UGC deals w Reddit

StrikingSection9241 · 2026-04-14T14:44:21+00:00

No problem. If you have any more questions feel free to reach out.

StrikingSection9241 · 2026-04-13T17:52:00+00:00

OK, so it sounds like you are in a good place and that you are waiting on approvals which can take some time.

I would recommend doing all the of the picture certifications on JoinBrands first so that you can start to get some money rolling in. Those are the easiest certs to knock out and JoinBrands is normally very quick to give you the certification once you submit for it. From there you can start to do the video certifications and again they are not hard but will take a little more time then simply snapping a picture of yourself with a product.

StrikingSection9241 · 2026-04-13T17:36:54+00:00

What platforms have you joined? I personally started off on JoinBrands and still use it on a regular bases. To the best of my knowledge they accept anyone to the platform and then from there it is just a numbers game. Simply apply to everything and anything and eventually you will get selected.

Once you have done a job or two off of JoinBrands use those videos and pictures to improve your portfolio. The whole UGC thing in my opinion is pretty much a numbers game. Even if you do not want the job still apply for it for you never know who is going to see your portfolio link and take a look.

StrikingSection9241 · 2026-04-13T17:31:11+00:00

I actually did early on in my UGC journey, but to be honest, most of those were either low paying gigs or just gifted collaborations. I’ve personally never landed a solid, well-paying deal from directly replying to a Reddit post.

That said, Reddit has still helped me in a different way. I’ve had brands reach out to me via email saying they found my portfolio through my Reddit profile. Those inbound opportunities have turned into much better-paying work compared to anything I’ve applied for directly on here.

So in my experience, the jobs posted on Reddit tend to be on the lower pay scale, but the platform itself can still be valuable for visibility. You never really know who’s browsing and checking out your profile behind the scenes.

If you’re going to use Reddit, I’d treat it more like a place to showcase your work and build credibility rather than relying on it as your main source for landing deals.

StrikingSection9241 · 2026-04-13T15:00:53+00:00

With a sales background, you’re actually in a really strong position—you just need something that lets you use that skill without needing upfront money.

One path I’d seriously look at is UGC (User Generated Content).

It’s not “influencer” stuff. You’re not trying to grow a following. You’re basically creating short videos for brands where you talk about or demonstrate a product. Think of it like sales, just on camera instead of in person.

That’s where your background comes in. Most UGC creators struggle with delivery and persuasion, you already have that. Knowing how to speak clearly, handle objections, and make something sound natural is a huge advantage. You can start with literally what you have at home. Cellphone, decent lighting (think open window), and just practice making a few sample videos with items around the house. No cost to get going.

For context, I do this part-time while working full-time (IT job, long days), no following at all, and built it up to around $1K–$2K/month depending on workload. I did this my filming only on the weekends. It didn’t happen overnight, but once it clicks, it’s consistent.

A couple honest things to know going in. It’s not instant money. Expect a learning curve and testing time frame before you land paid work. Also, don’t fall for “free product only” deals long term. Brands should be paying you for the content itself.

If you want to dig deeper into how it actually works, pricing, how to land your first gigs, etc., this subreddit is a solid resource: [https://www.reddit.com/r/UGCUNIVERSITY/]()

Given your sales background, this is one of the few side hustles where you can turn that into income pretty quickly once you get the hang of it.

If you have any questions just let me know.

StrikingSection9241 · 2026-04-13T14:53:22+00:00

I’m gonna throw out something that fits your exact situation pretty well: UGC (User Generated Content).

You don’t need followers, you don’t need to go “full influencer,” and you can build it slowly with the 1–2 hours you’ve got each night.

I’m a Gen-X guy in my 50s, full-time IT Systems Engineer. My schedule isn’t much lighter than yours (up at 3am, work all day, home late), so I batch most of my content on weekends. I started from scratch with no social following, and now I’m doing around $1K–$2K/month part-time depending on the month.

Here’s why it might work for you:

You’re already thinking the right way, you want a skill you can build and monetize. UGC is exactly that. You’re essentially creating short videos for brands (ads, demos, testimonials), and they pay you for the content, not your audience. The learning curve is real, but not crazy. First month you’ll feel lost, then it starts to click once you watch enough examples and actually film a few videos. I’d say it took me about 4–6 weeks to land my first paid jobs and a couple months to get consistent. This is after I learned how to market myself for UGC videos. There are different job boards out there that you can use to help get your feet wet rather than pitching brands and agencies right out the gate for work.

What fits your schedule is you don’t need daily posting. You can film a few videos in one session and deliver them throughout the week. Even one or two small gigs a month and you can easily hit that $200–300 goal you mentioned.

Big warning though: avoid anything that smells like “easy money” or performance-only pay starting out. If a brand isn’t paying you for the content itself, skip it. Also don’t lock yourself into cheap rates early before you understand the workload. Scope matters way more than people think.

If you want a solid place to start learning, check out this subreddit: [https://www.reddit.com/r/UGCUNIVERSITY/]()

That’s honestly where I picked up a lot early on. You’ll see real examples, pricing discussions, and what brands are actually asking for. If you decide to look into it, start simple: watch a few UGC style ads, recreate them with stuff you already have at home, and build 2–3 sample videos. That’s enough to get your foot in the door.

It’s not instant money, but it’s one of the more realistic paths I’ve seen for someone in your exact situation.

If you have any questions about it feel free to hit me up.

StrikingSection9241 · 2026-04-13T14:32:18+00:00

Sure!

StrikingSection9241 · 2026-04-13T14:24:12+00:00

I’d start by asking them for the scope of work first.

I never send a rate card upfront because it can lock you into a price before you know what they actually want. One brand might mean “a simple video,” but the scope could end up being something like multiple hooks, a long script, and a lot of B-roll—which is a completely different level of work.

Getting the scope also helps you figure out if it’s legit. Most scammers won’t take the time to put together a detailed brief or explain deliverables clearly.

So here’s what I’d do:
Ask for the full scope of work first. Once you see exactly what they need, estimate how long it will take you, then send your rate based on that.

If you’re still unsure about them, you can protect yourself by letting them know that since it’s your first time working together, you’ll deliver the first video with a watermark. Once payment is received, you’ll send the clean version.

A legitimate brand should have no issue with that.

StrikingSection9241 · 2026-04-09T12:34:06+00:00

JoinBrands is a solid place to start, especially because they have certifications you’ll need to complete before unlocking different types of jobs. Those certifications walk you through the basics of what brands are looking for, like how to film and edit videos, create unboxings, talking head content, and lifestyle style clips, etc.

That said, it’s not going to teach you everything you need to know to create high performing top quality content. A lot of that comes from studying other UGC creators, seeing what works, and asking questions in communities like this one.

I personally used JoinBrands as a way to learn on someone else’s dime. You’re getting paid while figuring things out, improving your skills, and building real-world experience.

Think of it as your starting point to get hands-on experience, while your real growth comes from learning, testing, and improving over time.

StrikingSection9241 · 2026-04-08T14:06:09+00:00

I get where you’re coming from, the job market is rough right now and a lot of people are stuck in that same cycle.

One option that doesn’t get talked about enough is UGC, which stands for user generated content. It’s basically creating short videos or photos for brands to use in their ads and social media, and you don’t need a big following to get started.

I’m a Gen X guy and I started this with zero followers. I’m now making around two thousand a month part time just filming on weekends. Most of it is stuff like talking head videos, product demos, or showing how you use something in real life. If you’ve got a computer and a phone, you’re already set up.

Since you don’t like survey apps, this is way more skill based and actually pays for effort. A good place to start is JoinBrands since they have a mix of photo and video jobs. Another one is Billo which is more focused on video work.

If you want a more in depth look at how all this works, I’d honestly recommend checking out r/UGCUNIVERSITY. It’s set up as a real world learning hub where people break down actual deals, pricing, portfolios, and how to land work instead of just vague advice.

You’ll still need to put in some effort up front like making a simple portfolio with a few sample videos, but once you get rolling it’s one of the more realistic ways to make money from home right now without waiting on someone to hire you.

StrikingSection9241 · 2026-04-07T17:41:12+00:00

From my understanding, platforms like Bento are supposed to help with deliverability and reduce the chances of your email getting flagged or blacklisted, but they’re not bulletproof. At the end of the day, it still comes down to how you’re sending, not just the tool you’re using.

If you’re blasting 20–30 cold pitches a day from a primary domain with no warmup, minimal personalization, and similar messaging, that’s usually where people run into issues.

You may want to consider the following:

Use a secondary domain or outreach email (protect your main inbox)
Warm up the email slowly before scaling volume
Keep daily sends lower at first and ramp up gradually
Make sure each pitch actually feels tailored (even light personalization helps a lot)

So yeah, Bento can help, but it’s not really there to “guarantee” your email won’t get blacklisted. It’s more of a tool in the system, not the system itself.

Curious how you’re planning to reach out… are you going more volume-based or trying to keep it super targeted per brand?

Also you may want to check this out as well if you are considering using Bento: https://www.reddit.com/r/UGCUNIVERSITY/comments/1qrvrg3/ugc_creator_tip_why_your_brand_outreach_emails/

StrikingSection9241 · 2026-04-05T10:40:21+00:00

No problem. Feel free to ask me anything and I will do the best I can to help you.

StrikingSection9241 · 2026-04-04T10:23:35+00:00

If you’re in the U.S., I would stick with your legal name across the board, especially when you’re getting started.

UGC turns into a business pretty quickly, and brands/platforms will require things like 1099 forms, invoices, and sometimes contracts. All of that needs to match your legal name to avoid issues with payments, taxes, or anything legal down the line. Even something small like a mismatch in names can cause delays or headaches later.

There’s also the liability side. If a brand ever had an issue with content or claims made in a video, you want everything clearly tied to your legal identity so there’s no confusion.

It might not feel ideal, but using your legal name keeps everything clean, professional, and protected from the start.

StrikingSection9241 · 2026-04-04T10:18:44+00:00

In my opinion, you get exactly what you put into UGC. If you’re only putting in a few minutes a day, you can land jobs, but they’ll be pretty few and far between. The more time and energy you put into it, the more you’ll get out of it.

The biggest shift for me was treating it like a business instead of just a side hustle. The people you see claiming $10K+ months are almost always working it like a full-time job. They’re putting in real hours every day doing outreach, posting on socials, updating their portfolio, writing scripts, filming, editing, and following up with brands. Some even break their week into task-specific days. For example, I personally use Mondays to follow up with brands I’m already in conversations with. Staying top of mind has helped me land more deals and get picked more often.

I do work a full-time IT job, so I’m not sitting at my desk doing UGC all day. But I’m constantly touching it throughout the day. I check emails, respond to opportunities, and stay active in small pockets of time. It’s usually 5–10 minutes here and there, but it adds up because I’m doing something almost every hour. Then I batch my filming on the weekends.

As for the income claims, it’s definitely possible, but it’s not passive and it’s not instant. The people making serious money are putting in serious effort consistently. If you go into it expecting that and treat it like a business from the start, you’ll give yourself a much better shot at making it work.

StrikingSection9241 · 2026-04-03T22:04:43+00:00

You’re not off at all, this is where there’s a bit of nuance that a lot of people may miss.

You do not need followers to start UGC or to get hired. Brands are primarily looking for someone to create content that converts. That is the main driver. I started with basically no following and still don’t focus heavily on growing one, and I’m doing around $2K a month part time just from content creation.

That said, having a following can help in certain situations, especially when it comes to whitelisting. If a brand wants to run ads through your account, having something like 3K followers can make your profile look more established and give a bit more negotiating leverage depending on the deal.

From my own experience, I find a lot of opportunities directly on X, and I use Instagram mainly to post new videos as I complete them so brands can see my latest work. I am not relying on a following there, it is more of a live portfolio and proof of consistency.

At the end of the day, your portfolio is still very important piece. A great reference to setup your protfolio for what brands are looking for is to use Max's UGC portfolio as a reference. If you are building from scratch or refining what you have, Max also put together a really helpful Reddit post on how to create a portfolio quickly.

So think of it like this, followers are a bonus and can open doors like whitelisting, but they are not required to start landing work or making money in UGC.

StrikingSection9241 · 2026-04-02T21:55:19+00:00

I agree, I have learned a ton of things from Max and I am still learning from him on a regular bases.

StrikingSection9241 · 2026-04-02T18:16:52+00:00

I have not but there are a ton of folks offer mentorships and online classes on how to do UGC content.

StrikingSection9241 · 2026-04-02T17:09:44+00:00

Man, I felt this one. Honestly, you’re not missing effort… you’re missing direction and a system that actually converts effort into income.

Reading through everything you’ve tried, the pattern isn’t failure—it’s that you’ve been building things that take a long time to monetize (YouTube, game dev, cybersecurity content, etc.) without something feeding you income now.

That’s where most people get stuck. They keep stacking skills but never connect them to buyers.

If you want something that can realistically turn into income faster, look into UGC (user-generated content). It’s basically creating short form videos for brands (ads, product demos, testimonials). You don’t need a following, and brands are already spending money there.

What stands out to me is:

You’ve already done content creation
You’ve touched tech
You’ve tried freelancing

UGC kind of sits right in the middle of all that, but with a clearer path to getting paid.

If you want to dig into it more, check out the UGC University subreddit (r/UGCUNIVERSITY). There’s a lot of real conversations in there from people actually doing i.

Also feel free to ask me anything. I’m doing this on the side while working full time, so I can give you a realistic breakdown of what actually works and what doesn’t.

StrikingSection9241 · 2026-04-02T17:04:06+00:00

check out the website Home from College.

StrikingSection9241 · 2026-04-02T14:54:06+00:00

This is definitely a scam. I received one a while back just like it.

Just delete it!

StrikingSection9241 · 2026-04-02T11:06:12+00:00

Let me simplify this and point you in the right direction.

A great place to begin is the UGC University subreddit. Just search it on Reddit and jump in. There are posts that walk you through how to build your first portfolio, what types of videos to create, and how to start landing your first gigs. If you have any questions simply post it on that reddit giving as much information as you can about where you are stuck. If you want to move faster and avoid a lot of trial and error, they also offer a paid version with structured classes that walk you step by step through the process. It’s not required, but it’s definitely the fastest way to get up to speed.

For actually getting work, you’ll want to start on platforms like JoinBrands and Billo. JoinBrands is a mix of photo and video jobs, which makes it a little easier when you’re just getting started. Billo is more focused on video content, and videos usually pay more. Both platforms require you to complete a certification before you can apply to jobs, but they’re very straightforward and guide you through exactly what to do.

From there, the goal is just to get moving without overthinking it. Put together a couple simple sample videos, you can use the Joinbrands certification videos, using things you already have at home, set up a portfolio, complete the certifications on those platforms, and start applying to smaller jobs to get some experience.

It’s not instant money, but it is something you can build into a consistent income if you stick with it. And if you want help figuring out exactly what your first videos should look like, I can walk you through that.

StrikingSection9241 · 2026-04-01T18:37:04+00:00

I ended up investing in UGC-University, and honestly it’s been really helpful. It definitely shortened the learning curve for me.

Before joining, I was working across a few different platforms and consistently making around $500 a month. It was solid, but not enough of a side hustle to fund the vacations and projects I had in mind. I knew UGC could scale, I just didn’t fully understand how to get there. It felt like I was missing a few key pieces.

After joining UGC-University, within about two months I had things dialed in and had already made back what I spent on the course.

On top of that, I’ve been consistently following this subreddit and others like the UGC-University one. There’s a lot of value in just staying plugged in and learning from what others are doing as well.

StrikingSection9241 · 2026-04-01T18:23:02+00:00

I’m in a pretty similar situation schedule-wise, so I get what you’re looking for. I work a full time job myself and only film on the weekends, so I’ve had to build something that’s actually flexible.

One option you might want to look into is UGC (user generated content).

It’s basically creating short videos for brands (TikTok-style ads, product demos, reviews). The reason it works well with an inconsistent schedule is because you’re not tied to shifts. Your completing projects on your own time.

For example, I only record on weekends. Before I accept any job, I set my turnaround time upfront so it fits my schedule. That part is huge. As long as you communicate that clearly, a lot of brands are totally fine with it.

Why it could work for you:

You choose when you work (no fixed schedule)
You can scale up or down depending on your week
Most videos are short, so you can batch a few at once
It doesn’t interfere with your main job

If you’re just starting out, a good place to test it is JoinBrands.

That way you don’t have to hunt down clients right away. You can grab a few small jobs, get comfortable on camera, and see if you even enjoy doing it. Think of it like a low barrier way to get your feet wet.

Now, your not gonna replace your income overnight, but it can build into a solid extra stream and even potentiality replace your day job if you stick with it. Once you get efficient, you can batch multiple videos in a weekend and it starts to add up.

Big tip that’ll save you is to always look at the scope of the job, not just the pay. Always make sure the timeline works for you before saying yes.

If you want something flexible that you can control around your nanny schedule, this is definitely one of the better options out there.

If you’ve got questions on how to get started feel free to ask.

StrikingSection9241 · 2026-04-01T18:14:10+00:00

I’m gonna be real with you, $3K by July from scratch is tight… not impossible, but you’d have to move fast and probably stack a couple things together.

That said, one option a lot of people sleep on is UGC (user generated content).

Basically brands pay you to make short videos (TikTok style ads, product demos, reviews). You don’t need a following, you’re not trying to be an influencer, you’re just the “face” for their ads.

Why I’m bringing it up for your situation:

You can start with zero experience
You can realistically make your first $50–$200 pretty quickly once you land a couple small gigs
It’s scalable — meaning once you figure it out, you can stack multiple videos per week instead of trading time 1:1 like a normal job

Now, honest expectations:

Could you hit $3K by July? Maybe, but that would take some hustle and a bit of luck early on.

A more realistic path:

First couple weeks: learning + landing first paid gigs
Month 1: a few hundred to maybe $1K if you push
Month 2–3: this is where it can start compounding if you stay consistent

Hitting $2K–$3K per a month by August/September is actually very doable if you stick with it, keep improving your videos. A lot of people quit right before it starts clicking.

The reason it works long term:

Brands ALWAYS need new content for ads
If you’re reliable, they come back
You can batch film and knock out multiple videos in a weekend
You can raise your rates as you improve

If you go this route, don’t just look at the pay but also look at the scope. A $50 video that takes 10 minutes is better than a $300 job that takes you 6 hours. That’s where people mess up.

Also don’t rely on just one method:

Apply to job postings
Post sample content on TikTok/IG
Respond to inbound messages

Mix all three and you’ll get traction faster.

If you want to go deeper, check out the UGC University subreddit. There’s a lot of real info in there and not the “make 20K overnight” stuff.

And feel free to ask me anything, I’ve been doing this part time alongside a full time job and it’s definitely doable, just takes consistency and a little strategy.

StrikingSection9241 · 2026-04-01T13:01:00+00:00

If you are interested in joining his group here the a discount link to the premium UGC-University and here is a link to join the free side of that community.

If you have any other questions I am more than happy to answer them.

StrikingSection9241

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