How to Gain RSS Subscribers: Simple Tricks

Creating and maintaining a website or blog can be difficult, but once you know you’ve got that golden idea and want to gain readers, you must maintain consistency and growth or your site will get lost in the abyss that is the World Wide Web.  RSS feeds, also known as Rich Site Summary or Really Simple Syndication, allow people to subscribe to your website and automatically receive updates on new posts, news, pictures and other entries. This allows them to know if a specific part of your site they are interested in is updated, or when any update is made so they do not have to keep checking for updates. And of course, the more people are enjoying your site, the better.
Listed below are four easy ways to get people to subscribe to your RSS feed and stay up to date with your site:
#Visible Feed Buttons
The first thing you’ll need to do is let people know you actually have an RSS feed button available for them to subscribe with.  Put it in an obvious place and make sure the RSS feed stands out.  Usually placing the RSS feed button at the top with a counter indicator of how many readers you have will likely generate more followers.  Try to find a way to add an RSS feed button on as many pages as you can without cluttering up your site.  Many webmasters use colorful graphics or flags to signal potential subscribers, outside of the standard RSS feed button.  By simply using a free RSS Graphic Tool you can set your own color scheme and create a stylistic button that matches your website’s theme.  Also make sure people can discover your website through basic searches.
#Gimme Something Good to Read
Create quality content!  By far the easiest way to make sure people are following your feeds is to provide fresh, relevant content as often as possible.  Many subscribers scroll through hundreds of feeds daily, so try not to get lost in the mix.  Bold headlines and clever catch phrases will help your entries to retain interest.  Most readers always skim headlines and titles first.  Give them a catchy title and keep their interest by writing with a unique style that will keep them coming back for more.
#Instruct, Define, Educate
Simplify the operation by telling readers how to subscribe.  Many don’t understand how RSS feeds work, even with the most popular websites, so educating them a little could go a long way.  Perhaps write a short explanation on a separate subscription page to explaining what the RSS subscription means and how they can simplify their internet experience.
#Shameless Self-Promotion
Self-promotion never hurt anyone.  Promote your RSS feed in emails next to your signature next to your URL.  Visit your friends’ pages and ask if they wouldn’t mind sponsoring your link. Offer your subscribers a freebie like an e-book or a .pdf bundle as a promotion for joining.  Perhaps you may consider shelling out a little cash for an AdWords campaign to cast a wide net.  Promote your site anywhere you can think of.
See?  Nothing to it.  Simple is better when it comes to RSS feed promotion.  Stay visible, generate good content, educate your readers and promote at every opportunity and you could see a steady rise in subscriptions.
While Google Reader is expected to go away on July 1, 2013, RSS feed readers are still going to be around in a major way. Already, other readers are contending for the top spot.  Buzz worthy RSS feed readers include Bloglines, Newsgator, Yahoo, Feedly, Flipboard, Pulse News, iGoogle, Netvibes, NewsBlur, FeedDemon and RSSBandit, just to name a few.