A brand that runs paid ads on Instagram or TikTok burns through video. Ads wear out, so the brand needs new ones regularly, and most small brands would rather not film them. That need is your opening. To find UGC clients, make a list of brands that are visibly running ads, find the person who buys the creative, and send them a short email with one sample video and a flat price.
Below is how to build that list in 15 minutes, three pitch emails you can send as written, and a three-package rate card with the arithmetic behind it. Every creator and brand name is fictional, so swap in your own.
Where the brands are: the ad library, in 15 minutes
Noor makes short product videos with her phone. She doesn't wait for a marketplace to hand her a brief. She goes where the ads are. Meta's Ad Library is public, and it shows every active ad for any brand that advertises on Facebook or Instagram. A brand with many active ads, or the same few ads running for months, is a brand that needs fresh creative.
- Open the Ad Library and search a product category you can credibly shoot, such as skincare, pet supplies or kitchen gear (3 minutes).
- Open each brand's page and note how many ads are active and how recent they are. Skip brands with no ads (4 minutes).
- Note which videos look tired: stock footage, one person at a desk, or a clip run unchanged for months (3 minutes).
- Add the brand, a link to the ad, and the product to a sheet (2 minutes).
- Find the buyer: the paid social manager, performance marketing manager, growth marketing manager or brand manager. At a brand with a handful of employees it is the founder (3 minutes).
Twenty brands is a good first list. If you want to find the people faster, a lead database can search by title and company size. Rocketship lets you describe the buyer in plain English, such as "paid social managers at direct-to-consumer beauty brands with 5 to 50 employees," and shows 25 by name before you spend a credit. For finding the person behind a company, see how to find decision makers at a company.
Email one: the sample video pitch
Use it for: the first contact with a brand whose ads you reviewed. Why it works: it shows work instead of describing it, and it asks a small question.
Subject: A 20-second video for Brightwater's cleanser ad
Hi Priya, I saw Brightwater is running about a dozen ads for the Daily Cleanser, and a few have been live since spring. I'm Noor, a UGC creator who films product demos and honest first-use reactions for skincare brands. Here's a 20-second sample I made with a similar product: [link]. I could do three videos for the cleanser, each with a different opening line, for a flat $390. Want me to send a rough idea for the first one?
Noor Haddad, 118 Pine Row, Austin TX. Reply "stop" and I won't write again.
Variation: if you have no brand-specific sample, record one video using a product in the same category and say so. Do not pretend it is a past client. Include a mailing address and an opt-out line, which is what CAN-SPAM requires for commercial email.
Email two: a hook idea, three days later
Use it for: the follow-up if there is no reply. Why it works: it gives the buyer something for free instead of repeating the ask.
Subject: Re: A 20-second video for Brightwater's cleanser ad
Hi Priya, one idea in case it's useful whether or not we work together: open the video with the sink and a "my skin was tight after every wash" line, then show the first rinse. It puts the problem in the first two seconds, before anyone can scroll. If you'd like a version of that, I'm happy to shoot it. Noor
Variation: for a brand with no ads running, reference something on its site or product page instead, such as a review that mentions an unexpected use.
Email three: when they ask your rate
Use it for: a reply of "what's your rate?" Why it works: it gives three options so the conversation is about which one, not whether.
Subject: Re: Rates for Brightwater
Hi Priya, three options. One video is $150. Three videos with three different openings is $390 ($130 each). Six videos across two products is $720 ($120 each). Each includes 30 days of use in your paid ads, one round of edits, and delivery in 5 business days. Extra edit rounds are $40, and longer use or raw footage can be added if you need it. Which one fits the cleanser launch? Noor
Variation: if the brand says the budget is lower, cut the number of videos before you cut the price per video. Two videos at $140 each keeps your rate intact.
A three-package rate card with the arithmetic
| Package | What's included | Price | Per video |
|---|---|---|---|
| Single | 1 video, 30 days paid use, 1 edit round | $150 | $150 |
| Test set | 3 videos, 3 different openings, 30 days paid use | $390 | $130 |
| Launch set | 6 videos across 2 products, 30 days paid use | $720 | $120 |
These numbers are an example, not a market rate. Rates vary widely by creator and category. What matters is the structure: a discount per video for bigger sets, usage rights stated in the package, and edit rounds capped. Work out your own floor by dividing the price by the hours it takes you, including filming, editing, messages and revisions. If the three-video set takes you six hours, $390 is $65 an hour.
Put usage in writing: where the brand can run the video (paid ads on which platforms), for how long, and whether you post it on your own channel. If you post it as an endorsement on your own account, the FTC's Endorsement Guides expect a clear disclosure of your relationship with the brand.
What to leave out of every pitch
Skip the follower count unless it is the point, since you are selling videos for the brand's account and not your audience. Skip the paragraph about passion. Skip attachments over 5 MB and link to the sample instead. Skip "I love your brand" unless it is followed by a specific detail. Skip asking for free product in exchange for a post; that is a different arrangement.
The tracking sheet
Columns: brand, buyer, email sent, follow-up sent, reply, package, status. If you send 60 emails a month and 6 brands reply, 2 book a test set, and 1 comes back for more, you have the real numbers to plan with after one month. The follow-up timing matters; see the cold email follow-up sequence, and for a creator working in video more broadly, how to get clients as a videographer. Before you send, find your ideal customers will tighten the list.
Finding the brands and chasing replies is the repetitive part of this. Rocketship finds the buyers, emails them from your own Gmail, follows up, and books the meeting on its own. Plans that get you customers start at $24.99 a month (Launch), and every monthly plan starts with a 7-day free trial, card required. See the AI workers. Related reading: how to find clients for video editing and how to find clients for social media management.