Building RSS Subscribers

If you maintain a website, blog, or other content source that can be syndicated via RSS feeds then you have probably kept a watch on the number of subscribers your content has at a given time.  There’s little doubt that no matter how many subscribers you have presently, you can always use more.

DailyBlogTips.com has posted a great article containing 50 tips on increasing your subscribers.  As you can see there are numerous options for attracting new readers.  Although we won’t go to quite this level of detail we will look at a few areas you should consider for increasing your readership.

Educate Your Readers
Don’t assume that your readers understand what RSS is and how it works.  Although the technology has been available for some time there is a still a substantial group of Internet users that have yet to fully embrace it.  This doesn’t mean that this group won’t use it.  They simply need some assistance understanding its value.  You can address this by providing articles or links to other sources that highlight the benefits and high level mechanics of RSS.  Also be cautious when using the standard RSS icon.  If users don’t know what RSS is they certainly won’t recognize the icon. 

Simplify the Process
It’s surprising how many blogs do not provide a clear and easy method of subscribing.  Readers should not have to search all over your site to find this information.  Ideally, users shouldn’t even have to scroll to the bottom of an article.  Options for subscribing should be present on each page and article without the need to scroll.  Also ensure that the steps to complete the process are straight forward and require as few steps as possible.

Offer an Incentive
There are numerous ways to reward subscribers.  You can offer exclusive content for subscribing such as a whitepaper.  You can also reward current subscribers by randomly selecting prize recipients or offer an exclusive contest for new subscribers.  The only downfall to this approach is that users who subscribe solely for a prize or contest may unsubscribe after a short period of time.

Good Content
Although good content may seem obvious, this foundational concept is often overlooked.  No matter what gimmicks you try or how much you beg visitors will only subscribe and stay subscribed if they find your content valuable.  Make sure you understand who your target audience is and gear your content towards that group.  It is acceptable to occasionally shift your focus slightly but this should only occur on a rare occasion.  Also remember that the frequency of your updates will have a large bearing on whether someone chooses to subscribe.  If you only update your content once a month or less most visitors may not see a point to subscribing.  On the other hand, if you post a dozen or more updates a day, your visitors may fear being overwhelmed.