A brand can pay a blogger KZT 1 million for an integration, or divide the same million between twenty ordinary people who film as though they simply use the product. The second approach began gaining traction in Kazakhstan around a year ago. It is called UGC, or user-generated content.
The push came from outside. Russia’s Federal Law No. 72, effective from 1 September 2025, bans advertising on Meta platforms, including Instagram. It covers both paid placements and barter collaborations (elama.ru, forbes.ru). Advertising budgets began seeking alternative formats, and the trend reached neighbouring markets.
Nazgul Talipova is a journalist. She spent twelve years at Karaganda’s Channel 5 and was the writer and editor of “Let’s Try” on the First Karaganda Television Channel. She then moved into press offices, leading Astana Su Arnasy’s press service and working as spokesperson for Teplotransit Karaganda, Karaganda Region’s Audit Commission and Astana’s Polyclinic No. 12. She also worked as a lead specialist at Astana International Airport’s press centre. Her comments on behalf of the water utility appeared in national media (tengrinews.kz, time.kz).
She now runs the Instagram account “Lady Luck,” with 15,300 followers, and provides paid UGC training. Depending on the topic, her videos attract between 1,000 and 700,000 views.
Her own posts operate through the mechanism she describes. In July 2025, her video about the Balkaragai recreation area near Astana circulated in Kazakhstani media, which credited her as a journalist (azattyq-ruhy.kz, baq.kz).
We should state explicitly that UGC training is her commercial product, so she has a direct interest in this market’s growth. We take that into account.
We spoke to her about actual UGC earnings in Kazakhstan, why brands prefer paying with products rather than cash, and what generative video means for the profession.
Who UGC Creators Are, and Why Brands Need Them
How does a UGC creator differ from an influencer?
Anyone can be a UGC creator, from a teenager to a pensioner. They create native advertising for brands: using a product, talking about it and showing audiences that they are real consumers.
Why commission ordinary people when you could hire actors and a professional production team?
UGC creators became more sought-after recently because Russia banned Instagram advertising and brands began using people who use the product. Previously, paying one blogger to talk about a brand was convenient. Advertising on Instagram is now difficult, while using UGC is easier.
And cheaper. You can pay one blogger around KZT 1 million or divide that budget among UGC creators who describe the product as though they use it every day.
UGC has been popular in Europe and the US for a long time. In Kazakhstan and the CIS, the trend arrived literally a year ago. I think brands will start offering products to UGC creators on a large scale from September.
Which sectors commission this content most often?
Beauty most often, followed by clothing unboxings and restaurants or food service. Anyone can commission it.
This area will be in high demand because most customers come from social media. In my opinion, Instagram is the only social network that consistently brings good customers. TikTok does too, but Instagram offers more opportunities to explain. TikTok blocks more: it seems to dislike some unboxings, beauty content, supplements and vitamins, and does not let you talk about them.
What Creators Earn: Market Rates and Nazgul Talipova’s Figures
How much can a UGC creator earn in Kazakhstan?
From KZT 10,000 upwards without a ceiling, but typically KZT 10,000–100,000. In Europe, creators earn $50–1,000 or euros per job. Our country pays less, of course.
How is the price calculated?
Many brands now offer products instead of money. The approximate rates are as follows.
If a creator gets around 500 views per video, that is about KZT 5,000. A brand sends a product and pays another KZT 5,000. More often, it offers barter, such as a cream worth that amount.
For more than 10,000 views, brands send products worth around KZT 20,000–30,000.
For more than 100,000 views, it starts at KZT 100,000 and upwards.
I would clarify that UGC pricing is not always tied directly to views alone. Much depends on the content, the brand’s objective, the collaboration format and placement conditions. These are approximate values for successful videos, not fixed per-view rates.
Are views assessed before or after publication?
Before. From what I observe, brands examine statistics and know that one creator rarely exceeds 500 views while another consistently gets 50,000–70,000. They request statistics in advance and decide accordingly.
How much do you personally earn from UGC?
Income depends on the number of orders and the collaboration format. Cash earnings are around KZT 300,000–600,000 a month. Including barter, the total value can reach KZT 1 million a month.
Why Kazakhstan’s Brands Pay With Products Instead of Money
How do you feel about barter?
Positively. We are consumers too: we go to restaurants for lunch and dinner. If a restaurant offers credit of around KZT 30,000, why pay when you can barter? You film a minute of content and exchange audiences.
Barter often has a higher value than cash. They offer two products through barter but the price of one in money.
I receive many offers and accept because I am a consumer myself. A cleaning company might offer to clean the house, wash windows and deep-clean furniture. Taken together, accepting the cleaning as barter is better than paying. Filming content benefits me.
Nobody is inventing anything. It happens here and now, so why not simply share it?
Tell us about a time barter worked in your favour.
My son had facial neuritis, and we went to a Chinese medical centre offering acupuncture. We paid for the first seven days of treatment, with a small discount. I filmed and showed the process.
A week later, the owner said they liked the content and many new customers were coming through us. They offered barter: I would film a thirty-second video and they would provide gold-needle treatment worth around KZT 250,000.
The video received almost 700,000 views and brought new followers.
What Works in Kazakhstan’s Market, and What Does Not
How does that differ from working with bloggers?
This niche developed differently in Kazakhstan. Originally, a creator did not need to appear, show themselves or name their account; they simply supplied footage to brands. Here it became UGC plus a personal brand. Everyone shows themselves, talks about themselves and sells the product through their own identity.
Nazgul Talipova explains the difference between UGC and blogging on her account.
What works in our market, and what does not?
Beauty does well. Supplements were in demand for a while, but now people choose for themselves and demonstrations have less influence.
Clothing and textiles are difficult. Many brands offered underwear and shapewear, but not everyone knows how to film it or has the right figure. I received such offers too. Cultural attitudes are also a factor.
Shoes are difficult as well; everyone has their preferences.
The main reason is production. Russia has many clothing manufacturers and designers, and this is popular because they sell locally made goods to their own population. We have few manufacturers, and those we have charge high prices. Sending a KZT 100,000 suit to a creator to wear and show will not deliver results.
Bags and accessories do well in Europe, where people like unboxings. Here they attract little attention.
How to Enter the Profession
What do you need at the start?
No investment: a phone, internet and ideas. You do not need complex editing or fifteen-minute videos. A minute can communicate the whole point and earn something, even through barter.
Are there filming-quality requirements?
Good lighting is essential. If someone speaks, good audio too. Then come the details: how the product is filmed, shown and presented.
The aim is to spark interest and make someone want to buy. Look carefully at successful video reviews and anyone who understands framing can immediately see where the creator placed emphasis.
UGC’s main aim is native advertising: selling in a way that does not feel like an advertisement.
How does a beginner turn it into income rather than trinkets worth KZT 2,000?
I began training because many people open pages and start filming without understanding why, where to begin or how to finish. They might talk, close the subject and fail to sell the product.
You need to understand Reels algorithms. Video is what takes off now. People who do not know the algorithms make mistakes and never exceed 150 views. They can remain there for years.
Here is a simple comparison: every product has a formula. A cream has a base and additives; some give firmness, others a glow. Reels are similar: you highlight some things and strengthen others with words and shots.
What happens after training?
We now have AI. There is no need to reinvent the wheel; you can ask ChatGPT. Ready-made prompts help people create scripts for a week, two weeks or a month and work from them. You need to adapt the prompt slightly to your personality and delivery.
Then you need discipline and consistency.
When videos gain traction, creators pitch brands, although brands more often notice these accounts themselves: they appear in recommendations and are visible. Earnings then have no fixed limit because brands differ. A coffee shop might pay KZT 100,000 and a factory KZT 3 million.
What is the main mistake your students make?
For the first week after training they are active, filming and posting; then they lose direction and stop. That is their main problem, whether burnout or lost interest.
It is easier now than before: editing, lights and microphones are not necessary. Simpler is better. Even a slightly shaky camera makes the footage feel natural.
How much does your training cost, and what does it include?
KZT 70,000 for five days. I try to provide maximum practical work without filler: filming and editing, Reels algorithms and ready-made prompts for work and script creation. I support participants and answer questions for another month afterwards.
How do creators find clients: agencies, platforms or direct messages?
There are many apps and platforms where creators meet clients online. They create portfolios, list rates and link to their work. Interested brands contact them. Examples I know are Billo, Trend.io and JoinBrands.
Agencies exist, but most UGC creators find orders themselves.
Editor’s clarification: access to these platforms from Kazakhstan is limited. Billo registers creators only from the US, UK, Canada and Australia (apps.apple.com), while Trend.io focuses primarily on the US market. Of the three, only JoinBrands describes a global creator pool. Check country requirements before registering, as they change.
What AI Means for the Profession
How does AI affect your profession? Are you afraid it will take creators’ jobs?
I learned about AI in 2022 and travelled to Almaty for training. When I returned, almost nobody knew about it apart from IT people; certainly nobody around me did.
I had three jobs then and actively used ChatGPT. I gave it objectives and it wrote press releases. That is how I managed all three jobs.
There are now many apps, mostly paid, where a prompt produces a video identical to one you might film yourself. But in practice, genuinely filmed video gets more response and Instagram distributes it more widely. Somehow it recognises AI-created video and human-made footage.
I prefer the real thing. I do not think AI will get in the way: it becomes tiresome because you do not feel personally present or enjoy it. Creative people enter UGC and need that sense of presence. It provides extra dopamine: you make content, like it, like how you look on camera, and feel inspired to create something new.
