THE VIFLY GUIDE · CHOOSE AN ACTIVITY
Create content for a brand, with a clear production contract.
For commissioned UGC, a brand may pay you to produce a video or photos it will use. The value lies in the content delivered and the rights to use it, rather than automatically depending on your follower count.
A clear offer.
An identified client.
A clear visual demonstration
Brief, preparation, filming, editing, revisions and prospecting.
BEFORE YOU START
Is this the right model
for you?
A large audience is not required for production without publishing on your own account.
An option to explore if.
You can film a product or situation, build a message and deliver polished content. You can work from a brief, explain your choices and meet a brand's requirements.
- A clear visual demonstration
- Filming and editing suited to the medium
- Understanding a brief and defining usage rights
Hold off for now if…
Pass for now if you would need to recommend a product you do not know or accept questionable claims. A portfolio justifies neither a fake customer review nor an invented experience of using a product.
- Costs to plan for
- A phone and lighting may be enough to start; accessories, travel and software depend on the brief.
- Stock and delivery
- No stock to sell; arrangements for sending and returning products need to be agreed.
A CLIENT, A NEED, A DELIVERABLE
What exactly can you sell?
Example offers to adapt to your skills. None of these formats guarantees demand or a sale.
A product demonstration
A brand wanting to show a practical use.
An edited video with a defined format and duration; claims must be capable of being substantiated.
A set of creative variations
A team that wants to compare several messaging angles.
A shoot with several hooks or edits, with versions and permitted uses written into the contract.
Contextual content
A business needing photos or footage for its communications.
A selection of delivered files, revision terms and a defined usage scope, without a guarantee of advertising performance.
FIND BUYERS BEFORE PRODUCING EVERYTHING
Where can you find your
first clients?
An audience is just one possible channel. A useful conversation with the right person often teaches you more than an untargeted post.
Build an honest portfolio
Make a few demonstrations using items you can use. Make clear that they are personal projects and never present a brand as a client without a real commission.
Target visible needs
Identify brands whose products fit your area and skills. Propose a specific idea and explain the content you will deliver, rather than sending a generic message in bulk.
Compare intermediaries
Agencies and platforms may publish briefs. Read the payment terms, commissions, revision requirements and rights transferred before deciding whether a project is worthwhile.
Approach prospects with a relevant message and an easy opt-out. The rules differ by audience and channel: CNIL guidance ↗.
- 01
Choose a content type
Define your style, audience and the products you can credibly present. Prepare examples showing framing, pacing and clarity of message.
- 02
Price production and usage rights
Separate creative work from the requested uses: channels, territory, duration, advertising, exclusivity and raw files. Also describe any publication on your own account.
- 03
Approve the brief before filming
Confirm the script, products received, schedule, feedback and payment terms. Ask for evidence supporting the claims and refuse false testimonials.
- 04
Deliver and document
Check the visuals, sound, text and formats. Keep the approved version and the contract; ask permission to display the work in your portfolio and monitor agreed rights renewals.
GUIDANCE, NOT PROMISES
What the figures tell us.
And what they do not tell you.
Market data, a statistical income measure and your sales scenario measure different things. Always keep the period and population beside the figure. The suggested actions alongside them are our editorial analysis.
2026 Barometer · France Num
46 %of SMEs obtain at least 5 % of their customers from the Internet
A starting point to explore: helping a specific profession present and sell its offer more clearly.
Reported usage does not prove an available budget or demand for your offer. Check this with real buyers.
Read the source and its scope ↗2024 data · INSEE
330 €median monthly business income for micro-entrepreneurs
Half of micro-entrepreneurs earn less than this amount, excluding zero incomes.
All occupations and working hours combined. This is neither turnover nor an online earnings target.
Read the source and its scope ↗We have not identified representative official national statistics that allow reliable comparisons of beginners' earnings from UGC, affiliate marketing, templates or subscription content. The simulator's amounts are therefore adjustable assumptions, rather than average earnings for these activities.
MAKE THE PROJECT'S ECONOMICS WORK
A sale does not become
your entire income.
Use the same period for every field: a pilot, a month or a launch. Start with sales actually received, after refunds and excluding VAT.
- Price × salesRevenue excluding VAT
- - purchases, tools, fees, advertising.Full costs
- − a reserve you chooseScenario balance
TEACHING EXAMPLE · NO GUARANTEED INCOME
- Revenue excluding VAT
- 900 €
- Balance after costs and reserve
- 525 €
- Balance per hour spent
- 17,50 €
Understand the starting example
Fictional production example: 5 orders at €180 represent €900 in revenue. With €150 in chosen costs and €225 in a purely hypothetical reserve, or 25 % of revenue, the balance is €525. The 30 hours include finding assignments, preparation, filming, editing and revisions over the chosen period; this price is not an average market rate.
This balance is not net income for tax purposes. The calculation determines neither social contributions due, income tax nor VAT. It does not replace a complete budget or a check of your applicable regime.
Check the framework for my activity ↗A gifted product is not payment in money. The example price includes no implicit rights: price each actual scope of use and check how benefits received should be treated in your situation.
THE POINTS THAT CAN CHANGE EVERYTHING
What is best avoided.
Do not grant every use, forever and everywhere, without understanding and pricing that commitment.
Commercial content published on your account must clearly identify its advertising intent under the applicable rules.
Music, third-party images and people filmed must be cleared for the intended use, especially advertising.
A brief may require several versions and raw files: clarify what is included before accepting the price.
FROM THE MODEL TO AN UNDERSTANDABLE OFFER
VIFLY tools
that support this project.
Content attracts attention. The offer provides clarity. The journey guides people towards an action. Choose only the tools useful to your current stage.
Prepare your UGC business
Continue with VIFLY guidance on UGC portfolios, offers and collaborations.
See how it works ↗Bring your demonstrations together
Present examples you are authorised to use and explain clearly how a brand can contact you.
See how it works ↗Identify commercial communication
Check the transparency guidance and precautions for advertising content and AI.
See how it works ↗BEFORE THE FIRST SALE
A professional framework
suited to your activity.
French guidance checked on the guide's verification date. The applicable regime depends on your profession, customers and circumstances; consult the sources and get help where needed.
Register and invoice
Choose the appropriate framework, check the formalities and organise quotes, invoices and payment tracking. Receiving payment online does not make the activity invisible.
Official procedures ↗Inform and respect the customer
Clarify the seller's identity, offer, price, deadlines and applicable rights. A digital product does not automatically exclude the right of withdrawal.
Online selling rules ↗Check the rules of the profession
Coaching does not remove the qualification requirements of a regulated activity. Vocational training has its own formalities; a platform does not create eligibility for funding.
Training requirements ↗ · Regulated professions ↗For data, prospecting and creative work: CNIL ↗, commercial influence ↗ and VIFLY AI guide.
QUESTIONS BEFORE CHOOSING
Straight answers.
Can I create UGC without being an influencer?
Yes, when a brand buys production for its own channels. If it also buys a post reaching your audience, the offer includes a distribution service that needs to be distinguished.
What should I show in my portfolio when starting out?
Personal content that represents what you can deliver, clearly presented as demonstrations. Describe the imagined brief and your work without inventing a commercial collaboration.
Can I guarantee sales for a brand?
You can commit to deliverables and a process. Sales also depend on the offer, targeting, budget and buying journey; delivering content does not allow you to guarantee them.
METHOD & SOURCES
Help with choosing,
with visible limitations.
Guide written by VIFLY and checked on 24 October 2026. Recommendations reflect editorial judgement. Calculations are hypothetical, and statistics retain their original period and scope. We do not give occupations profitability scores or present turnover as disposable income.
The links to studies and public authorities below contain no referral parameters added by VIFLY. VIFLY pages help you put the guidance into practice. To report an error or information that has changed, contact us.
View the guide's sources
- INSEE · self-employed income 2024 ↗30 June 2026
Economically active micro-entrepreneurs on 31 December 2024, France excluding Mayotte and agriculture. Online and offline activities, both main and supplementary.
- France Num · survey 2026 ↗Updated on 12 October 2026
A survey of 9 655 French micro, small and medium-sized enterprises. Business practices, rather than service providers' earnings.
- FEVAD · ecommerce review 2025 ↗11 February 2026
The French market for products and services, including major players. Sector revenue, not an individual's margin.
- Eurostat · online learning 2025 ↗19 March 2026
European Union internet users, with usage during the three months before the survey. Free and paid resources combined.
- Cybermalveillance.gouv.fr · task scam ↗7 October 2026
Warning signs and procedures for victims of fake online jobs.
- DGCCRF · pyramid schemes and MLM ↗28 August 2025
The distinction between real sales and payments mainly linked to recruitment.
- Service Public · selling online ↗19 June 2026
Seller information, contracts, consumer rights and obligations according to the customer group.
- Service Public · training activity declaration ↗27 November 2025
Vocational training, formalities and the distinction from leisure courses.
- French Ministry for the Economy · commercial influence ↗Accessed on 24 October 2026
Transparency in commercial content and creators' responsibilities.
- CNIL · prospecting by email ↗Accessed on 24 October 2026
Consent, information and the right to object according to the audience and channel.
- DGCCRF · dropshipping responsibilities ↗Accessed on 24 October 2026
The seller remains responsible even when a supplier ships directly.
- Service Public · starting a business ↗Accessed on 24 October 2026
Formalities and a regime suited to the activity; check your personal circumstances.
- Ministry of the Economy · copyright and image rights ↗Accessed on 24 October 2026
Permissions and limits on using content.
- Service Public · regulated activities ↗Accessed on 24 October 2026
Qualifications and authorisations to check for the profession concerned.