Get your specials with The Namibian Plug
Yolanda NelEver heard of The Namibian Plug, TNP, or The Plug?
We talk to the woman behind the scenes, who chose to remain anonymous.
On her Facebook and Instagram pages, as well as her WhatsApp account, you will find info on sales, opportunities and anything interesting she comes across.
“I like, share and follow for all your plugging needs!”
Asked how The Namibian Plug evolved, she says that for the past few years she's just been plugging people on her status, but then a friend proposed she does the same on a larger platform to reach a bigger audience and to help more people.
“So I started an Instagram page and things just took off from there. Featured are specials that I have a knack for finding. Everybody appreciates a good bargain - from groceries and clothes to tools and everything you may need in your home.”
More often than not, she will find you a cheaper option. “And it makes sense to share what I find with everyone on my platforms.”
And it's paying off because she has almost 10 000 followers on Instagram - something she never expected. “To be honest, it's a big WOW for me, because I never actually thought it would take off. It really just started as something I did on my WhatsApp status. I never realised it would be received with so much love and that it would create this huge sharing community.”
Besides going out there and finding specials herself, several followers send her specials they have come across. “It's such a great community of sharing. There is no monetary value to it, so no one gets paid. It's just fun and a hobby I enjoy.”
The Namibian Plug operates on Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp Business - the latter allowing her to share even more specials. “I have around 300 views on my WhatsApp status - and that's only those that have their ‘blue ticks’ on.”
So, why do this anonymously?
“The Namibian Plug and what I do professionally are two totally different things, so I'd like to keep my side hustle separate from my work. Also, sometimes the specials that I share are from stores that don't allow you to take pictures. So for myself to go unnoticed - I'd literally be stopped at the door - for now it’s best that I remain anonymous. And for anyone that does know my identity, I trust that they can keep it to themselves.
“I also just love the idea that this is a sharing community and there's no particular face to it, because the shares don't just come from myself; they come from a lot of people.”
In the meantime, she hopes not to be outed. “Perhaps, someday, I'll reveal my identity!”
How has the page grown in terms of content, since TNP started?
“Initially the only people that followed me were my friends and those who already had access to my WhatsApp. When I hit the first thousand I thought, hey, that's interesting. Then it grew to five thousand and look, now we're already at almost 10 000. I never thought it would be possible. It has grown so much that my capacity to do certain things, the way I present the information, is more than I could ever have imagined.”
She adds that The Namibian Plug on WhatsApp has three groups filled with 250 people that share catalogues and leaflets with specials that she source from different websites, from Facebook and anywhere else she can source them.
Find The Namibian Plug on both Facebook and Instagram.