Many aspiring creators in Brazil never send their first pitch because of one number: their follower count. It feels logical that brands would only hire people who already have an audience. In UGC, that logic is simply wrong. User generated content is bought for what it is, a video or a photo, not for who sees it on your personal profile.
If you are starting from zero in Brazil, this is the most important thing to understand before anything else. Here is why followers do not matter, how Brazilian creators actually launch their careers without an audience, and what brands really evaluate before hiring you.
UGC is not influencer marketing
The confusion between UGC and influencer marketing is the main reason people believe they need an audience first. An influencer publishes content on their own profile and charges for the reach of that post. A UGC creator delivers content to the brand, and the brand publishes it on its own channels: paid ads on Instagram, TikTok and YouTube, the brand's own feed, product pages on marketplaces, landing pages.
Because the video runs on the brand's account, your audience never comes into play. The media team behind that campaign cares about one question: does this video perform? Does it stop the scroll, feel authentic, and make someone consider the product? A creator with 80 followers can produce that video just as well as a creator with 80 thousand. In many cases better, because UGC is supposed to look like a real customer talking, not a polished celebrity endorsement.
Why Brazil is a good place to start from zero
Brazilians spend a large part of their day watching short vertical video, and companies of every size have followed them there. E-commerce stores, delivery apps, fintechs, beauty and fashion brands, supplement companies: all of them run performance ads in Portuguese and constantly need fresh creative, because ads wear out and need to be replaced.
That demand is recurring by nature. A brand that finds a reliable creator tends to come back month after month, which means your second and third jobs are often easier to get than the first.
There is another advantage that has nothing to do with audience size. Most of this demand is for content in natural Brazilian Portuguese, recorded by someone who talks like the actual customer. A local creator already speaks the language of the buyer, with the accent, the slang and the cultural references that make an ad feel real. No foreign agency can fake that.
What brands actually evaluate
When a Brazilian brand looks at a new UGC creator, the checklist has nothing to do with reach. What gets you hired:
- Portfolio quality: two to five example videos that show you can film, speak and structure a piece of content.
- On camera presence: you sound natural, not scripted, and your energy fits the product.
- Understanding of the format: a hook in the first seconds, a clear demonstration, a call to action at the end.
- Reliability: you deliver on the agreed date, in the agreed format, with revisions handled professionally.
- Communication: you read the briefing carefully and ask good questions before filming.
Every item on that list can be built at home, with a phone, before you have a single client.
How to build a portfolio with zero followers and zero clients
You do not need clients to have a portfolio. You need examples, and you can create them yourself:
- Pick two or three product categories you already own at home: skincare, a kitchen gadget, an app you use, a supplement.
- Watch real UGC ads from Brazilian brands on TikTok and Instagram and note how they open, how long they are, and how they end.
- Record three to five spec videos, meaning practice ads for products you were not paid to promote. Present them exactly as if the brand had hired you.
- Edit vertically for 9:16, add captions in Portuguese, and keep each video under 60 seconds.
- Put everything in one simple link or profile a brand can open in ten seconds.
Spec videos are a completely accepted practice in UGC. Brands know beginners use them, and they judge the skill, not the client list.
From portfolio to first paid job
With a portfolio ready, start where the buyers are. Create a profile on a UGC marketplace, answer open briefs, and send short direct pitches to small Brazilian brands whose products you genuinely use. Small e-commerce brands are often the easiest first clients: they need content, have modest budgets, and rarely ask about followers.
Your follower count will never close a deal for you, and it will never lose one. Your videos will. For the complete step by step, from equipment and pricing to your first pitch, read our full guide on how to become a UGC creator.
