UGC Brief Template: What to Send a Creator

What should a UGC brief include?

A UGC brief should tell the creator five things: what the content is for, who it speaks to, what must appear on screen, what must not be said, and exactly what to deliver. Everything else is optional. Briefs fail in two directions — too vague, so the creator guesses, or too prescriptive, so the content ends up sounding like an advert and stops working in feed.

The full template is below. Copy it, fill in the bracketed fields, and send it as-is. Nothing is gated. This covers a single creator's content brief — for a fuller campaign brief covering commercial terms, timing and tracking across multiple creators, see the influencer + UGC campaign brief template.

The UGC brief template

1. The basics

• Brand: [name, one line on what you sell]
• Product: [exact product, variant, size]
• Deadline for delivery: [date]
• Fee: [amount, itemised: production / assets / usage rights]
• Contact for questions: [name, email]

2. What this content is for

Tell the creator the destination. It changes how they shoot.

• Primary use: [e.g. Meta Ads cold traffic / TikTok Ads / product page / retargeting]
• Objective: [e.g. drive first purchase from people who have never heard of us]
• What good looks like: [e.g. someone stops scrolling in the first 2 seconds and understands what the product does by second 5]

3. Who it speaks to

• Customer: [age range, situation, not just demographics]
• The problem they have: [in their words, not marketing words]
• What they have already tried: [alternatives, competitors]
• Main objection: [e.g. "probably does not work on sensitive skin"]

4. The angle

• Core message — one sentence: [the single thing they should take away]
• Suggested hook options: [give 2–3, invite the creator to propose their own]
• Proof to include: [demonstration, before/after, texture shot, result]
• Call to action: [exact wording, e.g. "link in bio" or "use code X"]

5. Format and technical requirements

• Aspect ratio: 9:16 vertical, filmed with headroom so it can be cropped to 4:5 and 1:1
• Length: [e.g. 20–35 seconds]
• Audio: [spoken to camera / voiceover / trending audio — note that trending audio usually cannot be licensed for paid ads]
• Subtitles: [burned in or not — for paid ads, usually not, so the brand can add their own]
• File delivery: Original file, no platform watermark, delivered via [Drive / WeTransfer / platform]
• Also send: [raw B-roll, extra hook takes, stills]

6. Must include

• [Product clearly visible and in focus]
• [Packaging shown at least once]
• [Product used, not just held]

7. Must avoid

• [Specific claims you cannot legally make — e.g. medical, "cures", "clinically proven"]
• [Competitor products in frame]
• [Copyrighted music]
• [Anything that contradicts our labelling]

8. Deliverables

• [1 × main video, 20–35 sec]
• [3 × alternative hooks, first 3 seconds only]
• [2 × still photos]

9. Usage rights

State this explicitly. Never leave it implied.

• Channels: [e.g. Meta and TikTok paid ads, brand website, email]
• Paid amplification: [yes / no]
• Duration: [start date to end date]
• Markets: [e.g. Denmark]
• Editing: [brand may re-cut and subtitle: yes / no]
• Whitelisting: [yes / no]
• Renewal price agreed in advance: [amount]

10. Revisions and disclosure

• Revision rounds included: [1–2, scoped to claims and brand accuracy]
• Disclosure: Paid partnership must be marked in line with Danish marketing law where the content is posted to the creator's own profile
• Payment terms: [when and how]

How to use the template well

Leave room for the creator

The single most common briefing mistake is scripting every line. Creators outperform brand-written scripts because they know what stops their audience scrolling. Give them the message, the constraints and the proof points — then let them find the words. Brands that hand over a word-for-word script generally receive a video that looks like an advert, which is the opposite of what UGC is for.

Be specific about the destination

"For social" is not a destination. A cold-traffic Meta ad needs a hard hook in the first two seconds and no reliance on prior brand knowledge. A retargeting asset can assume familiarity and lean on objection handling. A product page video can be slower. Same creator, same product, three different films.

Ask for hook variants, not more concepts

When a video underperforms, the hook is usually the reason, not the body. Three alternative openings on one edit costs far less than three new videos and gives you more usable test cells. See how much UGC costs for how this affects the quote, and UGC hooks for ecommerce ads for a library of hook frameworks to brief from and a method for testing them.

Put rights in the brief, not in a follow-up

Rights negotiated after the content performs cost more. Including section 9 in the original brief is the cheapest moment to buy them — see UGC usage rights explained and how long to buy usage rights for.

What separates a brief that gets used from one that gets ignored

Practically: length and clarity. A brief that runs to six pages gets skimmed. The template above fits on one or two, and every section exists because its absence causes a specific, predictable problem — unusable watermarked files, claims your legal team rejects, content shot in the wrong ratio, or a rights dispute three months later.

The other pattern worth naming: brands that brief five creators individually by email lose track of who received which version, which deliverables are outstanding, and which rights windows are running. That coordination load is what quietly kills UGC programmes at around the five-creator mark. See why manual influencer marketing becomes messy.

FAQ

How long should a UGC brief be?

One to two pages. If it is longer, you are probably scripting rather than briefing.

Should I send a script?

Send the message and the constraints. Send a script only if there are legal wording requirements.

Should the brief include the fee?

Yes, itemised. It prevents the scope creep conversation later. See how creators price UGC.

Can I use the same brief for an influencer post?

Mostly, but add the posting requirements: platform, format, timing, disclosure and tracked link or code. See UGC creator vs influencer.