Types of Creators
There are two main types of creators who can participate in Jestr campaigns: Partners and UGC creators.
Both can create content, generate views, and earn rewards from your campaigns, but they differ in their level of access, reward structure, and experience within the Jestr creator ecosystem.
For most campaigns, we recommend making your campaign available to both Partners and UGC creators.
All Jestr creators are vetted
Jestr is a closed creator marketplace. Creators can't simply create an account and immediately begin participating in campaigns.
Every creator must apply to join Jestr and be reviewed by our team before receiving access to campaign opportunities.
Today, Jestr has 25 approved creators selected from more than 31 creator applications, with both numbers continuing to grow.
This means that whether someone is a Partner or UGC creator, they've already passed through Jestr's initial application and vetting process.
The distinction between the two tiers isn't vetted vs. unvetted. Instead, it reflects a creator's experience, track record, access, and reward structure within Jestr.
Jestr Partners
Partners are Jestr's established creator tier.
These are creators who have demonstrated the content quality, consistency, and experience we're looking for and have been accepted into the Partner program.
Partners receive:
- Access to Upcoming and Embargoed campaigns
- Standard campaign CPMs
- Higher maximum payouts per campaign
- Access to campaign opportunities before they're available to the broader Jestr creator community
Because Partners can access campaigns ahead of an embargo lift, they're particularly valuable when you want creators preparing content in advance for a coordinated announcement, launch, or other marketing beat.
For more information on early campaign access, see Campaign Visibility.
UGC creators
UGC is Jestr's broader approved creator tier.
It includes creators who have passed Jestr's application process but are still building their track record on the platform. This often includes smaller or emerging creators, creators from specific game communities or content niches, and creators who are newer to the Jestr ecosystem.
UGC creators have:
- No access to Upcoming or Embargoed campaigns
- Lower localized CPMs
- Lower maximum campaign payouts
- But also a lower threshold before content begins earning — 1,000 views compared with 2,000 views for Partners
While the reward structure is different, UGC shouldn't be treated as an afterthought.
The size of the UGC creator pool can generate significantly more content volume for a campaign, and high-performing or viral content regularly comes from UGC creators.
The path from UGC to Partner
UGC also serves as a development path for creators within Jestr.
Creators can participate in campaigns, build a track record, improve their content, and take advantage of Jestr's workshops, resources, and creator education.
As creators establish themselves and consistently produce strong content, they can apply to become a Jestr Partner.
UGC Creator → Build experience & reputation → Apply → Jestr Partner
This gives emerging creators an opportunity to prove themselves while maintaining a higher bar for the Partner program.
For studios, it means access to a much larger and more diverse creator pool without removing the distinction between creators who are still developing on Jestr and those who have already established a strong track record.
Should I enable UGC creators?
For most campaigns, yes.
We generally recommend keeping UGC enabled alongside Partners. The larger creator pool gives your campaign more opportunities for content, experimentation, and breakout videos.
Even if your campaign has an embargo, there's usually little reason to disable UGC solely because of it.
UGC creators simply won't be able to access the campaign until the embargo has lifted, while Partners can access it earlier and prepare content in advance.
You may consider running a Partner-only campaign when you intentionally want a smaller pool of more established creators and would prefer to concentrate your campaign budget across fewer creators.
Otherwise, enabling both gives you the benefit of Partner quality and early access alongside UGC scale and volume.
Identifying Partners and UGC creators
You can quickly tell which type of creator you're looking at throughout your campaign by the color of their name:
- Partners appear with a tan/orange name
- UGC creators appear with a white name
This makes it easy to distinguish between the two creator types while reviewing participants, submissions, requests, and campaign performance.
Partner vs. UGC at a glance
| Partners | UGC Creators | |
|---|---|---|
| Vetted by Jestr | ✓ | ✓ |
| Upcoming campaigns | ✓ | — |
| Embargoed campaigns | ✓ | — |
| Earning threshold | 2,000 views | 1,000 views |
| CPM | Standard | Lower |
| Maximum payout | Standard | Lower |
| Creator pool | More selective | Larger |
Exact CPMs and reward maximums can vary depending on your campaign and the creator's region. See Budget, CPM & Rewards for a full breakdown.
Regional creators & localized CPMs
Jestr is a global creator platform, and creators participating in your campaign may come from different countries, regions, and language communities.
Although Jestr has majority English speaking creators, creator rewards are localized by region, meaning the CPM a creator earns may differ depending on where they're based.
For example, a creator in Latin America may have a different CPM than a creator in North America.
When viewing creators in your campaign, you can hover over their region to see the rate that applies to them.
The CPM and reward settings displayed during campaign setup are based on the standard Partner rate, with localized rates applied automatically to eligible creators based on their tier and region.
You don't need to manually calculate or configure a separate CPM for every creator.
For a complete explanation of localized rates, creator maximums, and how rewards are calculated, see Budget, CPM & Rewards.
Next: How Submissions Work
Once creators have access to your campaign, they can begin creating and submitting content.
Continue to How Submissions Work to understand submission limits, cross-platform posting, creator maximums, and how content is tracked on Jestr.