5 Ways To Increase RSS Subscribers

Adding an RSS feed to your website will make it easy for you to share updates with people. RSS is still gaining in popularity, and more browsers are adding it to their functionality. Just like trying to get traffic to a website, if you are offering an RSS feed, you should be thinking about increasing the number of subscribers to it. This article will assume you already have plenty of traffic coming to your page, but need ways to increase the number of people getting your feed.

1. Make it visible. Your visitors are not likely to hunt around on your website looking for a subscribe button. This means you have to make it easy to find. Using the standard RSS icon above the fold, so visitors don't have to scroll down to see it, is a good start. Be sure to leave plenty of white space around it as well, so it stands out more. Whatever graphic you are using, you need to let people know that is where they can subscribe. In other words, don't rely on the icon alone. You can do this by simply adding the phrase "Subscribe to our feed here" right next to the image.

2. Make it easy. The more steps you have in your subscription process, the more people you will lose along the way. Basically, each step gives them a chance to reconsider. You also need to tell people exactly what to do. If they need to click something, tell them. If they need to go to a different page, tell them. What seems obvious to you will not be obvious to all of your potential subscribers.

3. Keep it fresh. Make updates to your site every day. This will keep your site visible to anyone viewing your feed. Remember, you want people to stay subscribed, too. So you not only have to provide good content, but you need to do so regularly.

4. Write about it. Include an article on your site that lists the benefits of subscribing to your RSS feed. There is no need to use hype. Just explain how they will receive updates, stay on top of what's going on at your site, along with the time and convenience factors. Not only are you making it visible, but you are also making it hard for them to not subscribe.

5. Encourage sharing. Every person that sees your feed is a potential visitor to your site. Encourage those who are already subscribed to share any updates they like. With persistence you could soon experience exponential growth in the number of subscribers and traffic to your site.

Doing these simple things will add to your subscriber base in no time. They are all free and easy to implement, but won't work at all if you don't use them. So, what are you waiting for?

To learn more about the benefits of using RSS you can visit the Web Business Architecture.