RSS is a great way to distribute your content, but what if you don’t have subscribers?
First of all, you need to use RSS, short for Really Simple Syndication. Many people don’t subscribe to RSS because they don’t know what it is, but that is changing. The beauty of RSS feeds is that they don’t clutter your inbox and you can’t get spammed.
Just follow my steps to promote your feed and you should find that you have a lot of subscribers.
On a website, you will often see a small orange icon that is the RSS button. Sometimes there is text suggesting that readers subscribe. If a person presses the button and they don’t have a reader, they will possibly see an XML document. That just confuses them and makes them go away. Instead of letting this happen, you need to do something different from almost everyone else who offers RSS feeds via the button.
Create an RSS information page.
For the many users who haven’t learned about RSS and its benefits, you should create a simple page that will help them quickly learn about it and why they need it. On your page you should have five simple elements:
1. A brief explanation of what RSS is. Add a link to the Wikipedia RSS page for those who like in-depth details.
2. Three to five bullet points about how choosing a feed will benefit your readers.
3, A link to an RSS reader you like. For a really simple web based reader I recommend using the one at Google+ as it is easy to understand. There are dozens out there, so do your research and pick what you like.
4. Include two or three different RSS options, web-based, desktop download, and even mobile options.
5. A short paragraph on how to subscribe to your own RSS (and a link).
6. A short paragraph on why your RSS is a MUST for them!
7. Links to all RSS feeds on your site and any other relevant website feeds you offer.
Now go and promote your new page!
Like everything on the Internet, you will have to promote it! Add your feed URL to your emails and ezines. Use something compelling to encourage readers to subscribe. Let them know how important it is to be subscribed to your site in real time.
Make sure your subscription links are visible in all formats. If they don’t see it, they can’t subscribe!
That’s how easy it is to promote your RSS feed to your website readers. Follow these steps and you will see how your subscriptions multiply.