UGC portfolio examples.
We read 152 UGC portfolios that creators sent with their applications. 38 of them would not open for a brand at all, and 101 showed no proof that any of the work had ever been used. A UGC portfolio that gets replies does three things: it opens on the first click with no login, it names the brands you have worked with, and it puts a number next to at least one piece of work.
Below: what the numbers say, six portfolios you can open right now, and the checks to run on your own.
What 152 real portfolios got wrong.
Can a brand open it at all?
38 of 152 could not be opened by the person they were sent to. The causes repeat: a Canva design link instead of a published Canva site, a Google Drive folder set to "restricted", a Beacons page behind a login, a 305MB video that never finished loading, and two links that only worked on the creator's own computer. A brand does not retry, and nobody writes back to say the link is broken.
Does it name the brands you have worked with?
91 of 152 named no brand anywhere. A brand manager is deciding whether you have done this before for somebody like them. Name the brands, even the small ones, even the gifted ones.
Is there a number anywhere on it?
85 of 152 had no hard numbers at all. Views, watch time, click-through rate, conversion rate, how many videos you delivered and how fast. One real number outranks a page of adjectives.
Can they tell the work was actually used?
101 of 152 showed no proof: no screenshot of the live post, no link to the ad, no result. Proof is what separates a showreel from a portfolio.
Do you say what you charge?
144 of 152 published no rates. This one is a genuine choice rather than a mistake. Publishing rates filters out the brands who cannot afford you and speeds up everybody else; leaving them off keeps room to price per project. Decide on purpose, rather than by leaving it blank.
What they used to host it
- 49 a canva site
- 41 their own website
- 23 no portfolio at all
- 19 an instagram or tiktok profile
- 10 a sideshift profile
- 5 a google drive folder
- 2 a canva editor link, not a published site
- 2 a file on their own computer
- 1 a beacons page
Six portfolios you can open right now.
Every one of these opened with no login when we checked. Open them next to your own and the gap is usually obvious in ten seconds.
Colton Erwin
SideShift profile
The clearest proof on this list: earnings, views and a rating, all shown by the platform rather than typed by the creator. Numbers somebody else vouches for read differently to numbers you write about yourself.
Open Colton Erwin’s portfolioVic Wence
SideShift profile
Same shape, bigger reach figures. Worth opening next to Colton's to see how much of the page is the platform's structure rather than the creator's design taste.
Open Vic Wence’s portfolioBecca Irene
Canva site
Carries a rate card, which only 8 of the 152 did. A brand reading it knows within a minute whether the conversation is worth starting.
Open Becca Irene’s portfolioAbby Gruber
Canva site
Leads with case studies rather than clips, and frames the result the way the brand would state it. The clips come after the outcome.
Open Abby Gruber’s portfolioMatthew Nzasi
Canva site
Brands, numbers and services on one page, which is the combination most of the 152 were missing.
Open Matthew Nzasi’s portfolioAna Teresa Morais Lourenco
Canva site
A clean demonstration that a Canva site is enough. What matters is that it is published, not that it is bespoke.
Open Ana Teresa Morais Lourenco’s portfolioHow to build one, in order.
- Pick somewhere that publishes a real web page. Of the 152, 49 used a Canva site and 41 used their own site. Both work. What does not work is a link to an editor, a Drive folder or a file on your laptop, which is how 9 of them broke.
- Put three to five pieces of work on it. Three that you are proud of beats twelve that pad it out. If you have no client work yet, make the videos for products you already own and label them as spec work. Nobody minds; everybody minds a page with nothing on it.
- Name the brand next to each piece. Even if it was gifted. Even if it was small. The brand reading it is looking for somebody who has done this before.
- Add one number per piece. Views, watch time, click-through rate, or how many videos you delivered and in what time. If you have no numbers from a client, use the numbers from your own post.
- Show that it went live. A screenshot of the post, a link to the ad, a line from the brand. This is the single most common gap: it was missing from 101 of the 152.
- Say how to hire you, in one line. An email address that works, and what you want them to send you. Then send yourself the link from a different device and open it as a stranger would.
Before you send it, check these
- Open the link in a private window, signed out of everything. If it asks for a login, a brand cannot see it.
- Open it on a phone. Most brand managers will.
- Click every link on the page. A dead link on a portfolio reads as carelessness.
- Count the brand names. If the answer is zero, fix that before anything else.
- Find one number. If there is none, add one.
- Check it loads in under five seconds on mobile data.
Questions creators ask about this.
What should a UGC portfolio include?
Three to five pieces of work, the brand named next to each one, at least one number per piece, proof that the work went live, and a working email address. That is the whole list. Of the 152 portfolios we read, the ones that got replies had those five things and the ones that did not were usually missing the proof.
Do I need a website for a UGC portfolio?
No. A published Canva site is enough, and 49 of the 152 creators used one. What matters is that the link opens for a stranger with no login and no permission request.
Can I use Instagram as my UGC portfolio?
You can, and 19 of the 152 did, but it costs you. A profile makes a brand scroll to work out what you offer, and it cannot show a result next to a piece of work. Keep the profile, and send a portfolio page.
How many videos should be in a UGC portfolio?
Three to five. Every one of them should be work you would be happy to be judged on, because you will be judged on the weakest one.
What if I have no brand deals yet?
Make the videos anyway, for products you already own, and label them as spec work. A portfolio of self-made work that opens and shows numbers beats an empty page, and it is how most creators land the first paid deal.
Should I put my rates on my UGC portfolio?
It is a real choice, not a rule. 144 of the 152 did not. Rates filter out brands who cannot afford you and speed up the ones who can; leaving them off keeps room to price per project. Decide it on purpose.
Build the portfolio, then get it in front of brands
Your roadmap is 41 steps, and step 5 is your portfolio: the template, the checks, and what to put on it. It also checks the link you submit and tells you if a brand would not be able to open it.
Where the numbers come from: 152 UGC portfolios submitted by creators applying to a campaign, read one at a time in September 2026. Every link was opened as a stranger would open it. The example portfolios above were checked on 18 September 2026 and each one opened with no login.