So you’ve decided to start your UGC business — but now your brain is full of 10-tab overwhelm, endless TikTok tips, and advice from creators who’ve been doing this for two years (and conveniently forgot what day one feels like).
Here’s the good news: you don’t need a £5k camera setup, a 50-slide Canva portfolio board, or a six-week course to get going.
What you do need is a clear plan for your first 30 days — a simple, focused setup that gets you from “no clue” to “let’s go.”
Let’s break it down.
Week 1: Get Into the Industry
Before you pitch, post, or panic, you need to listen in and you need to learn. The reason so many creators start (and quickly stop UGC) is because they treat it like something that doesn’t take skill. A quick money-maker. It’s not, it’s a craft. The best way to learn that craft is to throw yourself into the deep end and immerse yourself in the space.
Our tip though? Be careful about where you immerse yourself. TikTok has a very active UGCcreator journey and you’ll notice a lot of those creators fall off before they ever get their first job. Instead, focus on spending your time on TikTok, Instagram, and LinkedIn following:
- UGC-focused agencies
- Paid media strategists
- Performance creative teams
- Expert creators actively working with brands
You’re not here to copy—you’re here to observe:
- What content styles they’re testing
- What briefs they’re posting
- How the creators are positioning themselves
Tip: Start saving ads you see repeatedly. If it’s running for weeks, that means it’s probably converting.
Week 2 : Research & Practice
This is your development phase. Don’t stress about postin, pitching or paying your bills with content yet — just start building the muscle.
STUDY WHAT’S WORKING
Head to the TikTok Creative Center and the Meta Ads Library and pay attention to:
- Hook styles that stop the scroll
- Pacing and structure of content (cut timing, audio, text)
- How creators show the product and problem/solution
PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE
You don’t need a brief to start filming. Grab a product you love and try to replicate the format of a top-performing ad you found whilst studying.
It’s not about perfection — it’s about building confidence and learning how UGC actually performs.
This is where you get over the fear of filming, of hearing your own voice, of saying “wait… this looks weird.”
That’s all part of it.
Whilst we’ve labelled this as ‘Week 2’ think of this as ongoing development. Set a goal to film 5 projects every week and you’ll be surprised at just how quickly you improve.
Week 3 : Build a Mini Portfolio
Some real talk here. Of course, you should be practicing for longer than two weeks before you start pulling any sort of portfolio together, but let’s face it, this is the stage you’ve been waiting for. As a new creator, you’ll be itching to create a portfolio and establish yourself as the real deal. So let’s do it, but do it sensibly.
At this stage, we’re not going to spend hours trawling Canva for the perfect font. We’re going to use a basic template — sleek, clean, does the job and not much more — with a set of video examples that covers all of your bases.
COMPILE 5 VIDEOS
Pick your strongest practice content and polish it up. Edit it cleanly. Add subtitles. Keep it snappy.
You want to show brands that:
- You understand how to structure UGC
You can work with a product and tell a story - You’re aware of trends, pacing, and content that sells
You don’t need to build a full-blown website yet — just pop the videos into a private Google Drive or a clean Canva UGC portfolio template. Keep it tight and easy to access.
Week 4: Build Your Back Office
If you’ve made it this far while resisting the urge to send a pitch or sign up for 14 different UGC platforms, then you’ve already won. But now that you’ve got something to show — it’s time to start setting up the “business” side. And honestly, you don’t need much.
In the UK, you can earn up to £1,000 as a ‘side-hustle’ without having to even think about the tax implications. You do not need to get bogged down in registering your business or the nitty-gritty of your branding. Instead, tick of the following and leave it at that:
SET UP YOUR EMAIL
Do this after you’ve built your base, not before.
We see it all the time: creators set up a fancy domain email on day one, then start pitching before they’re actually ready. Save yourself the temptation. Set it up once your portfolio’s in place.
A free gmail or a custom domain (e.g. hello@yournameugc.com) will do the trick.
SET UP YOUR TEMPLATES
You only need three to start:
- Pitch template – short, clear, and adaptable
- Invoice template – includes payment terms, usage rights, delivery deadlines
- Contract template – outlines deliverables, timelines, and usage terms
Keep them clean, branded, and ready to go. Trust us, this is what separates the hobbyists from the creators who get hired again.
Bonus Step: Pick a Social Platform (IF You’re Ready)
This is another step that we see a lot of creators do on day one.
Posting content can feel like a shortcut to “being taken seriously” — but take it from us, until your portfolio is strong, it’s okay to stay behind the scenes. Some people love sharing content and for them showing the BTS of becoming a UGC creator is a natural extension. For others, it’s far from it.
Organic content creation is hard. It’s hard to keep up consistently, and it’s often more of a hindrance than a help when you’re trying to get your UGC business off the ground. This is your permission slip to not have a social presence as a brand new creator. If you’re still learning your craft? Stay focused on the work. You’ll have way more to say when you’re ready.
If you are feeling ready to start sharing your journey, pick one platform and keep it simple:
- TikTok for behind-the-scenes of your UGC journey
- Instagram for a more polished portfolio presence
- LinkedIn if you want to connect with marketers and agencies directly
Now what?
You keep practicing. You improve your portfolio. You start pitching to brands and agencies.
We may be biased here, but the agency route is so underrated for new UGC creators.
We may be biased here, but the agency route is so underrated for new UGC creators.
Here’s why:
Working with a UGC agency means you don’t have to do it all alone. You’re not just sending off a video and hoping for the best—you’ve got a partner. Someone who’s there to guide you, give real feedback, and help refine your content before it ever reaches the brand.
You get direction. You get support. You learn what actually works in paid media—and what to tweak next time.
And because agencies work across multiple clients and verticals, you get real experience fast:
- Different briefs
- Different products
- Different styles of content
- Multiple rounds of feedback (yes, that’s a good thing)
It’s a crash course in creative development—with someone in your corner.
If you’re just starting out, an agency relationship gives you the breathing room to learn, grow, and deliver better content—without having to carry the full creative strategy on your own. And not that we’re biased… but we’d highly recommend Aray.
✨ Not bad for your first 30 days?
🧘♀️ Final thoughts
Setting up your UGC business doesn’t need to be chaotic. You’re not building an empire overnight—you’re laying the foundation for something sustainable.
Start simple. Move with purpose. And remember: the creators who succeed aren’t the ones with the flashiest websites—they’re the ones who keep showing up.
We’ll meet you there.
✍️ TL;DR
🔍 Follow agencies and creators to learn what’s working
📧 Set up a clean email with your own domain
🎥 Create 2–3 mock portfolio videos based on real ads
📱 Choose one social platform to focus on
📄 Build pitch, invoice & contract templates to look pro from day one
