RSS Feeds: Simple Steps to Promote Your RSS Feeds on Your Website

RSS is a great way to distribute your content, but what if you don’t have subscribers?

First, you must use RSS, short for Really Simple Syndication. Many people don’t subscribe to RSS because they don’t know what it is, but that is changing. The beauty of RSS feeds is that they don’t fill up your inbox and you can’t get spammed.

Just follow my steps to promote your feed and you should find that you have a lot of subscribers.

On a website, you will often see a little orange icon which is the RSS button. Sometimes there is text that suggests that readers subscribe. If a person presses the button and does not have a reader, they will possibly see an XML document. That confuses them and makes them go away. Instead of allowing this to happen, you have to do something different from almost everyone else offering RSS feeds via the button.

Create an RSS information page.

For the many users who have not learned about RSS and its benefits, you should create a simple page that helps them quickly learn about it and why they need it. On your page you should have five simple elements:

1. A quick explanation of what RSS is. Add a link to the Wikipedia RSS page for those who like in-depth details.

2. Three to five bullets on how choosing a feed will benefit your readers.

3, a link to an RSS reader that you like. For a really simple web-based reader, I recommend using the one from Google + as it is easy to understand. There are dozens out there, so do your research and pick what you like.

4. Include two or three different RSS options, web-based, desktop download, and even options for mobile devices.

5. A short paragraph on how to subscribe to your own RSS (and a link).

6. A short paragraph on why your RSS is a must for them!

7. Links to all RSS feeds on your site and other relevant website feeds you offer.

Now go and promote your new page!

Like everything on the Internet, you will have to promote it! Add your feed URL to your emails and ezines. Use something attractive to encourage readers to subscribe. Let them know how important it is to be subscribed to your site in real time.

Make sure your subscription links are visible in all formats. If they don’t see it, they can’t subscribe!

It’s that easy to promote your RSS feed to your website readers. Follow these steps and watch your subscriptions multiply.