Interview with Robb Sutton - The Owner of the OneNinety8 Blog Network

Today, I'm very pleased to have Robb here with us.

Hi Robb, first and foremost, congratulations on your placement in the 50 Most Influential Bloggers of 2009 by IncomeDiary.com and thank you for agreeing to this interview.


Thanks for having me! Being on that list around those names in blogging is an honor.

If the people reading this ask, who is Robb Sutton, what would you say?

Cyclist, Blogger and general online addict. I am obsessed with riding anything that is powered by pedals and the rest of my time is spent with geeky activities like blogging and playing with my Apple products. Down deep...I just like to ride my bike and play on the computer.

Could you describe what you do and how you earn your living?

I provide useful, relevant content to various niches that teach readers how to become better at a given task. I also provide in depth, honest product reviews in those niches. Fortunately, this also provides an income through ebook sales, affiliate promotions and direct advertising. BUT...it is all done through providing resources for my readers. It is always the pursuit to deliver quality content first...money second.

Most Entrepreneurs started off as "nobody", so how did you manage to use your blog to help you get noticed and influence your industry?

I did something unique and different through Mountain Biking by 198 and Ramped Reviews. There are a TON of copycats out there looking to make a quick dollar. If you really want to make a name for yourself in any industry, you need to do it differently and with a unique angle. Without that uniqueness, you are going to fall through the cracks and look like just another number amongst the thousands. A ton of hard work also factors in. 2 hour work weeks only come after many 60 hour...

Right, hard work comes first then the rewards, so what are the techniques you use to attract real prospects to your business?

Guest posts, eBooks, Link Bait Content...basically A LOT of content. I have released (as of this interview) 3 eBooks with another one on the way and I post daily during the week on at least two of my blogs. You can't attract unless you produce. And for bloggers and internet marketers...content is our production. Like I said before, that content needs to be unique.

What are the factors that keep your audience coming back day after day?

Honesty and inserting myself and my personality into my work. The more transparent you are in your blogging, the more your readers will be able to connect with you on a personal level. It is hard to get out of the "research paper" writing mentality that has been beat into our heads since grade school. If you want readers to come back, connect with them. Without that connection, you are just another static site on the web.

I understand you wrote an eBook - Ramped Reviews, would you like to tell us more about it?

Ramped Reviews stemmed from a lot of email questions on how I got in so much product to review on my cycling blog. Before the blog was even 18 months old, it brought in over 100k worth of free product for review purposes. After getting enough, "how did you do that?" emails, I decided to write an ebook.

Ramped Reviews takes you step by step through review blogging and how to contact companies for review product. This can pertain to anything from Wordpress plugins to $6,000 mountain bikes, the process is still the same. So...for the small price of the ebook, you can bring in a ton of review product for your blog too.

Thank you very much for the interview, do you have any final words of wisdom that you would like to share with us?

Just keep at it! Nothing comes without sacrifice and you are never going to succeed if you jump from project to project with no real game plan. Define what you want...and go after it like crazy. This is your one and only life and if you keep on putting off things until tomorrow...tomorrow is never going to come.

You can find out more about Robb Sutton at robbsutton.com and mtbtrailreview.com. Robb has written 3 eBooks on blogging and having successful mindset including his latest 118 page eBook on how to build a successful blog titled "Ramped Blogging".