One of the first steps to having a successful blog is to make sure you’ve got great content. Without quality content, there are little chances that your blog will grow in any way.
However, once you know that you are consistently posting good stuff on your blog, you will want to grow the number of RSS subscribers. The reason for this is simple: a lot of people who don’t prefer giving out their email address will subscribe to your blog’s feed.
The higher number of RSS subscribers you have, the further will be your reach. So let’s find out how exactly you can convert interested readers into RSS subscribers.
Get Your Feed Noticed
Promoting your feed prominently is a step that many bloggers don’t take. They hide away the RSS feed link somewhere in the footer or a place that is least noticed.
You have to understand that if you want more RSS subscribers then you will have to make it easy for your readers to subscribe. Highlighting your feed link is something you can’t ignore. See to it that the feed link is above the fold, so that it’s one of the first things your visitors notice.
If you check out the big blogs, you’ll see that they always try to showcase their growing RSS feed subscribers using a counter. It’s just another tactic to grab attention.
Educate and Inform Your Readers
RSS is something that’s still new to a lot of people. There are many Internet users that are still learning how to use the web effectively. But that doesn’t mean that you should let go of them.
In order to grow your RSS subscriber count, it’s important that you help your readers understand what this technology is and how they can use it for their own benefit.
It always helps to have a section on your blog that explains readers what RSS is and take them step-by-step into the subscribing process. This is especially useful if your blog targets a non-techie audience.
Remember, educating your readers with simple tips and instructions can go a long way in helping you get an edge over the competition.
Have an RSS to Email Option
You will have readers that are not a big fan of RSS or don’t want to use it for some reason. It’s okay, you don’t have to lose hope. You can still get them to subscribe by giving them the option to convert your RSS feed into email and have it delivered to their inbox.
You can actually increase the amount of response you get by having the ‘RSS to email’ service on your subscription pages. Try using one of the free services offered by Feedburner or FeedBlitz to add this option to your blog.
Give Away an Incentive to New Subscribers
Just the way you get people to subscribe to your email list by offering a bonus, you can do the same with your RSS feed. But first, you will have to create a high quality incentive that your readers love.
Once you’re confident that you have something valuable to give away, just write a post on your blog about it to promote your feed. As long as you’re doing justice to the bonus, you will see an increase in quality subscribers to your feed.
Do you have any tips to share when it comes to boosting RSS subscribers? If yes, please share them below in the comments section.
