How to pitch brands as a UGC creator: who to contact, 6 templates, follow-ups
A pitch that gets read is short, specific and sent to a person: one line about their product, your portfolio link near the top, one to three video ideas, an easy question. Pitch brands whose product you use and that already post creator-style videos, write to the person who runs social or creator content, and send one follow-up about five business days later, in the same thread. Expect silence most of the time: in Woodpecker's cold email benchmarks, the median reply rate across campaigns is 1.5%. Keep a tracker, respect every no. Or pitch less: on UGC Pocket, you request access to a brand's challenges in the app, and each brand accepts or declines.
Before you pitch: what the brand needs to see
A brand reads your pitch with one question: can this person make a video that works for our product, without extra work for us? Three things answer it.
- A portfolio link that opens on a phone. Two or three vertical videos, ideally in the brand's category. No videos yet? Film spec videos on products you own, as explained in our guide to building a UGC portfolio.
- A concrete idea for their product. One to three concepts, one line each: hook, format, what the viewer sees. Formats are in our guide to UGC video formats, hooks in our UGC hooks guide.
- What you deliver. Edited files the brand posts or runs as ads, or a video on your own account. It changes the price, the usage rights and the contract.
For delivered UGC, the brand posts the video, so your follower count matters less. Starting from zero? Read how to start UGC with no followers.
Which brands to pitch
Ten brands that fit beat fifty picked at random. Look for these signals.
- You already use the product. You know where a new user gets stuck, and you can show it for real.
- They already post creator-style videos. Talking heads, screen recordings or reviews on their TikTok or Instagram, or ads like that in your own feed: they already buy the format.
- They have news. A launch, a feature, a new market: a new reason to explain the product.
- They are hiring for content. A social media or content job post shows the team is investing in video, and which department to contact.
- Their size allows a direct answer. At a small or mid-size company, a person reads the inbox. Large brands often run creator programs through an agency or a platform: then pitch the agency, which does the recruiting.
Stay in your niche: a creator who films productivity apps pitches a calendar app more easily than a skincare brand.
Who to contact inside the brand
"Hello team" through a contact form rarely reaches the person who decides. Who that is depends on the company.
| Type of company | Who usually decides | Where to find them |
|---|---|---|
| Startup or small app | The founder, or the head of growth or marketing | The About or Team page, LinkedIn, the founder's own social accounts |
| Mid-size brand | Social media manager, content manager or creator partnerships manager | LinkedIn job titles, the press page, the email in the brand's Instagram or TikTok bio |
| Large brand | Influencer marketing manager, or the agency that runs the creator program | LinkedIn, the agency credited on campaign posts, a creators or partnerships page on the site |
| Brand running video ads | Paid social or performance marketing manager, who buys creative for ads | LinkedIn titles that mention paid social, acquisition or growth |
Titles vary from one company to the next. Without a name, a generic address (contact@, hello@) or the brand's DMs are a fair fallback: ask who handles creator content rather than sending the full pitch blind.
Email, DM or LinkedIn?
Email works best when you can find a professional address: it sits in an inbox, can be forwarded to the right colleague, and keeps a thread for your follow-up. A DM suits small brands whose social team runs the account and answers there. LinkedIn suits founders and marketing managers who are active on it. Use one channel per brand at a time: the same person receiving an email, a DM and a LinkedIn message in the same week reads it as pressure.
Subject lines that get opened
Short subject lines open better, by less than the usual advice suggests. In Woodpecker's cold email benchmarks, US subject lines of 10 to 19 characters get a median open rate of 30%, against 23% at 60 to 69 characters, and 20 to 29 characters get the best reply rate. These are cold emails sent by companies through Woodpecker, not creator pitches, but the rule carries over: name the brand or product, say what is inside, stop.
Source: Woodpecker, cold email benchmarks (data from the last 90 days of 2025, updated 5 August 2026), checked October 2026.
Illustrative subject lines to adapt (and avoid "Collaboration opportunity!!!"):
- [Product] video idea
- 3 hooks for [Product]
- [Feature] in 20 seconds
- Video for your [launch] launch
- UGC for [Brand]?
- Made a video with [Product]
6 pitch templates to adapt
These are illustrative templates, not messages taken from real campaigns. Replace every bracket and delete any line you cannot make true: a template sent unchanged reads like one.
1. First email, delivered UGC
Subject: [Product] video idea Hi [first name], I use [Product] for [real use], and I make short vertical videos for brands like yours. Three examples: [portfolio link] One idea for [Product]: [hook in one line], then a demo of [use or feature] in under 30 seconds, ending on [benefit]. I deliver edited files you can post or run as ads, with [number] hook variations per video. Would that be useful to your team? If you are not the right person, who should I write to? [First name] · [TikTok or Instagram handle] · [portfolio link] [postal address or PO box] If you would rather I did not write again, just say so and I will not.
The portfolio link comes early, the idea is specific to their product, and the closing question is easy to answer, even with a no. For an app, the demo is a screen recording of the feature; for a physical product, an unboxing, a first use or a before-after.
2. First email, with a spec video already made
Subject: Made a video with [Product] Hi [first name], On my own initiative, I filmed a 25-second video about [Product] to show you what I would do: [video link] It opens on [hook] and shows [feature or use] the way a new user discovers it. I can make two more versions with different hooks. If you like the approach, I would be glad to talk about a few videos for [launch, season or campaign]. [First name] · [portfolio link] [postal address or PO box] If you would rather I did not write again, just say so and I will not.
Keep spec videos for the brands you want most. Share them by private link, and never post one as if it were sponsored.
3. Instagram or TikTok DM
Hi [Brand]! I use [Product] for [use] and I make short videos for brands like yours. One idea for you: [hook in one line]. My work: [portfolio link]. Who should I talk to about creator content?
Under 60 words, one link, one question: a DM is read on a phone.
4. LinkedIn message to a founder or marketing manager
Hi [first name], I make short vertical videos for [your category], mostly [screen recordings with a voice-over, demos or unboxings]. I saw [launch or post]. I have an idea for a 30-second video showing [feature or use]. Can I send it to you by email? [portfolio link]
A yes moves the conversation to email, where your ideas have room.
5. Follow-up, in the same thread
Subject: Re: [Product] video idea Hi [first name], Following up on my message from [day]. I have a second idea since: [hook in one line]. If the timing is wrong, no problem: tell me and I will not follow up again. [First name]
Same thread, so your first message sits right below. Bring something new rather than "just checking in".
6. After a no
Subject: Re: [Product] video idea Thanks for letting me know, [first name], I appreciate the answer. If you have a minute: what kind of creator content do you look for, and is there a better time of year to come back to you? Good luck with [launch]. [First name]
A clear no tells you where you stand, and sometimes what the next pitch needs. Log it, and do not write again unless invited.
What to attach, and what to leave out
- A link, not files. One portfolio link, or a private link to a spec video, opens in one tap on a phone. Video files attached to a first email weigh down the inbox and ask the reader to download them.
- No rate card in the first email. Prices come once the brand has said what it needs. If it asks, quote a defined deliverable: number of videos, length, hooks, usage rights.
- A media kit only if it helps. It matters when you offer posts on your own account, since the brand then looks at your audience. For delivered files, the portfolio does the job.
When to follow up, and what reply rate to expect
Most pitches get no answer: Woodpecker puts the median reply rate at 1.5% across 56,614 cold email campaigns. One follow-up still pays. In two-email campaigns, the follow-up gets a median reply rate of 1.4%, against 1.2% for the first email. In longer sequences, each message does less (1.0% for the first, then 0.9%, 0.6% and 0.5% for the fourth), and weekend replies run about 38% lower than weekday ones.
Volume works against you too: mailboxes sending 1 to 20 emails a day get a median reply rate of 2.0%, against 0.5% for those sending 101 to 200. These are cold emails sent by companies through Woodpecker, not creator pitches, so read them as an order of magnitude.
Source: Woodpecker, cold email benchmarks (last 90 days of 2025, updated 5 August 2026), checked October 2026.
- Send on a weekday, in the brand's time zone.
- Follow up once, about five business days later, in the same thread.
- No answer? Stop. Come back months later only with something new: a launch on their side, or a new video of yours in their category.
- A no, or a request to stop, is final.
Track every pitch in one table
Past twenty brands, memory fails: who you wrote to, when, with which idea, who asked you to stop. A spreadsheet with these columns is enough.
| Column | What to write | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Brand | Name, product, category | See which categories answer |
| Contact | Name, role, channel (email, DM, LinkedIn) | Follow up with the same person, on the same channel |
| Angle | The idea or spec video you sent | Never send the same idea twice |
| Sent | Date of the first message | Time the follow-up |
| Follow-up | Planned date, then actual date | One follow-up, not three |
| Status | Sent, followed up, replied, declined, deal | See what turns into work |
| Do not contact | Yes, if they said no or asked you to stop | Respect the refusal, for good |
| Next step | What happens next, and when | Nothing falls through |
Once a month, check which angles and brands got answers, and do more of that.
Is cold emailing brands allowed?
In France, the CNIL allows email prospecting of professionals without prior consent when the message relates to their job (its example: a call presenting software to a company's IT director). A creator writing to a marketing manager about video content fits that frame. Two rules apply. The person must be told their address may be used for prospecting and be able to object easily. And each message must say who is writing and offer a simple way to refuse further messages. When an address comes from a third party, you must make sure the person was told and can object: one more reason never to buy lists. Generic addresses such as info@ or contact@, which concern companies, are not subject to these principles.
Source: CNIL, La prospection commerciale par courrier électronique, SMS-MMS et automate d'appel (in French, 10 June 2026), checked October 2026.
In the United States, the CAN-SPAM Act covers commercial email, not just bulk email, and the FTC states that it makes no exception for business-to-business email. A commercial message must have accurate header information and a subject line that reflects its content, disclose clearly that it is an ad (the law leaves leeway on how), include a valid postal address (a registered PO box works), explain how to opt out, and honor opt-outs within 10 business days.
Source: FTC, CAN-SPAM Act: A Compliance Guide for Business (August 2023, edited January 2024), checked October 2026.
Hence the opt-out line in templates 1, 2 and 5, and the postal address in the signature of templates 1 and 2: keep it in your follow-ups to US brands too. Rules differ by country, and this is general information, not legal advice.
Mistakes that sink a pitch
- A generic opening. "Dear team, I love your brand" could go to fifty brands, and it shows.
- Starting with yourself. Lead with their product, not your journey.
- A portfolio that is hard to open: a login, a download, horizontal videos.
- No idea. "Let me know if you need content" leaves the work to the brand.
- Promising results. Nobody can guarantee views or sales.
- Prices without scope. Quote a defined deliverable: videos, length, hooks, usage rights. Our guides to UGC creator rates and UGC usage rights help you set them.
- Chasing on every channel in the same week.
After a yes
Put the scope in writing before you film: number of videos, length, format, hooks, revisions, deadline, where the video will be posted, usage rights and payment terms. Our UGC contract guide lists the clauses to check. Ask for a brief (see what a good one contains in our UGC brief template), then draft each video with our UGC script template.
If the video goes on your own account, disclose the partnership. In the United States, the FTC asks for the disclosure in the video itself, not only in the description, with plain words such as "ad" or "sponsored". In France, article 5-2 of the law of 9 June 2023 requires a clear mention of commercial intent, such as "publicité" or "collaboration commerciale".
Sources: FTC, Disclosures 101 for Social Media Influencers (November 2019); Légifrance, Law no. 2023-451 of 9 June 2023, article 5-2, version in force since 8 November 2024. Both checked October 2026.
When you do not need to pitch at all
The other route is a platform where brands state their needs first. On UGC Pocket, you request access to a brand's challenges in the app instead of pitching it: no email to write, no contact to hunt down.
- You request access to a brand's challenges. There is no follower minimum to sign up, and each brand accepts or declines.
- You declare your accounts: the TikTok and Instagram accounts you will post on.
- You follow the challenge brief. Our team builds each campaign and writes the video scripts, following the codes of the formats that work in the brand's sector.
- You post on your own account, then paste the link in the app. Our team reviews each video.
Each challenge shows its pay conditions before you start. Pay depends on the views of the videos published on your declared accounts, beyond a threshold of cumulative views, and status conditions are set out in the creator contract. UGC Pocket is not the only platform to work this way: our guide to UGC apps for creators compares the models, and our guide to finding UGC jobs covers the other places where brands post their needs.
Pitching still makes sense when you want to be paid for delivered files the brand posts itself, when the product is physical (UGC Pocket challenges focus on software, apps, services and courses), or when the brand you want is on no platform at all.
Let the brands state their needs first
Request access to brand challenges in the app, free on iOS and Android.
FAQ
How do I pitch brands as a UGC creator with no experience?
Film two or three spec videos on products you own, put them on a portfolio page that opens on a phone, then pitch brands whose product you use, with one concrete video idea each. Brands buying delivered UGC judge the videos, not your follower count.
What should a UGC pitch email include?
A short subject line naming the brand or product, one line showing you know the product, your portfolio link near the top, one to three video ideas, what you deliver (files or a post on your account), a simple question, and a line offering to stop writing if they are not interested.
How many times should I follow up with a brand?
Once, about five business days later, in the same thread, with something new. In Woodpecker's cold email benchmarks, each message after the second gets fewer replies than the one before. If the follow-up gets no answer, stop, and only come back months later with a new reason.
Should I pitch brands by email or by DM?
By email when you can find the person who handles social or creator content: the message can be forwarded and keeps a thread. By DM for small brands whose team answers on Instagram or TikTok. Use one channel at a time.
Is it legal to cold email brands?
In France, the CNIL allows email prospecting of professionals without prior consent when the message relates to their job. The person must be told their address may be used for prospecting and be able to object easily, and each message must say who is writing and offer a simple way to refuse further messages. In the United States, the CAN-SPAM Act also covers business-to-business email: an accurate subject line, a clear ad disclosure, a valid postal address, an explanation of how to opt out, and opt-outs honored within 10 business days. This is general information, not legal advice.
Can I get brand deals without pitching?
Yes, through platforms where brands state their needs first. On UGC Pocket, you request access to a brand's challenges in the app, and each brand accepts or declines. Each challenge shows its pay conditions before you start.