How I stumbled into digital marketing by accident
I didn’t plan for a career in marketing. I was just curious. Here’s how cyber cafés, 2go, Nimbuzz & self-learning turned into global opportunities.
I never set out to be a “digital marketer.” In fact, I didn’t even know such a career existed. Back in secondary school, I was just a curious teenager playing around on platforms like 2go, Nimbuzz, and Facebook.
We were obsessed with friend counts and leaderboards, not KPIs or campaigns. I still remember chatting with Jimmy Testbot on Nimbuzz in 2012, and climbing the 2go star levels until I hit “Veteran.” That was our playground. What I didn’t realize then was that those experiments—growing accounts, selling them, helping others build theirs—were my first marketing lessons.
Years later, that same curiosity, plus a relentless habit of self-learning, turned into a career that has spanned global brands, 70+ certifications, and now, a playbook I’ve documented as the Digital Marketing Handbook.
In this article, I’ll share how I stumbled into marketing by accident—and how you can start your own journey with intention.
50 Naira for 30 minutes: My tuition fee
I didn’t have a structured syllabus. My dad was an auditor who had cyber café clients, so I got free access to computers and the internet when others were still paying N50 for 30 minutes, and 100 naira for 60 minutes of internet. Before I even had a Facebook account, I was creating Yahoo Mail addresses and chatting with my brother and friends on Yahoo Messenger. My first email at the time was “jimmykat4real@yahoo.com”. What was I thinking? A cat for real?
On mobile, we had GPRS internet, then EDGE, before 2G and 3G showed up. With my small Java phone, I was on Waptrick and Wapdam downloading ringtones, games, and pirated songs. That was e-learning in its rawest form—nobody called it “digital literacy” back then.
2go, Nimbuzz, and the early social games
If you were on 2go, you know the grind. We were chasing star levels like our lives depended on it. I made it to Ultimate before I finally dropped the app.
The thing about 2go was that you could also connect it to Facebook and see your friends online. That was revolutionary for us. Many of us made friendships there that somehow still exist today.
Then there was Nimbuzz. It even had an AI chatbot called Jimmy Testbot. Imagine that—AI chat in 2012, long before ChatGPT made it mainstream. That’s where I learned the thrill of building conversations with tech.
Platforms like Eskimi and Nairaland also existed, but I didn’t vibe with them. The UX was painful. And yes, Nairaland hasn’t updated its design in 15+ years—still looks like 2005.
What about you—how did you first stumble into the internet?
Follow me, I follow you. Follow who know road
Back then, follower count was the ultimate status symbol. On Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter, I grew accounts through the classic follow-for-follow method. It was simple: you follow 50 people, 20 follow you back, and you repeat the cycle until the numbers stack up.
At first, it was just for fun—proof that I could “game the system.” But soon, people began to notice. Friends, classmates, and eventually small business owners started reaching out with questions like: “Can you help me grow my followers too?” or “Can I buy your account?”.
The demand was real. In fact, I sold my Instagram account twice for money. That was when it clicked—this wasn’t just a hobby. It was a skill, and people were willing to pay for it.
I didn’t have the word for it then, but that was digital marketing in action.
Stacking credibility, one online certification at a time
By the time I got to university, I knew this thing wasn’t just a hobby. But I also realized I had no formal background in “traditional” marketing. So I did what every stubborn, curious Nigerian does: I taught myself.
I took every free and affordable course I could find—Google Digital Skills for Africa, HubSpot Academy, IBM Digital Learning. I stacked up certification after certification, not for decoration, but because each one gave me leverage and credibility.
In the last 7 years alone, I’ve earned over 70 certifications, and I’m about to complete my MBA.
The truth is; school is not a scam, and neither is education. But I do believe that the fastest education is self-directed, curiosity-driven, and tied to real problems you’re trying to solve.
I’m sharing everything I know
What started as growing follower counts for fun has become campaigns for global brands. The same curiosity that had me tinkering on 2go has helped me figure out algorithms, funnels, and growth systems.
Over the years, I’ve built expertise, made money, and created a life from digital marketing. Not because I had the perfect roadmap, but because I kept experimenting, failing, and learning.
If I’m honest, I wish someone had put all this into one place when I was starting out. I spent years piecing things together by trial and error. That’s why I built the Digital Marketing Handbook—a way to compress 15+ years of experimenting, failing, and growing on the internet into a practical guide others can use to start their careers faster.
It’s not just theory. It’s a documented playbook of what I’ve lived, tested, and refined.
The truth is, nobody handed me a career. I stumbled into it by accident, but I stayed because I was curious enough to keep learning.
If you’re just starting out, you don’t need to have it all figured out. You don’t need the perfect course, the perfect laptop, or even a perfect plan. You just need to begin—experiment, learn, and keep showing up.
That’s why I created the Digital Marketing Handbook, to give you the shortcuts I never had.