Before you pay for UGC, agree on these six deliverables

A precise brief gives a creator useful direction and gives your store a fair way to review the work.

“Make a natural video that sells” is an aspiration, not a production brief. It leaves the creator guessing about the product's strongest benefit, the shopper's objection and the evidence the brand needs.

Define six things before filming

1. The buying question the video should answer.
2. The required demonstration and accurate product details.
3. The hooks, finished edits, captions and raw footage included.
4. The platforms, duration and scope of organic and paid usage.
5. The review date, revision allowance and final approver.
6. The CTA and the exact destination it should match.

For an illustrative backpack, the buying question could be whether everyday essentials are easy to access. The creator can show the actual pocket and use it naturally. There is no need to invent a personal transformation or unsupported performance claim.

Separate a video from the right to advertise with it

Write down whether you can post the footage on brand channels, edit it, run paid ads and use creator-account promotion. Agree on the relevant duration and renewal. Platform authorization may also be required for the selected advertising format. Do not assume a production payment settles all of these questions.

Give feedback a purchase purpose

Replace Make it more premium with Show the compartment dimensions before the CTA. Replace More energy with Bring the product into view before the explanation. The creator can act on the second kind of note, and you can verify the result.

Check factual accuracy, sound, captions, product visibility and disclosure before accepting the edit. Paid or gifted endorsements should make the relationship clear; the full guide links the FTC's guidance and explains how the review fits the brief.

Count the complete cost

If you pay for production, licensing and distribution, keep those expenses together when evaluating the campaign. Media-only CAC can look attractive while the complete test still costs more than first-order contribution. Use a defined allocation period rather than assuming indefinite future reuse.

Try this today

Write the six deliverables above into a one-page brief and send the creator the actual product facts. The full guide includes a worked brief, acceptance scorecard and cost example.