---
title: How to find, vet and pay UGC creators for an app
slug: ugc-creator-recruiting-and-pay
summary: Nicole Cheung's UGC creator program economics — $10–30 base per post (min 500 views) plus decreasing-CPM view bonuses — and where to recruit creators (SideShift, Discord inbound, micro-influencer outreach).
domain: mobile-apps
tags: [user-acquisition, ugc, creators, influencer-marketing, organic-social, compensation]
related: [ugc-creator-onboarding-course, ugc-new-account-warmup, founder-led-virality-before-ugc, ugc-content-formats-and-scripts, ugc-creator-mass-outreach-and-rights, organic-ugc-team-roles, ugc-engine-personas-and-creator-deals, ugc-pay-structures-and-free-views]
sources: [yt:rnNGEmAJWso, yt:7JtttjbTRAQ, yt:0mOLs315i04]
updated: 2026-10-24
---

# How to find, vet and pay UGC creators for an app

## TL;DR
- Pay **base rate $10–30 per post** + **view-based bonuses**.[^1]
- Nicole requires **≥500 views** before a post earns the base rate.[^1]
- Bonuses start at **10K or 50K views** on a **decreasing CPM** curve (e.g. $50 at 50K = $1 CPM; $500 at 1M = $0.50 CPM).[^1]
- Recruit via **SideShift**/UGC platforms early on; later via **inbound applications** (Discord communities, referrals) and **DMs to micro-influencers** averaging ~10K views.[^2][^3]
- Interview everyone; Nicole accepts **≤50%**.[^4]

## Details
**Who is this from.** [[people/nicole-cheung]], whose apps (e.g. Glam Up) pull 300–400M social views a month, on an App Masters podcast (Aug 2026).

**Pay structure.**[^1][^5]
- Base $10–30/post, gated at 500 views (other companies gate differently).
- Bonus tiers with falling CPM — illustrative: 10K views → ~$50, 50K → $50 ($1 CPM), 1M → $500 ($0.50 CPM). (Her tier numbers are examples, not a fixed table.)
- Base depends on format difficulty and source: experienced creators juggling ~5 apps won't take $10; a college student new to UGC, filming easy content, will.

**Where to find creators.**[^2][^3]
- **SideShift** or other UGC marketplaces — built for beginners, many applicants per campaign.
- **Inbound**: after 2–3 years Nicole recruits through creator friends who run UGC communities (Discord) and personal referrals.
- **Outreach**: DM micro-influencers with good average views (~10K/video) — many go viral but have no way to monetize and want paid work.

**Vetting.** Early on she blocked whole days for creator interviews and accepted roughly half or fewer — the program needs creators who take it seriously.[^4]

**Accounts.** Creators post from **brand-new accounts** warmed to your niche, not their personal ones — see [[ugc-new-account-warmup]].[^6]

## Disagreements / caveats
- A different model for *paid-ad* UGC: Alex (Boost App Social) cold-emailed creators at volume, paid ~$100 upfront and bought perpetual rights to ~300 videos — see [[ugc-creator-mass-outreach-and-rights]][^7].
- Joseph Choi sees paying big-following influencers thousands per post as an early sign an organic strategy will flop, unless audience fit is very strong — see [[organic-ugc-creative-strategy-layers]][^8].
- Hiring is "maybe 5%" of the work; most of the outcome depends on the founder's format research and training — see [[founder-led-virality-before-ugc]].[^4]
- Pay levels are one operator's 2026 practice; rates vary by market and format.

## See also
- [[ugc-creator-mass-outreach-and-rights]], [[organic-ugc-team-roles]]
- [[ugc-creator-onboarding-course]]
- [[ugc-content-formats-and-scripts]]

[^1]: yt:rnNGEmAJWso @ 00:00 — Nicole Cheung
[^2]: yt:rnNGEmAJWso @ 00:55 — Nicole Cheung
[^3]: yt:rnNGEmAJWso @ 02:25 — Nicole Cheung
[^4]: yt:rnNGEmAJWso @ 04:33 — Nicole Cheung
[^5]: yt:rnNGEmAJWso @ 00:55 — Nicole Cheung
[^6]: yt:rnNGEmAJWso @ 02:25 — Nicole Cheung
[^7]: yt:7JtttjbTRAQ @ 10:59 — Alex (Boost App Social)
[^8]: yt:0mOLs315i04 @ 04:40 — Joseph Choi