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User-generated content (UGC) has become a powerful marketing tool for businesses of all sizes. With the rise of social media and online reviews, customers now have more opportunities to share their experiences with brands than ever before. As a result, UGC can help businesses build trust, increase engagement, and ultimately drive more sales.
However, pitching and following up with UGC clients can be a daunting task, especially if you're new to the world of marketing. So we'll provide you with some tips on how to pitch and follow up with UGC clients effectively.
What You'll Learn:
Find Potential UGC Clients
The first step in pitching UGC clients is to identify potential partners who would be interested in working with you. Look for businesses that align with your own values and interests and suit your lifestyle.
For example, if you're pregnant, you may want to target maternity and baby brands and even obstetricians who sell products. Or if you travel often, then it would make sense to choose brands that are in the travel niche, like luggage brands and AirBnB properties.
You wouldn't pitch any pet stores or dog food brands if you didn't own a dog. And you wouldn't choose a company that sells surfboards if you lived in middle America and never went to the beach.
Where to Look For UGC Clients
There are many avenues you can use to find UGC work, such as job boards like Indeed and freelancer sites like UpWork. There are also UGC-specific platforms like JoinBrands and Brands Meet Creators, but these are highly competitive and saturated with people looking for jobs, so the ROI on using these platforms can be low.
You need to be proactive. But finding UGC work is not as easy as building your portfolio and posting on social media, hoping they'll find you. You need to actively look for prospects and keep them in one centralized place where you can access their information. In other words, a spreadsheet.
You may think that sending an inquiry from a form on their website is fine. But most of the time, those messages end up with the customer service representatives of the brand, which is the wrong department. So unless the person receiving the message forwards your message to the right person, it will most likely be ignored. Don't leave it up to chance; be proactive when looking for the correct person to contact.
The most obvious place to look is on social media, as it's the most accessible, it's free to use, and they all have a search function. Search for businesses in your niche that are in your country, as they'll need to send you products, and some brands won't want to send them internationally.
You can also search hashtags. So, for example, if you're looking for pet brands, you can search things like #petshops #chewtoys #dogfood and find brands in your country.
Another way is to use Google search and look for pet stores and veterinarians in your city, then check out their social media channels to see if they're active on social and whether they sell products you could create content for. Take note of things you could help them with so that when you're drafting your pitch, you can personalize it.
When adding brands to your spreadsheet, be sure to include their website, social handles, and email address, as well as any personalization you can add to the pitches. An example would be if you notice they aren't using UGC content at all on their page, you can suggest that they do. Explain the importance of UGC, throw out some facts, and give a brief explanation of how you'd create content for one of their products—being specific!
Finding UGC Clients' Email Addresses
Most creators will try sending brands a DM on social media, but this actually is not the best way. Messages can get lost in their inbox, especially with bigger brands that receive many customer inquiries. So you really need to reach out via email.
To find potential UGC clients' best person to email, search the brand on LinkedIn and look at the employees of the brand. If it's a larger company, you'll want to speak to either their marketing, community, or social media manager. For small brands that don't have those departments, look for a C-suite employee who makes decisions for the business.
If you can't find their email address, you can try a Google search of the employee to see if the address is somewhere on the internet. If your search comes up empty, you can take an educated guess what the email might be by using combinations of the name and the company domain and sending the same email as BCC to each one. For example:
You'll get a bounce back on any incorrect email addresses. If they're all incorrect, don't get disheartened. Your plan B can then be to use a general inquiry email address often found on their website. It typically starts with info@ or inquiries@.
How to Pitch to UGC Clients
Once you've found potential partners and the email addresses for UGC, you'll need to reach out to them with a pitch. Your pitch should explain why you want to work with them and what you can help them achieve.
Here are a few tips for crafting a successful UGC pitch:
Personalize your message: Don't send a generic email to everyone on your list. Take the time to research each potential partner and tailor your message. As mentioned, be very specific, and use examples so they can see that you've taken the initiative to research their products and brand.
Be clear about your goals: Explain what you can help them achieve by working with them. Do you want to help them increase brand awareness, drive more traffic to their website, or help boost sales? Perhaps it's all of the above. But be sure to mention this in your pitch.
Highlight the benefits: Show them how working with you will benefit them. For example, if you have a beautiful, Instagrammable home, lifestyle brands will jump at the opportunity to have their products filmed in an aesthetically beautiful place. Or, if you're highly skilled in other areas, like graphic design or social media management, it can be viewed as valuable to the client. It might even land you a permanent job!
Keep it short and sweet: Your pitch should be concise and to the point. Don't overwhelm them or dribble on with too much information.
Following Up with UGC Clients
Once you've sent your pitch, it's important to follow up. Many people are busy and may not respond to your first email, so it's essential to keep following up until you get a response.
Here are some tips for following up with UGC clients:
Be persistent but not pushy: Don't be afraid to send a follow-up email or two, but don't be too pushy. Respect their time and their decision if they decline. Always respond gracefully if you get a rejection, and let them know that if they change their mind, to let you know.
Offer more information: If you don't hear back from them, offer to send more information or answer any questions they may have.
Keep your message friendly and professional: Even if they don't respond, it's important to maintain a professional and friendly tone in your emails. You never know when they might come back to you in the future.
Stay organized: Keep track of your pitches, follow-up emails, and responses in your spreadsheet. Check it daily and set reminders or schedule your follow-up emails ahead of time. This will help you stay on top of your outreach efforts and ensure that you don't forget anyone.
Take Your UGC Business to the Next Level
Pitching and following up with UGC clients can be a daunting task, but it's also a rewarding one. By working with brands in your niche, you can build trust and become a go-to creator in that niche. Use these tips to pitch and follow up with potential partners effectively and take your UGC marketing efforts to the next level.
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