Damsel in Dior is a website that inspires people to live their best life and to never feel like a damsel in distress. It encompasses fashion, style, travel, fitness, home and beauty all curated by Jacey Duprie.
There is no easy route to building an audience other than consistency and dedication.”
Q
How did you come up with the name? Were there any other options that you considered?
A
My husband actually came up with the name because he found it to be empowering. Other options at the time were “ImJustJacey” and “FashionFarm”.
Q
What was the inspiration for choosing this career?
A
I didn’t really know I was choosing it, it kind of chose me. I didn’t wake up one day and think to myself “Oh I want to start a company and make money off of this blog,” I just started to work on it, little by little, and eventually it became a much bigger project than I had originally set out.
Q
What is your proudest achievement thus far?
A
I was pretty proud to be invited to the Dior Paris Fashion Week show and have their PR team tell me that they love my blog. I was also proud to be included in RewardStyle’s Top 25 bloggers list.
Q
What’s is the one possession you couldn’t live without?
A
Other than my cellphone? Carmex.
Q
What is the most valuable thing you’ve learned about blogging?
A
That you won’t have the answers for everything and that is okay. You’re going to hit walls and the only way to go over them is to strap on some ropes and start to climb. There is no easy route to building an audience other than consistency and dedication. The most valuable things I’ve done to help advance my blog was taking photoshop classes, coding classes, reading management books and hiring a really great accountant.
Most people don’t realize that it’s not all just taking pretty photos wearing cute outfits.”
Q
How do you stay motivated and keep going? Especially at the beginning.
A
In the beginning, I was just really passionate about what I was doing. It wasn’t hard to stay motivated because I wanted to learn and grow and I felt very strongly about dedicating time to this. I would wake up every morning with a strong purpose to build my blog and brand to the best of my ability and that passion kept me motivated. This still remains true to this day.
Q
What is your best advice to young bloggers just starting out?
A
Ask yourself why you really want to blog and are you really willing to treat it like a business. Most people don’t realize that it’s not all just taking pretty photos wearing cute outfits. There is a LOT more to blogging than meets the eye and it isn’t always cute. Just like any small business, you will have to pour your heart and soul into your blog and it will literally take over your life. There is no balance. Also, if you really want to blog….Just start a blog. Start documenting, posting and creating. Finding a rhythm for producing steady and consistent content is the hardest thing when starting out. Ask yourself why you REALLY want to start a blog. If it’s to make money, you are in it for the wrong reasons.
Q
What do you wish you knew before you started your blog?
A
Hire a good accountant.
Show us a screenshot of your mobile home screen.
Q
How do you deal with negative comments on your blog and social media?
A
Luckily I don’t get a ton of negative comments on my blog and social. The comments that I do get, I really try to take them as constructive criticism and learn something from what people say. Even when it hurts, most of the time there is truth in what people are saying {unless it’s just really awful and mean}. A lot of times, my other readers will stand up for me so I don’t get involved. But I usually will comment back. I am a person too and I have feelings. So, when someone hurts my feelings, I let them know.
Q
How do you manage a work/life balance?
A
I have a very hard time with this so unfortunately, my answer is simple: I don’t. My work is my life and my life is my work. At the end of the day, my goal is to have an hour a day where my cell phone isn’t at an arms distance.
I just started to work on it, little by little, and eventually it became a much bigger project than I had originally set out”
Q
Who is the biggest influence in your life?
A
Hands down it is my Mom. She taught me how to dress, how to tie my shoes. But most importantly, she taught me to believe that anything is possible if you really believe in it.
Q
Who is your style icon?
A
Jenna Lyons.
Q
What are you listening to right now?
A
I’m dipping back into a lot of Vampire Weekend at the moment.
Q
Name another blogger who is killing it?
A
My girl, Aimee Song from Song of Style.
