If you want to capitalize on the biggest months of this year as a UGC creator, this is for you. According to Forbes, consumers plan on spending 14% more this year than last (beating pre-pandemic levels for the first time). Brands will be looking to get as much of this pie as possible, and that means increasing their ad spend.
October, November and December are the biggest months for UGC. Budgets are increased across the board as brands look to target consumers across Black Friday, Cyber Monday, Singles Day, Christmas and Boxing Day sales.
This post is coming to you in November, so you’re already on the back foot. But that doesn’t mean you’ve missed the boat entirely. Here’s what I would be doing today as a UGC creator in the middle of Q4.
Retarget Past Clients
We’re not delulu here. It’s mid-November, and that means cold pitching brand new clients for content that should have gone live and into testing back in October is a waste of your time. 9 times out of 10, at least.
Instead, we’re going back to our previous clients with an offer they can’t refuse. This means leveraging existing relationships you have and products that you have at your disposal. You’ll be sending a pitch that hits on the following:
🎄Make It Q4 Specific
Do not send a generic pitch. We’re going to acknowledge how busy they must be at the moment ahead of BFCM or festive run-up (Black Friday/Cyber Monday), and reference a reason for getting in touch. Do you have an ads bundle that can enable them to hit the ground running straight away? Did you notice a competitor’s approach to holiday marketing and think you could do the same for them?
💨Fast Turnaround Times
This is the key. We’re last minute, so we’re offering a 24-48 hour turnaround from when you receive the product. Even better if you can source the product yourself to reduce the shipping time.
💸 Discounted Bundles
You’re going to make it clear that this is an offer they can’t get at any other time. If you charged them $300 for a concept in your original, you’re going to charge them for a bundle that works out at $200 per concept. Throw in extra hooks, variations, organic content galore. You don’t discount your UGC often, but you know that at this time of year the landscape is competitive and you want to give them the best opportunity to succeed.
🔔 Time Sensitive Offer
You want to include a sense of urgency in your email. This might just involve a little white lie to drive home the sale. Round out your email with a ‘I always love working on Oodie creative and I wanted to get in touch with you before sharing this with my wider client base. I’ll only have the capacity to work on two brands, so let me know if this is something you’d be interested in”.
Q4 Retargeting Pitch Example
Hey Martha,
I hope you’re doing well and things aren’t too crazy at Safe Beauty ahead of BFCM — am I right in thinking you did 40% across the entire range last year?
I know you’ll already have your Black Friday campaigns boxed off, but I wanted to reach out to offer a UGC bundle targeting the gifting sector for Q4. I’ve been testing this with Refy beauty and it’s showing great results, I think it could do the same for you.
The package includes 2 concepts, 4 interchangeable hooks that target a different gifting recipient — generic gifting, mom, girlfriend and daughter and 2 CTAs. As a past client, this package is available at a discounted rate of $750. With 16 video variations, this works out at less than $50 per video. This rate also includes expedited delivery, so you’ll have the finished concepts within 48 hours.
Would love to make a start on this for you, let me know if this is something tha could be of use.
Thanks,
Kirk
Q4 Package Bundles They Can’t Refuse
Not to rub salt in the wound, but you are late to the game when it comes to Q4 and that means you’re going to need to offer some pretty attractive bundles to get clients to jump on board now. What this looks like will differ based on the client and what they need.
Before you go ahead and send a copy and paste pitch to the fourteen clients you’ve worked with this year, spend an hour or two working out exactly what they could benefit from.
Could they use complimentary organic content on top of your standard ad packages? Could they do with holiday specific bundles? Here’s three options I would go for as Q4 packages.
- The Testing Package
Take your normal UGC package and add a holiday twist to it. Q4 brings new hooks — consumers are looking for giftable products, quick shipping and great bargains across the festive period. Add a few extra hook options and upsell with ‘free’ organic UGC.
- The Gifting Package
TikTok ads are awash with ‘my boyfriend needs this…’ or ‘if you’ve got know idea what to get your dad for Christmas’ style content. Give brands the opportunities to hit all of the right notes with hook variations that talk about gifting specifically. Whether that be about a person or relationship, last-minute gifts or gifts that don’t break the bank — there’s a lot of variations that can be offered. Similarly, by offering different CTAs you can provide content that can last the entirety of Q4, not just pre-BFCM.
- The Holiday Sale Package
Buyer behavior will change based on how close we get to Christmas, why not offer a package that can speak to all stages of the buyer journey? From calm and collected Auntie Sue to the last-minute dashers, consider offering a package that differs in urgency.
What If I Don’t Have Previous Clients?
My answer? TikTok Shop or the Amazon Influencer Program. By all means, keep on working on cold outreach for new clients in order to grow your UGC business. But if the question is how can I maximize my revenue in the next two months, my answer isn’t conventional UGC. My getting started on TikTik shop or as an Amazon influencer, you can take advantage of the crazy commissions up for grabs across Q4. You don’t necessarily need the product in hand and can work on green screen promotions with some really smart content.
The requirements for TikTok shop are 5000 followers (or, there’s a sneaky way around it if you use this video). Top tips to start making sales:
1. You don’t need to be overtly salesy. TikTok isn’t UGC. Focus on entertaining content that can hold viewers attention for long enough to intrigue them.
2. Stay away from fancy edits. Again, no QVC. Really basic, simple edits are optimal when looking to make sales.
3. Mention where you can get the product. TikTok shop is still unheard of for a lot of people — many won’t know it’s even possible to buy directly through the app. A quick CTA of ‘you can grab one for yourself using the link below.’ does the trick.
In my experience, offering seasonal content packages is the best way to make the most out of the quarter and secure long-lasting partnerships. It may be late in the game, but there’s still time for you to do the same. What are you waiting for, get back to those past clients and secure that $$$$.
