UGC Brief Template: What to Send a Creator

A UGC creator can't read your mind, and they shouldn't have to read your whole website. The brief tells them what matters, what's off-limits and what you need delivered, so they can spend their energy on making the video feel natural.

It also protects both sides. Usage rights, deadlines, revisions and payment are where most disputes start, and a brief turns them into a checklist you both agreed to before filming. For contracts with real money involved, have a proper agreement too; the brief summarizes it, it doesn't replace it.

• Product: one line on what it does, plus how the creator gets it. Skip the feature list.
• Audience: describe a person and a situation, not a demographic chart.
• Key message: one takeaway. If you list five, the video will try to say five things.
• Must say / must not say: short lists. Put legal or compliance limits here.
• Deliverables: count, length, format and versions. Ask for raw footage if you'll re-edit.
• Usage rights: where, how long, and whether you'll run it as an ad from the creator's handle.
• Timeline and payment: dates for each step and when the creator gets paid.
• Disclosure: how the partnership will be labeled if it's posted.

💡Give hook ideas as suggestions, not requirements. Creators know what sounds like them; a hook they rewrite in their own voice usually beats one read off your list.

Usage rights decide where you can use the video and for how long. They're usually the biggest factor in a creator's price, so be specific about what you actually need.

Start with the narrowest rights that cover your plan and agree in advance what an extension would cost. Asking for unlimited, perpetual rights on every platform can price small creators out or lead to an awkward negotiation later. Write the start date as the delivery date so there's no question about when the clock began.

If you plan to run the video as a TikTok ad from the creator's account, read up on Spark Ads before you agree terms. The UGC ads guide covers how paid usage changes the brief.

Here's a shortened brief for Northpaw, an invented slow-feeder dog bowl. It fits on one screen, names exactly one key message, and puts the claims the brand can't make in writing before anyone films.

PRODUCT: Northpaw slow-feeder bowl. Ridges make dogs eat more slowly. Shipped free to creator.
AUDIENCE: Dog owners whose dog inhales food in seconds and then looks for more.
KEY MESSAGE: "Dinner lasts minutes, not seconds."
ANGLES: before/after timing; POV of a fast eater.
MUST SAY / SHOW: show the bowl filled and the dog eating; mention dishwasher safe; CTA "link in bio".
MUST NOT SAY: no health or vet claims (e.g. "prevents bloat"); no other brand logos.
DELIVERABLES: 2 videos, 15–30 s, 9:16, 1080p. Plus 3 alternate hooks for video 1 and raw clips.
USAGE: organic + paid ads on TikTok and Instagram for 6 months. No exclusivity.
TIMELINE: bowl arrives Oct 24; draft Oct 31; 1 revision round; final Nov 5.
PAYMENT: agreed flat fee, 50% on signing, 50% on final delivery.
DISCLOSURE: if the creator posts, use the paid partnership label and #ad.

The key message is the line you'd want a viewer to repeat to a friend. Write it in plain words, under ten if you can, and test it by asking whether a customer would ever say it out loud. "Dinner lasts minutes, not seconds" passes; "innovative feeding solution" doesn't.

Angles are the different ways into that message. Giving the creator two lets them pick the one that suits their style while keeping the video on target. Good briefs name the angle and leave the execution open.

• Problem-solution: start with the frustration, end with the fix.
• Before/after: show a visible change over a stated time.
• POV: put the viewer inside a relatable moment.
• Unboxing: first impressions, packaging and setup.
• Routine: the product as one step in a normal day.

If you're not sure which angle to brief, look at what you already know: the phrases customers use in reviews, support emails and DMs. Those are the words that will feel native in a video, and they often point straight at the angle.

• Asking for one video that does everything — awareness, features, testimonial and offer.
• Sending a word-for-word script, then wondering why it sounds like an ad.
• Forgetting to say which aspect ratio and length you need.
• Leaving usage rights vague, then needing them for ads later.
• Not asking for alternate hooks, which are cheap to film on the day.
• Sending the product late, so the creator has no time to actually use it.

When feedback is needed, be specific and tie it to the brief: "the CTA wording is missing" is easy to fix, while "make it pop more" sends everyone back to guessing. Count revision rounds against what the brief included.

If you want to give the creator a structure, attach the UGC script template with the beats filled in loosely. Showing a couple of UGC examples of the style you like also helps more than describing it.

Creator shoots take time and budget, so it helps to know which angle to brief before you book one. Post a few cheap tests first and brief the creator on the angle that held attention.

UGCHooks can produce those tests from a product link: slideshows, reaction hook videos and memes across different angles. They're not creator videos — the reaction clips come from our in-house library — but they're a quick way to find the message worth putting in your brief.