Finance UGC for trading creators — the playbook.

📹 Selfie cam, your face mid-react, text overlay top of frame

OVERLAY: 'I just got paid from {{brand}}'

📹 Phone-on-desk shot, you opening Rise/PayPal/bank app

VO: 'Bro it actually hit'

📹 Direct screen-rec of the deposit notification — zoom in on the $ amount + date stamp

VO: 'Look at this — {{amount}} in my account, 48 hours from request'

📹 Cut back to your face, show the amount on a piece of paper or air-write it

VO: 'That's {{amount}} from one challenge passed. Anyone telling you prop firms don't pay is gatekeeping.'

📹 Final face shot, point down at caption area

VO: 'Link to the firm in my bio — same one I just used. Tell me which size account you're going for.'

✅ Pre-flight

• ·Schedule the video to film WITHIN 24h of receiving an actual payout (the freshness is the whole point)
• ·Have screen-rec ready BEFORE the deposit lands — once it's in the bank you can't re-film the notification
• ·Don't blur the amount. Cover the account number, but show the number you got paid.

❌ Don'ts

• ·Don't add background music — silence + your VO is what reads as raw and real
• ·Don't pre-script your reaction — film 3 takes, post the one where you're authentically surprised
• ·Don't transition with effects. Hard cuts only. Transitions = ad.
• ·Don't say 'click the link' — 'link in my bio' or 'link in caption' converts higher because it doesn't trigger the ad-radar

📹 Hand swipe over phone showing first screenshot ($5K starting balance)

OVERLAY: 'How I scaled my {{brand}} account from $5K to $50K'

📹 Stack of 4-6 dashboard screenshots, swipe through chronologically

VO: 'Week 1 — $5K starter. Week 4 — passed evaluation. Week 12 — funded $50K.'

📹 Live screen-rec of current balance + scroll through trade history

VO: 'No mentor. No course. Just one rule: never broke the daily drawdown.'

📹 Cut back to your face, hold up the current balance screenshot in frame

VO: 'This is the firm I used. Not because it's the cheapest — because it's the one that actually pays.'

📹 Frame holds, point at caption

VO: 'Link in bio. Pick the same starter size I did.'

✅ Pre-flight

• ·Gather 4-6 screenshots in chronological order — pin them to your phone home screen for fast access during filming
• ·Verify your firm allows you to publicly share P&L (most do; FundedNext / FunderPro / Apex all OK)
• ·Pre-write the 'one rule' insight — it's what gives the video educational hook beyond pure brag

❌ Don'ts

• ·Don't fake the screenshots — if it comes out, your whole creator account is dead
• ·Don't skip the 'one rule' beat. Pure flex = ad. Insight = post.
• ·Don't show your real name on the dashboard — blur or use account nickname

📹 Direct-to-cam, intense delivery

VO + OVERLAY: '73% of funded {{brand}} traders fail on this ONE rule — and it's not what you think.'

📹 Cut to whiteboard or notebook, scribble the rule name as you say it

VO: 'It's not the drawdown. It's not the daily loss. It's the CONSISTENCY rule — best-day P&L vs total P&L.'

📹 Screen-rec of an actual trade history showing the calculation: best day / total = X%

VO: 'Here's the math. Your best day can't exceed 30% of total P&L. So if you make $1000 in 1 day and $300 the rest of the month, you FAIL the payout — even though you made money.'

📹 Cut to your face, point with index finger

VO: 'The fix? Cap your size on news days. Don't swing for the fences. Distribute, don't concentrate.'

📹 Direct cam, hold the position

VO: 'Want the full breakdown? Comment {{brand_keyword}} and I'll DM you the rule sheet.'

✅ Pre-flight

• ·Verify the actual % stat for {{brand}} — different firms have different consistency thresholds (Apex: 30%, FundingPips: 30%, Topstep: 50%)
• ·Prepare a 1-page PDF rule-sheet to DM commenters (this is what unlocks 10x DM volume)
• ·Have a real account screenshot showing the calculation

❌ Don'ts

• ·Don't make up the statistic — pick a real, citable number or say 'most'
• ·Don't talk for >15 seconds straight without a cut — algorithm penalises low cut frequency
• ·Don't end with 'sign up to {{brand}}'. End with educational CTA. The affiliate sale happens via the DM funnel.

📹 Phone leaning against wall, full body shot, exasperated body language

VO + OVERLAY: '5 things I wish I knew before my first {{brand}} challenge — that would've saved me $400'

📹 Quick montage: 5 hand-written cards on a desk, each with one tip, scrolled past

VO: '1. Stop news. 2. Trade smaller. 3. Don't add to losers. 4. Daily drawdown ≠ loss limit. 5. Take the payout, don't compound.'

📹 Screen-rec of your dashboard showing a failed challenge from last year (use a real one, even if it was on a different firm)

VO: 'This was my first attempt. Failed at week 2 on news day. I would've passed if I'd known #1.'

📹 Cut to your face, hold up your phone showing your current funded account

VO: 'Took me 3 attempts to actually pass. Now I'm funded at {{account_size}} with {{brand}}.'

📹 Frame holds, gesture down

VO: 'If you're about to start, use my link — same firm, same size I'm using now.'

✅ Pre-flight

• ·Pre-write the 5 tips. They have to be specific (not 'manage risk' — 'cap risk at 0.5% per trade')
• ·Find a real failed-challenge screenshot. Authenticity > polish.
• ·Have your current funded account ready to show

❌ Don'ts

• ·Don't make the 5 tips generic — specificity is what converts
• ·Don't be too polished. Some hesitation in the VO reads as real.
• ·Don't claim guru status. The angle is 'I learned this the hard way', not 'I'm the expert'.

📹 Three phones laid out on desk, each showing a different prop firm dashboard. Top-down shot.

VO + OVERLAY: 'Tried 3 prop firms with $200 of my own money. Here's what actually paid.'

📹 Camera pans across the 3 phones — point to each as you say the name

VO: 'Firm A: cheap entry, slow payout. Firm B: strict rules, average platform. {{brand}}: highest entry of the three but...'

📹 Screen-rec of YOUR dashboard for {{brand}} — show passing challenge + payout request + receipt

VO: '...the only one I actually got paid from. Passed in 9 trading days. Payout in 36 hours. Real money in my bank.'

📹 Cut to your face holding up the {{brand}} dashboard screenshot

VO: 'I'm not saying don't try the other two. I'm saying if you have one shot, {{brand}} is the one I'd burn it on.'

📹 Direct cam

VO: 'Link in bio to the one I'd actually use. No code. Just the link.'

✅ Pre-flight

• ·Either ACTUALLY have tried multiple firms, OR be honest in the script ('here's what I researched')
• ·Real screenshots of all 3 dashboards — viewer DM'ing 'show proof' is the highest-converting reply path
• ·Have the {{brand}} payout receipt ready to show

❌ Don'ts

• ·Don't fake the comparison. Trading Twitter / Reddit will roast you in 2 hours.
• ·Don't say 'the other two are scams' — say 'they didn't fit me'. Negative-only positioning loses long-term trust.
• ·Don't put your affiliate code on screen — just the link in bio

📹 Phone propped on bedside, you waking up, swipe at phone

VO + OVERLAY: '6:00 AM. Day in the life of a {{brand}}-funded trader.'

📹 Quick cuts: coffee, news check, market analysis, position size calculation. Each shot 1-2 seconds.

VO: 'Coffee. News. Look at the calendar — no high-impact today, good for swing setups. Mark my levels.'

📹 Live screen-rec of you executing a trade on the {{brand}} platform

VO: 'One trade. Sized to 0.5% risk. Stop placed. Now I wait.'

📹 Cut to closing the laptop, walk outside / gym shot

VO: 'Trade hit target by 11 AM. Done for the day. This is what funded trading actually looks like — boring, then free.'

📹 Selfie cam outdoor

VO: 'If you want this setup, the firm I'm on is in my bio.'

✅ Pre-flight

• ·Film over a real trading day — don't fake it
• ·Have a clean workspace shot (this is what makes the lifestyle aspirational)
• ·Verify your trade is below {{brand}}'s daily drawdown limit BEFORE entering

❌ Don'ts

• ·Don't film 8 hours of staring at charts. The job IS boring. Compress to 12 seconds of action + 4 seconds of life.
• ·Don't include losing trades in the montage — even if your P&L is positive, it dilutes the aspirational frame
• ·Don't dress up. T-shirt + bedhead reads as authentic. Suit reads as ad.

📹 Selfie cam, you looking down at phone, defeated body language

VO + OVERLAY: 'Got rejected by {{brand}} 3 times before they funded me. Here's what changed.'

📹 Show 3 rejection screenshots (or the equivalent — failed challenges)

VO: 'Attempt 1: blew the daily drawdown on NFP. Attempt 2: hit consistency rule failure. Attempt 3: timed out on the eval phase.'

📹 Screen-rec of attempt 4 — the one that worked. Show the pass confirmation.

VO: 'Attempt 4: I followed ONE rule — never trade in the first 30 minutes after market open. Passed in 11 days.'

📹 Cut to your face, hold up the funded confirmation

VO: 'Same brain. Same firm. One discipline change. {{account_size}} funded.'

📹 Direct cam, soft delivery

VO: 'If you've failed too, the firm is in my bio. Try again with the rule.'

✅ Pre-flight

• ·Be ACTUALLY honest about how many times you failed. If it's 1, say 1. If it's 5, say 5. Authenticity > drama.
• ·Have the failed-attempt screenshots ready (don't fake — the 'show proof' DMs come fast)
• ·The 'one rule' must be specific and replicable — not 'mindset'

❌ Don'ts

• ·Don't say 'I cracked the code'. Algorithm code-speak triggers ad detection.
• ·Don't reveal the rule in the hook — it's the reward for watching
• ·Don't promote a different firm in the comments. The whole story is about {{brand}}.

📹 Direct-to-cam, hold up your phone

VO + OVERLAY: 'I'm partnering with a prop firm — here's what they actually do.'

📹 Pull up the {{brand}} homepage on your laptop. Screen-rec scrolling through the challenge sizes.

VO: 'For people who don't know — {{brand}} gives you their capital to trade. You pass a challenge, they fund you, you keep {{profit_split}} of the profit.'

📹 Show the platform itself — chart interface, position size calculator, trade execution

VO: 'Platform is solid. {{platform_name}}. Same tools the pros use.'

📹 Cut to your face, neutral honest tone

VO: 'I haven't passed my challenge yet — I'm doing it live. Will post the dashboard either way.'

📹 Frame holds

VO: 'Link in bio if you want to start at the same time. Updates incoming.'

✅ Pre-flight

• ·You don't need a passed challenge to post this. Honesty about being mid-journey IS the angle.
• ·Verify the profit split + platform name for {{brand}} before scripting
• ·Plan a follow-up video (week 1 update) — single-shot promo without follow-up underperforms

❌ Don'ts

• ·Don't claim past success you don't have
• ·Don't oversell the brand — present it as a tool, not a guaranteed win
• ·Don't post during low-engagement hours for your audience (check your analytics)