Subscribers are the bread and butter of popular bloggers. Sure, you can draw traffic from search engines, but your subscriber base is made up of the people who hang on your every word and truly look to you as a source of information. They’re your vital visitors.
They are the ones who matter most, as they not only want your content, but they’ll eventually become loyal to you and begin to spread word of your content through the web organically.
I think about all the blogs I’m subscribed to that provide me great content daily – and it’s filled with the ones that are so good I just have to add them to my (growing) RSS list. But all of that got me thinking as to what they’re doing right, and I came up with a list of 8 easy things you should be doing on your site to not miss a beat on getting new subscribers:
1) Minimalize your site
Many popular blogs have tons of features, links, widgets, addons, plugins, etc., but I find myself quickly subscribing to the sites which took the less is more approach. In fact, sites where I find myself staring at exceptional content and a subscribe button, I’m very apt to hit the button. It’s a great call to action when all you offer is value and an easy way to get continued value. I actually picked up the idea from this site.
2) Clearly define your content, post only the most compelling articles
As DoshDosh writes, it’s what you don’t publish that defines your site. Everything you do publish needs to be exceptional. Post a link roundup, sure, but do it in a unique way. Post a response to a popular story in the blogosphere, but add value to that story. Filter out most random ideas and write on what’s left, the gold content. Your site will quickly find itself in the category of exceptional rather than average.
3) Differentiate your perspective
There are websites writing on literally every subject, you’d be hard pressed to come up with something brand new (although I’m not saying you can’t do it). But you can definitely add an interesting narrative to a subject already presented, even one which is already popular. I’m offering blog, marketing and PR content from the perspectives of a 20 – something PR person, musician, IT person, and web marketer. I think it’s unique, in not only my tone of voice but by what kinds of projects influence me and what I work on in the field daily. Hopefully that’s something that makes this site compelling. What’s your content’s perspective?
4) Angle your blog as a source of information
This takes time, dedication and unrelenting effort. You’ll need to draw out your narratives through the months, and then the years to position yourself and your site as a veritable font of information. It’s no easy effort, and the ones who are viewed upon as sources (Seth Godin as a source for marketers, ProBlogger as a source for bloggers, Techdirt as a source for compelling tech industry analysis, etc.) will tell you it is a massive undertaking. But at the same time for all of them, it is clear they have not just talent, but passion. Their posts flow effortlessly, and the content is infinitely valuable. To be defined as a source is no easy task, but it is what everyone desires. Take some (well earned) inspiration from the sources in your genre of writing.
5) Focus on a niche
You can blog about a variety of things, and you can definitely go offbeat once in awhile, however most of the blogs I’m subscribed to, I’m subscribed to for a reason – they are totally niches in their content. If I want a variety of posts and topics, I’ll head to an e-zine website or my local newspaper website. I’m subscribes to blogs for specific content. Find your niche, and while you can definitely play around within a scope of content, be sure not to let that scope get too wide. That can potentially ruin an otherwise great site.
6) Sticky content
Every post you write can potentially define your blog to new readers. People stumble-upon websites in more ways than you can imagine, and you never know which post specifically someone may stumble-upon. Ask yourself, “If someone is reading this, would they want to read more?” The answer should be an affirmative yes.
7) Write with passion
If you’re keeping a blog, it absolutely has to be something you’re passionate about. If it’s not, you’ll never catch on, plain and simple. Everyone knows that your content needs to be remarkable, but it can’t be remarkable unless you’re not only knowledgeable, but passionate about the subject matter. Passionate content informs, educates, but also motivates and stimulates. The content on top blogger’s sites is all of this and more. Is yours?
8) Give them a reason to want more
People want to subscribe to something that they can look forward to daily. Your content is your blog’s best marketing resource to attract subscribers and new users. Good content is enough to make people want to subscribe and be reason enough to want more of that content. Additional ways you can do this are by developing a series of posts on a subject, continuing to add fresh content daily and writing articles which are inspiring. But your content should be so good, each morsel of it should leave users wanting more.
And your site should give it to them…