UGC Diaries #2: Filming My First UGC Video

This entry in my UGC Diaries series sits right in the middle of the beginning.

My first post talked about deciding to start creating UGC. The third post focuses on what I’ve accomplished so far and the goals ahead. But this one is about the uncomfortable part in between — actually making my very first video.

And honestly, it was harder than I expected.

Coming Out of a Difficult Mental Space

Before I even picked up my phone to record anything, I had to deal with something else first. I was coming out of a pretty severe depressive state.

When you’re in that space mentally, even small tasks feel overwhelming. Starting something new — especially something that puts your work out into the world — can feel almost impossible.

My mind kept racing with questions; How will my home look on camera? What if my daughter is running around while I’m trying to film? When will I even have time to make a video, let alone edit it?

Then the overthinking went even deeper.

Should I appear on camera? Should I talk in the video? My hair isn't even done and where is my wig??

The truth was, I didn’t feel camera ready at all. I had gained a lot of weight, I hadn’t been doing my hair, and my wig was probably buried somewhere in the back of my closet. My nails weren’t done. I hadn’t even mopped the floor that day.

Those thoughts might sound small, but they were the exact kinds of anxiety-driven questions that kept me stuck during that first week.

The Product That Started It All

Eventually I decided to start with something simple. I ordered a product that had been going viral online — Zep Foaming Wall Cleaner. Looking back, I probably didn’t need to buy anything new. The whole idea of starting UGC is to work with what you already have.

But once it arrived, it sat in my home for about five days before I finally opened it. Then one afternoon during my lunch break, I took it out of the package and decided that was the moment. No planning, no perfect setup, Just start.

The Idea That Changed Everything

At first I had no idea what kind of video I was supposed to make. I kept thinking about the UGC videos I’d seen online — especially beauty creators filming products in fancy setups with bowls of water and sunlight hitting the bottle.

And I remember thinking to myself, I’m not doing all of that. Then I looked at the wall behind my kitchen island.

This wall had basically became my daughter’s personal canvas. Fingerprints, bottom-of-the-shoe prints, marker marks, and crayon streaks. The wall had been like that for as long as I could remember.

Kids are the messiest creatures on earth. So the idea finally clicked: Clean the wall.

Filming My First UGC Video

The video itself ended up being simple.

I started by unboxing the Zep cleaner and showing the gloves I was wearing. Then I filmed the wall so viewers could see the stains and marks before cleaning. I sprayed the product and wiped the section down, showing the difference as the wall started looking better.

At one point I also brought another product into the video — a Scrub Mommy sponge. I unpackaged it on camera and used it briefly in the clip. Visually, it helped the video feel more complete.

Then something unexpected happened.

Instead of stopping after cleaning one small section, I kept going. Before I knew it, I had cleaned the entire wall — about ten feet of it!

Cleaning that much wall is definitely not fun, but something about the process actually felt satisfying. Maybe it was finally seeing the wall look normal again after all that time.

https://video.wixstatic.com/video/c7feda_5dd237f6077b481eab5ada0c50cf7131/1080p/mp4/file.mp4

Editing and Posting

Editing turned out to be easier than I expected. Since I was pressed for time and still working, I kept it simple. I used CapCut’s auto-cut feature to trim the clips, then went back and adjusted the cuts so the pacing felt right.

I leaned into the natural sounds of the video so viewers could hear the scrubbing and wiping, giving it a subtle ASMR feel. After adding a few simple text overlays, the video was done.

When I finished editing, I got excited. I ended up posting the video everywhere — TikTok, Instagram, anywhere it made sense. That wasn’t originally the plan, but the feedback I received from people telling me how much they loved the video felt really encouraging.

For a moment I even thought about immediately applying for brand collaborations. But after watching other creators talk about the process, I realized it would be smarter to wait until I had more videos first.

So instead of rushing into brand outreach, I decided to focus on building my portfolio.

What This First Video Taught Me

That first video wasn’t perfect, but it taught me something important. Starting is often the hardest part of the entire process. The overthinking, the anxiety, and the self-doubt can stop you before you even begin. But once I finally pressed record, the process became much simpler than I imagined.

One messy wall, one cleaning product, and a quick lunch break ended up becoming the beginning of my UGC journey.

And sometimes, that’s all it takes to get started.