Interview With Robb Sutton - Author of Ramped Reviews

I first met you in Blog Mastermind. Would you recommend coaching products to new blogs?

Absolutely. First off...you can never learn too much about any subject. If there is ever a day that I stop learning new things...that will be the day I made the worst decision of my life. When I started Yaro's program, I had seen pretty good success in the 6 months I had been blogging. The coaching program allowed me to capitalize on that success and cut down on my trial and error time. I would recommend coaching programs for new and establish blogs. Well constructed coaching programs will teach you something new every time.

Some of your early success was due to leveraging your presence in the Blog Mastermind forums. Do you have tips on standing out in a forum?

I have a lot of success in cycling related forums as well, and that contributes to the success of Mountain Biking by 198. The most important thing to remember when dealing with online forums is that you need to participate in the community. If you expect to just throw up links to your blog and basically spam the forum, don't expect any positive results. That will actually hurt you in the long run. If you want to really leverage forums...become an integral part of the community by interacting with its members. It takes time...but is well worth it.

What motivated you to release Ramped Reviews?

When Mountain Biking by 198 started bringing tens of thousands of dollars in review product, I kept on getting asked how I do it. After searching around online and looking at other blogs, I realized that there was not a resource on the internet that treated review blogging from the business perspective. Through my trips in the corporate arena, I have actually been on the other side of the fence...giving out review product to publications. I wrote Ramped Reviews as a resource for anyone...established blog or just starting out...that spelled it all out. When you read Ramped Reviews, it includes everything you need to know about review blogging, how to write a review, how to contact companies, etc. It is everything I do on a weekly basis to continue to see success in review blogging.

In the end...I really just wanted to help other bloggers see the same success I have through my experience.

Did you learn anything new when creating this information product?

It is a lot of work! Ramped Reviews is not a combination of a bunch of articles on my blog. It is all original content that is supposed to help other bloggers, so it took a really long time to get everything together and organized.

What I really didn't expect thought was how nervous I got right before the release. When you put your heart and soul into something like Ramped Reviews, it can be really nerve racking waiting for that first bit of feedback or review. Once John Chow gave is incredibly positive review of Ramped Reviews, I was able to calm down some and settle in for the long haul. That was a huge monkey off my back.

Do you have plans to release other information products?

I just recently release Ramped Mindset as a free download for newsletter subscribers. Ramped Mindset helps you change the way you think so that you can actually be successful. What most people do not realize is that we are the ones that get in the way of our success, so we need to change our thinking to keep from holding ourselves back. Ramped Mindset helps other bloggers get out of that self destructive thinking.

There are two other projects that will be started shortly as well. Ramped Blogs and Ramped eBook Publishing (still working with the titles!).

Did guest posting on Entreprenuers Journey help your sales?

Absolutely. Any way that you can increase your brand awareness through traffic creation with well written guest posts is a good thing. Guest posting on blogs in your niche is a must do even if you are not selling anything. If you are looking to grow your blog and reach new potential readers, there is no better way than a quality guest post on a prominent blog.

You've earned 10's of thousands of dollars in review products. Do you have tips for new bloggers to get review products?

Start small and think big. When you start reviewing products, do not contact anyone until you have written review posts on your blog. When you start to contact potential review product companies...start with smaller niche companies and work your way up as you gain credibility as a review blogger. Do not go after Sony or Chevrolet right away...that will just be discouraging.

Did your corporate experience help you knowing what companies want with product reviewers?

Yes...a lot. As I said before, I have been on the other end of the spectrum, so that experience allowed me to get rid of a lot of my trial and error period. My experience in the corporate world allowed me to see success almost instantly.

Finally, do you have any final tips on standing out on the web?

Be original. There are enough copycats out there trying to make a quick dollar online. Bring yourself as much as you can into your blogging and have a unique story to tell. If you really want to be successful, you need to be different. Other than that...keep pushing, learn from your mistakes, apply them to your future decisions and keep capitalizing on your successes. Never give up.