I just got paid for an inbound I got through Instagram, I'm so happy!!!!

I’m thinking about changing my pfp on all my socials, but I am not sure. Should I wait a while, until I have a stronger personal brand, or shouldn’t it matter?

I recently received an email from USA haircare company Veganic Hair asking me to make two videos for Gifted Collab which will be run as paid ads without any compensation and then if the ads will perform well then I might get a retainer and some payment. What pisses me off as a UGC creator is a brand's audacity to ask for a video to run as a paid ad without any compensation. It's disrespectful as I put in my time, and effort and pay taxes. Paid ads generate direct revenue for the brand and it’s only fair that creators are compensated for contributing to that success. I was asking super low as a test video package for 80 euros per two videos and the brand didn’t agree. I don’t believe that such a brand doesn’t have any marketing budget. I don’t think 80 euros is big money in USA. I said to the brand that I’d be happy to create one video as part of a gifted collaboration, but only for organic use on my personal social media profile, where I would tag the brand or I can send a watermarked video for review. If the brand would like to use my content for paid ads, I expect to negotiate usage rights and proper compensation. What do you think about it? Would you accept to make two paid ad videos for a brand without any compensation? Have you had a similar experience?

How do y'all deal with ghosting??? I have had so many Fiverr inbounds, and a couple on Instagram too. They send me a message, I reply, we briefly converse, and then... nothing. For some I have sent a follow up message after a couple of days, but I just don't get why people do this, it's so disheartening. If you don't want to work together, just let me know rather than ghosting me.

Y'all... After having a really hard year in 2024, This month has shown so much promise already. Last year I started UGC, and I signed up for all of the UGC platforms, pitched, pitched, and pitched, make a profile on Upwork and Fiverr, but... 🦗🦗🦗🦗 I got the occational UGC assignment here and there, but it was always at a very low rate (UGC platforms don't pay at all). And with regards to my email and social media pitches it was just *radio silence*, plus on Fiverr all the messages I got were basically a scam or straight up spam. But this year... Whew! Januari holds a lot of promise so far. I have had my first UGC assignment, and about to send the contract for another one (an inbound too!!). &&&&& I got another inbound for a potential retainer client, on Fiverr of all places. I am so excited! And best of all, these inbounds feel like they could really be the start of a great collaboration, not the kind where you lowkey know that it's a scam. The people behind the accounts are real people, with either big socials or a lot of credible information about them online. This is gonna be my year, I can feel it 💪🏽