I kept hearing the term “UGC'“ on Tik Tok and Instagram and I ignored it. UNTIL, I finally watched a video on someone talking about side hustles. They mentioned a couple websites to join, and specifically one called “JoinBrands”. They made a couple thousand dollars from it, but stopped trying.
I was flirting with the thought of saying screw it, let me just become an “influencer” and hate myself. So - this seemed like a perfect test. Like the title says, I am a certified public accountant that works in tax software. Our type doesn't usually scream “HEY LOOK AT MY VIDEO PLEASE LIKE AND FOLLOW”, and that is not me.
I just wanted to make some more money. Especially in today’s economy, I make a good salary, but good is beginning to get worse. I was so tired of hearing about all of these influencers making so much money when they are contributing to literally nothing. So I finally bit the bullet.
I signed up for JoinBrands, made my profile, uploaded my pretty little photo, and started applying for jobs. Within 3 days, I was getting paid $15 to take a selfie with beef tallow. I never used beef tallow, but I occasionally have dry skin. So you buy the product (usually, sometimes its sent), take the photo, submit it, it gets accepted (unless bad lighting or food in your teeth), and you get paid + refunded. JoinBrands takes a cut obviously, but it was a pretty sweet gig.
I got a free new product, got paid, and never had to see that photo again. Are the companies using your photo for ads and on their websites? Sure, but the peace of mind of not having to post and have people that I actually know DEFINITELY seeing it, was amazing.
I am creating this newsletter to talk about the experience I gained from just starting with UGC, to now getting paid $200-600/week with REAL brands to make silly videos for them. Again, I do not need to post them to social media (certain ones I do because I am now comfortable enough and apply for those), and my bills are getting paid + extra!
I know most of you reading this are 9-5ers (even though we know its actually like 8-6), are getting fed up with not making more money, and NEED something different. I am not here to sell you anything (yet, maybe I’ll get famous and sell my own beef tallow), but just want to shine the light on a new opportunity.
I know most of you won’t act on it anyway, so let me keep yelling in your ear until you do. Reply to this email if you've tried UGC or want to know more.
Devin