UGC brief template with a shot list and a hook checklist

Most weak briefs are either a single line ("show the product and say why you love it") or a twelve page brand book. The first leaves the creator guessing about the audience and the message. The second buries the three things that matter under rules about logo spacing. In both cases you get a video that misses, and you spend your revision rounds explaining the product instead of polishing the ad.

A UGC creator needs to know who they are talking to, what problem the product solves, what to say in the first two seconds, what to show on screen, what to avoid, what to deliver and how the content will be used. That is the whole brief. If you can answer those questions in one page, you have a brief that works.

Send the same brief to every creator you book for a test. Identical instructions make the results comparable, so when one video wins you know it was the person or the hook, not a different set of directions. On UgcModels you can attach one brief to several orders and, on Growth and higher, send it with a casting call to your whole shortlist.

Copy the fields below into a document or straight into the order form. Keep each answer short. A creator should be able to read the full brief in under five minutes.

Write the audience as a person, not a segment. "A woman in the 30 to 39 band who has tried three serums and still has dry patches by noon" gives the creator a voice to use. Write the problem in words a buyer would say out loud, because the creator will repeat your wording on camera.

List only claims you can stand behind. A creator who improvises a claim about results can create a compliance problem for your ad account, so give them the exact phrases they are allowed to use. If your product is in skincare, supplements or another regulated category, check the claims with whoever approves your marketing copy before the brief goes out. Our skincare UGC creators and supplement UGC creators pages list what to watch in those niches.

The shot list turns the message into scenes. For a 30 s testimonial in 9:16 a workable list looks like this.

• Shot 1, the hook. Face to camera or product in hand, two seconds or less, the opening line from the hook list.
• Shot 2, the problem. The creator shows or describes the frustration, ideally in a real setting such as a bathroom, kitchen or desk.
• Shot 3, the product. Close shot of the product with the label readable, then the product in use.
• Shot 4, the result or the moment of relief. A reaction, a before and after the creator can honestly show, or the product doing its job.
• Shot 5, the reason to buy now. Price, offer or a simple statement of who it is for.
• Shot 6, the close. A natural sign off and a look at the product, no hard sell.

Ask for three to five extra B-roll shots on every order: hands opening the packaging, the product on a counter, a texture close up, a pour, a screen recording for an app. Editors use these to build new cuts without booking again. If you want the untouched files, add the raw footage add-on, which sits between USD 40 and 100 per order.

State the aspect ratio, say whether you want burned in captions or clean files, ask for natural light facing the creator, and ask for no background music so your editor can add it. Mention any products, logos or brands that must not appear in the frame.

The first two seconds decide whether anyone sees the rest of the ad. Ask for at least three hook variants per concept and check each one against this list before you approve.

• It starts on movement, a face or the product, never on a logo or a black frame.
• It names a problem, a surprise or a result the viewer recognizes.
• It sounds like something a person would say to a friend, not a slogan.
• It works with the sound off, through text on screen or a clear visual.
• It does not promise a result the product cannot deliver.
• It is different enough from the other variants to be worth testing.

Give the creator a mix of formats rather than three versions of the same line. Useful starting points are a problem statement ("I was tired of"), a confession ("I did not expect this to work"), a direct callout to the audience ("If you have a dog that hates baths"), a visual surprise, and a quick comparison with what the viewer uses today. Each hook variant is priced on the rate card, between USD 25 and 50 each, so testing five openers on one body costs far less than booking five full videos.

Write the deliverables as numbers. "One 30 s video, three hook variants, five B-roll clips, 9:16, clean files" leaves nothing to interpret. Platform rate bands help you budget: a 15 s clip runs USD 100 to 200, a 30 s clip USD 150 to 300, a 60 s clip USD 200 to 450 and a photo set of 5 USD 120 to 250. Standard turnaround is 5 business days, and each order includes 2 revision rounds.

Say how the content will be used before the creator accepts the job. Organic use on your own channels is included in the rate. Paid ads add an uplift of 30 percent for 3 months, 60 percent for 12 months and 100 percent for perpetual use. On UgcModels the tier is a field on the order, and every approved asset gets a rights record with the dates. Before you run anything as an ad, go through our UGC licensing checklist and the UGC usage rights guide.

• A script written word for word. Creators sound natural when they get talking points, not lines.
• No audience. The creator defaults to talking to everyone, which persuades nobody.
• Too many messages. One key message per video, the rest goes into other concepts.
• Missing aspect ratio or length, which leads to a reshoot.
• Usage rights added after delivery, which forces a renegotiation.
• Feedback that says "make it pop". Point to the timestamp and say what to change.

Use the first round for content (wrong claim, missing shot, wrong hook) and the second for polish (pacing, a cleaner cut, a retake of one line). Write feedback with timestamps, keep it in the order thread, and approve once the delivery matches the brief. Payment is released to the creator after approval, or automatically 5 days after delivery without a response.