Updated Nov 2026
A challenge is the brief your customers read before they post about you: a short, open prompt that tells them what to post and leaves the how up to them. Write a good one and you get more creator participation.
It’s a different job from an influencer brief. An influencer brief can run a few pages because one content creator is producing one deliverable. A challenge is read on a phone by lots of everyday customers, so every extra sentence is one more thing to miss. Here are the 10 best practices our team uses when we set up UGC campaigns on Kale.
10 best practices for writing a Kale challenge
1. Start with one clear idea. Each challenge should have a single objective. Avoid prescriptive instructions unless they’re essential. If the idea takes more than a few sentences to explain, simplify it.
2. Keep the copy short. Aim for about 250 characters, and never go over 400. Long descriptions usually mean the brief is trying to do too much: a script, a shot list, three talking points.
3. Write a title that says what to post. Creators should know what the challenge is before they open it. Keep it to two or three words, with one emoji at most, usually at the end. Good titles look like Walmart Run, Go-to Order, Favorite Flavor, Skincare Routine or [Product] Taste Test.
4. Add one or two custom requirements. Every Kale challenge already has 4 default requirements. Add one or two of your own for what matters most, like showing the product on camera or using a specific sound. Each extra requirement is one more thing to remember while filming, and one more reason a post can get rejected.
5. Link the exact products. Link specific SKUs, flavors, colors or collections whenever they’re relevant. Product instructions aren’t shown to customers. We use them in our review process to check that the right product shows up in the post, so be precise.
6. Add an example link. Show the content you have in mind: a recipe, a trend or a video with the sound you want. You can also add a requirement that points to it, such as “see example link for recipe,” “follow the trend in the example link” or “use the sound from the example video.”
7. Set leaves based on priority. Use a mix of challenges from 1 to 3 leaves. The higher the number of leaves, the higher the priority, so give more leaves to the challenges that matter most or are slow to fill.
8. Run 3 to 6 challenges at a time. The right number depends on budget. For example, with a $3–5k budget, we’d recommend 2 or 3 so each one gets enough posts to learn from.
9. Always keep one evergreen challenge live. Mix evergreen and seasonal challenges. Evergreen challenges, like a daily routine or a go-to order, work any day of the year. Seasonal ones tie to a moment: a holiday, a launch, a sale. An evergreen challenge keeps your community posting between campaigns, so Kale works as an always-on channel.
10. Launch limited-time offers early. Go live up to 5 days before the offer starts to build buzz. If the product won’t be available at all until launch day, launch 2–3 days ahead instead: claims last 5 days, so customers who claim early can still post once it’s out. The longer a challenge is live, the more posts it can collect, but short runs are fine as long as you set expectations. For seasonal ideas, see how to use UGC for Black Friday and Cyber Monday.
Bonus: sales and coupons. Link to your own brand page, or to a social post announcing the sale or coupon. Don’t link or mention third-party coupon, rebate or cashback apps in the challenge.
