UGC Diaries #3: Progression With Three Videos So Far

This entry in my UGC Diaries series is exactly what the series is meant to be: honest. No highlight reel. No pretending I have everything figured out. Just documenting the process as it unfolds.

Right now, I’m three videos into my UGC creator journey, and all three have been posted across my TikTok and Instagram pages as part of building the first pieces of my portfolio.

So far the content includes:

• A ZEP foaming cleaner demo

• A Bissell cleaning product demo

• A Dawn Platinum dish soap test cleaning a heavily used frying pan

All three videos show real-life use inside my home. No staged kitchen. No brand-provided setup. Just actual messes and the products being used the way most of us would use them. And here’s the part that makes me laugh a little: They’re all cleaning videos.

Cleaning content was simply the easiest place for me to start. The products were already in my house, the mess was already there, and it gave me something tangible to film while I started figuring out how to shoot product demos.

But cleaning isn’t actually my niche.

My content space is supposed to center around sensory-friendly motherhood, autism parenting, and the everyday realities of raising my daughter while rebuilding my life and career. The cleaning videos were just the starting point.

The Reality Behind the Content

One thing I want this series to capture is the part most people don’t see. I’m a full-time work-from-home mom. My days are already structured around meetings, responsibilities, and tasks for my job. At the same time, I’m raising my daughter, managing our home, and trying to carve out small windows of time where I can film, edit, and post content.

Sometimes that happens early in the morning before work. ometimes it happens late at night when the house finally gets quiet. And sometimes it doesn’t happen at all.

There are days when I have an idea for a video but can’t execute it because life takes priority. That delay can make the process feel slow, especially when you see other creators posting constantly.

But I’m learning that slow progress is still progress. Those three videos represent time I intentionally carved out of a busy life to start building something for myself.

Early Results and What I’m Seeing So Far

Because I’m documenting this process honestly, I’m also paying attention to what happens after posting.

Right now my social accounts look roughly like this:

• Instagram: about 4,000 followers

  • Dual account for my niche and UGC

  • main page has UGC videos only

• TikTok: about 63 followers

  • TikToc (Niche): 5k+ followers

• YouTube: still very small but slowly growing

  • Niche related only

The UGC videos haven’t gone viral, and that’s okay. At this stage, my focus isn’t chasing viral numbers. It’s building a portfolio and learning what works.

From what I’ve seen so far:

• My posts are getting moderate engagement from my existing audience across all platforms

• Views are steady but not explosive

• The cleaning demos are clear and easy to understand, which is good for UGC

• But the content doesn’t yet fully represent my niche

That last point matters.

If brands visit my page right now, they would mostly see cleaning product demonstrations rather than the sensory-friendly motherhood content that actually represents my voice and my story.

That’s the creative challenge I’m working through next.

Something Unexpected Happened

Even though I’m still early in the process, something interesting has already started happening.

Some of the brands whose products I used have actually seen the videos and engaged with them. They’ve liked the content and even left comments showing appreciation for the demos. Seeing that kind of response was encouraging because it means the content is being noticed by the companies behind the products.

But I haven’t taken the deeper step yet.

I haven’t formally pitched collaborations or asked for partnerships. At this stage, I’m still focused on learning how to create stronger product demos and building enough examples of my work to feel confident approaching brands professionally.

Right now, those interactions feel like small signals that I’m moving in the right direction.

The Creative Struggle

If I’m being honest, this is the part I’m struggling with the most right now. I know what my niche is. I know what I want my content to represent.

But translating sensory-friendly mom life into consistent, engaging UGC ideas takes creativity and experimentation. It’s much easier to film a cleaning product demo than it is to design thoughtful content around parenting experiences, sensory environments, routines, and real-life challenges.

So right now, I’m in that trial-and-error phase, and this is exactly why this UGC Diaries series exists.

This series is meant to be a visual record of the process:

• what I tried

• where things worked

• where things failed

• and how I kept going despite the chaos and learning curve

Because the truth is that every creator starts somewhere. Even if that starting point is a messy kitchen and three cleaning videos.

I also don’t want to rely entirely on outside tools or prompts to shape my creativity. Part of this journey is allowing myself the space to think, experiment, and develop ideas that genuinely reflect my voice.

The Next Goal

Right now my immediate goal is simple. Create between six and ten UGC videos. Once I reach that number, I plan to organize the videos into a portfolio, showcase them as product demo examples, and begin pitching brands directly for collaborations.

The portfolio doesn’t need to be massive. It just needs to demonstrate that I can film clearly, present products naturally, and create relatable content that brands can repurpose.

That’s the real goal of UGC.

Let’s Make This Interactive

Since this series is about learning and building publicly, I’d love to hear from you.

If you’re familiar with brands that align with:

• mom life

• sensory-friendly products

• autism-friendly tools

• home or lifestyle products

Which brands do you think I should reach out to first?

Drop them in the comments or send them my way. You never know which suggestion could turn into the next opportunity.

For now, this journey is still at the beginning.

Three videos in.

More ideas to figure out.

A lot of learning ahead.

But one thing I know for sure, starting was the hardest part. And despite the mess, the chaos, and the trial and error, I’m building something anyway.