Create & Cultivate 100: Content Creator: Jacey Duprie

When Jacey Duprie started her blog, Damsel in Dior, in 2011, people told her that she was “too late” and that “the blog bubble was about to burst.” Needless to say, they were wrong. Today, the humble blog she started simply as a creative outlet while she was working at E! Entertainment is a veritable empire. The digital darling has amassed an impressive following, collaborated with major brands by the likes of La Mer, Tory Burch, Nordstrom, and, fittingly, Dior, and even flexed her interior design muscles. And she’s still only just getting started.

Last year, the L.A.-based fashion blogger made her first foray into brick-and-mortar retail by bringing Damsel in Dior to life with a pop-up store called By Damsel where Angelenos could shop female-produced wares personally curated by Duprie herself. And when she’s not running her wildly successful business, collaborating with brands, or consulting with clients, she’s busy raising her daughter, June. Oh, and did we mention she’s the creative director at 1212, an organic cotton kids clothing company? Like we said, she’s only just getting started—and we can’t wait to see what she does next.

Ahead, we ask the blogger all about how she manages to keep her content fresh after nine years of being in the spotlight, the characteristics that have made her successful in a wildly competitive industry, and the biggest misconceptions about her job.

CREATE & CULTIVATE: You've been running your business Damsel in Dior for over nine years now. How do you manage to keep your content fresh? How has your approach to content changed since you started?

JACEY DUPRIE: When I started, I only did collages and shopping inspiration lists. Now my content consists of almost all original content that we shoot and produce in-house. Over the years, my audience wanted more personal topics shared, so a lot of my content is a look into my life.

My approach to content shifts regularly. There will be a year where I'm posting everything in "real-time," and then a year where we bulk shoot content in a more editorial structure. It truly depends on the climate of the industry and what people are gravitating toward. It's wonderful that one month I can be sharing Paris fashion week and the next I can be sharing family-friendly content of my daughter.

My goal is to not stray too far down an inspirational road or a relatable road. I like to dance between both sides which helps me keep things feeling fresh and different.

When you hit a bump or hurdle in your career, how do you #FindNewRoads + switch gears to find success?

I try to think of doing something outside of the box that excites me. For example, this past year I felt a little burned out by my website so I decided to turn the website into an actual store in the fall. If I hit a road bump, I either take a day off to recharge or I'll go to the beach, go for a run... try to find anything that will take my mind off of work, and then, usually, a new idea will present itself. I am also a very firm believer in cleaning my office. If I have a clean office, new ideas will fill the space.

“It doesn’t matter how many followers you have, so long as you have “real” followers who you can engage with.”

There is so much competition out there now. What makes you and your business stand out? How do you find/create a unique point of view? What characteristics make you successful in your industry?

When I started my blog, people told me I was "too late." They said "the blogging bubble is going to burst!" That was over eight years ago. There's competition in every industry and that is a great thing. I think that what makes my business stand out is that I have always, and will always be, truthful, honest, and as relatable as I can be. Even if I'm going to the Chanel show at Paris fashion week (not relatable), I'm going to be geeking out about it (relatable).

I think my success can be attributed to my ADD. I hyper-focus on tasks and topics until I've exhausted every single possibility. If I get something in my head, like giving away $80,000 worth of products for a holiday giveaway series, I am going to find a way to make that happen—and most of the time, I do!

You have built an impressive social media presence. How do you grow a loyal following on Instagram? What's the secret to growing a community that is engaged and resonates with your brand? What are your top three tips for growing a following and building a brand on social media? In a pay-to-play world, how do you grow your business organically on social media?

Rule number one: Do not buy followers or likes. You can grow a loyal community by engaging with all of your followers. When I only had 10 followers, I wrote to each and every one of them every day. These are not only your "followers" but they are your clients and your community. It doesn't matter how many followers you have, so long as you have "real" followers who you can engage with. Don't get hung up on finding the "right followers," because they will find you.

Tips: Consistency is absolutely necessary. How often you post, what types of content you are posting, and the voice you are posting within. People want to know what they can expect from your channel. Also, pay attention to the people that are following you, not the ones who are not. Who else do they follow on social media? What types of photos are they sharing? Sometimes I'll stay up until 2 am going to random accounts that follow me just so I can better understand who these people are.

Don't get too worried about the brand you are building because sometimes your community will provide a lot of the answers for you. Ask your community questions and try to use them to better understand what they want from your account. These are actual people—not just numbers!

You are bringing Damsel in Dior to life by launching a pop-up store in L..A. called By Damsel. Why was an IRL experience important to you and the brand? Why right now? What have you learned through the process of creating a store? Would you recommend it to other influencers?

It's always been a dream of mine to run a boutique of my own. I worked in my aunt's store in Chicago all throughout college and really loved the hands-on experience and interacting with customers. The entire reason I started my blog was to help women with their shopping choices. Sometimes it can be difficult to translate style and taste into photographs and a curated feed. I felt that having a place where people could truly experience the Damsel brand—where you can touch and smell and see everything first hand—would feel more meaningful. We live in a very digital age, and that's great. But, I wanted to bring things back to what makes me tick, which is a more tangible sense of the Damsel brand.

In your pop-up store all the labels you are carrying are female-founded, was this part of the strategy? Why did you opt for this direction? What else can you share with us about the store and the messaging behind it?

I went to my network and it was a beautiful surprise that the brands I was reaching out to were female-founded companies. Female entrepreneurs are faced with multiple challenges such as defying social expectations, dealing with limited funding, lacking support, and balancing family/home life with business life. It's an uphill battle, and as a small business owner, I value the support I receive from my peers and fellow female-founders so I wanted to pay it forward. The name "By Damsel" is a derivative from the name of my blog, Damsel in Dior. But it just so happens that almost all of the products we are carrying are made by women—by fellow damsels.

What do you wish you could go back and tell yourself when you were first launching your business? Why?

I feel like this is a trick question because if I changed anything then it might have changed the outcome. I guess I would tell myself to trust others more with delegating responsibilities. I was very hesitant to delegate responsibilities and it cost me a lot of late nights and long hours in the beginning because I thought I had to do everything on my own. I would tell myself to join Instagram ASAP because it took me a year or two into blogging to joint that train. I'd also tell myself to enjoy the ride!

What is the hardest decision you’ve ever had to make professionally? And how did you get through it?

Hiring a manager was definitely the hardest choice I've made to date because, prior to doing this, I managed all of my own deals and partnerships in-house. I was very nervous about trusting someone to represent my brand because it is such a personal thing that I'd spent five years doing on my own. I was very worried that things would fall apart. I got through it by talking it out with my future manager, Hilary Williams. Rather than putting up a barrier, I shared my insecurities with her, and by talking it out, she assured me that things would be great. It was the hardest and best decision I ever made for my business.

What traits do you need to succeed as an entrepreneur or founder in the competitive start-up environment?

I think you need to be obsessive over your project in order for it to succeed. You truly need to eat, live, breathe, and fight for your company/project so that, in any environment, you are finding new ways and exhausting all options to help it grow.

What's a mistake you made and what did you learn from it? How did you turn it into an opportunity?

My first year of blogging, I didn't treat it as a business and neglected to save anything to pay taxes at the end of the year. I was drowning in debt and had to crawl my way out which was a true low point. I didn't understand how I could have made so much money in a year, but also feel so broken by it. Because of this, I started to read more and teach myself how to manage my finances in a healthier way. It was through this experience that I gained a better understanding of how business actually works and I was able to grow from it, both personally and financially.

“Ask your community questions and try to use them to better understand what they want from your account. These are actual people—not just numbers!”

As the blog space and social media world get more and more saturated how are you adapting to stay fresh and keep driving traffic? What is the secret to standing out?

To find a niche audience and really speak to that community seems to be the way to thrive on social media lately. For example, I have an English bulldog, and when I post about her people come out of the woodworks! The little things that make people truly interesting are what set them apart from everyone else. If you are a closet collector of old stamps, then you should be loud and proud. Everyone is looking for a diamond in the rough, not just another blonde posting outfit photos every day.

What is the #1 book you always recommend? Why?

The Hard Things About Hard Things by Ben Horowitz. It gives quick little nuggets of business advice that you can actually apply to your day-to-day.

You work with some major brands, including Dior (how fitting). How do you approach sponsored content and collaborations? What strategies do you use when creating partnered content?

I always go with my gut. The minute I get an e-mail about a partnership I know in my heart if it's something we should be doing or not doing. The next step is trying to find a fun way to collaborate. My goal is to keep things as honest and real as possible. If something is sponsored, I am always very transparent about the context of our relationship because my number one goal is to build trust with my audience.

What do you wish more people knew about your job? What are the biggest misconceptions? How do you debunk them?

That it is a JOB. Even when you get to travel all around the world for free and get to wear incredible clothing and do amazing things.... it is still a J-O-B. I know it sounds bratty, which is why I can't debunk it (haha)! I can't really explain how the work gets hard, not to my followers and not even to my family. Yes, It's a job. But it's one that I wouldn't trade for the world!

Photographer: Jenna Peffley

Hair: Styled by OGXpert & Celebrity Hairstylist Jillian Halouska

VIEW THE FULL CREATE & CULTIVATE 100 CONTENT CREATOR LIST HERE.



3 Top Fashion Bloggers Dish on the Behind-the-Scenes Reality

Jacey Duprie of Damsel in Dior (photo credit: Alexandra Gibbs)

Blogging has come under scrutiny every which way to Sunday over the last five years. From those wondering about the longevity of the career, to sticker shock at six-figure endorsement deals between top bloggers and brands, like the recently reported $500,000 paycheck between Aimee Song and Laura Mercier, to those harsher critics who question if blogging is a career at all. 

The shade, thrown from all corners of the www, is partially due to the shrouded nature of blog life. Is it real? Is it authentic? Just how much are people making for a photograph? For a long time bloggers were hush hush about their income and sponsored posts. Only recently has disclosure emerged as a trend-- from bloggers wanting to get out in front of the story and those who truly believe in transparency. 

From the other side of the keyboard, bloggers appear to have it all. Work from home. Freebies. Invites all of the wold and the fancy events. But top-tier bloggers— those making over $10k/month only account for about 4% of the industry, and on the low-end, they aren't making anything at all. 42% of bloggers work full-time or part-time in a non-blogging job and are committing nights and weekends to the endeavor hoping that hard work, time, and determination will pay off. 

Jacey Duprie, journalist turned blogger, started her blog Damsel in Dior in 2009. Two years later, in 2011, she left her job to pursue blogging full-time, and the switch from traditional media to blogging was no cake walk. “To anyone who says blogging is easy and is all about simply taking pretty pictures,” she says, “I challenge them to try doing it for one month, or just follow me around for a week and I’ll prove you wrong.”

It’s a sentiment echoed by many in the blog world. 

Amanda Holstein who runs the popular modern-day advice column, Advice From a 20-Something says, “Most of blogging consists of sitting behind a computer and running your own business. I spend a lot more time than I anticipated managing the business side of things, like tracking and projecting revenue, securing campaigns, tracking expenses, etc..” 

Amanda Holstein of Advice from a 20-Something (photo credit: Andrea Posadas)

She also brings up the difficulties of freelancing. To be your own hype person is a strange job and while Instagram and Snapchat show the fun side of blogging, AKA “the photoshoots, the trips, the events,” Amanda says, “most of blogging consists of sitting behind a computer and running your own business.” 

Jacey sums it the difficulties as such: “In a nutshell: Invoicing and accounting is hard. Losing friends is harder. Hate forums suck (especially when they rip on your parents). Traveling alone is lonely. Fashion week is worse than figuring out which lunch table to sit at in high school. And it’s reshooting product because the brand didn’t want you to wear the color pink but they didn’t tell you not to wear the color pink until after you scheduled time with a photographer, waited out the rain to finally get the picture perfect sunset shot of an outfit you spent weeks planning…”  

 “Fashion week is worse than figuring out which lunch table to sit at in high school.”

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Amanda says another difficult aspect of running a blog is the solo time. “ It's tough not having someone around to bounce ideas off of. Even just having someone to listen while I talk through some of my thoughts and ideas would be so helpful.” 

Daniela Ramirez who runs the Miami-based English/Spanish fashion blog Nany’s Klozet says that by the time she’s done explaining her job to someone, “they don’t have any words.” 

“I do a lot more than take pictures. Taking blog photos is just a portion. I don’t have a manager, I don’t have an assistant. I answer at least 50 emails a day- from brands/PR companies wanting to work together and readers asking style/blog advice. I do all my management: negotiating with brands, invoices, follow-ups, etc. Every shoot is half planned (we do a lot of improvising), but since there are deadlines, we have to stay organized on what needs to be shot and were. We are also journalists; we write, we research. Some blogposts need graphics. When I do Youtube videos: planning, producing, editing…it’s a lot.”

“I do a lot more than take pictures. Taking blog photos is just a portion."

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That doesn’t even include the actual blogging she says. “Putting the post together, editing the photos, arranging the html in both languages, linking to each store.” The final cherry on top is the social media. You have to make sure “you update all networks with relevant content on each one.” 

Daniela Ramirez of Nany's Klozet 

If you take into consideration the rate at which someone scrolls past an Instagram photo, casually making the decision to like or not to like (that is the question of this digital age), the amount of BTS work that goes into curating and crafting is almost crazy. 

Throw in the competition and the number of new fashion bloggers that get added to the sphere daily, and it’s amazing there aren’t more stories of blogger burnout. The pressure to be on top of trends and be early adapters mounts with every passing day. Bloggers constantly have to give their fan base what they want, stay authentic, and at the same time, keep content from getting boring. Many of them are also paying their photographers out of pocket. 

Daniella says she likes to travel with a photographer because the shoots end up more natural, however, when she’s home she says, “I have to shoot about 3-4 outfits at a time because I am scheduling— and paying for— a photographer’s time.”

There are countless sites telling bloggers just how to make money. Focus on content that other outlets ignore. Make sure that you develop your photography and social media skills— AKA become the queen of appropriate hashtagging and engaging your audience— and focus on quantity and quality. As a blogger you are both king of the social media jungle as well as its most vulnerable prey. If you aren’t producing, you’re losing. There aren’t many professions that require such a constant outpouring of content, and it is exhausting. 

"As a blogger you're both king of the social media jungle as well as its most vulnerable prey."

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And yet, it's a career that most fashion bloggers are reluctant to give up at this point. For Jacey she sticks with it because, quite simply, "it works." And there are few modern jobs that don't require more than a 40-hour work week commitment. 

But if you think blogging is taking a photo and that "anyone can do it," think again friends. 

Arianna Schioldager is the editorial director of Create & Cultivate. She has never once thought she could be a blogger. 

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Damsel in Dior Shares Her Secret to Success

Photo credit: Frankie Marin via Damsel in Dior 

Jacey Duprie is a journalist turned blogger who started Damsel in Dior in 2009. Two years later she turned the creative project into a full time job. The name is not "a misnomer" as her site explains, but rather "symbolic of a lifestyle --to never feel like a damsel in distress."

With a B.A. in Communications {Journalism} with a minor in Professional Writing from DePaul University, Chicago, her background gives her a certain edge over other bloggers. Creating interesting and engaging content is a skill and hers has attracted the attention of brands like Saks, GAP/Old Navy, and Levis. She's also contributed to Vanity Fair and Forbes among other publications. 

We caught up with Jacey ahead of #CreateCultivateATL where she'll be joining us panel. Read through to learn about her transition from journalism to blogging, finding her true calling, and the very simple place she finds the secret to success.  

How was your transition of growing up next to cotton fields in Texas and then transitioning to the city as a journalist? 

Outside of the heartbreaking homesickness for my family, the transition was a seamless one. Because I have always kept a journal and have considered myself an aspiring writer early on in my life, moving to Chicago just after high school came easy. Yes, there were times when the city annoyed me. The honking horns and fast paced lifestyle were much different than life on the farm. However, it wasn’t a big transition for me because I was simply moving to a city that suited my personality and career path more than living in Taft, Texas.

You have mentioned that at one point, you felt lost while exploring your personalities. How did you find clarity in who you wanted to be?

I find that it is very obvious when you discover what it is that you are meant to do in life. Prior to discovering my true love for writing and working on Damsel in Dior, I didn’t see the writing on the wall. The clarity came when I realized and accepted that this was something I wanted to wake up and do each and every day. My dad always told me to find a career that made me want to get out of bed feeling happy every day. This is that thing for me. I believe that I found clarity when I was excited to jump out of the bed day after day to rush to my laptop and get to work.

Your resume has the likes of NBC, WGN, and E! News, which is pretty impressive. What is your advice to girls that want to follow the journalistic route?

First, I would ask them to take a close look at why they want to become a journalist. Writing for NBC or WGN is no cake-walk. You’ll need to study journalism in college and hit the internships early and hard. I had so many internships in college that I stopped receiving credit for them, but I worked for free because I was so eager to learn. It was actually due to these experiences that I realized I did not want to be a traditional journalist, but a writer and creator. Just because you start walking down one path doesn’t mean you will not end on another, but that is what is fun about exploring careers.

"Just because you start walking down one path doesn’t mean you will not end on another."

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Photo credit: Frankie Marin via Damsel in Dior 

Everyone is always given a sugarcoated piece of advice for their career. What is one piece of career advice that you wish you had gotten that you ended up learning the hard way?

Say “No.” Also, the secret of success is found in your daily routine.

What things did you learn in the world of journalism that you have applied to your business with Damsel in Dior (both with skillets and business strategies)? 

In my college courses, journalism ethics and standards were heavily enforced. This is a code of integrity that Damsel in Dior has adopted. Damsel in Dior does not accepts products of sponsored posts from companies that would not otherwise post about and all of my opinions are my own. Also, I learned to always proof read an e-mail before sending it and to never underestimate the power of picking up the phone and making a cold call.

"The secret of success is found in your daily routine."

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Do you think the blogging world will remain more lucrative than journalism? 

The unfortunate reality of the journalism industry is that the sources are having a harder and harder time holding readers’ attention. Journalism and blogging are both supported by advertising and advertising dollars go where the readers are, which are blogs and social feeds. I think this will remain true because people want reliable and easy information quickly which is what blogs offer.

What makes you stick with it?

It works. 

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