How to Start an AI UGC Agency or SaaS

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Demand for UGC ads and content has been skyrocketing.

UGC creators, marketplaces and agencies are in high demand.

And now AI UGC has entered the chat.

This one is honestly super exciting and I can’t believe I’m giving this one away for free.

Let’s jump in!

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⭐️ Examples:

• Arcads.ai are probably the most well-known and popular SaaS for creating AI UGC ads

• Argil.ai is incredible at creating expressive AI clones

• HeyGen is one of the best AI avatar generators out there (has an API)

• Synthesia is another very well-known AI avatar tool (has an API)

• Creatify.ai is another alternative

• Elevenlabs is one of the best voice-cloning tools (has an API)

• Artlist also have some great AI voice clones you can use for ads

• D-ID is another good AI video tool

• Revid is great for making brain-rot AI videos

• Descript have some great AI video editing tools

• Dopplio is good for creating personalised AI sales videos

• Reshot.ai lets you reshape and change the expression of faces in images using AI

📈 Stats:

• 87% of businesses are using UGC in some form to share more authentic content. (Source)

• 79% of people say UGC highly impacts their purchasing decisions. (Source)

• Consumers find UGC 9.8x more impactful than influencer content when making a purchasing decision. (Source)

• Social media campaigns incorporating UGC saw a 50% increase in engagement overall. (Source)

• UGC-based ads get 4x higher click-through rates and a 50% drop in cost-per-click than average ads. (Source)

• Ads featuring UGC garnered 73% more positive comments on social networks than traditional ads. (Source)

🧐 Opportunities:

Ok, so there are a few options for this:

You can create an AI UGC Agency, where you work with brands to create ads and social media content using the AI tools I listed above.

Or you create an AI UGC SaaS using existing APIs.

You could also add a marketplace for the SaaS like Kits.ai and Elevenlabs that allows people to upload and earn money from their clones.

Here’s a bit more of a breakdown into both ideas:

AI UGC Agency:

The AI UGC Agency would follow a fairly standard agency or productized service model so I won’t go into too much detail with this one.

You’d want to get very good at creating these videos for them to pass as human-made (if that’s what you’re going for).

I’d suggest human-written scripts and/or a very, very good AI scriptwriter. The combo of AI scripts and AI clones makes it a lot easier to spot vs human content.

Having your own custom AI voices and AI actors will definitely set you apart.

You could potentially also use AI to do face swaps on your clone training videos to create an unlimited army of “actors” to suit whatever brands you’re working with.

AI UGC SaaS:

This would be an improved or more niche version of Arcads.ai.

You could either niche down and create AI avatars for very specific industries like:

• Real Estate

• Courses

• Beauty

Or you could make a generic one like Arcads but add more features like:

• Better clones (wider variety + better quality)

• Video templates from winning ads

• Marketplace for people to buy and sell clones (can help with word of mouth)

• AI Script Generator

• AI Product Demos/Walkthroughs

• AI Ad Variation Generator

• AI Customer Feedback Collection and Analysis like Atria

• AI Meme Generator (specifically for ads)

🛠 How to Build:

Agency:

• Get really, really good at making AI ads. Learn by making AI ads for brands you already have products for at home or for digital products you can access online.

• Create an offer following Alex Hormozi’s $100m Offers playbook

• Find leads using Apollo.io, Clay, Hunter.io, Instantly.ai, BuiltWith and/or by scraping Google using Outscraper. You can pay people who already have access to BuiltWith on Fiverr to give you these lead databases.

• Use Instantly or Lemlist to reach out to these brands. Start small and local, don’t go straight for Nike and Apple.

SaaS:

• Use existing APIs (I listed some above in the examples section) to provide video avatars and voice cloning for your SaaS.

• Integrate GPT-4, Claude API or use something Open Source for script generation, with options for different ad formats (problem-solution, testimonials, product demos).

• Pre-build video templates based on winning ad formats and offer them as customizable options. This way users can quickly plug in product details to produce varied ad styles.

• Allow users to create, buy, and sell unique AI avatars and voices in a marketplace. This increases customer engagement and acts as a viral growth mechanism.

• If you can’t code you can use Claude + Cursor.ai to build the initial MVP and validate the idea or you can pay someone on UpWork.

• Find actors for the avatars and voice clones. Use yourself and/or your friends at first.

• Once you have a working MVP, start with a small beta group to get feedback on features and usability.

• Once you gather enough feedback, iterate and create a fully functional version.

🚀 How to Grow:

Both:

• Content Marketing: Create blog posts, tutorials, success stories and VSLs that highlight the time and cost savings from using AI-generated UGC.

• Example Content: Create example content and showcase your work on your landing pages and socials.

• SEO: Optimize content for high visibility in searches related to UGC and content creation.

• Social Media Marketing: Engage on LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook with snippets of work, testimonials, and useful insights.

• Paid Ads: Run targeted ads on Google, LinkedIn, and Meta to reach small businesses, DTC brands, and content creators.

• Partnerships and Collaborations: Collaborate with digital marketing agencies for white-label services.

• Email Marketing: Develop nurturing sequences that highlight the effectiveness of AI UGC. Tell customer success stories and give valuable information.

• Buy a Theme Page: Purchase content on social media theme pages relevant to your niche for direct audience engagement. Example.

• Track Keywords: Use social listening tools like Ddevi or Syften to monitor niche-related discussions on Twitter, Reddit, and Facebook groups.

• Free Newsletter: Offer valuable content such as UGC ad examples and breakdowns to build trust and showcase expertise.

• Leverage Social Proof: Display testimonials and case studies prominently to validate your services.

• Referral Program: Encourage current users to refer others by offering discounts, credits, or clone marketplace incentives.

Agency:

• Use Clay and Outscraper: Identify local businesses on Google Maps that could benefit from your services.

• Use Instantly, Clay, and Apollo: Find and email leads about how your services can solve their marketing challenges.

• Use Genpage or similar: Create custom landing pages for each high-value prospect to increase conversion rates. Webflow & Framer CMS could also work.

• Send Personalized Videos: Enhance email campaigns with personalized videos tailored to the recipient's needs. Watch here.

SaaS:

• Partnering with Creators and Agencies: Form partnerships with creators or agencies who can use the SaaS for ad production, encouraging them to refer clients.

• Niche Community Engagement: Participate in forums (e.g., Indie Hackers, Product Hunt) and social media groups related to digital marketing and UGC.

• Webinars & Live Demos: Host webinars focused on ad creation, AI in marketing, and niche-specific strategies to showcase the SaaS in action.

• Video Demonstrations: Use YouTube and TikTok to showcase use cases and tutorials, driving both awareness and traffic.

• Influencer Partnerships: Collaborate with influencers in digital marketing to demonstrate the product and drive credibility.

• Marketplace Incentives: Encourage users to upload clones and avatars by offering revenue-sharing or discounts on subscriptions.

• Free Trial or Freemium Model: Offer a limited free plan or trial period to attract new users and showcase the platform's potential.

🔥 Cool Stuff

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• Want to turn your idea into a business? Check out this business idea checklist.

• Want to differentiate from your competitors? Check out this Differentiation Strategy Guide

• Want to run ads for your business? Use these proven psychological ad positioning strategies.

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