“Don’t be salesy” is not a do-not. Creators can’t argue with it, so they play safe and the video dies.
A useful do-not list is short and specific. Max three. Stuff you could reject in review without a taste fight.
What I put on real briefs
Bad:
- Don’t sound salesy
- Keep it authentic
- No cringe
- Be natural
Those are vibes. They create fear, not clarity.
Better (steal these if they fit):
- No logo end card
- No “link in bio” spoken out loud
- No medical / before-after skin claims
- No competitor names
- No stock B-roll of smiling strangers
- No three CTAs in one video
- No script that starts with the product name in the first 2 seconds
- No green screen
- No fake “I’ve been using this for months” if the creator just got the product
Pick three. Not nine.
Why three
I watched a brand dump twelve bans into a doc. Creator froze, shot the blandest talking head possible, brand said it lacked energy. The do-not list ate the brief.
Three hard nos. Everything else is a preference in a different section, or it doesn’t belong.
How it sits next to the rest of the brief
Do-nots only work if the job and proof beat are clear. “No logo end card” is useless if nobody wrote what the video is supposed to prove. Fill audience, one job, proof on screen, then the three bans, then length/format.
Quick example
Brief do-nots for a UGC skincare clip we actually shot:
- No dermatologist voice
- No before/after medical language
- No end card
Proof was texture on a bathroom counter in daylight. That combo got approved on round one. The earlier version had “don’t be salesy” and went three rounds.
If your do-not list reads like a mood board, rewrite it until each line could be a binary fail in review.
I helped build a UGC pitch kit (angles, scripts, follow-up tracker) if you want that lane in one place: https://scienceartist.gumroad.com/l/ugc_brand_pitch_tracker_scripts
Related UGC read: Why brand UGC briefs fail (and the 5-field fix)
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