Opportunities
Where to find brands that hire UGC
Updated 27 August 2026
Brands that hire UGC show up in three places: opportunity platforms, the brand’s own social team and paid agencies. Everything else is noise. This page tells you what to send, what to skip and which offers to walk away from.
The three real paths
If someone sells you a “secret Instagram method”, it is a course. The paths that actually create jobs are boring and specific.
Opportunity platforms
A platform matches briefs and creators. HICARI is ours: you publish a profile, see searches and apply with a portfolio. Signup is the main CTA on this page because it does not depend on a community manager reading your DM.
Other platforms exist. The test is the same: is there a written budget? rights? a human on the other side? If you only see “collabs”, leave.
Direct contact with the brand
Find the social or paid lead on LinkedIn, not the generic Instagram DM. An 8-line note with three links beats a one-minute voice note. If they do not reply in two weeks, do not nudge every day: change brand.
Agencies and paid-media teams
Agencies buy volume: 10 variants, 3 products, 48 hours. The brief is drier and the payment more predictable. It fits if your portfolio already shows different hooks on the same jar. If you only have a beach reel, this is not your path yet.
How to write the first message to a brand
The first line shows evidence. The second names the format. The third gives availability and rate. No “I have always loved your brand”.
Hi [name], I shoot [format] for [category]. Here are 3× 20s takes with the product on camera (links). I can deliver a vertical unboxing the week of [date]. If the brief already states fee and use, I will work to that. If the brief wants another length, I can adapt. Want to try one piece?
What to check before you apply
If three of these six are missing, ask. If they do not answer, do not shoot on faith.
- Use: organic, paid or whitelist, with a term.
- Deliverables: number of videos and variants.
- Revisions: one round or “as many as needed”.
- Product shipping and a real shoot date.
- Legal claims you must or must not say.
- A budget, or at least a range.
Signs an offer is not worth it
Product-only payment. Unlimited rights on an off-platform contract. A brief with no written use and “we’ll see”. “Collab for exposure”. Eight revisions on a single take. If you see two at once, pass.
How to raise the odds they pick you
Lead the portfolio with the piece closest to the brief. Keep a one-page media kit. Quote rights separately. Apply to fewer, better briefs. The portfolio and media-kit guides go into the detail.
What to send (and the message they do answer)
Eight lines. Who you are in one sentence (city, language, on-camera or not). Three portfolio links in the same format as the brief. Real availability. A rate that states use. Close. No “I love your brand” and no one-minute voice note.
A useful subject: “Unboxing 20 s · ES · Madrid · organic 12 months”. Community managers filter on subject. If the subject is “Collaboration”, your note sits under twenty identical ones.
Attach only what you can deliver this week. If the product will not arrive until the 20th, say so. If you do not do paid, say so. Lying about availability burns more than not applying.
Hi [name], I am [name], I shoot UGC in [city] in [language]. Three [format] pieces: [url1] [url2] [url3]. For this brief: 1×20 s, organic 12 months, one round. Paid extra. I can shoot from [date]. [email]
Red flags and a 14-day plan
Leave if they want the take “forever” at Reel price. Leave if payment is product only and the use is paid. Leave if there is no named human. Leave if they ask you to shoot before rights are signed.
Short plan: days 1–3, three niche demos. Days 4–5, HICARI profile and a one-page media kit. Days 6–10, ten applications that fit, not forty generic ones. Days 11–14, two direct notes to brands whose product you already use. Then you count replies, not “story impressions”.
If after 14 days there is not even a “thanks, we will look”, the portfolio is the problem. Shoot again. Do not change platform every afternoon.
Frequently asked questions
Does the creator pay to use HICARI?
Registration to see opportunities has no reading fee. The money is in the job, not in browsing.
Can I email the brand and use HICARI at the same time?
Yes. Do not fire the same brief through three channels on the same day without saying so: it looks like spam.
What if they never reply?
That is normal. Shoot another demo and change the list. Silence is not fixed by a second “just bumping this”.