Tell us about yourself and what you do
Craig Campbell is a digital promotion expert who has over 18 years’ experience in the industry. Like most people in this industry I’ve went from working as a freelancer at home learning the trade, to building up my own agency and now have a strong focus on affiliate marketing as well as training and consultancy. After making countless mistakes over the years running an agency, managing people and running a business, I’ve made more mistakes than most as it was never the intention to run a business or manage people as well as doing what I’m good at which is website optimization.
But I’ve finally got there in the end where I’ve managed to nail all the processes and procedures within the business as well as taking myself out the business and working on the business rather than in the business and I regularly share tips and tricks on my YouTube channel or at conferences all over the world. In recent years Craig has spoken at events in Thailand, India, UK, United States, Poland, France, Iceland, Israel and many other countries throughout the world.
Why did you decide to create your own business?
Well here’s the thing, It wasn’t intentional, I was good at websites Optimization and Digital Promotion and before I knew it I needed a sales guy, then I needed a content writer, then I needed a web developer and before I knew it I was in charge of a business and a whole bunch of people. So it was something that was just a natural progression rather than me setting out to build a business.
But setting up your own business gives you freedom and flexibility as well as the ability to scale your earnings which has always appealed to me. I’ve never been one for working a 9-5 job, I like working at night, I like investing in myself and learning new things so the usual day job wasn’t fulfilling enough for me.
What keeps you motivated?
Working in Digital which is an ever changing environment keeps me motivated as there is always something new to learn, or something has changed so it is never a case of resting on your laurels and getting away with the same level of work for a prolonged period of time. The ability to use automation and technology is always interesting and when I have the ability to play with and learn new tools then I will always be motivated to learn and develop. And trying to b on top of my game is motivation in itself.
Who has been a role model to you and why?
Very hard to pinpoint one person, as I’ve taken small nuggets from many people in my industry, to name a few, Matt Woodward, Seth Godin and guys like that have motivated me a lot. But many other industry regulars are always giving away golden nuggets, ideas and motivate me in many other ways so there is a whole bunch of folk I’ve learned things from and tried to implement their ways into my working life and it’s been fairly successful.
How do you maintain a solid work life balance?
I try and work Monday to Friday 9-5 at the most, I spend the evenings and weekends doing things with my family. I’ve a 1 year old boy who I love spending time with, so I try and get all of my work done so I can spend time with him and my wife. I feel it is vital to switch off from work, and do things with your family and completely get away from the business side of things and that’s where a lot of my efforts are focused for now.
What traits do you possess that makes a successful leader?
I like to trying things out, testing is something I love and I’ve had more failures than successes, however I think that hunger and desire to succeed with anything is something that makes me successful, I never give up I keep going. But I also treat people with respect and don’t try and micro manage people, allowing people the freedom to be creative and there is a fine balance in doing that, and also kicking them up the backside to keep them moving at times so I’d say I’ve been good in that respect too.
What has been the hardest obstacle you’ve overcome?
In my business life, I build myself into the business, and then trying to pivot and change that to working on the business was hard going and took a few years to get that ironed out. But this was all self-inflicted and was my own fault. I wasn’t trained in business or anything so I learnt the hard way, but it was fun and I got there in the end.
What is one piece of advice that you have never forgotten?
You never get a second chance to make a first impression.
Outside of work, what defines you as a person?
I think im hard working, trustworthy and give anything I do my all, whether its playing ping pong or chess I have a desire to be the best and that competitive edge is something that has been inside me from a very young age. I think having a positive winning mentality helps me with a lot of things in life outside of work.
Where do you see you and your company in 5 years?
I love investing in new digital assets and working on new projects and I see myself doing a lot more of that. I do also intend in becoming more of a marketer and build up my YouTube channel and podcast and broaden the audience that watch me as I feel I’ve a lot more to offer than just websites optimization. But this will take years to grow and I’d imagine in 5 years I’ll be doing a lot more of the same stuff, but have a much broader business and marketing audience.
How can you be reached?
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCPeOzstGV1FB0cGSBg2piDg