From Struggling Influencer to $8000/Month as a UGC Creator

Chad Lubinski is a user-generated content (UGC) creator on Instagram with 52K followers 👀

He reveals in a recent interview that he earns $8,000 per month creating videos for brands on IG.

An example of such a video Chad posted recently 👉 3 Reasons I Love Mountain House #10 Cans

Starting out, Chad wanted to be an influencer…

I figured the only way that you could make money on social media was to have a following big enough to get brand partnerships and affiliate deals, ad revenue from YouTube, etc…

The problem was… it can be tough to grow a following and I really struggled with that.

In 2021, I went on this Colorado trail trip…

I only had a few thousand followers at that time, and I thought, “I just spent 18 months trying to grow this following, and I don’t really have much to show for it.”

That’s when…

A brand reached out to me; it was called LMNT Electrolytes, and they sent me some free product. They wanted me to try it, so I did and I loved it.

I uploaded a quick story on my Instagram and I tagged them in it. And I did this a couple more times over a few weeks.

To my surprise, they came back to me and said, “hey, we love your videos. We want you to create eight more just like this every month for us for $1,500.”

🚀 It was the start of Chad’s UGC journey…

I didn’t have a huge following at that time, but they weren’t asking me to post on MY account, they wanted me to post on THEIR account. And that was what changed my trajectory.

He realized…

“oh, this is totally different than being an influencer.” You don’t need an audience. You make quick videos, and send them directly to the brand. Sometimes your face doesn’t even need to be in them.

Chad then started reaching out to brands in his niche (outdoors, travel, snowboarding, etc.)

🤝 And brands eventually started reaching out to him…

Once you start building up your portfolio… brands will see that.

They’ll see your content from other brands and they’ll reach out to you directly wanting you to promote their outdoor products.

He adds…

With UGC, I’ve been making anywhere from $6,000 to $10,000 per month. My best months are $10,000, and average right now is around $6,000 per month (seasonality)…

Anybody can do it. Zero followers required.

The only thing you need to be a good UGC creator is know how to make good videos. And then just developing a relationship with brands by over-delivering so you impress them to hopefully get on “retainer” with them.

His blueprint for aspiring UGC creators 👇

Phase One: Building Your Portfolio

Go on Instagram and find brands that have less than 15,000 followers. Those brands are going to be a great starting point for your first pitches…

DM or email the brand. You are going to offer to make them a free UGC video.

Phase Two: Free To Paid Content

Phase two is when you start moving from free product into paid product…

Average price for UGC videos is $150 per video and can go up to about $350+ for someone that’s advanced.

Phase Three: Getting On Retainer With Brands…

Phase Four: Build Your Personal Brand (Optional)

This is where you build your personal brand on the backend if you want to be an influencer. This is great for income diversification.

He adds…

Once you get on a retainer deal with these brands… depending on your expenses, two to three retainer deals is all you need to quit your job.

💬 Chad’s #1 tip for anyone who wants to try this…

You can’t just pitch to 3 brands and expect to seal a deal. That’s a no-brainer.

Keep the expectation that the more brands you pitch, the higher your chances of actually getting a partnership. Every no is closer to a yes.

Get as many eyeballs on you as you can, and make sure your expectations meet reality.

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