Meet Jeff Siepman, ‘a Benoni-based, coffee-fueled creative, foodie, occasional cyclist and blogger/content creator @ManvsMind, as he describes himself. As the author of ManvsMind.co.za Jeff spends the majority of his time testing the latest tech gadgets, writing restaurant reviews, test driving cars and watching Netflix Marvel Universe – a life most bloggers (and males) only dream of. Or is it? Branch Out finds out more.
When I was a kid I wanted to be a…..
As a kid I loved designing and building houses with Lego so I guess I’d say I really wanted to be an architect.
What made you decide to start a blog?
I started my ‘blog’ years ago with the intention of having a place I could share all the interesting things I found, but this never really worked out and it transformed into what it is today when I got the opportunity to do a car review for Peugeot in 2017.
Tell us more about the name: ‘Man vs Mind’.
I wish it had a hidden meaning or was more philosophical, but is actually pretty simple. Man is me and vs Mind is the decision of what content to post and what not to post.
Describe the ideal Man vs Mind target audience.
Everyone! (Cliché much?). I try keep my content simple so that it appeals to more people.
What marketing channels do you use to attract visitors to your blog?
Currently I rely on a few channels to attract visitors to my blog. These are word of mouth, an email newsletter, my social media channels (Twitter, Facebook and to a lesser extent Instagram and Pinterest) as well as a few 3rd party websites like Bloglovin’ and Zomato.
What you do would be considered the ‘dream job’ by many people. Is it as much fun as it seems?
Yes and no. While I get to experience new things before some people and I get the odd freebie, it isn’t as glamourous as it seems. Blogging is time consuming and if you’re not on the right PR lists you have to pay your own way.
What advice do you have for aspiring bloggers?
Just get started and keep in mind that successful blogging requires a lot of time. Blogging also requires a lot more than just content creation like SEO, social media, networking etc so if you’re not fully committed it will be your downfall.
When I’m not working I’m…
So many things, but watching more YouTube tutorials/reviews than I’d like to admit to and spending time with my family are the main two.
If I could dine with a celebrity I would choose…
I’d have to go with Peter McKinnon. Besides the fact that he seems like a pretty rad person, he has a wealth of knowledge when it comes to photography.
