Most people don’t realize how little you actually need to travel and quit your job…

$5k per month in most Latin American or Asian countries is PLENTY. 

Over the past few years, I’ve lived in Mexico, Colombia, and traveled all over Latin America.

I was just in Costa Rica for a month, where I filmed 2 videos for brands for +$3,000… 

In this blog post, we’re going to break down the fastest way to get to $5k/month as a UGC creator (but not limiting yourself to UGC).

This plan is specifically optimizing for long term freedom, as well as getting to $5k monthly as quick as possible. 

We don’t want to work 24/7 and we don’t want to be tied down to one location.

So…

Let’s jump on into the plan...

Phase 1:

This is the just getting started phase.

You likely have little to no audience and you’re probably making less than $1,000 per month as a content creator.

This phase is all about perfecting your craft and setting your intentions. 

You have to accept that you won’t be making much money in this phase.

Here’s the 3-step process you need to live by when it comes to creating content.

1. Study 

2. Recreate

3. Refine

You should start off by studying top ads (use Facebook ads library and TikTok ads library)...

As well as studying viral organic content.

Start to recreate these videos with your own little twist.

Post on your account and focus on these 8 types of videos.

You’re just getting reps here.

Notice what works and what doesn't work.

Build on these learnings and continue to refine your work.

During this phase, you should start to build out a portfolio.

I’d recommend focusing on the following types of companies:

1. Software

2. Apps

3. Travel-related

Remember, if your end goal is to travel, you want to start off working with brands that align with that goal.

Once you’re comfortable making content, it’s time to go out and get your first UGC client.

Here’s the bullet-proof step-by-step strategy to landing your first client. 

(seriously, do this...)

Step 1. 

You're going to search for brands on the Facebook ads library or TikTok ads library.

Search for keywords that would give you apps and travel brands.

Then, use a tool like LeadLeaper to find the email of the decision maker at the company.

Find a minimum of 10 of these brands per day.

One benefit of this strategy is that you know these brands have budget because they are actively running ads.

Step 2.

Email each of these brands with a no-brainer offer.

You’re going to give them a free ad.

All you’re going to ask for in return is that they run the video as an ad and they give you the analytics of the campaign…

This does a couple of things…

1.  Presents the brand with a no-risk offer. They get a free ad.
   
   

2.  You’ll receive analytics which you can use as a case study for your portfolio.  When you have a few of these case studies showing how you made an ad with a 3x ROAS, it’ll be so much easier to land future paid deals.
   
   

3.  If your video crushes it for the brand, guess what?  They’re coming back for more.  And this time you can charge some real money.  You’ll likely land your first retainer client with this method.

Do this every single day for 2-3 months.  

It will be impossible to fail with this strategy.

For more on this strategy and other innovative techniques to land UGC deals, check out our Academy

We’re consistently scaling UGC creators to $10k months.  

If you’re serious about going full time as a creator, it’s a no brainer.

See you in there.

Now while you’re in phase 1, your mindset is absolutely the most important piece of the whole equation.

I’d bet on a creator with a golden mindset and poor content over a great creator who has crippling insecurities…

This is coming from someone who was stuck in a 9-5 and living back in his mom’s basement during the pandemic to now running a company and traveling frequently. 

This stuff works...

These next few lines will be the most important thing you read this week.. 

Follow these steps closely and it will change your life..

Twice per day (right when you wake up and right before you go to sleep) you need to visualize your future and where you want to go.  

You’re not just dreaming of success, you’re creating it in your mind first.

Get a vision board.  As corny as a vision board might sound...  It 100% works.

You need to see yourself achieve your goals in your mind first.

Get very detailed with what you want your life to look like.

Where is the first place you’re going to travel? 

What is the monthly income number you need to hit to quit your job?  

Is it $5k per month?  $10k per month?  

It’s likely a LOT less than you think you need.  

Make this a reality in your mind.  

Hone in on your vision, daily.

And don’t over-share it with others.  

Keep it to yourself for now.

Ok - let’s get into the next phase...

Phase 2:

As you start to dial in your content creation skills and pick up a couple of clients…

You should start to build an audience along the way.

Post your work, post your life, post your passions.

You’ve been studying what works and what doesn’t work.

You’re a student of the game.

It’s now time to own your audience and introduce another income stream.

It's email list time.

Building an email list has been the #1 most valuable thing I’ve ever done in business…

And it’s the one thing I wish I would have started earlier.

If I was going to lose my entire business, but I got to keep 1 thing...

I would keep my email list.

Why, you might ask..?

No algorithm can mess up my email list...

No social media platform can shut down my email list...

I can tap into it whenever I need...

It's an audience that I truly own.

I can send valuable material like this to nurture readers...

And eventually people just buy your products because of how much value they're received.

(when you're ready, The Academy is right here for you)...

The method that I’m about to show you is the exact strategy that we use at Brands Meet Creators.

Here are the key steps:

1. Get started with an email platform.
   
   Beehiiv is what i’d recommend.  They have everything you need, and the best pricing model.
   
   

2. Create a lead magnet.
   
   This is where you offer something for free in return for someone’s email. 
   
   Common lead magnets are pdfs, guides, templates etc.
   
   Our lead magnet at Brands Meet Creators is our free opportunity marketplace. 
   
   You give us your email, we give you tons of brands that are looking to hire creators…
   
   It’s a no brainer way to get you on our email list and deliver you value.
   
   

3. Set up affiliate products.
   
   You’ll want to set up Beehiiv boosts.  This is where you will automatically recommend a couple other newsletters and get paid to do so…
   
   Let’s say you get 300 new newsletter subscribers one month…
   
   Those reader will all get referred to other similar newsletters and you’ll get paid around $300-$500 for doing so. 
   
   This is easy, passive income... it’s basically a form of affiliate marketing.
   
   You should also set up other affiliate product links in your follow up emails. 
   
   If your email list is going to be about UGC and content creation, we have an incredible affiliate program at Brands Meet Creators for our Academy students where you get 50% recurring lifetime monthly commissions.
   
   Again, practicing what we preach here... 
   
   You see this beehiiv link…
   
   What you’ll notice is that’s an affiliate link. 

   
   If you eventually sign up, we’ll make a % commission from that sale.
   
   

4. Nurture email sequence
   
   Once someone subscribes to your newsletter, you want to send them automatic follow up emails.

   
   

   What's cool about this is that you can write these emails once, and they will earn for you forever.
   
   Let's say you write a 30-day sequence that get's sent out every other day...
   
   You write these emails once, add in all of your affiliate links...
   
   And then people get them automatically as they come into your ecosystem.
   
   Cool right?
   
   And super passive.
   
   If you want to go deeper with this strategy, join our Academy.

Now - here’s what people won’t tell you on the mental side… 

You’re going to have a break down.

It will 100% happen at some point in this phase.  

Be ready for it.

Your mind and ego are going to fight against you.

You’re starting to taste some success.

You can see the finish line...

You feel like your goals are in reach.

But achieving those goals means that you will be making some serious life changes.

You will need to be a different person.

The ego doesn’t like that.

Your mind wants to sabotage you.

People around you don’t like that.

Be aware of this.

Push past it. 

Believe in yourself.

Phase 3:

Two things will happen in phase 3...

1. You're going to have to take a leap of faith.
   

2. You're going to launch your first product.

Let's talk about the leap of faith...

It's finally time to quit that job and go all-in on yourself.

This will literally feel like you're taking a jump.

You'll feel like you have no floor beneath you.

Like your entire life is up in the air...

No stability.

I won't sugar-coat this...

It's terrifying. 

I still remember the feeling I had while quitting my job...

That was one of the scariest, most emotional, but also one of the most exhilarating days of my life.

Keep that vision strong.

Now, let's talk about launching a product...

At this point, you’ve achieved a lot.

You've been sharing your journey and building an audience along the way...

Inevitably, you're going to be a magnet for others who what to follow a similar journey.

You’re glowing at this point. 

You’re breaking through.  

People are attracted to this.  

You need to do something with this attention.

You have a lot to share and a lot to teach.

Package the knowledge you've learned on your journey...

This could be a short video training showing how you did it...

And the tips, tricks, and mistakes that you picked up along the way.

The Recap

At this point, you'll have several things going for you...

You'll have your UGC clients and brand partnerships...

You'll have your email list which is generating both affiliate commissions and digital product sales...

And you'll be fully location-independent.

This is just one of many paths that you could follow...

Thank you for reading, and I'm hoping this post opens your eyes to a new world of possibilities.

To your success,

The Brands Meet Creators Team

P.S. We teach strategies like this inside The Academy.  Check out these videos to see how creators in our Academy are hitting $10k months.