8d (edited) • General discussion
UGC Burnout is Real.
I want to talk about burnout today because it’s something every creator faces at some point.
This morning, I attended my two boys T-ball game and the plan was to grind through as much content as I could today when I got home.
I have so many open collaborations right now and products are arriving every day recently. I was emailed by UGC Factory and took on a deal with them for what I thought would be $300 per brief. (That is actually the average rate I’m used to taking for an agency that just raw footage for one script.)
After receiving the brief I was shocked at how much footage they were asking for. I saw enough content to make six concepts. At first I thought oh am I making $300 for each of these six scripts? When they first emailed me, they said that they wanted to work with me long-term sending me five briefs a month.
So I went back to their playbook I realized I had missed the part where it said that they ask for 10 to 15 B roll along with 3 to 5 scripts and that is considered one brief.
I got back from my son’s T-ball game and ate lunch and just immediately felt tired so much that I had to take a nap feeling guilty that I was sleeping instead of utilizing this Saturday that I don’t have my children with me to start cranking out UGC that’s due over the next week.
But even waking up from the nap I still felt so tired and the thought of all the content due that is making me feel burnt out right now.
I had to take a real hard look at the situation and say: what do I need to do?
I realized that I need to put myself first because I’m such a people pleaser and I’m so used to just pushing through everything.
So, because I didn’t sign a contract with them and all I received was the product, I decided to write them and say that I was withdrawing from the project. I even offered to pay for the products if it was going to be a big deal.
The truth is you may get to a point where you’re not necessarily hurting for work or money and when you feel that resentful energy coming up because you’re being asked to do more than what you think is fair for the price. You have to make some tough calls.
Today was one of those times.
This agency along with some other others just pump out content and extort their creators. Another one that I used to see with similar rates was UGC Shop.
It’s not easy for me to back out of deals. I feel a sense of guilt and the people pleaser in me doesn’t enjoy having to go back on my word, but I’d rather focus on the products and brands that I’m actually excited about that are compensating me fairly. And if this unfair project is going to take away from those projects and it’s not fair to those agencies and brand owners.
To sum it up, it’s very important that you learn your limits and your boundaries.
Side note— I work with a couple of brand owners directly and sometimes they are the most tedious clients. But I work with them because they give me lots of repeat work. A lot of brand owners don’t even really know what UGC is and I end up becoming a creative partner to them explaining whether they need UGC or another service. Like my client, Thomas, who owns a skincare brand and asked me to do a UGC ad bundle and try to repurpose it for a sponsored Amazon video which cannot be done. I told him he needs to hire me for the Amazon video separately because it’s a different format and a totally different vibe. Now multiply that by working with several non-agency clients and you’ve got a full plate of constant requests and projects coming in.
Agencies are quick and efficient and they know what they need. But some of my brand owners take forever to get back to me, or they try to speed up timelines, or throw new projects at me last minute, and they’re a whole different ball game.
Right now it’s just too much and I had this stress looming over me today.
Anyways, I just thought I would share a real honest look into how this business can really become overwhelming.
I’m still so incredibly grateful for it and I wouldn’t trade it for anything. But in order for me to keep loving and enjoying what I do I have to say no and honor my own boundaries, especially when my body starts to show sides of being burnt out. And for me when my body refuses to get out of bed to get work done I know something is wrong.
I enjoy working. I enjoy being productive and I love being a boss—sometimes to a flaw. So the fact that I cannot muster up the energy to work today tells me a lot.
I hope this helps you recognize signs of burnout.
Have you felt burnout in your journey in UGC? I’d love to hear your experiences and how do you know when to withdraw from a project or say no?
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UGC Burnout is Real.
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