Mackenzie - Founder of The Creator Current

helping women turn content to income. fame not required. CANVAS UGC

[Mackenzie - Founder of The Creator Current @Mackenzieemarsh]

Our graduate Caroline is currently bringing in million of views a week in her Canvas UGC videos for Sprout!

800k+ in two days

https://t.co/49b1jjuV0d

[Mackenzie - Founder of The Creator Current @Mackenzieemarsh]

Kinda a substack girl, but I’m gonna try to get better on here

[Mackenzie - Founder of The Creator Current @Mackenzieemarsh]

How are you currently finding Canvas UGC creators?

[Mackenzie - Founder of The Creator Current @Mackenzieemarsh]

In February one of our graduates - Mackenzie Shimokaji produced over 14 million views in the month alone.

She’s produced 55 million views since graduating. Want to see her views?

https://t.co/Zabkc91QMF

[Mackenzie - Founder of The Creator Current @Mackenzieemarsh]

Would anyone in the traditional UGC space want to have a live discussion on traditional UGC vs Canvas UGC??

[Mackenzie - Founder of The Creator Current @Mackenzieemarsh]

Canvas UGC is not for UGC creators. What drew you into UGC is not what drew Canvas UGC creators in. I despised UGC, I thought it was the biggest waste of time. I have different priorities thus named Canvas UGC something new so it got separated from your industry

[Mackenzie - Founder of The Creator Current @Mackenzieemarsh]

@beckyfeiginugc @marissac_ugc Hi! Mackenzie here!! I named the content canvas ugc + launched an academy ten months ago before all the hype. I have a singular paid former student who now works for me. But the rest have been people just posting!! No money works down our company in an MLM way!

[Mackenzie - Founder of The Creator Current @Mackenzieemarsh]

https://t.co/dstqcH0pwr Gen Z dropped their top recommendations ^^

[Mackenzie - Founder of The Creator Current @Mackenzieemarsh]

@LeadingReport This just went viral with Gen Z dropping all their recommendations of the best https://t.co/dstqcH0pwr

[Katie Xu @katiexsocials]

How to start your own UGC program:

[Social Growth Engineers @wesocialgrowth]

#2 - AI forgets he’s not human

[Julia Pintar @juliapintar]

ugc is going to be the most powerful distribution method in 2026

the only method where marketing is perceived to happen from the inside

rather than influencer/ads that happens from the outside in

[Mackenzie - Founder of The Creator Current @Mackenzieemarsh]

I cannot get over this new concept https://t.co/Kbc3ErcINL

[Julia Pintar @juliapintar]

organic marketing strategists are going to be the highest paying, most sought after + most important entry level marketing job in 2026

[GREG ISENBERG @gregisenberg]

If I was trying to GROW an app or ecomm right now, I wouldn't waste money on influencers or ads.

I'd hire creators nobody's heard of and use this strategy that's working right now and generating 100k+ app installs to companies like focustree

Influencer with 100k followers: $2,000+ for one post. Gets maybe 30k views. Everyone knows it's an ad.

Creator with 500 followers: $900 for an entire month. Posts 30 times. Gets 500k+ views total. Feels more organic.

That's $1.80 per thousand views versus $6-12 on Facebook. And it doesn't look like an ad because it isn't one. It's just content.

"oH bUt ThaT's NoT PoSsIbLE, GrEG"

I agree, this shouldn't work. But it's happening more and more and here's why:

*new episode of the pod is live and we give you the playbook*

But TikTok's For You Page broke the entire game. The algorithm doesn't care about follower count anymore. It only cares if people watch. IG copied this. YT copied this. Everyone copied this.

Now some kid with 300 followers can outperform a verified influencer because their content is better. Not their audience. Their content.

Most brands haven't figured this out. They're still paying for follower count like it's 2019.

So, the smart play is hiring 10 creators instead of 1.

Example:

Pay 10 creators $900/month each. That's $9k total.

Each posts daily across TikTok, Reels, Shorts. That's 900 pieces of content per month. When one hits, you message the group: "Everyone copy this format."

Now 10 creators are using the winning formula with their own spin. The algorithm sees ten different videos, not reposts. One viral format becomes ten viral videos. Those teach you what works. You find the next format. It compounds.

How to find creators

Search your category on TikTok. You don't want influencers with media kits. You want people already making content about your space for fun.

DM them: "Want $900/month to keep doing what you're doing?" They're posting anyway. Now they're getting paid.

Run it through Discord or WhatsApp. Share what's working daily.

"This hook is crushing." "Try this sound."

Track everything. When something explodes, everyone pivots to that format until it stops working.

This only works for products that make sense in 10 seconds. Apps with one clear feature. Products under $50. Anything bought on impulse.

If you need a sales deck to explain it, this isn't for you.

The beauty is what happens beyond direct sales.

Someone sees your app on TikTok. They don't buy immediately. But next week they Google "that app from TikTok." Your search traffic spikes. Your app store ranking climbs. The halo effect is massive.

Right now this is pure arbitrage. In two years, agencies will package this, prices will 10x, and the window closes.

But today you can hire a creator army for what one influencer post costs.

You can test more in a week than most brands test in a year.

You're building a content machine.

All algortihms care about nowadays is if people stop scrolling.

Find creators who make people stop scrolling. Pay them to never stop posting. Share what works. Scale what hits.

People charge $10k for this sort of info.

We give it away for free on @startupideaspod 2x week. Thanks to @codyschneider for jumping on and sharing.

We could keep this to ourselves

but where is the fun in that?

Fun is seeing you build a bootstrapped app to millions of users through this strategy

And sending me a dm

And saying

"thanks for the tip, professor g"

No worries, my friend

No worries.

[Alex Olim @alexolim_]

Hard truth about organic growth:
The first 30 days are brutal.
You post constantly. Nothing hits.
You question if it's working.

Then day 32:
First viral video. 500K views.

Day 43: Another one. 1.2M views.
Day 62: App Store ranking jumps 200 spots.

The apps that win are the ones that survive the first 60 days.

[Guillaume @iamgdsa]

Personal finance is such a good content niche.

I just found this app Blossom Social which operates a few UGC accounts.

They’re using three formats that can naturally integrate their app/

Strangely, they’re not scaling much, but someone in the space could generate millions of views and strong revenue with a solid informational scaling strategy.

Still, a good read: https://t.co/C0vy2mKcXo

[Maria Inês @themariaines]

Manifesting apps are in.

A new app has entered TikTok & made its first 150K views

We're watching the beginning of a new trend in consumer apps:

[Mackenzie - Founder of The Creator Current @Mackenzieemarsh]

Three brands this week told me they’re looking to hire 1000+ creators over the next few months. Safe to say the market for canvas ugc is just starting to grow. #thecreatorcurrent #canvasugc #apps

[Mackenzie - Founder of The Creator Current @Mackenzieemarsh]

@evaroaming I’d love to connect & chat!