A UGC brief is a short document a brand gives a UGC creator before they film. It says what the product is, the one message the video must land, the format and length, the shots needed, what to say and not say, what files to deliver, the deadline and how the brand may use the video.

What should a UGC brief include?

Ten things: product and link, the one message, who the buyer is, format and length, three hooks to film, a shot list, must-say and never-say lines, deliverables (files, ratio, raw footage, captions), the deadline and number of revisions, and the usage rights.

How long should a UGC brief be?

One page. Creators film from the brief on their phone, often on the same day. If it does not fit on one screen, cut it. Put background reading in a link, not in the brief.

Should a UGC brief include a full script?

Give the hooks, the key points and the must-say lines, and let the creator say the rest in their own words. A word-for-word script usually sounds read. If legal wording is needed, put it in the must-say section.

Where do usage rights go in a UGC brief?

In the brief and in the contract. The brief should state where the video will run (organic, paid ads, whitelisting), for how long, and in which countries, so the creator can price it before they agree.

UGC Brief Template: Copy-Paste Creator Brief and Example

A UGC brief is the one page a creator reads before filming your ad. The good ones fit on one screen and answer ten questions: what is the product, what is the one message, who is it for, what format, which hooks, which shots, what to say and never say, what to deliver, by when, and how you may use it. Copy the template, fill the brackets, and send it before the product ships.

The UGC brief template (copy and paste)

UGC BRIEF: [Brand] x [Creator name]          Date: [date]

1. PRODUCT
   [Product name], [variant/size/colour sent]. Link: [product page].
   What it is in one line: [plain description].

2. THE ONE MESSAGE
   After watching, the viewer should believe: [one sentence].
   (Example: "These earrings are light enough to wear all day.")

3. WHO IT IS FOR
   [Buyer in one line: age range, situation, what they care about.]
   Their main doubt before buying: [objection].

4. FORMAT AND LENGTH
   Format: [problem-solution / unboxing / 3 reasons / before-after /
   day in my life / objection buster / outfit transition / talking-head review]
   Length: [15 / 30 / 45 / 60] seconds. Vertical 9:16.

5. HOOKS TO FILM (film all three; we will test them)
   A: "[hook]"
   B: "[hook]"
   C: "[hook]"

6. SHOT LIST
   [ ] Hook to camera, product visible in the first 3 seconds
   [ ] [Product in use, close-up]
   [ ] [Detail shot: texture / label / clasp / fit]
   [ ] [Second setting or outfit]
   [ ] Call to action to camera
   Light: daylight or a window. Sound: quiet room, no music.

7. MUST SAY / NEVER SAY
   Must say: [true, provable points, legal wording if needed]
   Never say: [medical or guaranteed-result claims, competitor names,
   prices or discounts unless given, anything you have not experienced]
   Say it in your own words. This is not a word-for-word script.

8. DELIVERABLES
   [number] edited videos (one per hook), 9:16, 1080x1920, no music.
   Raw clips of every take. Captions as an .srt file or text.
   Delivery via [link/folder].

9. TIMING AND REVISIONS
   Product arrives: [date]. First cut due: [date]. Revisions: [number] rounds.

10. USAGE RIGHTS AND DISCLOSURE
   Use: [organic posts / paid ads / whitelisting from your handle]
   Period: [months]. Countries: [list]. Platforms: [list].
   Paid partnership label: [how and where]. Payment: [amount, terms].

Sections 2 and 7 do the most work. A creator who knows the one message and the never-say list rarely needs a reshoot.

A filled example

Here is the template filled in for a sample product: everyday gold-tone hoop earrings from a small jewellery brand. The product and brand are an illustration, not a real campaign.

Section	Filled in
Product	20 mm gold-tone hoops, one pair sent. Link to the product page.
One message	“Light enough to wear from the office to dinner.”
Buyer	Women 22 to 35 who wear jewellery daily. Doubt: “Hoops look heavy and pull on my ears.”
Format	Objection buster, 20 seconds, 9:16.
Hooks	A: “Hoops every day? Won’t they feel heavy?” B: “The earrings I forget I’m wearing.” C: “Office earrings that also work for dinner.”
Shots	Hook to camera holding the pair; putting them on, close-up; side profile turning the head; cut from office look to evening look; detail of the clasp; CTA to camera.
Must say	Only what the creator actually feels after wearing them, plus the product name.
Never say	“Hypoallergenic”, “real gold”, “never tarnishes” (not claimed on the product page); prices; competitor names.
Deliverables	3 edited videos (one per hook), raw clips, captions as text.
Timing	Product ships Monday, first cut due in 7 days, 1 revision round.
Usage	Paid ads on Instagram and Facebook from the brand account, 6 months, India only. Paid partnership label on any organic post.

Notice what the never-say list does: it rules out three claims the brand cannot back up, before anyone films.

How to fill each part well

One message, not three. If you cannot write it as one sentence, you are briefing two ads. Split them.
Pull the doubt from real customers. Your DMs, reviews and return reasons tell you the objection. Guessing gives you a generic ad.
Write hooks before you brief. The free UGC hook generator fills proven hook formulas with your product; pick three that are genuinely different, not three wordings of one idea.
Give beats, not lines. A timed outline from the UGC script generator or one of our UGC ad templates tells the creator what happens when, and leaves the words to them. For full examples of timed scripts, see how to write a UGC ad script.
Ask for raw clips. Raw takes let you cut new hooks onto the same body later, which is one of the cheapest tests you can run.
Put usage rights in writing. Organic, paid ads and whitelisting are different uses and can be priced differently. The terms to agree are in UGC usage rights and disclosure.

Mistakes that cause reshoots

A brand deck instead of a brief. Ten slides of brand values; no shot list.
No product in the first 3 seconds. Viewers who scroll on never see what is being sold.
A word-for-word script. It sounds read. Give the points and the must-say lines only.
Missing never-say list. The creator adds a claim you cannot prove, and the take is unusable.
Usage agreed after filming. The price changes, or the video can only be posted organically.
One hook only. Without variations you cannot learn what made the ad work.

Briefing an AI model instead of a creator

The same brief works for AI UGC. Sections 1 to 7 become the inputs: product photos, the one message, the hooks and the shot list. Sections 8 to 10 change: there is no creator to pay or license, but the video must be labelled as AI-generated and the AI person must never be presented as a real customer. Our AI UGC prompts turn the same sections into copy-paste prompts.

Disclosure: OnPromptAds makes both this site and the tool below. It is our recommended pick for Shopify brands.

In OnPromptAds Brands, one photo becomes a reusable AI character, you add your product photos, and you get UGC-style reels such as outfit transitions, lookbooks and fit checks, then schedule them to Instagram and Facebook or launch Meta ad campaigns. The examples page shows three reels made this way, next to their inputs. The free plan is for Shopify stores: $0, 100 credits once, no card. Paid plans start at $29 a month. There is no free trial.

UGC Brief Template: A One-Page Creator Brief (With a Filled Example)