We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Bridget Worstell a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Bridget, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Risk taking is something we’re really interested in and we’d love to hear the story of a risk you’ve taken.
This time last year, I was a server & supervisor of a restaurant, and today I can proudly say that I am a business owner of a successful UGC and digital marketing service. If that isn’t a risk IDK what is.. lmao. I told myself the second I made a penny more than my serving job i’d quit and dive head first into UGC to see where it could take me. Now in just over a year, I’ve gone from discovering UGC on Instagram to working with brands like McDonalds, RYZE, Monopoly GO!, First Response and 90+ more incredible brands!
Now I support my family, slowy getting out of debt & able to travel without permission from anyone, which is the ultimate goal.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
I’m honestly just your average east coast girl that was always told to do everything ‘by the book’, get good grades, go to college, get married, have kids, and so on…but I always pushed the limits even as a child. I was always so adventurous and atheltic I ended up playing softball for 14 years, dancing for 7, volleyball for 6 and gosh, every other sport you could think of! Once I graduated, I went to college per the ‘plan’ and studied nursing… I soon found out it was not for me and really had to pivot for the first time in my life. I ended up working an office job in advertising for Toyota (so random) with my bff at the time. While working here I really leaned into my creativity, I started hula hooping, did some photography gigs (weddings and portraits), and even started my own art business selling paintings. Then came covid… everything shut down & I decided to up and move to philly with no true plan with what was next. I ended up traveling a lot as things opened up and saw the world for the first time & fell in love with it all! I knew I wanted to ultimatley find something remote for work, it only made sense. Now after living in several different states and having traveled to 4 different countries I can say nomadic life is definitely for me. That’s why when I stumbled upon UGC I knew it was a really great business opportunity.
Another few fun facts about me is that im a middle child, I absolutely hate peas, and my toe has been broken for about 8 months.
I work in the UGC, creative strategy, and social media management space. I specialize in direct response marketing for brands that I don’t actually have to post onto my own socials, which is pretty cool! Unlike influncers you see online, my follower count has no dictation on the value of my work. It’s simple, if the video is good + performs well, then you will secure brand deals. I also have a strong expertise in photography (scholarships for college) so I hone in those visual skills into my video + photos for clients. I think that content is taking a bit of a more authentic turn which is super refreshing, especially with the rise of AI, but I pride myself in authetic testimonials that are relatable just like me. I really enjoy lifestyle, wellness, and home best, but in-person events and travel are becoming more and more of a personal favorite!!
I really like connecting the line of relatbalitly to a product or service.. this way it doesnt necessarily feel like an ad and is native to the social platform it’s being viewed on. I also think its important, now more than ever, to work with brands that align with me to be able to TRUTHFULLY sell a profuct, making it even more authetic and relatable, therfore appealing to the consumer = salesss! I really like to ensure to give brands a hands-off experience by providing insightful ideation, scripting, filming, and editing of content for their brand.
Not only have I been in the content creator space for about 6+ years, I honeslty have a lot of personality that I think is down right entertaining. My lifestyle is very realistic while also being desirable in a VERY approachable way, which is important. My past work experience really set me up for success with 10+ years of customer service, nursing school, photography, and advertising that helped to hone in all my skills into ONE space. I take pride in being a no niche creator so I’m never afraid to work with any unique brands as long as I align with the brand’s messaging. PLUS with 8+ years of modeling experience i’m so comfortable in front of a camera that filming is a breeze!
The fact that I even became a full-time content creator is actually INSANE. I have been trusted by 90+ incredible brands, I gained over 700K impressions on Facebook ads alone, closed over eight 4-figure brand deals, landed seven retainer clients, traveled to another country just for ugc, and even managed to close a $2K brand deal for my wedding day which was surreal. Recenlty I’ve been hired to work as a creative strategist for two brands and was even asked to film a Grand Opening for a local furniture store!
UGC has opened so many doors and opportunities for me, I truly feel like the online creative space has only just begun.
How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?
Being a full-time ugc creator, I can say that consistency is everything. I know you hear it everywhere and everyone says it but it really is what makes you stand out. Think about it, if you and 30 others started the same business today, statistically some will fail, others will pivot, and then the ones that stick with it are those that stand out against the pact.
I think when people hear consistency they think they need to post like 3x a day, but thats not the case. Its just showing up posting 3-4x a week and engaging with your audience.
Personally I rely on my personal branding of my social media pages for most of my ugc clients but even when pitching you have to be on it with communications! Checking your email every day, responding within 24-hours, regardless if its a great inbound or not. I really saw results when I gained consistency EVERYWHERE in my business, not just on social media.
There is so much more than meets the eye, its honestly insane. Between posting on socials, sending invoicing, researching brands, seo optimization, and book keeping… we really do it all!
Can you tell us about what’s worked well for you in terms of growing your clientele?
I always shared my journey but postitioned myself as an expert in the field. This has allowed me to grow a community of supporting creators and helped nourish relationships with my clients. I had so many relavent skills leading up to this creative role that really prepared me for this. I worked in advertising, I did photography, and I even worked for a politician’s office making phone calls… I honed all of these skills in a space digitally. My favorite part is that it’s remote, flexible, and I can create from anywhere. This allows me to highlight my creativity in ways that show im unique and therefore attract my cleints.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://ugcwithbridge.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ugcwithbridge/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61553981817719
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bridge-worstell-8a1a052a9/
- Twitter: https://x.com/ugcwithbridge
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@ugcwithbridge
- Other: TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@ugcwithbridge
Image Credits
Headshot photo in pink vest :
https://www.instagram.com/itsrandybui/
Other two professional headshots:
https://www.instagram.com/kristyann_photo/