How To Read A real UGC Brief
A quick note for our creators: if you just got added to a Hey Platforms campaign and you’re staring at one of our briefs for the first time, this post is for you too. I’m walking through an actual (lightly disguised) Hey Platforms content brief the exact same way I’d want you to read one. Bookmark it and pull it up next time a brief lands in your inbox.
Learning how to read a UGC content brief is one of the most underrated skills a creator can build — it’s the difference between content that gets approved on the first try and content that comes back for revision after revision.
When I first started UGC, the brief was the part I underestimated the most.
I’d get excited about booking the campaign, skim the content brief, film what I thought they wanted, and then get a message back asking for changes. Sometimes multiple rounds of changes. And every revision meant more time, more re-filming, and a brand that trusted me a little less for the next project.
Here’s what I eventually figured out: the brief isn’t the boring paperwork before the fun part. The brief is the job. Reading it correctly is the single biggest thing that separates creators who get rebooked from creators who don’t.
So instead of explaining it in the abstract, let me show you. Below is a real brief we ran at Hey Platforms — I’ve swapped the brand and a few details for privacy, but the structure is exactly what our creators actually receive. I’ll drop in real sections as we go and walk through how I read each one.
If you’re brand new to all this, you might want to start with my post on how to start UGC and book your first campaign first, then come back here. Okay, let’s get into it!
First, Read The Whole Brief Before You Film Anything
I know. Obvious. But you’d be shocked how many creators (me, in 2023) start filming after reading the first section.
Read the entire brief start to finish before you pick up your phone. Brands bury critical details all over the place — a “must be vertical” here, a “don’t show competitors” there. If you film first and read later, you’ll catch that requirement after you’ve already shot everything.
Read it once for the vibe. Then read it again with a highlighter and pull out the specifics. Speaking of specifics — here’s the very top of our brief:
What you're making and why it matters
That little snapshot at the top tells you more than it looks like. Who it’s for, what the product is, when it’s due, and — the one people skip — where the content is going to live. When a brief says the footage will run as paid ads, that changes how careful you need to be. Ad footage has to be clean, polished, and claim-safe, because the brand is putting money behind it and there are copyright laws they have to follow.
How To Read The Deliverables Section (Get This Exactly Right)
Before anything creative, figure out exactly what you’re handing back. This is what you’re getting paid for, so getting the count right matters more than anything else.
Exactly what you're sending back to us
See how it’s not just “2 videos”? It’s two videos and two cover photos. This is a classic miss — you nail the videos, feel great, submit, and then find out you forgot the cover photos entirely. Half an order is a revision, even when the work is beautiful. Plus, it creates more work for you to re-setup for the missing shots.
The phrase “fully edited, ready for ads” is doing a lot of work too. That tells me they don’t want raw clips they have to assemble — they want finished pieces they can run immediately. Always check whether a brief wants raw footage or edited final videos, because they’re completely different amounts of work.
The Messaging Section Is Where Content Gets Rejected
This is the part I beg new creators not to skim. The messaging section tells you what you’re allowed to say — and just as importantly, what you can’t.
How to talk about the brand — and what you can't say
That DON’T column isn’t the brand being fussy. A lot of it is the law.
For anything health or wellness related — supplements, skincare, pet health, all of it — there are claims a brand legally cannot make, which means you can’t make them on camera either. If you say a product “cures” or “treats” something it isn’t approved to, the brand can’t use the content, and sometimes the whole campaign gets pulled. That’s a rejected deliverable and a brand that won’t book you again.
My rule: when the brief gives me specific language, I use their words, not mine. If it says “supports hydration,” I say “supports hydration.” I don’t upgrade it to “fixes” or “prevents” because it sounds punchier. The exact wording is exact for a reason.
The Shot List Is A Guide, Not A Cage
A lot of our briefs include a scene-by-scene shot list or script. When creators see it, some panic and think it means they can’t be creative. It’s the opposite. A shot list is the brand handing you the answer key.
A guide — bring your own style, but hit the beats
Look at how this is built. The left column is every single clip I need to capture. The right column is what I say and what text goes on screen. If I film everything in that left column, I cannot come up short on footage — it’s all mapped out for me.
Here’s exactly what I do with a shot list before I film: I turn it into a dead-simple checklist. For this one it’d be “water bottle clip, curtains opening, mat, dog stretching, dog eating the chew, cuddle shot, product close-up.” Then I don’t stop filming until every item has a clip.
And notice the “bring your own style” line. That’s the brand telling you the creativity is yours — your personality, your home, your pacing — but the beats are theirs. Hit the required moments, then make it feel like you.
Don’t Skip The Camera Settings (This One Hurts)
This is the most-skipped section in any brief and the one that causes the most heartbreak, because a lot of technical mistakes can’t be fixed after you film.
Set these before you film — it takes one minute
Filming horizontally when they need vertical. Leaving HDR on. Shooting in the wrong resolution. These aren’t things you can quietly fix in editing — they usually mean re-filming the entire thing from scratch. (If your gear or settings feel like a mystery, I broke down the exact equipment I use to create UGC in a separate post.)
Two minutes in your phone settings before you hit record saves you an entire re-shoot. I check these every single time, even when I’m positive they’re already correct, because “I was sure” has cost me a whole afternoon before.
Turn Every Content Brief Into A Checklist
Okay, here’s the habit that ties it all together. Before I film anything, I turn the whole brief into one short checklist. Every brief — ours or anyone else’s — really breaks down into the same handful of questions.
Your two-minute pre-film checklist
- Deliverables: 2 videos + 2 cover photos, fully edited
- Format: vertical 9:16, 1080p, HDR off
- Say: "supports hydration," "vet recommended" (their words)
- Don't say: treats / cures / prevents anything
- Capture: every clip from the shot list, then the product close-up
- Before export: check every box, confirm the due date
Then after I film, I check every box before I export. This single habit has saved me from more revisions than anything else I do. It takes two minutes and it makes you look incredibly professional, because you deliver exactly what was asked the first time.
When Something’s Unclear, Ask Before You Film
If a brief is vague or two parts seem to contradict each other, don’t guess. Guessing wrong means re-filming the whole thing.
A quick, professional message goes a long way: “Hey! Quick question before I start filming — do you want the discount code shown on screen as text, or just said out loud?” We love getting these. It tells us you actually read the brief and you’re going to get it right. One good question up front beats three rounds of revisions later.
Why Reading Briefs Well Actually Matters
Here’s the thing I really want you to take away.
Most of my income comes from repeat work — from agencies and brands who send me campaigns again and again because they trust me. And that trust is built almost entirely on being easy to work with and delivering exactly what the brief asked for, on time, without a bunch of back-and-forth.
When you nail the brief the first time, the brand’s job gets easier. When their job gets easier, they book you again. That’s the whole game.
Reading briefs well isn’t a small skill. It’s the thing that turns one campaign into a client.
Quick Recap — Save This For Your Next Campaign
Read the whole brief before you film anything.
Nail the deliverables — get the exact count, and check whether they want raw or edited.
Respect the messaging rules — use the brand’s exact words on any claim.
Treat the shot list as your checklist, not a cage.
Set your camera settings before you record.
Ask questions up front instead of guessing.
If you’re a UGC creator learning how to read content briefs, save this post and pull it back up before your next campaign — it’ll make the whole thing faster and get your content approved the first time.
That’s how one campaign becomes a career.
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A content brief is the document a brand or agency sends you before a campaign that lays out exactly what to create. It usually covers the deliverables (how many videos and photos), the format and camera specs, the messaging you can and can't use, a shot list or script, and the due date. It is the instructions and the answer key for the whole project, and reading it carefully is how you deliver content that gets approved.
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Most briefs include one or two rounds of revisions, and a small tweak here and there is completely normal. But repeatedly being sent back to re-film usually means something in the brief got missed, such as the wrong deliverable count, a messaging rule, or a camera setting. The goal is to nail it on the first submission, because that is what makes brands rebook you.
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Raw footage means unedited clips the brand assembles themselves. Edited, or ready for ads, means finished cut-together videos they can run immediately. These are very different amounts of work, so always check which one the brief is asking for before you quote your rate or start filming.
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Yes. A shot list tells you the required beats, meaning the specific clips and messaging the brand needs, but the style is still yours. Your personality, setting, pacing, and editing feel are what the brand hired you for. Hit every required moment on the list, then make it feel like your content.
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The most common reasons are messaging that broke a brand's claim rules, especially for health, wellness, or beauty products, missing a deliverable, or a technical mistake like filming horizontally or leaving HDR on. Almost all of these trace back to something that was in the brief. Turning the brief into a checklist before you film, and checking every box before you export, prevents the large majority of rejections.Item description
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Asking a clear, specific question before you film is one of the most professional things you can do, because it shows you actually read the brief. Keep it short and concrete, such as asking whether they want a discount code shown as on-screen text or just said out loud, and send it early. One good question up front beats three rounds of revisions later.
