How to Write a UGC Script, With a 30-Second Example

Write a UGC script in this order: a hook about the viewer's situation, the problem in your own words, the product in use, then a single call to action. A 30-second video holds about 75 words, based on the 150 words a minute that Baruch College's Tools for Clear Speech gives for an average English speaker. Start from the moment your customer has the problem, because a script that opens on the product or repeats the brief's wording reads like an ad.

Get these answers from the brief first

Before you write a line, find these in the brief, and ask the brand about anything missing:

• The customer: the person you are talking to, in a specific moment of their day.
• The problem: the annoyance that moment causes, described the way a customer would describe it.
• The claim: the main thing the brand says the product does, and the proof the brand holds for it.
• The action: the single step the viewer should take at the end.
• Required lines: any wording, product shots or disclosures the brand needs in the video.

Budget your words by beat

Use this split as a starting point for a 30-second script. The timings come from the 150-words-a-minute pace, and you can move them around once you have read the draft aloud.

Beat	Time	Words	Your job
Hook	0-3s	6 to 8	Put the viewer in the situation
Problem	3-7s	10 to 12	Make the annoyance specific
Product in use	7-22s	35 to 38	Show what you do and what happened
Call to action and disclosure	22-30s	18 to 20	Ask for the single step, then say it's an ad

For other lengths, a 15-second video holds about 38 words and a 60-second video holds about 150. Keep the hook the same length in each and change the time you give the product.

TikTok's creative best practices for performance ads fit this order. TikTok tells advertisers to introduce the content proposition in the first 3 seconds, prioritize the hook in the first 6 and end with a clear call to action. The same page recommends captions or text overlays for context, so plan on-screen text while you write the hook.

A full sample script

Blotly and this story are invented to show the format. Film only what happened when you used the real product.

Beat	Spoken line	On screen
Hook	"Coffee on my white shirt. Again."	Close-up of the stain, caption with the same words
Problem	"By the time I find a sink, the stain has set."	You, in the car or at your desk
Product in use	"So now this pen stays in my bag. I press it on the spot, rub for a few seconds, dab with a napkin. This was this morning. You can tell up close, but nobody on my call noticed."	Pen on the stain, then the shirt after
Call to action	"Link's below. Get one for your bag before your next meeting."	Pen in hand, link caption
Disclosure	"Quick note: this is a paid ad with Blotly."	"Ad" as on-screen text for the whole video

That comes to 75 spoken words. Keep a line like "you can tell up close" whenever it's true, since viewers hear a person talking and you avoid promising more than the product did.

Study a reference video before you draft

Pick a video in the brand's category with a pace you would like to match. Type out every word, mark where each beat starts, then count the words in each beat. Borrow the timing and the order from that video, then write your own hook and story.

UGC Script does the typing for you: paste a TikTok, Reel or Short link to get the timestamped transcript, then have it rewrite those beats for your product.

Write several hooks

Write three or four hooks for the same script while keeping everything after them unchanged. Each one should open on the viewer's situation, as these do for the invented pen:

• A confession: "I've ruined four white shirts this year."
• A direct call-out: "If you drink coffee in your work clothes, keep watching."
• A moment in progress: start filming mid-spill and say nothing until the second beat.

Send the extra openings with your draft if the brand has room for them. Runneth's guide to UGC ad scripts also recommends testing shorter and longer versions of a script.

Read it aloud with a timer

Read the draft aloud at your normal pace and time it. Cut any phrase you would never say to a friend, starting with the brief's marketing wording. Then film from your beats and key lines, because reading word for word tends to look rehearsed. Runneth lists sounding too scripted as a common mistake and suggests agreeing on a structure and key lines while the creator controls the tone. Ask the brand to approve those two things, so you can change small words on camera without another round of review.

Check the claims and the disclosure

If you or the brand are in the US, read the FTC's Disclosures 101 for Social Media Influencers before you film. These points affect the script directly:

• Disclose the relationship if the brand paid you or gave you free or discounted products.
• Put the disclosure in the video, because a line in the description alone falls short. The FTC says viewers are more likely to notice a disclosure made in both audio and video.
• Talk about your experience only if you have tried the product.
• Leave out any claim that needs proof the brand does not have, such as a claim that the product treats a health condition.

Final check before you send it

• The first line describes the viewer's situation, and the product comes later.
• The word count fits the length in the brief.
• Every product claim traces back to the brief or to your own use.
• The script asks for a single action.
• The disclosure is spoken and on screen.
• Every shot in the right-hand column is something you can film with what you have.