Loyality: RSS Subscribers and How To Keep It Growing

Skelliewag has value packed post called "How To Get 1,050 Subscribers in 3 Months."

It's a three prong strategy:

1. Work out who your target audience is and write your content exclusively for them.

2. Pack your articles with as much value as possible. If time is a problem, post less.

3. Source out your target audience by getting or making links and writing for social media.

I'd also add a 4th point or perhaps add something to point 2.  Find a unique view on your topic.  I learned about this from a personal branding session at BlogHer I attended this summer.

Also, some good advice here on encouraging people to subscribe in terms of usability:

Despite this, the basic tenet of usability holds true: if you want someone to do something, you better make it as easy as possible.

• Put your feed button above the fold. This is where people expect it to be and is also the first place they look.
• Give readers the option to subscribe at the end of your articles. By doing so, you’re catching them when they’ve just read a value-packed post and are feeling most positive about your content.
• A great looking design can increase a visitor’s disposition to subscribe. We inevitably associate a professional design with how seriously the blogger or webmaster takes what they do. First impressions do count.
• You can offer another incentive to subscribe. I’ve written about this in detail at Blogging Tips.
• When do I start showing the subscriber count? When you start to be proud of how many subscribers you have.

Laura Scott adds a 5th point - offer full feed posts.  What else would you add?

If you are enjoying this post,  subscribe for free.

Comments

[Thomas]

I want to reinforce the "put your feed button above the fold" point. Although I will search for it if I really like a blog, I'm far more likely to give a blog a chance in my rss reader if I can quickly find the feed button. It's not (just) that I'm lazy, it's also that I think this shows the author of the blog cares about providing an easy means of providing content. Caring about readers often equals caring about providing good content.

[Andrea Vascellari]

"Give readers the option to subscribe at the end of your articles"
This is definitely a plus.

I have to 'upgrade my platforms'!

Andrea