The Need for Feeds
One of my earliest blogging mistakes was underestimating the importance of RSS feeds, both for readers and for my own sanity. I'd never used a feed reader, and I didn't know anyone who had.
Having never subscribed to a feed myself, I did nothing to promote my own feed - it was practically invisible. Fortunately I soon saw the light. Building a base of feed subscribers can have many benefits:
- Visitors who subscribe are making a commitment to read your future posts.
- Subscribers aren't just passive readers - they're taking action to subscribe and they're likely to take action in the future to comment or link to your posts.
- Subscribers are less impacted by your posting frequency - they get your latest as soon as you post it, and they're not checking back daily to see if you've posted anything new.
Make your feed address a prominent part of your blog, and offer email subscriptions as well for those who haven't discovered RSS (FeedBurner makes this easy). Also, offer full feeds. Darren Rowse of ProBlogger recently found that partial feeds were one of the top reasons users unsubscribe. Don't worry that you'll lose a few page views - regular, committed readers are far more important to your blog's success.
And if you're still not using a feed reader yourself, you should seriously consider it. It may take a while to get used to it, but your productivity will soar and you'll be able track many more blogs than you ever could with a list of bookmarks.
This is my contribution to the “Blogging Mistakes” project from Daily Blog Tips. I'll be posting links to all the other tips soon, so watch this space.
Madhur Kapoor wrote:
You are right man , feeds are an important part of a blog , i did the same thing once but corrected it quickly .
DanyO wrote:
Feeds are an essential part of successful blogging. It helps you to create a dedicated reader-base, that will be around for a long time.
Michael Schaffner wrote:
Don't forget email subscriptions. Feedburner offers easy ways to offer your reader subscription via RSS or email. Email may not be as technically "hip" as RSS but the fact is some people prefer that method. A full 20% of my subscribers are via email with the other 80% via RSS. Email subscription isn't the dominant method but it isn't insignificant either.
Mike
Kevin Henney wrote:
I agree. You may have missed the line that says "offer email subscriptions as well for those who haven't discovered RSS (FeedBurner makes this easy)." :)
I have some email subscribers as well, though the number isn't as high as 20% here.
Aniela wrote:
I value my feed subscribers very much. I offer a full feed, but I have more subscribers using the e-mail option rather than the RSS. It doesn't bother me, just wanted to share. :)
Robert Irizarry wrote:
I think the importance of RSS feeds depends largely on your audience. A technology savvy audience is far more likely to use feeds. On my guitar blog, I still find that many prefer the email subscription option so I prominently feature this on my blog.
Matthew wrote:
I'll have to subscribe to this feed, dont have it on there yet. I hope you do the same, we have a little contest running as well ;)
origami rose wrote:
RSS gives people a chance to read your feed with their morning cup of coffee.
Don't miss out on the chance to a wider audience.
Bob wrote:
Hard to get subscribers when you start. I'm having a little contest about this topic actually :)
Steven wrote:
Good information. I am just starting up my blog and was looking for information about rss feeds, excellent post, you answered alot of my questions. Thanks.
David wrote:
With previous sites, blogging or otherwise, setting up my feed was a tedious job at times. Luckily I started using Wordpress and now its a totally automated affair. For the less tech savvy I'd definitely suggest giving Wordpress a try :)
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