Dainty Alice


A pretty little LUSH, Beauty & Lifestyle blog.


How I Started Taking Blogging Seriously

My glasses, because they are 'serious'!
Old readers (by which I mean those of who who have been here from the start, not those who are elderly) may have noticed a huge change in my blog over the past week or so. I have, if you will, got my sh*t together and finally knuckled down and started putting some real effort in.

Despite only starting my blog in May, by August, I had totally fallen out of love with it. I was writing maybe two posts a month, three if I was being super productive, nicking photos off of Google for my posts and staying far, far away from the blogging community, the sort of things one does not recover from easily. 

I tried to revive it in October - a new name, new background and header, but it simply wasn't enough. By Christmas my heart just wasn't in it anymore. But then everything changed.
I started reading blogs, something I had never done before. I had always viewed other bloggers as the competition and stayed away from them (sorry #TheGirlGang, I love you all really!) but something twigged deep inside of me. I realised I was being petty and childish. I signed up to Bloglovin and within the hour I was receiving emails filled with wonderful posts by fellow bloggers; what they had got for Christmas and their New Year's Resolutions to name just two.

It was so inspiring to read all of these posts filled with energy and beautiful pictures. I told myself I could do it too. Unfortunately, after 8 months and 2 blog 're-vamps', I was already way behind in the blogging game. Bloggers who had only started in November were far more popular, organised and in every way better than me. I didn't even have Twitter (god forbid.) My blog actually felt disgusting to me. It didn't look very nice, my photos sucked, the majority of my early posts were entirely random and I got no views, ever. I basically hated it, but I was going to do something about it.

- I changed the name of my blog
My blog had already been through two name changes by the time I settled on Dainty Alice; the random Sweetie Pop and the utterly cringe-worthy Confessions Of A Teenage Shopaholic. I feel that Dainty Alice suits my blog far more than those two ever did. For one, it actually includes my name, and two, it's short and sweet.

- I bought a theme
The difference between myself and way more popular blogs was that their's looked great and mine really, really didn't. I have little knowledge of basic HTML from GCSE ICT, but that's about it. I decided to invest in a gorgeous theme and my blog looked instantly better.

- I bought my own domain name
Yet another purchase, but if I really wanted to get serious about my blog then I needed my own domain name, the cumbersome blogspot address just didn't cut it. I bought daintyalice.com from Go Daddy for £1.10 for this first year and spent a while setting up the adress to make sure everything ran smoothly.

- I set up a twitter account @daintyaliceblog
BEST THING I EVER DID. Just by using Twitter to promote my posts and join in with some wonderful Twitter chats, I have already made some amazing friends. My views sky-rocketed and for the first time ever, people were actually commenting on my posts!

- I got ruthless
I reverted my old posts to drafts and deleted any that I felt were random rants, not appropriate for my blog's theme, or basically rubbish. The others I have saved ready to be updated when I have the time to re-write them properly. Obviously my blog is now a little empty, but it's a vast improvement.

I've already seen a huge change in the number of page views I get now when compared to before, but as always, numbers aren't everything. The fact that I now want  to write posts every day and have the motivation to even write some days in advance is one of the best feelings ever. I obviously still have a lot more work to do if I ever want to make it big, I am currently in the process of setting up my own 'blogging space' (think 'white' 'fairy lights' and 'IKEA') which I am so looking forward to, and I've bought myself a planner which was actually designed by a fellow blogger. I still look at my blog stats sometimes and think "wow, I suck", but it's good to know that I suck a little less than I did a week ago.


What do you think about your own blog?
Do you often compare yourself to others?
Leave some love in the comments!

17 comments

  1. I've had my blog since 2014 but i felt i only started loving it last January when i started a proper schedule! I really want to get a domain name though

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    1. I would definitely buy your own domain! It's made me feel so much more like a 'proper' blogger xx

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  2. I have had my blog since August, and totally love it already! And though I love creating and publishing posts regularly, I really need to step up my internet socializing!

    Good luck with everything! Your blog is so lovely already!
    --Corin
    wonderlandpaths.blogspot.com

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    1. I started mine in April and adored it, but then totally fell out of love with it. Luckily I am near obsessed with it again now! xx

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  3. I had a random blog before Diagon Sally and much like you I posted on it twice a month and never really felt dedicated to it. Then I don't know what happened, I just really enjoyed reading back on my old post and realised I didn't have much to look back on. Blogging for me is more like a journal and I love it!

    Sally ~ DiagonSally

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    1. Exactly! I'm so glad you were able to find a new love for your blog! Sometimes we just need to have a fresh start xx

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  4. I revamped mine and the name too! Seem so much happier with mine now. Yours is gorgeous and I love the name! :)


    Hana | www.hanarosella.blogspxot.co.uk ♥

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    1. I'm so glad you're happy with your blog now! And thank you for your compliments :) xx

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  5. I've been so out of love with my own blog recently, but I tried to keep myself immersed in the blogging world with chats and reading other blogs just so I didn't lose myself completely, or concentrating on something else, like Instagram, without forcing myself too much. Sometimes you need big changes, other just a little thing can really make you fall back in love with it all. Sadly I'm still a bit bored with mine and I don't have any energy to post, despite having about 40 drafts. I'm sure it'll come on back to me eventually. Reading posts like this really help.

    Saoirse Sterling at XLeptodactylous

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    1. I was never part of the blogging community until the last 2 weeks, I feel like I missed out on so much! I am now obsessed with twitter and blogger chats. DOn't worry about the drafts! These things have a way of coming back to us xx

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  6. I done the same with a blog theme - I think yours looks amazing :) Tania xx taniamichele.blogspot.co.uk

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  7. I love your blog, and I love you! I'm so happy that you fell back in love with blogging and you ended up on Twitter because that's how I found you.

    I too find that I compare myself to others, but I'm working on falling more in love with myself and my work and celebrating others simultaneously, like you babe!

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    1. Yes Tazhi! My new Blogging BFF!
      I never stop comparing myself, but it's got a lot better recently since I started taking better photos xx

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  8. A similar thing happened to me, I kinda just fell out of love with my blog although I was still posting. Then at the beginning of January I brought a theme and like you, started reading more blogs. Since then my heart seems to be in it more as well.
    Alicia :)
    http://bambidreaming.blogspot.co.uk

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  9. Wow, I love this post!!! I have lost motivation for my blog a couple of times but now I'm working hard on my content and loving every minute of it. I'm glad to see that I'm not the only one who loses their mojo for blogging every now and again.

    You seem like such a lovely person, I can tell by your writing style, I would love to do a collaboration with you. I'll give you a lil follow on twitter and you can direct message if you're interested!

    Ruby xoxo
    www.rubyredr0ses.blogspot.com

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  10. Loved this post, god i've changed my name so many times from losing my buzz for it!. Started fresh again now and looking into domain names, just wish I understood it! The whole website builder part confuses me! haha.

    Hannah xoxoxo
    www.glitterchubb.blogspot.co.uk

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Every single comment means so much to me, thanks for making me smile! :)