THE RIGHT STUFF

This is where so much of it happens. Right here on this couch, surrounded by colorful pillows on each side, with my favorite music in my ears and the window across from me. This is where it all comes together. This has been my almost “every day”, my definitely “every weekend.”

I started blogging what feels like an eternity ago- it's actually almost an eternity- 10 years ago to be exact. The very first version of a blog I had was hosted on a now defunct platform, and I hardly knew what I was doing. I remember trying to learn the tools of the trade (it wasn't really a trade at the time). All I knew at the time was that I had something to say, something to share and I needed a way to do it.

After four years of being on and off and not really having any discipline or structure, the idea of what I wanted had started to slowly form in my mind. I went from a blog about being African & American in NYC, to being Addicted 2 Etsy (an addiction I have learned to manage) to SimplyCyn- a place where I could share whatever, without limits- total freedom.

When most people ask when I really started blogging, I point to five years ago. That was the real pivot. That was the moment when I realized I wanted to take this more seriously, to formalize my online presence, but most importantly to make it completely mine.

I have to admit, at the time, I had heard of GoDaddy, domains and websites , but I really did not understand what they offered or why they were relevant to me. Thankfully, my husband who has always been ahead of the game on this, let me know that if I wanted a website that was truly mine, that would provide all the tools and support I needed to succeed, then I needed to use GoDaddy.

I didn't need a lot of urging, especially when I found out that the domain I really wanted- the only domain that would work (www. SimplyCyn.com) was available,  I jumped on it so fast. Truth be told, someone else had held on to the domain for a while. But we could see that it was soon to expire- so we set up notifications through the GoDaddy platform and the moment it became available, we were alerted. And that was truly the genesis of SimplyCyn as it is today.

Getting my domain name from GoDaddy was just the beginning, but there has been so much else in terms of the full package. While it begins with website hosting, it extends to email marketing. In all this time, I have only had two instances where I had a problem with my site- and their 24/7 support helped me figure it out. Long story short, I hired a developer to make some edits to my site and they (as I later realized) didn't really know what they were doing. Thankfully the GoDaddy Care team was able to sort that out and get me back on track.

It's funny. This is a sponsored post by GoDaddy and nothing else feels more full circle. I jumped on the opportunity because GoDaddy has taken me from clueless, to the point where I can now collaborate with them and share my honest experiences.  I'm happy I'm able to reflect on all this now and share with you the lessons learned and the tools that have helped me along the way.

So much of blogger/influencer success is dependent on having the right tools and support; it is quite often the only thing that separates the "hobby blogger" from the “always booked influencer.”

From low res images, to hi-res, from poorly lit photographs to well-planned photoshoots, with every outfit post and travel posts, I'm glad that if there's one thing I haven't had to worry about, one thing I can trust and count on- is that my online platform is solid, is secure and is backed by GoDaddy service.

As seen behind the scenes…. This post is sponsored by GoDaddy. All thoughts and opinions are my own.