How to Become a UGC Creator Over 40 (A GenX Guide)

So you want to know how to become a UGC creator, and you're over 40. Good. Pull up a chair (the one with lumbar support). I'm Trish Leto, a GenX UGC creator, model and U.S. Navy veteran in Tampa, and this is the guide I'd hand any grown-up who keeps saying "I could do that" while scrolling past creator videos.

Here's the short version: pick your lane, film samples with products you actually use, get your business basics set up, build a portfolio, pitch brands and disclose everything. Let's go step by step.

What a UGC creator actually does

UGC stands for user-generated content. Back in 2007, the OECD (opens in a new tab) described user-created content as content made publicly available online that reflects a certain amount of creative effort and is created outside of professional routines. Paid UGC keeps that real-person feel and turns it into a job: a brand pays you to make videos that look and sound like a regular customer, because you are one.

My own definition? UGC is fancy lingo for creating short-form videos for brands about products you're ALREADY using. Or, as I like to put it, turn your doom scrolling into money rolling.

Here's the part most beginners miss. As the Hootsuite blog (Hootsuite sells social media software, so this is a vendor source) puts it, UGC creators make content for the brand's channels, while influencers post on their own (opens in a new tab). The brand runs your video on its page, its product listing or its ads. So a giant following is not the product. The video is the product.

Why 40+ is not too late (the Gen X UGC creator case)

Let's handle the elephant in the room. You are not too old for this. Grown-ups carry this economy, and brands that sell to grown-ups need faces their buyers recognize.

AARP's Longevity Economy Outlook 2026 found that Americans 50 and older generated $12.5 trillion in economic activity in 2024, up from $8.3 trillion in 2018 (opens in a new tab). By 2060, that contribution is expected to nearly double to $24 trillion.

Source: AARP, Longevity Economy Outlook 2026 (opens in a new tab)

And our generation in particular? In the Bureau of Labor Statistics' 2024 Consumer Expenditure Survey, households headed by someone born 1965 to 1980 accounted for 32.9% of all U.S. consumer spending (opens in a new tab), the biggest share of any generation. We're online, too. The Pew Research Center (opens in a new tab) found that 85% of U.S. adults ages 50 to 64 use YouTube and 74% use Facebook.

So when a skin care brand, a supplement brand or a kitchen gadget brand wants to reach Gen X, who should be holding the product? Somebody who knows you rewind a cassette with a pencil. That's who.

Step 1: Pick your niches (and your no list)

Niches make everything easier: your samples, your portfolio and your pitch. Pick the categories where you already buy and use products, because that's where your honest opinions live.

Here are mine, as an example:

• Supplements and food
• Pet UGC and car UGC
• Kitchen and kitchen appliances, planting and gardening
• Makeup, skin care and hair care

And my no list: no alcohol, no tobacco, no gambling. I also don't do "canvas UGC," where a brand needs you to create a brand-new TikTok or Instagram account, manage it and post on it constantly. That's a different job, and it's not mine.

Write your no list before the first brand emails you. Boundaries are easier to keep when you decide them ahead of time. Know your values and let them pick your brands.

Step 2: Make sample videos with products you already use

You don't need a brand deal to make your first UGC video. You need a phone, decent light and something from your own pantry, bathroom counter or garage.

Use only products you actually use. That's not just good manners. The FTC says you can't talk about your experience with a product you haven't tried, and the Endorsement Guides say that when an ad represents that you use a product, you must have been a bona fide user of it (opens in a new tab) at the time. Real use is the whole point of UGC anyway.

Make a few different formats so a brand can see your range. Here's what I make:

• Talking heads: you, to camera, telling it straight.
• Yap style: chatty, like you're catching up with a friend.
• Lifestyle: the product living in your real day.
• Product videos: demos, close-ups and unboxing-style clips.
• B-roll: clips with no talking that a brand can cut into its own ads.

For the full breakdown, see my guide to the types of UGC videos brands run.

Here are two of mine: my hello to fellow Gen Xers, and a protein powder video. These are my own posts. Showing a product in my videos does not mean that brand hired me.

Step 3: Get set up (a UGC creator for beginners checklist)

At Military Creator Con, I presented a slide called "Getting set up: What You Need." It covered payment gateways, contracts, pitch emails and DMs, bio setup and the best platforms. I'd add one more habit to that list: disclosure. Here's the whole checklist in one place.

A quick word on TikTok Shop, since it's on the platform list. As of October 2026, TikTok Shop's US policy says affiliate creators must have a minimum of 1,000 followers (opens in a new tab) and be at least 18 years old. Affiliate creators with fewer than 5,000 followers are automatically enrolled in a pilot program for at least 30 days, with limits on what they can post. TikTok's commission math is simple: (Revenue minus Refunds) times the commission rate (opens in a new tab) the seller sets.

Two notes. First, that follower minimum is for selling as a TikTok Shop affiliate on your own account. Making videos for a brand's own channels is a separate thing. Second, TikTok updated its eligibility policy on September 25, 2026, so check the policy page before you plan around any number.

Step 4: Build your UGC portfolio

Your portfolio is your storefront. It shows a brand what you make, in which niches, and how you look and sound on camera. Keep it simple: your best samples, grouped by niche or format, with one line about what each one shows.

Want an example? Here's my UGC creator portfolio. It keeps product videos separate from lifestyle and faith posts, and it says plainly that a product appearing there does not mean that brand hired me. Do the same with yours. Honesty is a selling point.

Put that portfolio link in your bio, your email signature and every single pitch.

Step 5: Pitch brands (with a UGC pitch email template)

A good pitch is short, specific and about the brand, not about you. Include these five things:

1. Who you are and who you make content for. For me, that's GenX buyers.
2. Why this brand: you already use the product, and what you like about it.
3. What you make: your formats and your niche.
4. A link to your portfolio.
5. One clear next step, like asking who handles creator content.

Sample UGC pitch email template

This is a sample. Swap in your details and make it sound like you.

Subject: UGC videos for [Brand] from a GenX creator who uses [Product]

Hi [Name],

I'm [Your Name], a GenX UGC creator. I make short-form videos and b-roll for brands that want to reach grown-up buyers.

I use [Product] and I'd love to make videos about it for your channels: a talking head, a product demo and b-roll you can cut into ads.

Here's my portfolio: [link]

Are you the right person to talk to about creator content? If not, who should I reach out to?

Thanks, [Your Name]

For DMs, cut it to three lines: who you are, why you like the product, and your portfolio link. Then ask where to send a full pitch.

When a brand asks for your rates, you'll want to know the ranges first. I break those down in how much UGC creators make.

Step 6: Disclose everything, from day one

Disclosure protects your audience, the brand and your good name. Here's what to know:

• Free product counts. The FTC says that if a brand gives you free or discounted products or other perks and then you mention one of its products, make a disclosure (opens in a new tab), even if nobody asked you to mention it.
• Plain words work. The FTC says simple language like "Thanks to [brand] for the free product," or terms like "ad" and "sponsored," are often enough when they're placed where people can't miss them.
• Use the platform tool, too. TikTok's Branded Content Policy says you must enable the commercial content disclosure toggle (opens in a new tab) when you post branded content, and it counts gifted products and affiliate links as branded content. The FTC adds that you shouldn't assume a platform's tool is good enough on its own.
• Never fake it. If you're paid to talk about a product and thought it was terrible, the FTC says you can't call it terrific.

This is general information, not legal advice.

Keep going, grown-up

You don't need to be 22 and viral. You need a no list, samples, a setup, a portfolio, a pitch and honest disclosure. Then you keep showing up, and you count your blessings along the way.

Want the bigger case for our generation? Read my take on older influencers. If you'd like me to teach this to your group or event, check out my speaking page. And if you want to know who's behind all this sass, here's more about me.

Ready to make videos that actually stop the scroll? My GenX Content Survival Guide and my No B.S. ChatGPT Prompt Playbook are waiting for you.