Indie Content Creator: Listen To Patricia Bright; She’s Been Doing This Long Enough
There are more influencers, vloggers and content creators today than ever before. The cyberspace has only been lucrative for a brief period of time, so those who have been around since the beginning certainly know what they’re doing. Feels strange to call them veterans, but that’s what they are considering the DIY internet creative space is still relatively young.
Among those who have been at it for over a decade is wellness influencer Patricia Bright, except she offers far more than her formal job description. Her YouTube channel describes her as “A Female fashion beauty and hair channel with tutorials and videos to help with your beauty and fashion needs.” More importantly, she adds, “Style advice I’m here, random Life advice I'm also here.”
Bright knows exactly how to finesse social platforms to spread her material since her page has been active since 2009. Since then, she has amassed 2.83 million followers and 365K views with the release of videos ranging from basic fashion tutorials to general advice on how to follow in her footsteps. The fact that she is a self-made internet personality reflects in her demeanor — she is articulate, concise and, above all, confident. Her radiant character is essentially a demonstration of what she preaches.
Bright’s parents both immigrated to London and struggled to make ends meet as they raised two daughters in a country they weren’t accustomed to. When she was six, her father was deported back to Nigeria, leaving her mother to raise two daughters all by herself for the next few years. Through her childhood, she watched her parents hustle and work a range of jobs to feed the family — this is a trait she inherited. By making the most of the resources that were available to her, Bright went on to maximize her potential and become successful all on her own.
Though she has been active on other pages and mediums over the years, her namesake YouTube channel is now her primary focus. She would use her blog for listicles, writing, modeling, product photography and sales, though her last post on the website is from November 2019. She also had another YouTube page called Britpoplife Vlogs where she made videos about her relationship and family life, but it hasn’t been in use for three years. Bright continues to use social media platforms such as Instagram and Twitter to market her larger lifestyle brand, but YouTube is still her nucleus.
So what makes Patricia Bright unique and different from the countless other influencers trying to establish themselves online? For one, she’s already made it and has a following to sustain her output. Aside from executing general tasks within the beauty and fashion domain, her experience has made her an authority on her line of work. Her most recent video, “6 Ways Influencers are making money!” is evidence of this. Aside from profiting off her craft, she outs her time and energy into giving back so that others can also flourish in the space she helped cultivate.
“Literally anybody can do it,” Bright says in the video mentioned above. “You don’t need no manager, you don’t need a large audience, you don’t need a specific platform.”
Her tips come from first-hand experience and are explained simply yet in detail. The ability to communicate in a way that allows even novices to understand your expertise is truly a skill of the highest standard, and Bright repeatedly demonstrates this.
Her subject matter stretches far beyond product placement and unboxing video (though she has a ton of those as well). Over time, as she has become more popular, Bright has started documenting her travels, exploring interior design and discussing general well-being for women, among multiple other things. To this point, her two most viewed videos are “I SPENT $400 ON WISH APP...IS THIS WEBSITE A JOKE? WTF!” and “10 HACKS EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW| AIRY VAGINA, BOOB PUMP, POWER POSING & MORE,” amounting to almost 15 million views when put together. She serves to guide her viewers in the right direction as shoppers, business aspirants and women.
At this point in her career, it would be tough to compartmentalize every facet of her content, though her playlists do accomplish that to some extent. Among them are bundles on financial management, life hacks, clothing and beauty reviews, musings, Q&As as well more Bright-centered material such as “STALK MY LIFE” and “GIRL PROBLEMS.” This London-based, multi-talented internet personality does everything with conviction, making her a trustworthy source for the areas she covers.
She is as elegant in displaying fashion, beauty and wellness as she is knowledgeable. Hence, when she speaks on these subjects, to watch her then embody them is reassuring. Whereas it is common to feel exploited by influencers who are constantly plugging their products and sponsors while infiltrating home pages, an essential part of her brand is to make videos that benefit others not just in name. This in turns creates a win-win balance — while she does have her share of plugging (at this point in time, it’s an unavoidable part of the job), she also makes it a point to put out helpful advice that lifts up her community.
Giving back in this way has worked in Bright’s favor, and by winning the trust of her viewers and followers, she can turn a profit even while being selfless in her output. There’s something to be said for an independent internet figure who has figured out a way to make money from being herself and helping others be the best versions of themselves. Patricia Bright has this down to a science, which is why it’s safe to call her a veteran influencer.
