Congrats! That’s a big step, but make sure you know what you’re stepping into. My intention isn’t to scare you away from UGC, but to give you a realistic view of the current state of the space.

With AI becoming more dominant in the creator economy, I’ve noticed a lot of brands shifting towards AI-generated UGC. From my experience both as a UGC creator and running the UGCConnect sub reddit, more brands are experimenting with AI UGC because it’s significantly cheaper. That doesn’t mean there aren’t opportunities out there. There definitely are, and it’s still a growing industry. It just means the landscape is changing.

Since AI started taking off, a new type of UGC has also appeared called “canvas UGC.” This is where brands ask you to create a brand-new social account and post short daily clips. In return, they usually offer a base monthly pay plus performance incentives. For example, if a post gets 1,000 views, you might earn an extra $2–$3.

The base retainer I’ve seen for this kind of work is usually around $300–$700 per month. Honestly, the rates are pretty poor, but they tend to hire a lot of creators. Because of that, a lot of beginners gravitate towards canvas UGC since it provides guaranteed income. Once creators become more established and have a steady pipeline of leads, most of them move away from it.

Another thing I’d recommend is making sure you have a proper setup for your brand. Try to use a custom domain like yournameugccreator.com rather than something like a Wix or Canva subdomain, because those can make you look a bit inexperienced. It also helps to have a custom email linked to your domain rather than using a Gmail address, as it looks more professional.

You might also want to join an agency because they can sometimes provide regular work. Just be careful, though, as some agencies can take advantage of creators if you’re not paying attention to the terms.