A creator program is what a brand runs when it stops doing one-off creator deals. It has a front door (apply here), a brief (make this), a pay model (here is what you earn), and rules (what to say, what not to say, how to disclose). Creators join, stay as long as the numbers work for both sides, and are paid the same way every month.
Programs come in three flavours by pay model. Affiliate programs pay sales commission only. Ambassador programs pay product plus a small fee or commission. UGC programs pay for videos, per video or by the hour, often with commission on top for the ones that sell.
Example. A skincare brand opens a program: apply with a 30-second intro video; accepted creators receive a monthly product box, $50 per approved video up to four a month, and 15 % of sales through their code. Twenty-five creators join. In month three, the brand runs the five best videos as Meta ads and adds a 10 % share of spend for those five creators. Example numbers, not a benchmark.
When brands use it. The pain this answers: “I spend my week DMing creators who never reply.” A program flips the direction: creators apply, and the brand reviews applications instead of writing DMs. It also answers “Reviewing 200 videos one by one kills a week,” because a program briefs once and reviews by creator, not video by video.
The creator’s view. A program is steadier than one-off deals and usually pays less per video for it. Read the pay model, the exit terms, and whether the commission keeps paying after the creator leaves. Every post inside a program is branded content, with the FTC’s disclosure rules on it (FTC).
On HourlyUGC. A campaign is a program: open, by application (with or without an intro video) or invite only. It pays hourly, per video, commission (a share of sales or of ad spend), CPM or samples, combinable, and the brand reviews by creator. Next step: start a campaign on HourlyUGC.