e-Famous Tip #7 - Encourage Your Visitors to Subscribe

The best thing you can do to hook your readers is have an RSS feed (bloggers will have one), and encourage visitors to subscribe.

'How do I do that?' you might be wondering. It's pretty simple, really:

Publish great content.

This is kind of obvious, but the quality of the content you publish is important. If your visitors don't find it to be useful or entertaining, they have no reason to subscribe. So if you're not presenting your best, that's the first thing you should focus on.

Place a link to your feed in a prominent spot.

Placing RSS links too low on the page is a common mistake many people make. The point is to make it obvious you have one; place your link near the top of the page, preferably "above the fold," meaning it can be seen without scrolling. If people see it, the more likely they will subscribe.

Just ask.

A lot of people overlook RSS links. Sometimes you have to ask others to subscribe, or they won't even think about it. People need a call to action- just ask. What's the worst that could happen? They won't, the same outcome as if you'd never asked in the first place.

Use an image.

Dress up that boring text link with an image. It will draw more attention to the 'subscribe' option, and visitors will be more likely to respond.

Get creative when advertising your RSS feed- these aren't the only ways to encourage others to subscribe. Don't be afraid to experiment. You may find some effective ways to increase your feed count that other web publishers aren't aware of. Try new things, and use your 'hits' to your advantage, and learn from your 'misses'.