8 Types of RSS Subscribers Explained [Part 1]
Bloggers have been pursuing for a high RSS feed count but the numbers are actually nothing. Various ways can be used to boost RSS feed count but those subscribers that make up the count might not be there for the reason you wanted.
RSS feed count is just like your traffic stats. Specifications of blog traffic such as, bounce rate, demographics and the source determines the quality of your blog traffic apart from the number of unique visits and page views which most bloggers want.
RSS feed subscribers subscribe for different reasons and today, we are going to look at the various types of RSS feed subscribers, the ways to capture them and also, the benefits and value that they have for your blog.
Subscribing Readers
Subscribing readers subscribe for your contents. Subscribing readers should form the majority of your blog’s RSS feed count as a blogger always want their contents being read and contents are always the major puller of a blog. Such RSS subscribers may subscribe to your blogs with the following reasons:
- Materials for own content creation
- Knowledge enhancement
- Reading pleasure
- Buzz watching
Value of Subscribing Readers
Subscribing readers want contents and they will help in promotion if the contents really strike them. This is when they take the effort to click the "thumbs up" icon of their StumbleUpon toolbar, submit them to various social media sites for sharing and of course, recommending to others through various ways. Also, having them subscribed to your blog makes sure that you reach out to them, which might lead to a visit to your blog or a comment on the latest blog post.
Getting Subscribing Readers to Subscribe
Making such readers to subscribe to your blog can be an uphill task with different content needs and in some niches, readers are not tech-wise enough to use RSS or not used to subscriptions.
General rules of increasing RSS subscribers such as consistently producing blog post of certain quality and meeting the demand of your subscribers, having the RSS subscription links at prominent places on your blog, building quality traffic and sticking to a blog posting schedule. As such subscribers want your contents sent to them whenever you update your blog, a full RSS feed is a must.
Traders
Everyone knows what is a barter system. Traders subscribe to your blog for something in return. It is not under the normal circumstances that they will subscribe to your blog. Just like a trade, you have a need and they can provide it to you and you should give away something in exchange for it.
Value of Traders
They only come when the benefits are in place and they might go after they think that they have leeched enough benefits for you. Also, they might not be interested in your contents and are subscribed solely for the sake of the benefits you are giving away. However, some subscribers will not be bothered to unsubscribe because they are simply too busy (or lazy 
). Anyway, a trader can also be turned into a subscribed reader if during their period of subscription, they are impressed with the contents that you have to offer.
Getting Traders to Subscribe
The simple method of getting traders to subscribe to your blog’s RSS feed is to offer something in return for the subscription. The "something" need not be expensive and prize sponsors can be easily found nowadays. Market your offer in forums, comments, peer blogs and feature the blog post describing the offer on your blog will easily prompts someone to subscribe, even though they are not subscribed to any RSS feeds before this.
An improved way that has been used to get traders to subscribe is to set up a blog contest and tell the whole world about it. Jason has done this in his build up towards his massive blog contest. He got himself a whopping 87 new RSS subscribers by marketing about his blog contest after he got himself onto the Digg frontpage (Digg users can be easily persuaded as well 
)
Friends
Offline friends, blogging peers and Internet users that have a close connection with you will subscribe to your RSS feed. It does not mean that their subscriptions are due to the grounds of friendship or just a move to pity you.
Value of Friends
Having friends subscribing to your RSS feeds shows that either your interpersonal skills is good and this will be a likely market point for your blog. Friends are more interactive and participative in your blog (commenting or clicking) because of the closeness that you have created while interacting with them.
Getting Friends to Subscribe
Apart from applying those common blogosphere networking skills and blogging pals interaction skills, you will also need to source for friends in a way which you can broadcast your intentions to build up your RSS feed count. One of it will be by subscribing to their RSS feed while interacting with them. However, what most bloggers will try to do is to approach A-list bloggers which will be harder to indirectly persuade compared to new bloggers.
Also, I don’t recommend asking for a RSS subscription exchange. This is more of a method to gain "traders" rather than friends. A RSS subscription exchange sounds cheap compared to a link exchange or content exchange as you can subscribe to your own RSS feeds with thousands of e-mail address as well without building the relationship.
Fans and Followers
One of the blogging myths is that you must be a A-list blogger in order to enjoy a fan base or to have supporters. Most bloggers don’t know that they have their own supporters as well. Such supporters are there for various reasons and I can say you will want to have more of them as your RSS subscribers.
Value of Fans and Followers
Fans and followers will follow, imitate and obey your actions, instructions and suggestions. They will be the first to try out everything that you recommend. Fans and followers can also mean a lot for blog monetization and buzz can easily be generated from your blog because everything you blog will be persuasive enough for these subscribers to move in your favor.
Getting Fans and Followers to Subscribe
Having your very own blogging style will get you followers. Try not to change it too often just to suit a group of readers because you can’t satisfy every readers. Look at your idols, they have both fans and haters. They will not care much about it, or rather be cool about it and will continue to do things their style as what they do create ripples among fans and haters that will in the end, make them the center of discussion!
Don’t game your fans and don’t take them for granted. After building a considerably big fan base, I don’t think you want to lose all of them by milking all the money and their trusts just for your own benefits. Maintain the blogging style, maintain the way you make them your fans and you should able to retain them as they come for your style or you. Nothing else.
Understand Your RSS Subscribers
Why I am posting this? Just like why readers read your blog, you need to understand which type of RSS subscribers that your blog has so that you know which action to take in order to maintain and even improve your blog’s RSS feed count.
Many bloggers leave their subscribers aside just because someone told you that RSS subscribers subscribe for contents only, nothing else. If it is the contests that you hold, keep them coming; If it is your blogging style, maintain it and if it is your interpersonal skills and interactivity, show it off more.
4 More Types of RSS Subscribers Coming Soon
I broke this into a two part article because it will be too long if consolidated and I don’t want anyone to be filled up with too much information as the blogosphere is booming with blogs about blogging.
If you want to know the other 4 types of RSS subscribers, the reasons why they are subscribed to your blog and how you can attract more of their kind to become part of your RSS feed count, subscribe to Wayne Liew Dot Com RSS Feed now to get the latest update next week.
Also, try not to miss out any blogging tips on traffic and link building by subscribing to Wayne Liew Dot Com RSS Feed.
I see bloggers offering ‘trades’ more and more now and I think this is a short sighted strategy. You want your RSS subscribers to *read* your content day after day, week after week. I really dont see the point in forcing people to subscribe to your feed in exchange for a one-off lift like a free report.
Makes me wonder which of these subscribers prefer to email feed…
I for sure know traders do
Excellent post, very original and insightful!
I think Caroline is right, to a degree; trading can be a rather short-term strategy.
Having said that, I do think there can be long-term benefit to building en e-mail list. I also think that asking readers to subscribe to get the freebie puts the blogger on the reader’s radar more frequently. Rarely have I decided I love a blog on the first visit; But there have been many blogs I’ve liked on the first visit and then forgotten about.
There may be a long-term branding benefit to the trades strategy. I’d love to see some real research on it.
8 Types of RSS Subscribers Explained [Part 1]…
Bloggers have been pursuing for a high RSS feed count but the numbers are actually nothing. Various ways can be used to boost RSS feed count but those subscribers that make up the count might not be there for the reason you wanted….
Nice post buddy, I really liked the point made on the barter system, We all have been doing it.
Good info.I am first time visiting your blog and it is impressive.I saw your blog on list of top 30 bloggers under 21 by Michael from retire@21.Well congratulation for that.I wish I was in that list.I am 19.
@ Caroline
Well, as an effect of the short term strategy, some subscribers who performed the action with the trade in mind might become a permanent subscriber if, in the period of subscription, the blogger is able to produce contents that are good enough to impress the trader.
@ Louis
Each groups of these subscribers have the possibility of subscribing via e-mail. Take readers from a school teacher blog for example. Most of the readers are not familiar with the term RSS. Thus, the phrase “e-mail subscription” will make more sense to them.
@ Bob
You have a point there. Not everyone is impressed on their first exposure to one thing. Building up your blog overly dependent on barter system can be disastrous as well if, for example, you are running low on resources for exchanges.
@ Amit
Not everyone has been doing that. Take me for example, I have not hold any contest on this blog.
@ Agent 001
I just realized about the ranking. Thanks for the tip.
Sometime I just think that is all about how famous a person is in the market, the more famous he is the more readers. That is why branding is always invlove …..
Great article on rss, thanks. I love the buttons too. I do think bartering is all part of the system, but that doesn’t mean it has to stay just like it is right now. Scott
@ Wong
Yes, and the status as a famous person should be built right from the start of your blog.
@ Scott
Bartering is currently the easiest and cost-effective way to gain new subscribers compared to writing quality contents on a daily basis. Anyway, some bloggers managed to prevail without any RSS feed count boosting contests.
[...] 8 Types of RSS Subscribers Explained, Part 1 - Not all RSS subscribers are the same and in this post Wayne Liew shows us the various reasons that people subscribe and how that affects their value to the blogger. [...]
@Wayne
Hey, you’re right! Why didn’t I think of that :p
I don’t trade period. It seems tacky and really in the long run a waste of time.
Your post on types of RSS subscribers is right on point.
The Masked Millionaire
http://www.TheMaskedMillionaire.com
In my opinion, useful thing.
i came across a few offers of RSS exchange on Blog Catalog; this is one of the most worthless RSS subcriptions in my view; I subscribed to one of these but only because I liked the posts. Since it’s just an RSS subscrption, I have no way of knowing if this blogger subscrbed to mine in exchange!
Old-school marketing departments are usually split straight down the middle:
A: ‘Customer Acquisition’
B: ‘Customer Retention’
The first group go out there to find new customers for the business. They’re the kind of people who give out introductory offers (the equivalent of “Sign up to our RSS feed for a Free E-Book!”)
It’s short-sighted by design - the only purpose is to get new people through the door.
The second group then take these new & existing customers and come up with offers/products/content to make sure they stay customers.
If you’re giving away a free ebook, or running a competition for subscribers, then you need to realise that this is just an ‘acquisition’ tactic. If you don’t back it up with anything to ‘retain’ subscribers, then you’ve missed the point.
I hope life’s good,
daniel
good info you’re sharing here.. coz i wasn’t really sure about rss..
I actually wondered why people keep on subscribing and unsubscribe all the time.
@ The Masked Millionaire
Yes, that should be the case but for some bloggers, they have found long term positive effects by using that method although it is quite a tedious method for some.
@ Internet Junkie
I don’t know what is the point either. If they spend the time figuring how to create good contents rather than managing all those “trades”, the result can be far more attractive.
@ daniel
Well, can I say good contents is a way to conduct both the marketing methods? Although it might seem rather cheap as contents normally do not require much investment, it is the true value of a blog and for me, it should be the main attraction for readers.
@ seo blogger
The quality, not just only contents and your marketing methods must be changing and this is why it fluctuates. This happens to all bloggers as well. Another thing is that the bug that Feedburner always encounter but I hope this is not the case though.
Wayne I thought you feared commentators getting away from your blog, it looks that now you are the one who is missing… only continuous last 4 comments indicate you are active… exams or something like that?
I am currently in a harder course since I have just graduated from my foundation studies and I need time to cope with it. Blogging tips post will start to flow in this month and comments will be replied as usual. Hopefully, there will not be another stop like this again.
[...] of RSS subscribers carry and how you can make only certain types of readers subscribe to your blog: 8 Types of RSS Subscribers [Part 1] 8 Types of RSS Subscribers [Part 2] Hopefully, this article will help you out in understanding [...]
Great post. I have really been looking for a good post about rss in general. I am real curious to the ideas of contests and trading or exchanging in general. Blog Catalog has a couple groups that will do exchanges and I like this concept but am surprised to not see allot more of it going on. If I type in technorati fave exchange in a search engine the results are huge.thanks