Just over a week ago I picked up an eBook called “ Ramped Reviews ” written by Robb Sutton.  I was very impressed with the eBook as it takes a completely different approach to building a successful Blog.

Most eBooks on Blogging are written by “How to Make Money Online” Bloggers, which is fine except that it gives new Bloggers the impression that the only way to make money with a Blog is to start yet another “How to Make Money Online” Blog.

Robb’s eBook is totally different.  Robb runs a successful mountain biking review Blog and it has nothing to do with making money online.  I just loved this eBook so I decided to contact Robb for a quick interview.  If you run a Blog or have been thinking about starting a Blog, you’ve got to read this.

Here’s the interview:

Paul: Hi Robb, I heard about your eBook ” Ramped Reviews ” last week, and I have to say that at first I was a bit skeptical because I’ve read probably three dozen eBooks related to Blogging over the last few years and most of them are just the same crap stuff repeated over and over again.

In fact, I probably haven’t read anything new in an eBook on Blogging since reading Yaro Starak’s Blog Profits Blueprint years ago.

However, for some reason something about your eBook grabbed my attention and I wanted to read it right away, even though it was already 2am in the morning when I first heard about it.

It was a short read, only about 40 pages long, but I have to tell you that I was very impressed and something in that eBook acted like a “missing piece” in my Blogging strategy that had finally fallen into place.

Synchronistically I had just watched a couple of video’s the same day relating to some affiliate marketing strategies that I instantly saw could be applied to Blogging, and I had sat down and written down a whole bunch of ideas in my journal earlier on that day also related to Blogging.

Those video’s, the ideas I wrote in my journal, and the ideas you shared in your eBook got me so excited that night that I literally did not sleep all night. My wife woke up in the morning, walked into the kitchen and asked me what was going on because I hadn’t come to bed. I told her I was too excited and couldn’t sleep. That doesn’t happen very often to me! I’m normally pretty good at getting to sleep no matter how excited I am.

What I got out of your eBook is that you’ve got such a different and unique way that you approached your Blogging strategy, and your way of thinking is not something I’ve seen before in the Blogging world. You’re bringing in a much more business oriented way of thinking and just using a Blog as a communications medium, but it’s very obvious to me that you’ve got a successful business background behind your Blog.

I was very impressed, and I want to ask you some questions about yourself, your Blog and your strategy for my readers on InspiredMoneyMaker.com because I think you exemplify what it means to be an Inspired Money Maker.

So if that’s alright, I’d like you to ask you some questions.

Robb:  Sure thing! Let’s get started! Thanks again for the chance to do this interview.

Paul: Ok, first of all, when did you start Blogging?

Robb:  I started building a mountain bike trail site back in October of 2007.

In March of 2008, I started a blog section on that site that eventually took the entire site over and is now Mountain Biking by 198. In October of 2008, I started robbsutton.com as an outlet for blogging, self improvement and business building. What can I say? It’s contagious…I have other blogs on the project board that will get released in the near future. I just can’t seem to get enough these days!

Paul:  I know the feeling.  What would you say is the primary difference between your Blog and most other Blogs that are being launched today? How did you differentiate yourself?

Robb:  The cycling industry had its fair share of hobbyist bloggers writing about their rides the weekend before and huge publication blogs that seemed to never have a bad thing to say about anything.

There were very few mountain biking related blogs that spoke for the rider when it came to bikes and components. I started Mountain Biking by 198 with the intention of it being a review blog for the rider…not influenced by advertising or outside sources and I think that is a large part in its success.  To this day…that is the goal as we move forward and branch out into other areas of cycling.

Robbsutton.com takes a more business approach to blogging as it relates to growing a readership and long lasting revenue model. My unique experience in the corporate world is much different than a lot of other bloggers that I have found. I think that gives me a unique perspective on growth and how to achieve steady gains.

Hopefully, I am able to help others bloggers achieve success as much as others have helped me.

Paul:  Now, in your eBook you mention that in your first year of Blogging, even before you reached the first anniversary of your Blog you had already secured over $71,990 worth of review products on your Blog, with $24,040 of that being free product that you could keep or sell after you completed the review! That is outstanding. Why don’t you tell us a bit more about those figures.

Robb:  Those figures are the retail value of all of the product I have had come through my front door. I have been able to keep anything from a $5.00 bottle of chain lube to a bike worth over $6,000. I swear the UPS and FedEx guys must think I am crazy.

A lot of the more expensive product (bikes worth 7k+) have to be returned several months after delivery to the manufacturer, but for the most part…we keep pretty much everything that comes through the door.

I’m not sure what they would do with well used bike parts anyway…we really put them through the ringer!

Paul:  What would you say to the brand new Bloggers out there who just launched a Blog and the excuse they’re clinging onto is that it’s easy for the BIG Blogs out there to get review products, but for a brand new Blog with a small following it’s impossible?

Robb:  It is possible and it is all about the approach. The most common mistake small blogs make is going after review product when they haven’t even written a review on their blog. The second most common mistake is going after the biggest fish in the industry without a reputation built as a review blogger.

The idea is to start writing reviews on your blog before you get anything for free, and then when you do step out into that world…start with the smaller niche companies and work your way up.

The review blogging world is a lot of reputation management…and you need to treat it that way.

Paul:  What was great about your story for me was that you made me realize that a brand new Blogger, someone getting started TODAY, with no prior experience can experience success right away, as long as they work hard and do things the right way.

I’m not talking about monetary success, which may be harder for some people to accomplish until a bit later on in their Blogging career, but success from a different point of view. Let me explain what I mean.

Most Bloggers start their Blogs and they use their monthly Blogging income as a measure of success. Ever since some of the bigger Bloggers out there began reporting their income each month, it has just become a standard of measure of a success of a Blog to see how much money it makes per month. When people start a Blog and then find that it doesn’t make money for them in the first few months or even years, they give up.

You’ve redefined that completely as far as I’m concerned. I mean, I can’t imagine a bigger measure of success than getting $71,000 worth of review product from some of the biggest mountain biking companies in the world, $24,000 of which you get to keep after the review!

I mean, to a mountain biking freak like you, that must feel amazing. It’s not about the money, it’s the fact that the companies you respect want YOUR opinion. That’s awesome.

Robb:  You should see my face every time I walk into my garage and see 10 bikes sitting there. My biggest problem these days is deciding which one I am going to take with me! Believe it or not…companies actually put a lot of stock in your honest opinions as a review blogger.

As long as you are fact based with your results, they use those opinions and those of your readers to develop better products in the future. As long as you keep delivering quality content to a specific, targeted audience, you should continue to see more success in getting product for your blog. It just keeps getting easier and easier.

Paul:  I kid you not, after reading your eBook I wanted to run out and start five new Blogs. I love Blogging, but what I have always found frustrating is that making money with a Blog is getting harder and harder, because the sheer volume of Blogs that are starting up each day keeps increasing and the amount of advertising revenue being spent in the Blogosphere seems to be diminishing, especially with today’s tighter marketing budgets.

Advertisers are willing to spend money on proven Blogs with HUGE audiences, but less and less on the little guys. Your strategy, however, is totally different. You’re completely detached from the pool of money out there that’s being spent in the Blogosphere. You’re created your own pool, which I think is brilliant. And you’ve done it in a way that really provides zero risk to the advertisers.

Robb:  You’re right, and as an added bonus…you are already developing a relationship with a potential advertiser as you go through the review process. Blogging is all about creating and maintaining relationships. It doesn’t matter if you are referring to increasing traffic or monetary value.

By increasing positive business relationships in both areas, you will continue to see success.

Paul:  I’ve been recommending your eBook to everyone I know who’s a Blogger or who’s been thinking about starting a Blog. I’m going to be re-reading it again for the third time myself.

For those people in my audience that are trying to figure out if your eBook is for them, why don’t you share with us who you believe to be the perfect person to read your eBook?

Robb:  When I started writing Ramped Reviews, I wanted the potential reader to be everything from a “I just started my blog yesterday” to the experienced blogger who wants to jump head first into serious review blogging.

If you have ever thought about reviewing products or services on your blog, Ramped Reviews will guide you every step of the way.

Paul:  Where do people find your eBook and what kind of investment do they need to make to pick up this little gem?

Robb:  You only need a one time investment of 20 bucks to get you started on your way and you can pick it up by clicking on this link.

Paul:  Awesome Robb. Thank you for taking the time to take part in this interview. I wish you much success in the coming years, and thank you for putting this information out there for people to learn from, instead of keeping it your little success secret.

We need more original thinkers like yourself out there to help shape and define the Blogging world.

Robb:  Thanks again for having me. This was fun.

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I hope you guys enjoyed this interview. I think we can all learn from Robb’s success story.

You can find Robb’s eBook by following this link:  Ramped Reviews