Blog / Briefs
How to write a UGC brief creators actually use
A brief is an idea a creator can pick up in a minute. Here is what goes in one, and what to leave out.
November 10, 2026 · 3 min read · Friendzone team
Brief
“What is this called?”
In this article
Most briefs fail because they read like a contract. Two pages of brand guidelines, a list of banned words and a script nobody would say out loud. The creator skims it, films something safe, and the video looks like an ad.
A good brief does the opposite. It hands over one clear idea and gets out of the way.
Start with the hook
The first two seconds decide whether anyone watches the rest. So the hook comes first in the brief, written the way it would be said on camera. If you can link to a video where that hook already worked, do it. A reference video says more than a paragraph of description.
Describe the format in one line
Talking to camera, a screen recording with a voiceover, a reaction, a day in the life. Name the format and the creator knows what to set up. Leave the wording, the setting and the edit to them. They know their audience better than you do.
Say what the product has to do
One thing. Show the app opening, show the result on screen, say the name once. If you ask for five product moments you will get a product demo, and product demos do not travel.
Keep briefs optional
The best programs treat briefs as ideas, not assignments. A creator can use one as it is, remix it or post their own take, and every post pays the same. You get more variety, and the briefs that keep getting picked tell you which ideas are worth writing more of.
A brief that fits on one screen
- The hook, word for word
- A reference video
- The format, in one line
- The one thing the product has to do
- What the video pays
