The 20-Brand Shortlist

Most creators find brands by scrolling Instagram, saving posts, and hoping. That's not a system. It's a mood.

Here's the system: one prompt, one afternoon, 20 qualified brand candidates with named contacts.

The prompt

Open Claude or ChatGPT (free tier). Paste this:

I'm a UGC creator in the {{your niche}} space. I create short-form
video ads (15-45 seconds) for brands to run on TikTok, Instagram
Reels, and Meta paid ads.

I'm based in {{your country}} and I look like the target customer
for brands selling to {{your audience description — age, gender,
lifestyle}}.

Give me a table of 20 brands that:
1. Sell products in my niche
2. Currently run paid social ads (you can infer this from brands
   that are active on Instagram/TikTok with product-focused content)
3. Are likely to work with UGC creators (DTC brands, e-commerce
   brands, brands with active influencer programs)
4. Range from small (under 100K followers) to mid-size (100K-1M
   followers) — skip the giants like Nike or Hilton

For each brand, give me:
- Brand name
- What they sell (one line)
- Instagram handle
- Estimated size (small / mid-size)
- Why they'd want UGC (one sentence — what problem does UGC solve
  for them?)

Rank them from "most likely to reply to a cold pitch" to "least
likely." Put smaller, newer brands at the top — they're hungrier.

Ask me clarifying questions first if you need them.

What you get back

A ranked table of 20 brands. Not all will be perfect. AI doesn't know which brands are currently hiring creators. But it gives you a starting list in 5 minutes instead of 5 hours of scrolling.

Worked example: Activewear

Input: Niche = activewear/gym. Country = UK. Audience = women 22 to 35 who train 3 to 5x/week.

Output (abbreviated, real output is 20 rows):

#	Brand + size	Product and why they'd want UGC
1	TALA, mid	Sustainable gym sets. New collection quarterly, needs faces beyond ambassadors.
2	Oner Active, mid	Seamless gym wear. Heavy on paid ads, currently using mostly studio content.
3	Bo+Tee, mid	Affordable gym sets. Fast-fashion pace, needs volume of creative assets.
4	Ryderwear, mid	Performance lifting gear. Expanding into women's line, needs female creators.
5	Power, small	Protein snacks + gym wear. New brand, building awareness, budget-friendly.

...continues to 20.

Worked example: Hotels & staycations

Input: Niche = boutique hotels/staycations. Country = Spain/Portugal. Audience = couples 25 to 40 looking for weekend escapes.

Output (abbreviated):

#	Brand + size	Type and why they'd want UGC
1	Casa Mae, small	Boutique hotel, Lagos. Independent, relies on Instagram for bookings, no in-house content team.
2	The Vintage Hotel, small	Lisbon boutique. Aesthetic-driven, needs room tours and morning-at-the-hotel content.
3	Selina, mid	Co-living/hotel chain. Global brand but local content needed per city.
4	Pestana CR7, mid	Lifestyle hotel. Celebrity brand but needs authentic guest-perspective content.
5	Yurbban Hotels, small	Barcelona boutique. Design-forward, needs content that shows the experience.

...continues to 20.

What to do with the list

Don't pitch yet. The next chapter filters this list down to the 10 to 14 brands worth your time. Pitching all 20 without qualifying them is how you get ghosted.

Run the prompt with your niche

Save the output as a spreadsheet or Notion table. Add a column called "Qualified?" and leave it blank for now. You'll fill it in Chapter 3.