Guide
A UGC portfolio with no experience starts with three short videos about things you already own
Updated
You don't need a paid deal to make a UGC portfolio. Film three short videos about products already in your home, edit them cleanly, and put them on one page a brand can open on a phone.
In short
- You can build a UGC portfolio before any brand pays you, using products you already own.
- Three strong 15 to 30-second videos are enough to start, with your best one first.
- Cutroom's Magic Editor edits each sample for you from one clip, so you don't need editing skills.
A first portfolio sample, a water bottle review, before and after Cutroom's Magic Editor
The Verdict style keeps the creator full screen for the opinion. One message made a tighter sample.
Drawing of an example clip, not a customer video
Before · the clip as filmed
A 35-second phone video of a new creator reviewing the water bottle they use every day
“So, um, I've used this bottle every day for a month , uh, and the lid still doesn't leak.”
struck through = what Jacob cuts
After · Jacob's first edit, Verdict style
“I've used this bottle every day for a month and the lid still doesn't leak.”
- On “bottle”: the creator full screen, giving the verdict
- On “lid”: your product photo of the lid, cut in on the word lid
- On “leak”: the word leak set big in your accent colour
- Under the whole video: a typed call to action and a follow card at the end
Then you ask Jacob
- “Make this about 10 seconds shorter”v2a tighter sample about 10 seconds shorter, opening line and ending kept
- “Make the key words stand out more”v3the same edit with the key words larger and in your accent colour
Which products to film before a brand pays you
Film things you already use and can talk about honestly: a water bottle, a skincare product, a phone case, a kitchen tool. The elev8or creator guide gives the same advice: three short vertical videos with products you already own.
Pick products from the kind of brands you want to work with. A brand selling skincare wants to see you talk about skincare.
- Choose things you really use, so your opinion sounds true.
- Choose small, everyday products that are easy to show in your hand.
- Skip products you'd have to buy just for the video.
How many sample videos a first portfolio needs
Three videos are enough to start, the elev8or guide says. It also says brands look at a portfolio for under a minute, mostly at the first video. So put your best one first.
Make each one a different kind, so a brand sees three things you can do.
- A review, where you give your honest opinion after using the product.
- A demo or unboxing, where you show how it works or what's in the box.
- A problem and fix, where you name a small daily problem and show how the product solves it.
How Cutroom's Magic Editor edits a video like this
Jacob is the AI editor inside Cutroom's Magic Editor: it edits your video for you, then changes it when you ask in a chat.
The 4 styles, as example edits
Steps
Three steps, four angles
Skit
Hook, hard stop, demo card
Verdict
The tester's verdict
Poster
Typography does the talking
Hover or tap an example to play it, without sound. These are example edits of each style; the presenters in them are generated with AI.
- Your take: one video of you talking, up to 3 minutes
- Your style: one of 4: Steps, Skit, Verdict or Poster
- Your files: screenshots, a screen recording or a logo, if you have them
- Your goal: what the video is for, in a few words, if you like
- Jacob makes it: normally 10 to 15 minutes, and you get an email
- Your edit: ask Jacob for changes in a chat, then export
Then you ask Jacob, for example
- “Make this about 10 seconds shorter”
- “Put a clip on the strongest sentence”
- “Change the music to something calmer”
Each change is a new version, and going back is free. First cut 250 credits, each change 40, questions free, export 30 credits per started minute.
Editing your first samples with Cutroom's Magic Editor
Film each sample upright on your phone in one go, under 3 minutes, facing a window in a quiet room. In Cutroom's Magic Editor you upload the clip, pick one of four styles, add a product photo, and press "Make my video".
Jacob, its AI editor, cuts the mistakes, adds captions and music, and puts your photo on the right word. If something's off, you ask in the chat, like "Make this about 10 seconds shorter".
- It normally takes 10 to 15 minutes, and you get an email when your first cut is ready.
- Your first video is free, no card, and you have 7 days to make it. It carries a Cutroom mark; Lite at $19.99/month removes it.
- The free video has a Cutroom mark across the middle, so treat it as practice and don't show it to brands. Lite's credits buy about 4 Magic videos a month, enough for clean samples.
Where to put your samples, and how to reach a first brand
Put them on one page that opens fast on a phone, because brands often click from an email or a DM. A link-in-bio page or a simple one-page site works. A shared folder works too, if the videos play right there.
- Put your best video first.
- Add a two-line bio and how to contact you. A starting price helps too; if you don't know yours yet, write "rates on request".
- Each video from Cutroom is an upright MP4 file, the same shape as reels and TikToks. You upload it to your page yourself.
- Then message a brand whose product you already use: say who you are, add the link to your page, and offer one video idea for their product.
Questions people ask
- Can you make a UGC portfolio with no experience?
- Yes. Brands look at the videos, not at your past deals. Film three short videos about products you own, and that's a portfolio.
- How many videos should a beginner UGC portfolio have?
- Three good ones is enough to start. A few strong videos beat a long list of average ones, and your best one should be first.
- Do I need followers to be a UGC creator?
- No. UGC usually runs on the brand's account or as the brand's ad, so the brand cares how your video looks, not how many followers you have.
- Can I edit portfolio videos for free with Cutroom?
- Your first video is free, no card, and you have 7 days to make it. It carries a Cutroom mark; Lite at $19.99/month removes it. Its credits buy about 4 Magic videos a month. Use the free, marked video for practice, not as a sample brands see.
Pick three things you already own, film one clip about each, and let Jacob make the edits.