Richard Legg is a successful internet marketer and entrepreneur who specializes in SEO and traffic generation. He has helped hundreds of people get their first online business up and running and creates training products aimed at helping beginners grow their business online.
I first heard about Richard Legg back in 2009 when I heard a recording he did with Willie Crawford on getting targeted, free traffic with SEO. I was very impressed with his knowledge and overall good will. In 2010, I was fortunate to begin doing some joint ventures with Richard.
Though he’s one of the giants in the IM world, you won’t hear much about him. He’s humble and low-key and one of the friendliest people you’ll ever meet.
Tell us a little about yourself. Where are you from? How old are you? How long have you been working in this industry?
I’m 28 – originally from the UK, but also lived in Ireland for 10 years, and have now been living in the USA for the past 3 years… so my accent is very ‘unique’.
I’ve been involved in online marketing in some form for the past 10 years.
What accomplishments so far are you the most proud of?
Personally, I’m proud of my academic background – I have a masters degree in Physics and paid for a lot of my time in university through internet marketing. I’m also extremely proud to have a wonderful family – they are really the reason I do what I do.
How did you come to learn about Internet Marketing? Why did you choose it?
I’d always been interested in computers and the internet, but it was when in college that I started to get more into marketing online. At the time I had a part time job, working for minimum wage, and figured there had to be an easier way to get make money! At first I wasn’t that successful online, but slowly (and with a LOT of hard work and dedication) it became a way for me to generate a good income, even with part time effort.
How long did it take you to go from part-time to a full-time Internet Marketer?
I was actually marketing (successfully) for about 3 years while in college, and by the time I finished my masters degree, I was earning enough where I could focus on marketing full time.
What do you think it takes to be successful as an affiliate/internet marketer?
Just like any business it takes a lot of hard work, dedication, and also the ability to handle failure. Not every venture is going to be successful, or immediately successful, so it’s important to be able to analyze and move on if necessary. But there are no quick fixes in this game.
What have been your biggest failures and frustrations?
One of my biggest frustrations right now has got to be the quality (or lack of) in a LOT of the products coming out online. Too many people are just after a quick buck instead of looking to build long term value by actually helping people.
What is the single toughest problem you’ve had to face, and how did you get through it?
My biggest problem has always been staying focused and avoiding distraction – One of the things about being an entrepreneur is that you start to see opportunities everywhere and it can be very difficult to not get sidetracked by the possibilities you see.
Is there anything that you don’t like to do, that you just hate working on?
For me the ‘admin’ side of running a business can be tedious … I try to outsource as much as I can so that I can focus more on the creative side of building a business. Everyone’s time is valuable, so it’s important to do what you’re good at. If you’re no good, find someone who is.
If it’s possible for you to share, are there any particular niches that you currently favor? Or that you aren’t necessarily in right now but that you would recommend?
The IM niche has always been one that I’m heavily invested in – particularly as a product owner. But I’m also in a lot of other markets as an affiliate – the evergreen ones like health, finance are good markets, but I’ve also had success in others such as music production and green energy markets.
What niche has worked best for you?
Probably the IM niche – It was hard work, but I’ve built a lot of valuable assets, and made a lot of extremely valuable relationships. It’s often not as easy to build relationships you can leverage when you’re in markets as an affiliate.
Which methods of promotion do you favor?
Free traffic through SEO has always been my main source. YouTube videos can also be a great way to get exposure. But the most valuable are probably having affiliates and joint venture partners.
How have you made those promotion methods successful?
For me, SEO is all about breaking down processes into a system. Google is basically a big computer with a set of rules it uses to rank sites. If you can build your sites within those sets of rules, you can have a lot of success. But it’s all about having a plan of action that works, and then sticking to it.
What have you been up to recently? What projects are you working on?
I recently spent several months in Europe visiting family/friends and traveling before our son is in school, so I haven’t really been working on anything new.
My goal for this year is to try and come up with some really valuable training that helps more people get started online. The recent wave of poor products makes me want to show people how it’s possible to build a successful business while doing it honestly too.
Do you think anything particular in your past prepared you for this industry? Your education? Jobs you’ve held before?
My scientific background has definitely helped me in the way I approach my business – I’m very analytical and systematic which really helps keep me focused on what I need to do.
What is the future of Internet Marketing?
It’s hard to say … I want to say that people will start getting wise to all the junk out there, and demanding quality. But at the same time, I know there will always be people who will pay for the “$354,982 in 30 days with just 3 clicks” stuff out there, and as long as people keep paying for it, others will keep selling it.
What are your greatest strengths?
I think my ability to experiment with new methods, try new things, and analyze the results has really helped me refine the way I run my business. Outside of that, I like to think that I’m an honest, genuine person that people want to work with.
What are your greatest weaknesses?
Probably lack of focus and discipline … not all the time, but it definitely creeps in every now and again … particularly at the end of the day.
What motivates you?
Wanting to give my family a good life – While the material things are not as important for me, it’s so nice to be able to spend time with my family, watch my son grow. Not having to get up at 6am and commute for an hour every day also helps!
What is the best advice you’ve been given and try to apply to your life?
My parents always told me to try my best and be proud of that. I know that if I’m going to do anything, I’m not happy until I know that I’ve done all that I could.
Who has impacted you most in your career, and how?
There have been so many people, but mostly it’s from the relationships I’ve built with other marketers – we all know we are there to help each other out when needed.
What kinds of people do you have difficulties working with? Any good stories?
People who make excuses all the time annoy me. In this game, you have to be motivated and dedicated. As a business owner it’s up to you to get things done. So people who don’t want to work, and then complain that internet marketing is a ‘scam’ are people I don’t have much time for.
What are some of your long-term goals? How much is enough? If money was no object, what would you be doing?
Ideally I want to build a business that gives me the flexibility to take time off as and when I need it. I love working and building my business, but I want to be in a position where I could take a month off if I wanted to, and still know that the business was running successfully and growing too.
Where do you want to be 10 years from now?
See above.
How do you like to spend your free time? What doe work-life balance mean to you?
My wife and I love traveling and so we’ve been to lots of different places over the past few years. Family is the most important thing to me so when I’m not working I’m usually spending it with them.
If you could go back to being 18, what different career choices would you make?
I’d still want to work for myself.
What is your greatest achievement outside of work?
It’s cheesy I know, but I have to say my son.
What are some of your unfulfilled dreams?
I always wanted to get a pilots license.
Do you have a blog?
http://www.Richard-Legg.com/blog
Are you on Twitter and/or Facebook?
It seems that I and Richard have the same weakness 🙂
Sometimes it is really hard for me to do what I need to do and to stay focused.
Usually, when I am going to do something, for example write a new article, I need some information. I go and watch some videos and then, even I could write 5 articles from that content, I go and watch other videos… It is not easy to stay focused…
What helps me is I create a “to do list” and I put that in front of my computer, so I always see what I should be doing. That really helps me. Also, when I start seeing sales and new subscribers coming in, helps as well 🙂
What do you do, John, to stay focused?
Matt Poc
Hi Matt,
I have a “to do” list that I go through every day and make sure I do things from top (highest priority) to bottom. Some of my tasks are daily ones and others are weekly. These tasks are based on my yearly goals.
If I have to, I’ll turn off any instant messaging programs (like Skype) and shut down my email program as well. I even mute the phone 🙂