We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Abigail Peugh a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Abigail, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Earning a full time living from one’s creative career can be incredibly difficult. Have you been able to do so and if so, can you share some of the key parts of your journey and any important advice or lessons that might help creatives who haven’t been able to yet?
I’ve been doing creative work as far back as I can remember (Social media manager, creative director, nannying to celebrities, stock photos, digital products, UGC creation), but 2022 was the first year I went ALL IN doing creative work as my OWN business owner. It had always been a side hustle thing for me. But, in early 2022, my husband had 2 strokes unexpectedly, so I needed to bring in more income, and I needed to do it fast. I decided to fire all my existing freelance clients that were sucking up all my time and energy, and go FULL TIME with UGC and teaching others how to do UGC. Within 5 months, I was able to bring in an additional $70,000, and I credit that to finally fully going for it. I. stopped treating my creative passions as a “side hustle”, and went all in. No take backs. And it worked better than I could have ever imagined.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
I am a UGC creator & mentor. A lot of people have no idea what that means, so if that’s you, you’re not alone. UGC = user generated content and pretty much it is any type of video, photo, or even a written review that I create for brands. Its different from influencing because I never have to post the content to my own social media channels. I just create it for the brand to use as social media content or run as paid ads. Many brands have no idea how to get clients from TikTok or Instagram, and that is where I come in as a UGC creator. I create content for them that converts into sales, without the high ticket influencer rates!
I’ve been doing UGC creation (and tons of other forms of content on social media) for 5 years, so I have a lot of experience that other creators don’t have. I’m also very aware of current trends, and a lot of brands need that. So many brands show up on TikTok and think they can post the same content that they post to IG and get results. That’s just not the case. TikTok is a whole new world.
2023 is my year to focus on teaching OTHER creators how to make money as UGC creators. I’ve already had over 1800 creators become students of mine in the past 5 months, and it has been the best. I have such a passion for teaching as well, so it feels like I have finally found my true calling. I still take on a limited amount of UGC clients though, so if that’s you, come find me on TikTok @ugcabigail or @abigailpeugh
How did you build your audience on social media?
I’ve been building other brands audiences on social media for YEARS, but never my own until 2022. In 2022 I went ALL in on TikTok and grew my audience to over 137,000 in just 7 months. They key was creating VIRAL content (catching, inspiring, broad content) once a week with current trends, then nurturing and educating them in my other videos. A lot of people do one or the other. Going viral is great, but then you need to build trust, storytell, and invite them into your life. Trends are still a great way to get people to your social media, but you have to give them a reason to actually follow you and connect with you after that.
Any advice for managing a team?
I have managed up to 25 staff members, and now I’m managing a team of 2 (me and my husband lol) and one thing always holds true. People work harder when they are rewarded for it. Give them performance based raises and bonuses. Let them know when they are doing a great job. If they mess up, TEACH them what to do instead next time instead of just getting upset. One of my past job was salaried, and as I become more effective, I was working less and less, while still doing amazing work, and she never paid me less. She said that as long as I was getting what she needed done, even when it was in a fraction of the time, she would still pay me the same. I worked so hard for her, and it paid off.
Contact Info:
- Website: abigailpeugh.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/abigailpeugh/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCUOHD5Vo5d0-HvMxo48kjJA
- Other: www.tiktok.com/@abigailpeugh
https://www.pinterest.com/theabigailpeugh/