What is a UGC Creator? How to Become One and Start Earning?

Encouraging user-generated content (UGC) is a new and smart way to get more engagement and build brand trust. But you might be wondering, what is a UGC creator? Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered! This article will explain everything you need to know. Member-driven content is one of the most valuable engagement strategies, offering benefits no other marketing channel can match – at almost no cost to you.

In this overview, we are providing membership site owners with irresistibly attractive tips on how to leverage UGC creator content to monetize your membership site even better – with less effort.

As a membership site creator, why should you care about UGC? Three simple reasons right off the bat:

• UGC testimonials and reviews 300% better resonate with your target audience (your other members or prospects).
• No one can step into your audience’s shoes better than your audience. Real people talking about their positive experiences with your platform is the best way to motivate others to make a purchase.
• As a business, you save valuable resources since the content is created by your audience.

What is a UGC Creator?

User-generator content (UGC) is content created and posted by users rather than the website owners or marketers. A UGC content creator is a person who creates authentic, brand-related content (i.e. shares their experience with the product or service), for example, via comments, videos, or testimonials.

Think of popular social networks like Twitter or TikTok: what you post there as a user are technically user-generated posts, which aren’t directly sold but fuel the engagement and revenue streams.

UGC can be posted as publicly as:

• forum discussions.
• member posts.
• comments.
• video contributions.
• testimonials and reviews.
• real-life success stories.
• peer recommendations.

Unlike paid ads or blog content written by you or your team, UGC speaks the language of your audience to describe their experiences. Paid marketing can surely bring exposure, but UGC amplifies organic growth by showcasing authentic experiences from real members. If we compare sending emails to your members, these pretty much push content toward members – and the latter feel it – whereas UGC invites active participation and peer-to-peer validation.

UGC Creator’s Influence on Membership Community

UGC’s influence on decision making is huge. It best works on potential members who seek social proof and active communities. It’s able to drive the goldmine you are seeking for:

• Subscriptions by showcasing an engaged and valuable community.
• Member retention to make members feel their voice is heard and valued.
• Higher-priced purchases or upsells through peer recommendations in your community.
• Event participation or subscribing to live webinars via discussions and shared experiences.

As for existing members within your community website, use UGC to assess the credibility of site creators, the expertise of peers, and the overall value of the membership. 

UGC can be created inside and outside the membership community, in different ways like:

• Inside: forums, knowledge bases, member-driven events, course reviews.
• Outside: social media testimonials, YouTube video reviews, blog posts by members.

Within the site community, the primary goal is to enhance community value, increase retention rates, and upsell current offerings, while external UGC acts as word-of-mouth marketing, without your help.

Is Quality UGC Possible?

Absolutely – but you need to encourage and structure it properly within your community. High-quality member-driven content comes from:

• Clear guidelines on valuable contributions.
• Active moderation and featured content.
• Member incentives – badges, discounts, or leaderboard rankings.
• Hop topic discussions and polls.

How WordPress Membership Plugins Handle UGC

Here at ARMember, we particularly work with WordPress websites and membership communities built upon them with the ultra-flexible and powerful membership plugin.

And normally, membership plugins are super cool at managing community-boosted features. With ARMember, you can create your own social network, with messaging and public posts. You may take the plugin’s features below further to handle user-generated content.

• Member profiles and activity feeds.
• Social networks.
• Private and public forums (bbPress, BuddyPress).
• Content gating (some UGC may be accessible to non-members to attract new signups).
• Commenting, reviews, and content submission.

Members can interact in multiple ways:

• Forum posts and discussions.
• Private messaging.
• Creating blog posts or public notifications.
• Writing testimonials on the site.
• Uploading user-generated resources (PDFs, videos).

Next, how do you go about encouraging a UGC content creator to act and interact? Think of social networks that primarily make money from the content users create, but not directly from the posts themselves (monetizing its engagement). How do you integrate the same process into the membership site?

1. Onboarding and teaching new members how (and why!) to contribute.
2. Early engagement by asking open-ended questions and running member spotlights.
3. Incentives are key: offer badges, discounts, or exclusive content.
4. Integrate moderation and feedback to highlight the best content so that the quality standards are set for your particular community.
5. Give member-led initiatives all the tools with the ability to suggest discussions, create polls, or co-host events.

Monetizing UGC in Membership Communities

A membership site advertised by strong UGC is your way to unlock authentic emotions and multiple revenue streams.

But probably one of the most useful monetization tactics is to use user-generated content within the membership community to boost the upselling of existing subscriptions, courses, upgrades, or even access to individual pages (which you can sell with ARMember using pay-per-post feature) 

Member-generated course reviews

Members who have already completed a course can share their experiences in forum discussions or as reviews within the community. These real-life testimonials act as authentic social proof. Highlight these success stories in newsletters to those members who purchased related content!

Sponsored threads

Based on the type of your membership, brands may pay to have their products discussed. You need to start such a discussion at the right time. Moreover, members recommending tools/products can generate revenue if you use affiliate links.

Peer recommendations and mentorships

Encourage members who have taken advanced courses to share advice or mentor others within the forum. This might help you sell upgraded or specialized content. The upsell can be framed as an opportunity for more direct interaction with experienced mentors.

Repurpose UGC in marketing materials

Various types of UGC (like testimonials, case studies) can be used in marketing, whether it’s a video, Google Ads, story for the newsletter, or publicly featured website testimonials.

Content previews via UGC

User-curated content can also be used as a teaser for your other courses or advanced training. When your members post previews of advanced membership materials, snippets of lessons, other members may consider purchasing access to the full course or membership.

Tiered access to content created by members

There are many communities, e.g. PostStatus, where people share in-depth insights, for example, business owners. Why not introduce a paywall system, where more advanced or in-depth UGC (such as expert-level discussions, workshops, or case studies) is accessible only to those with upgraded subscriptions?

Personalized content recommendations based on forum activity

You may also think about privately offering discounts to members. Using UGC from discussions, posts, and member activity in the forums, you can recommend tailored courses or memberships to specific users based on the topics they engage with often or leave specific content.

Topics & Methods to Encourage UGC Inside the Membership

Give your members the platform, tools, and incentives. And the wheel will start turning. What are they normally willing to share?

1. Personal journey and progress to inspire others.
2. Challenges and the spirit of competition.
3. Technical discussions.
4. Host live webinars and events, engage users in real-time.
5. Feature high-quality posts from members as “Expert Insights”.
6. Make sharing positive experiences easy and provide gamification tools for that.

Also, find more conversation prompts below to share on the community forums or newsletters to find that UGC creator who is ready to act:

• “For those who’ve completed the advanced course, what was your biggest ‘aha’ moment?”

• “Anyone struggling with [Specific Challenge]? We’ve got some seasoned pros here who might have some tips!”

• “We’re thinking of hosting a live session with [Mentor’s Name] focusing on [Advanced Topic]. What burning questions do you have?”

• “I saw that [Member Name] had a great result using [Advanced Technique]. Maybe they would be willing to share how they did it?”

• “If you could have a one on one conversation with an expert in [Subject] what would you ask?” then follow up with “We have those experts in our upgraded content!”

Conclusion – Do You Need an UGC Creator?

A UGC content creator is no longer just a “nice to have” – it’s a necessity for strengthening brand loyalty in your membership site. Needless to say, you can effectively monetize this type of content directly within your membership forums or public discussions, in marketing materials, or simply in website testimonials.

Related articles:

• What is a Content Creator kit? Essential Creators Tools
• What is a Digital Creator? A Guide to Online Success in 2025
• How to Create Membership Cards with ARMember?