When I first stepped into a classroom to teach digital marketing, I expected to talk about algorithms, conversion funnels, and ad budgets. And sure, we covered all of that.
But what I didn’t expect was how much teaching marketing would teach me.
Over the years, I’ve conducted custom digital marketing courses at colleges, tech institutes, and training centers across Nepal. And through every confused look, breakthrough moment, and heated group project, I’ve gained a deeper understanding of what students actually need.
Spoiler: it’s not just slides and checklists.
The Textbook Problem
Let’s get this out of the way: most digital marketing syllabuses in Nepal are painfully outdated. I’ve seen materials still referencing Orkut and advising keyword density percentages like it’s 2009.
Students arrive curious, eager, and ready to learn—but often stuck in a system that’s treating digital like a chapter in a business studies book, not a dynamic, living ecosystem.
So my first job in the classroom? Break the mold.
I bring real client stories. I open actual campaign dashboards. I show them live data—and yes, even when the numbers are ugly. Because that’s the reality they’ll face if they work in the field.
When Students Ask the Right Questions
I’ve had students ask me things that stopped me mid-slide.
Like:
“Why should a small business spend on ads if their profit margin is already low?”
“What happens if your strategy works but the business still fails?”
These aren’t technical questions. They’re business questions. Strategic questions. The kind that show me someone’s thinking like a marketer, not just memorizing steps.
That’s when I know the classroom is working—not when students can define CTR, but when they start questioning its relevance for different goals.
The Value of Getting It Wrong (On Purpose)
One of my favorite things to do during a course? Assign group projects where the brief is intentionally vague, or slightly flawed.
Why? Because that’s what happens in the real world.
Clients don’t hand you perfect briefs. Founders don’t always know what they want. Markets shift. Tools break.
Watching students navigate that chaos—argue about strategy, defend ideas, rework their copy after feedback—that’s where the magic happens. That’s where future digital marketers are born.
The Local Lens
Teaching in Nepal also means teaching with Nepal in mind.
Many global courses assume infrastructure, access to high-end tools, or audiences that behave a certain way. Here, we’re often working with:
- Patchy internet connections
- Limited budgets
- Customers who may never open an email but will reply on Viber within minutes
So I adjust. I introduce tools that are actually available. I explain strategies that work on Rs. 5,000/month. I encourage students to test ideas with their local businesses—cafes, cousins’ startups, family shops.
Because marketing that only works in theory isn’t marketing—it’s trivia.
What I’ve Learned as a Teacher
Teaching has made me a better strategist. It forces me to explain things simply, to update my own knowledge constantly, and to be honest when I don’t know something.
It’s also taught me that confidence is a skill most students lack—not because they’re unqualified, but because no one has shown them what they can do.
So I try to show them. By treating them like professionals-in-training, not passive learners.
Final Thought
If you’re a student learning digital marketing in Nepal: ask questions that make people uncomfortable. Don’t just study the tools—study people.
And if you’re an educator or practitioner like me: bring the mess into the classroom. The late-night campaign changes. The lost files. The failed launches. That’s where the real learning lives.
Because if we want to build a generation of digital marketers who can lead, not just follow—we have to start by teaching them what real looks like.