If you have followed the blog since the beginning of time, you would have noticed that it used to be called Unravelled Thoughts. I’ve always wanted to do blogging, long before structuring Unravelled Thoughts. With the help of my mentor and being passionate about coffee I was able to build the domain for Unravelled Thoughts, I started with my first post titled consistency in coffee.
Why consistency in coffee?
When I arrived in Joburg, I tried out different coffee places. I was quite shocked at how different the coffee culture is on this side. I felt like baristas just mixed expresso shots with milk like they mixed hot water with a powder mixture. I changed the title and wrote on how you must know your coffee like your abc so that you can tell a good coffee from a bad coffee.
This all started, in March 2020, the same year when covid hit South Africa.
The first website
I started with a minimalist design, my goal was always for the readers to have quick access, without having to click through hundreds of pages to read the latest review or content.

I had a few reviews; on the South African music scene and some lifestyle topics. At first, I couldn’t write much as the inspiration was just not there and time also was not always on my side. Having to work during the day and write at night, but I continued writing regardless. During lockdown, I had a bit more time to write and also time to change the interface of the blog. I started blogging with my Hp laptop, a small 14-inch laptop, but it was fast enough to get everything I wanted to be done.
I was excited to share some of my posts with some of my friends, however also skeptical to share, mainly because I was scared of getting judged but also I could smell a lie a mile away. Some friends would say they will read but that “will” can rather be replaced with something else, maybe with “I don’t have time” or “sorry I got busy”. I know some of the articles are long but that’s my agreement with Google, and that’s how I make more money.
After changing the interface I applied for AdSense, which allows Google to run ad’s on my blog, and in return, I get paid for every visit to my blog. It was not that easy, the first time I applied I got rejected. I was a bit discouraged after seeing the rejection email. I could easily gave up there.
After tweaking and restructuring the interface again and making sure that all the titles and pictures stand out. I applied again for AdSense, and surprisingly I got an approval email. With joy, I shouted and forward the email to my mentor. He replied that its great news. I have accomplished what some big magazines still have difficulty achieving, as they have so many policy violations and google can not approve ads for them. I was happy at the fact that I was able to achieve this big accomplishment.
One column to two columns

Now that I am working hand in hand with Google AdSense I decided to restructure the blog again, from a column page to two columns. I learned that many people are not aware that there are multiple pages on a website, and websites come with menus. If you don’t know how to navigate you only see what’s in front of you and you think that’s all the site offers.
In an attempt to fix this and help those who are not tech-savvy, I changed the interface to a 2 column so that readers can at least see 8 articles at a glance. I would choose articles that I got a lot of views for and put it on the landing page. If these impress you, you would want to read more, that was my strategy at that time.
Some of my friends opted for me to send them links to new articles if I upload new articles, but eventually, it became impractical, as most of the day I leave my phone in my car and only look at it once I come back home. I decided to open a Facebook page.
Unravelled Thoughts Facebook Page
I never thought I would take this big step. Sharing my writing with strangers felt like I’m becoming an influencer now. I was skeptical at first, as most of my life I tried to keep private and now I let go of that peace. The fear of being judged, look at him thinking his gonna inspire people with his writings. Nevertheless, I proceeded and opened my Facebook page on February 1st, 2021.

By December of the same year, I reached a following of 2400 people. I use this page to post my new articles and as a way of keeping my friends in the loop of new work, I’m busy with. The main idea behind the page was also to get people in the habit to read more. We often have the new years resolution where we say we want to read 10 books. After the year is coming to the end we shoot ourselves in the foot, as we sold our self dreams and never even read one book.
However, reading one quick article is a way of living through the writers’ experience. When I started blogging I choose the lifestyle niche specifically as I wanted to bring many experiences to the readers and not limit it to me teaching you how to make a pancake.
My aim for this group now is not just to share my work but also other amazing bloggers’ work as well, to build a community around bloggers and give them the platform to share their work.
Why rebranding.
Often when I write, I usually end it off with an eish, my thoughts were all over the place, or when someone applauds me that I’m good at writing. I brush them off and say no it’s not true, you’re just being silly. Until small companies started to approach me and asked me to write reviews for them.
Now I put much more research and effort in as they would pay me for writing for them.
Whenever I went out to meet a client, I could not sell my brand to them.
Hi, I am from Unravelled Thoughts and this is what I do…
Selling Unravelled Thoughts became difficult, when I started the blog initially I wanted to eventually open an e-commerce store where I will be selling brand products. So in the back of my mind, I knew that this is what I will eventually accomplish. As I met another client who wanted me to write a story for her Laundromat and to do her social media management for her.
I realized that I cannot sell Unravelled Thoughts to her but that I could sell myself as an individual and my skills. I do writing but also can do many other things around digital creating.
This is also when I started doing the Google Skills for Africa course in Fundamental of Digital Marketing, where I learned a lot about SEO and how I can apply SEO to my writing to rank my site on google, which means I will gain a lot of organic traffic and in aim make more money. I completed the course and am now google certified.

That’s where I realized that my blog is now opening many doors for me to work with clients and charge them fees for social media management and writing for them. I decided to make the most painful decision that a blogger can ever make.
Decided to destroy my Unravelled Thoughts domain and brand it into my name and surname, but that I would keep the Facebook page name the same. The reason why it is painful is that I would have to do all the SEO over from scratch and also regain the viewers that I already had. I never regret the decision because if I do break through thousands of followers and readers one day, and do reviews on big shot companies, hotels, and people, my name will live on as a legacy.
I was not wrong, recently I met more clients and more people who believe in what I do. From sponsorships and from clients who would like to work with me, so do be on the lookout for constant new projects that I’m taking on, all work can be followed via my new domain.
There are many ideas I’m planning, with due time you will see me accomplishing most of those goals I set myself.
The rebrand was needed for my bigger goal, which is one day to write and travel until the end of the earth.