Do you have an eye-catching subscribe button on your blog? Here’s what you need to look at …

When you start any new site and you start to invite others to visit your site you will want to decide what you want them to do when they get there. You probably want them to do several things while they’re there so you’ll need to write those out and number them.

If you have a product for sale then you probably want to invite them to a sales page where you have sales copy for your product and their options are either buy or leave.

If you want them to read your posts and find your content valuable then you want to make reading your posts your main focus.

If you are trying to grow a mailing list or RSS subscriber base … then you want those to be the dominant feature.

For my Bikini After 40 site I want my main focus to be on gaining RSS subscribers. Eventually I will offer some nice freebies to grow my mailing list but that will come down the road.

So if my main focus is gaining RSS subscribers I want to (a) put my opt in box in a “prime real estate” area of my blog, (b) draw some attention to it, and (c) ask readers to subscribe.

I put the opt in box in the area that’s called “above the fold.” That means the part of your page that you can see when the page loads without having to scroll down the page. Then depending on where your side bar is located you would want to put it at either the top left or the top right side. Research shows that our eye scans a page in a “z” pattern … starting at the top left side … moving straight across to the top right side … then down and left … and then back across to the right so you’ll want to keep that in mind when choosing the opt in location.

To draw some attention I like to use something animated in the opt in area. I hired Chrissy Jensen to design the opt in area for the site and I think she did a great job. I told her to use the one here on suzannefranco.com as a guide and to make it match the look and feel of the bikini site.

In the box I ask readers to subscribe. Seems obvious but sometimes I just see icons and a field to fill in … and I like to make it a little more apparent that I want them to subscribe. I’m still coming up ideas for something to dangle and a call to action but I’ll get it there eventually.

Here’s the screen capture video I made for you:

So what do you think of my opt in on the bikini site? Do you have some ideas for me? I’d like to entice visitors to subscribe … do I need a good freebie? What info do you think my readership would most appreciate?

Do you know what your number one priority is for your site? Have you focused your efforts and energy there? Is it obvious to your visitors/readers? Do you have any questions I can answer? Let us hear from you! *SmiLes* Suzanne

P.S. If  you’ve enjoyed the post and video would you please take a quick second and share it with your friends on Twitter or Facebook (or your favorite social site) … I’d really appreciate it!

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Blogging Idol Secrets Revealed

(How I Gained Over 500 New RSS Subscribers in 30 Days Flat)

So … I wrote my first eBook and you’re in luck … I’ve decided to give it away for free!

I asked a few online friends to give it a read-over and let me know what they thought. I got great feedback … in fact, they all said I was crazy for giving it away … thought I should sell it and make me some money LOL (even had a couple requests for an affiliate program).

Well … I got a lot of support during the Blogging Idol competition so this is one way for me to “pay it forward.”

I share tips and ideas for driving traffic to your blog and I share what I did to get my visitors to actually subscribe to my blog. I tried to be as thorough and detailed as possible with step-by-step instructions and screenshots for many of the tips.

There’s a lot of really good information in the eBook … but the sad truth is that most people who read it won’t actually implement the ideas. As I’ve always said … if you want to succeed online you’ll have to actually work at this business.

I’m here to help in any way I can but I’m sure you can understand that I can’t (won’t) do it for you … you’ll need to put in the work yourself.

So – have you downloaded the eBook? If so, what do you think? Do you have any questions for me? Do you plan on implementing any of the tips/ideas? Do you have any tips to add to the list? Let us hear from you! *SmiLes* Suzanne

P.S. I’ve already had readers asking if they can give the eBook away … and I’m sure your readers would love that! I do ask that you please link your friends/readers to: http://www.suzannefranco.com/blogging-idol-secrets-revealed-ebook/ (to the download page).

P.P.S. A “thank you” to Brenda who wrote a review of the eBook here: http://gibraltarconnected.com/review-blogging-idol-secrets-revealed-free-e-book and you can find her on Twitter: @brendacuby

Download the eBook here:

Blogging Idol Secrets Revealed: How I Gained Over 500 RSS Subscribers in 30 Days!

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21 Ways to Increase Your RSS Subscribers

On Your Blog:

1. Offer an RSS Feed Subscription. Sounds silly but truthfully I visit a lot of blogs that I would’ve subscribed to but they didn’t offer a way to subscribe. When I started my blog I was guilty of this too and after receiving several emails asking about it … I bit the bullet and studied up on how to add one.

2. Size and Placement of Your RSS Button. Make sure your button is large enough to stand out and get attention … and you should always have it above the fold (the area that a visitor can see without scrolling down). Studies have also shown that the upper right-hand part of the page is the preferred spot with the upper left a close second.

3. Add a Reminder to Subscribe At the End of Each Post. One option is to use the Subscribe Reminder Plugin. Another good idea is to use the End Content Plugin and ask readers to subscribe. If you’re good at using code then you can add the offer to the single.php and/or the page.php files.

4. Write a Post on “How to Subscribe”. Keep in mind that a lot of people have heard of RSS Feed but that doesn’t mean that they understand it or know how to actually subscribe. Write a post giving your visitors step-by-step instructions on how to subscribe and if possible add some screenshots so they will know what to expect with each step. This is especially true if you are NOT in the blogging/make money niche.

5. Write Great Content. When you write the kind of content that will make your readers want to come back and read more … they’ll want to subscribe to your feed … plain and simple.

6. Make Your Posts Easy to Read. Writing for a blog is totally different than any other kind of writing. Blog readers are usually in a hurry and need to digest the content in bite sized pieces. Try to limit paragraphs to 2-3 sentences and break up the text as much as possible with headers, colored boxes, numbered or bulleted lists, etc. This is an area that I’m working hard on … I don’t want my readers to “nod off” while reading my posts! LOL

7. Add Images, Audio, or Video Whenever Possible. I know I personally enjoy blogs that use images to break up their posts and I especially like audio and video. Keep your blog interesting using these other types of media and please your readers. (Please DO NOT use any type of auto-play device that makes “noise” upon page load ~ very annoying!).

8. Link to Posts That Add to Your Topic. One way to help your reader learn as much as possible is to link to more information that adds to what you are discussing. This works great for on-site linking (to one of your other posts) and it’s equally important to link to another blog that has information that pertains to your topic. Either way, use good anchor text and link to the specific post (as opposed to the index page of someone else’s site). When you link to another blog the blog owner should get a “trackback” alert that you’ve done so. Not only is it a nice thing to do (for your readers and the other blog owner) … you will most likely get a visit (and sometimes a thank you) from the other blog owner.

9. Offer an eBook or Report to Give Away. Free eBooks and reports are a great way to encourage your visitors to subscribe to your blog. If you can’t (or don’t want to) write this type of product check into the many PLR (private label rights) products for sale or you can hire a ghost writer to write it for you.

About Your Feed:

10. Use Feedburner and Feedsmith Plugin. I personally like using Feedburner along with the Feedsmith plugin. These make it very simple to set up your feed subscription and to change any necessary code for your blog.

11. Offer as Many Subscription Options as Possible (Especially email). Truthfully, there is nothing more aggravating then finding a new blog I’d like to follow and finding out they don’t offer an email subscription. Not only that but many blogs only offer one or two feed services and I only want to subscribe using Google Reader. Well, I know I’m not alone. I’ve seen countless forum posts that tell me people are creatures of habit and they tend to use a specific reader and if you don’t offer it you will lose them.

12. Offer Full RSS Feed. Studies have shown that subscribers prefer a full RSS feed (the article in its entirety) as opposed to a partial feed (only part of the article with a link back to the blog to continue reading). Some bloggers use a partial feed in hopes of getting their readers back to their site but I believe in listening to my subscribers.

Off-Site Methods:

13. Social networking. Use social networking sites to help promote your blog. Be sure to add a link to your blog on all of your profile pages because many people check them out of curiosity. BTW … follow me on Twitter if you’re not already!

14. Blog commenting and Forum Participation. These are both great ways to get traffic (which will result in subscribers) but they must be used correctly. Do NOT go and spam your link everywhere without offering help to others. If you do, your work will be a waste of time and you’ll ruin your reputation.

15. Forum and Email Signature Line. Make sure you’ve added a link to your blog in your forum and email signature lines. The more exposure the better and, again, more traffic equals more subscribers.

16. ASK Your Visitors to Subscribe. Sometimes … all you have to do is ask! You can try the “What Would Seth Godwin Do” plugin. This allows you to show different messages to new and returning visitors. The text is customizable and is in a box that comes up right before each post. It’s a great way to ask for subscribers. By the way … if you like what you’re reading … be sure to subscribe to my RSS Feed! (See how easy that was LOL).

17. Email Those Who Haven’t Confirmed Their RSS Subscription. Sometimes people subscribe and forget (or don’t know) to reply to the confirmation email. When you see these in your Feedburner account you can email these visitors and ask them if they’re still interested in subscribing.

18. Feed Exchange. This is simply the good old “you scratch my back and I’ll scratch yours” idea. You will see posts from time to time saying if you subscribe … I’ll subscribe. I would only do this with quality blogs that you would enjoy reading. Remember … quality is better than quantity.

19. Write Guest Posts. I will always jump at the chance to write a guest post for someone else’s blog. It’s great exposure and introduces me to a whole new “community” of readers. Just make sure that the blog is “complimentary” to yours and that all details are ironed out before you write the piece (i.e. similar audience, similar visitors/subscribers, and content that makes sense for you, exclusive or not, etc.).

20. Run a Contest. Contests are a great way to gain subscribers. Of course you should tie the contest in to subscribing and possibly blogging about your site and/or your contest. You can offer cash, advertising, review posts, or you can even ask others to donate prizes for your contest. *Watch for my contest starting next week (Monday, November 24, 2008) … my sponsors have really stepped up to the plate and we have some awesome prizes up for grabs!

And my favorite way to add RSS Subscribers …

21. Compete for the title “Blogging Idol.” I’m having so much fun as a contestant in this season’s Blogging Idol and it has motivated me to get very creative in my efforts to find new subscribers to my blog.

Have you seen my clever idea yet?

Clever Promotion Idea

Which lead to these (and more!):

John Chow Supports Suzanne Franco for Blogging Idol

Kevin Muldoon Interviews Suzanne Franco

22. (Bonus Tip) For those of you who are not competing … you can always start your own friendly competition with a fellow blogger … and try your hand at your own clever promotion ideas.

In fact, take a look at what a couple of my blogging buddies are up to this month:

“Bug Boy” vs “Sammich Man“

They are both friends of mine (and my Idol supporters) so I encourage you to go check out their blogs and subscribe to the one that “speaks” to you … or go ahead and subscribe to both … what the heck!

I hope this helps you in your pursuit of more RSS subscribers. Do you have any more ideas/tips to add to this list? Are you confused about any of them? I’d love to hear from you in the comments section! *SmiLes* Suzanne

P.S. If this has helped you at all … please help others out too by letting the StumbleUpon and/or Digg community know about it. Thanks!

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The Strategies I’m Using to Win the Blogging Idol Competition (and Why You Should Steal Them)

I promised I would be sharing the strategies I’m using to compete in this season’s Blogging Idol and I want you to steal these ideas to grow your own blog too! I’ll outline the basics for some of the methods I’m using and then throughout the month I will spend time going into detail for each. What’s that? Only some? You didn’t think I’d give you everything right here did you?

So … what am I doing to win this contest?

I’m Writing Helpful Content. This might seem obvious but especially during this contest period I don’t want to get so caught up in campaigning and promoting that I forget to provide content and helpful ideas. If you want a successful blog you’ll have to learn to be discipline and stay on top of your writing efforts. Post consistently.

I’m Social Networking. I’m huge into social networking and it comes very easily for me because I really enjoy meeting and connecting with people online. I’ve been involved in some of my networks for years and I’ve made strong connections so it’s made it very easy (and comfortable) for me to promote my Blogging Idol efforts through these communities. There are also a lot of us who get lonely working from home and this is a great way to combat loneliness too.

I’m Updating My Email and Forum Signatures. If you spend any amount of time online you probably don’t realize how many emails you send out and reply to in a day. Are you letting your email do some free advertising for your blog? How about in the forums where you participate? Update your email and forum signatures today!

I’m Asking for Help. I can’t speak for you men out there but most of the women I know agree that asking others for help is usually difficult. Seems we’re the first to offer up our help to those around us yet we usually find it very hard to ask others for help when we need it. If you want to succeed sometimes you’re just going to have to take a deep breathe and ask. The worst thing that could happen is that someone says, “No.” Once you do get up your nerve to ask it’s important to tell others exactly what you need them to do for you.

I’m Adding Tools to My Blog. I started looking over my blog and reviewing those that I follow to see what tools I thought might help me succeed. I’m looking for tools that might encourage others to subscribe to my RSS Feed and to come around often and support me in this contest. So far I’ve added the Comment Luv Plugin, Comment Relish, got my Related Post plugin working, got my Contact Form button fixed, added code to the end of every post asking readers to subscribe to my RSS Feed … and I’m still looking. Do you have any suggestions? Please let me know.

I’m Focusing on My Health and Fitness. Huh? What does health and fitness have to do with me winning Blogging Idol? Well, I’m working at a pace right now that will kill me LOL or make me very run down and possibly sick if I don’t pay attention to my health right now. I’m up at around 6:00 a.m. and working practically straight through until midnight or 1:00 a.m. It seems there are not enough hours in the day to do all I want to accomplish this month!

I’m Working Hard on My Organizational Skills. Staying very organized has helped me tremendously this month. I have pre-planned, mapped out, and even written several blog posts for this month. I’ve also made use of the scheduled post feature on Wordpress. I follow a to-do-list for each day so I will concentrate on the activities that will make me a winner. I don’t want my day to “run” me … I want to be in control of my time.

I’m Dangling Some Great Carrots. I’d like to think that everyone who runs across my quest to be the next Blogging Idol will just help and support me out of the kindness of their heart (and some do) but I also wanted to offer something that would make it worth their while too. I’ve been working very hard over the past 18 months researching and writing the class courses for my “Blogging for Bucks BootCamp” and I’ve made the decision to give it away for free to those who support my Blogging Idol efforts this month (by simply subscribing to my RSS Feed). I’m also offering a nice 200 character write up in my “Sponsor Directory” for those who will blog about my quest. It’s great exposure for them and a nice PR3 backlink.

I’m Returning the Favor Whenever Possible. Whenever you reach out to others and ask for help make sure you return the favor. If someone comments on your blog … go check out their blog and leave them a comment too. If they subscribe … you subscribe. You get the idea. Building relationships is the best way to grow your business online.

These are just some of the strategies I’m using to win the title Blogging Idol and I hope they help you earn new subscribers to your blog too.

Do you use any of these methods to gain visitors, readers, and RSS subscribers? What is your favorite strategy? Do you have some tips and ideas to help me win the Blogging Idol competition? I’d love to hear your comments. *SmiLes* Suzanne

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So what is an RSS Feed?

RSS Feed … it’s likely a term that you’ve heard of but not many of us understand what it is … much less how (or why) to offer it to our blog visitors. Well … today’s the day you’re going to start learning about it and get to know and LOVE it!

An RSS Feed according to Google in their Feed 101 information:

“Feeds are a way for websites large and small to distribute their content well beyond just visitors using browsers. Feeds permit subscription to regular updates, delivered automatically via a web portal, news reader, or in some cases good old email.”

If a new visitor ends up on your site and enjoys your content they might want to subscribe to your feed. That way they’ll be notified either through a feed reader or through their email each time you’ve made an update to your blog.

Why You Should Offer an RSS Feed on Your Blog

As an online marketer I know first hand how much work is involved in driving each and every visitor to your blog. In this day and age people are busy and scatter-brained and they usually link surf with some intent in mind … usually seeking out some kind of information … and once you’ve provided that information we don’t want to send them away … possibly forever! By offering a feed you are giving them a very simple way to follow what’s going on with your blog. This way they won’t miss any new updates.

If you’ve followed my blog at all you’ll know I’m a complete and total technophobe! So anything that requires me to download, open directories, FTP … *sigh* … doesn’t excite me and I’m probably not going to get around to it any time soon!

In fact, when I started this blog I didn’t have an RSS Feed set up because I didn’t know how to do it. I got email after email asking me why I hadn’t installed a subscription feed yet. Truthfully, I was thinking something like, “Oooooo-K, Oooooo-K … I’ll look into to that RSS thing.” Well, thank goodness I broke down and did the deed. By making it convenient for my visitors to follow my blog I have benefited by having a regular readership and my readers don’t have to remember to check back to see if I’ve updated … it’s a win-win.

Now, speaking to you purely from a marketing standpoint, it’s a known fact that people like to buy from those who they know, like and trust. They will also be more apt to buy after seeing a sales message 6-7 times. So if you have a regular readership you are giving them a chance to really get to know you and to see the products and services you promote over and over.

Now that you know what an RSS feed is and why you need one … next we’re going to tackle how to add one to your blog.

Do you subscribe to any blogs? If so, do you prefer a feed reader or an email subscription? Do you have an RSS Feed on your own blog? Have you wanted to add one but don’t know how? I’d love to hear from you! *SmiLes* Suzanne

In case you haven’t heard … I’m a contestant in this season’s “Blogging Idol” and I could really use your support! I’ve even dangled a carrot or two so check out the details here … and be sure you sign up for my RSS Feed. If you’d like to read about how to subscribe please see my post, “RSS Feed ~ How to Subscribe” and let me know if you have any questions.

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RSS Feed ~ How to Subscribe

RSS Feed … it’s likely a term that you’ve heard of but not many of us understand what it is or how to subscribe to the blogs that we enjoy. LOL.

So what is an RSS Feed?

An RSS Feed according to Google in their Feed 101 information:

“Feeds are a way for websites large and small to distribute their content well beyond just visitors using browsers. Feeds permit subscription to regular updates, delivered automatically via a web portal, news reader, or in some cases good old email.”

If you visit a blog and you enjoy their content you can look to see if they offer an RSS Feed subscription.  If you subscribe (either through a feed reader or through your email) you will be notified each time they update the blog. That way you won’t have to bookmark the site and check back every so often to see if they’ve updated their blog.  

How to Subscribe

As I mentioned, if you visit a blog and you enjoy the content you should consider subscribing to their RSS Feed. You can either subscribe through a feed reader or through email delivery. This way you will be notified every time the blog has been updated. If you subscribe through a reader you will see the updates each time you check your feed reader. For example I use iGoogle as my homepage and there I have set up feeds to some of the blogs I follow. 

By using iGoogle as my homepage and by setting up some of my favorite blogs in my Google feed reader I am able to take a glance at the newest post titles for each and then I can read the ones that interest me (see image below). I actually prefer having email subscriptions to the blogs I follow and that way the updates arrive in my inbox whenever there’s been new content added. Not all blogs offer the email option and it’s usually just a lack of set up knowledge on the blogger’s part. 

You might have noticed the big orange arrow that points you in the right direction to subscribe to my RSS Feed. To the right of that arrow you have two choices for subscribing … either through a feed reader or through an email subscription (image below).

When you click on the “RSS Feed” option you will be taken to a page where you can choose how you want to subscribe (image below). It will give you some options for different feed readers or an option to subscribe through email.

If you click on the “Get Money Making Ideas ~ Suzanne Franco delivered by email” or on the “Email Subscription” button next to the orange arrow in my opt-in box it will activate a pop-up box (image below) where you can enter your email address. You will then be sent a confirmation email and you will need to click the link in the email to actually activate the feed delivery.

It’s really pretty simple to get subscribed to your favorite blogs through RSS Feed and I hope this has cleared up any confusion about how or why you’d want to subscribe. With that said … go ahead and subscribe for my RSS Feed right now!

Did you know how to subscribe to your favorite blogs? Do you prefer using a feed reader or receiving updates through your email? Do you have any questions about RSS Feeds or about how to get signed up for my RSS Feed? I’d love to hear your feedback and your questions. *SmiLes* Suzanne

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