range and say a first gifted video is fine if I’d buy from them anyway. |
| “Follower count / engagement” | A formality for UGC; it matters for posted content. | Rounded and honest: about 2k followers, roughly 90% of reach from non-followers, about 6% engagement. |
| “Shipping address / sizes / skin type” | Logistics, and a quiet filter for people who skip fields. | Exactly what they ask, no blanks. |
Mistakes that get applications skipped
I’ve made most of these, which is how I know.
- Writing it like a cold email. Name, bio, “passionate”, “would love to collaborate”. The brand posted the brief; it doesn’t need selling on UGC.
- Pasting the same note everywhere. Brands can tell. I keep a base and rewrite the first two sentences for every brief.
- The wrong sample. Candle ASMR for a talking-head skincare brief. The sample answers “can she do this exact thing”, so send that thing, even if your prettiest clip is something else.
- Applying outside your fit. A beauty creator on a gaming-chair campaign is a wasted application.
- Rewriting their script. On Insense most briefs arrive with the brand’s script or shot list, sometimes with timecodes. The right answer is “I’ll shoot it as written, plus one hook option.”
- Too long. If it scrolls on a phone, cut.
- Ignoring the budget line. Before applying I ask “would I film this for the bottom of the range?”, because that’s often what the hire pays.
- Slow replies afterwards. The brand messages several creators at once; the one who answers within hours tends to get it.
My numbers: applications to hires, platform by platform
| Platform | Applications | Hires | Rough rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Collabstr | about 10, since spring | 1 (a tech product) | 1 in 10 |
| JoinBrands | about 10, in one week this October | 1 (a beauty product, filming now) | 1 in 10 |
| Popular Pays | 6, joined recently | 1 (apparel) | 1 in 6 |
| Insense, Cohley, Aspire | a few a week for four months; I stopped counting | the rest of my platform jobs | about 1 in 10 |
Add it up and it’s more than ten platform jobs across six platforms, at about one hire per ten applications. The rate barely moves from platform to platform (Popular Pays only looks better because six is a tiny sample), so the platform isn’t the variable. The application and the sample are. The plan I’d give a friend: three to five applications a week, each rewritten for the brief, each with a sample in the right format, and no reading into silence until the tenth.
And if you’d rather apply straight to brands, where the forms ask the same questions, my list of 30 beauty brands that take creator applications is free at the bottom of this page: 19 have an open creator form and 11 publish a creator inbox, so you know exactly where to apply.
Frequently asked
What should I write in a UGC application?
Three things, in 40–80 words: one detail from the brief that proves you read it, how you'd film it (the hook, the format, the length), and one link to a sample video in the same format and category. Skip the introduction; the brand already knows what it wants.
How do I apply to be a UGC creator with no experience?
Film three to six spec videos in different formats first, put them on one page, then apply to platform campaigns and brand creator forms in your niche. Brands pick from the sample and the note, not from a client list. My first platform jobs came with a tiny Instagram and spec videos.
How many UGC applications does it take to get picked?
For me, about ten. Across Insense, Cohley, Aspire, Collabstr, JoinBrands and Popular Pays my rate is roughly one hire per ten applications, so I send three to five a week and treat the quiet ones as normal, not as a verdict.
Do I need followers to apply for UGC campaigns?
Not for UGC briefs, where the brand uses the video on its own channels. When a form asks for stats anyway, give rounded, honest numbers; mine are about 2k followers and roughly 6% engagement, and I still get picked.
Should I put my rate in a UGC application?
On Insense and Cohley you can't: the campaign's budget range sets the price, so the only decision is whether the range works for you. On a brand's own creator form, give a range in plain text and say whether a first gifted video is fine with you.
I post the actual collabs, behind-the-scenes and what brands reply on Instagram.
Anastasiia, NYC beauty UGC creator since spring 2026, with a stylist background. I make product videos for beauty, wellness, fashion, home and tech brands, and I write about how the business side actually works.
More about me →