1. Make every post valuable. The impulse to subscribe requires a catalyst — the sense that the visitor has found something valuable: something for keeps. Placing a lot of value in one post will heighten that impact.
2. Hint at an un-missable future. Darren Rowse calls this ‘creating anticipation‘, and doing so involves creating post series, hinting at future content, and so on. In other words, this method makes the visitor feel like they will be missing out of they don’t subscribe. It reminds them that the blog they’re viewing isn’t a static thing — it’s ever-changing.
3. Prove your record with popular posts. A compelling list of popular posts in your sidebar makes the case that your blog provides consistent value. While one outstanding post on the main page is impressive, it’s no guarantee that the post isn’t simply an exception to your blog’s usual content. A list of great popular posts reassures potential subscribers that they can expect more of the same quality in future.
4. Write or exchange guest posts on highly-targeted blogs. A good guest-post on a well-trafficked, well-targeted blog is almost guaranteed to result in a spike in subscribers. This is because visitors are arriving at your blog from your guest-post with an already positive initial opinion of what you do. If your subscriber count has reached a plateau or even dropped, a guest-post is generally all it takes to kick-start the subscriber growth process.
5. Tap into new audiences. Exposing your blog or website to the same audiences over and over again is will guarantee that your subscriber count remains stagnant. You must always be searching out new audiences and moving to greener pastures.
Photo by Meanest Indian.
6. Post less instead of posting filler. A potential subscriber will want to be reassured that you aren’t going to fill up their feed reader with irrelevant or low-value posts. When it comes to growing your subscriber count, posting less often with a greater emphasis on value can be a highly effective strategy.
7. Offer an incentive. This usually takes the form of an eBook offered only through a link at the bottom of your feed. While some people will subscribe only as long as it takes to grab your eBook, you’ll find that others decide that your feed looks valuable in its own right.
8. Publish full feeds. A simple measure, but an effective one. If subscribers are highly important to you, make sure you publish full feeds. Many people who regularly read feeds don’t like having to click through partial feeds. The partial-feed format also gives each feed article less room to grip the reader and draw them into your post.
9. Write a mini sales page for your feed. I saw this recently and thought it was a great idea! Persuasion works, and there’s no reason you can’t apply it to your feed!
10. Take a break! The post Hexadecimal HTML Color Codes and Names remained at the top of the main page of Skelliewag for over a week during my recent mini-break. Expecting a slight drop in subscribers as a result seemed logical, but instead, I found that my subscriber count had risen by over 400! I suspect this is because new visitors were seeing the ‘25 Paths’ post, which struck a chord with a lot of people, as opposed to a post which was a good but not great. It’s interesting to consider whether posting only high-effort, highly time-consuming posts, but much less often (say, once a week) might actually see your blog grow faster than if you posted several good but not great posts each week. It’s something I might experiment with in future. As you can tell, I don’t mind being a guinea pig for new methods!
