How to Pitch Brands as a UGC Creator

If you’re starting out in UGC, pitching brands can feel like one of the most intimidating parts of the job.

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Who do you contact? What do you actually say? How much information should you include? And how do you make sure your email doesn’t disappear into an inbox full of other creator pitches?

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The good news is that pitching gets much easier once you have a simple process in place. You don’t need the perfect email or a huge following; you need to show the brand that you understand what they do, that your content could genuinely work for them and that you’re easy to work with.

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So, whether you’re reaching out to brands directly or applying for opportunities through a platform like Twirl, here are the steps I’d focus on.

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Step 1: Build a portfolio that actually represents you

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Before you start sending pitches, make sure brands have somewhere to see your work.

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Your portfolio doesn’t need to be an elaborate website. It could be a simple portfolio page, a Canva site or even a well-curated social profile, as long as it quickly shows a brand what kind of creator you are and what you can create.

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Focus on your strongest work rather than trying to include absolutely everything you’ve ever filmed. If you want to work with beauty brands, show strong beauty examples. If lifestyle, food or tech is more your thing, make those examples easy to find. And keep it updated!

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Your portfolio is often a brand’s first impression of you, so make sure it reflects the quality of content you’re creating now, not what you were creating a year ago.

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Step 2: Find brands that genuinely make sense for you

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Next comes one of my favourite parts: finding brands to pitch.

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Instagram and TikTok are great places to start because you can quickly spot brands already using creator content, running paid ads or working with influencers, but don’t only focus on brands already investing heavily in UGC.

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Sometimes the best opportunities come from finding a brand you genuinely like and showing them how creator-led content could fit into what they’re already doing.

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Think about the products you naturally use, the industries you understand and the brands whose style fits the type of content you make. A pitch is always easier to write when you actually have something meaningful to say about the brand.

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Step 3: Make your pitch specific

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This is probably the most important part becuase a g neric copy-and-paste pitches are very easy to spot.

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You don’t need to write an essay for every brand, but there should be something in your message that makes it obvious you chose to contact them specifically. Maybe you noticed a recent product launch, maybe you’ve been using the product yourself or maybe you saw one of their ads and immediately thought of a creator concept that could complement it.

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Whatever it is, give them a reason to keep reading.

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A strong pitch might briefly include:

• Why you’re interested in the brand.
• What type of UGC you create.
• One or two content ideas that could work for them.
• A link to relevant examples of your work.
• A simple next step, such as asking whether they’re currently working with UGC creators.

You don’t need to explain the entire concept of UGC to a marketing team, and you definitely don’t need to overwhelm them with statistics.

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Instead, focus on what you could create and why it makes sense for their brand. Your pitch should give them a little preview of what working with you could look like.

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Step 4: Find the right person to contact

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You can write the best pitch in the world, but it won’t help much if it lands in the wrong inbox. So, before hitting send, spend a few minutes finding the person most likely to deal with creator partnerships.

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LinkedIn is particularly useful here. Search for people working at the company in roles such as:

• Social Media
• Influencer Marketing
• Partnerships
• Brand Marketing
• Content Marketing

For smaller brands, you might find that the founder or marketing manager handles collaborations directly.

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And if you can’t find the right contact, there’s nothing wrong with sending a short DM or contacting the brand’s general inbox and asking who handles creator partnerships.

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That little bit of research can make a big difference.

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Step 5: Follow up without being afraid of it

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You’ve sent your pitch... now comes the waiting.

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If you don’t hear back straight away, don’t automatically assume they’re not interested. Marketing teams are busy, emails get buried and sometimes your message simply arrives at the wrong moment. A polite follow-up after a few working days is completely normal, so keep it short, remind them what you contacted them about and let them know you’d still love to explore working together.

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Sometimes all it takes is a simple reminder to bring your message back to the top of their inbox.

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Bonus: Pitching for opportunities through Twirl

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Pitching through Twirl works a little differently because the brand is already looking for UGC creators.

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That removes one of the hardest parts of cold outreach, but it also means you’re likely pitching alongside other creators who are interested in the same opportunity. So your application still needs to give the brand a reason to choose you. Here are a few things I always recommend:

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Keep your profile updated.

Treat your Twirl profile like a mini portfolio. Make sure your latest and strongest work is there, and that brands can quickly understand your style, niches and strengths.

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Tailor your pitch to the brief.

Even when applying through a creator platform, avoid sending the same message to every opportunity. Reference something from the brief, explain why you’re a good fit and, when it makes sense, include a quick idea for how you would approach the content.

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Choose relevant examples.

If you can upload or share previous work, think about what the brand actually needs. A skincare brand probably doesn’t need to see the food video you’re most proud of. Show them something that makes it easy to imagine you creating their content.

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The biggest pitching tip?

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Don’t try to sound like everyone else!! Brands don’t need another creator telling them they’re “passionate about creating engaging content”, they need to understand why you make sense for them.

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Keep your pitches personal, clear and easy to respond to. Do your research, show relevant work and don’t be afraid to follow up. And remember that pitching is a numbers game to some extent. Not every brand will reply, and not every conversation will become a collaboration.

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The more you practise, the easier it becomes to recognise which brands are a good fit, what makes your pitches stronger and where your time is best spent. You can also explore the rest of Twirl’s UGC Diaries for more creator tips, resources and advice to help you grow your UGC business.

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