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Sucker wrote:
I guess my 'faking your feed count' article wasn't enough to get you to subscribe! :)
21/09 06:56:36
Bret wrote:
Thanks for mentioning my post about RSS feeds. Just an FYI, I also did a follow on post listing some good web resources for learning about and doing more with RSS feeeds.
You make a great point about RSS stats failing to capture blog lurkers. I've actually found that the MyBlogLog and Bumpzee widgets give me a better idea of readers than feed stats or even general web stats. These community widgets display images of readers that have recently come to the site. So long as I see a constant change in these images, I know I'm getting regular readers. Fairly low tech but much more personal than just looking at numbers on a graph.
You make a great point about RSS stats failing to capture blog lurkers. I've actually found that the MyBlogLog and Bumpzee widgets give me a better idea of readers than feed stats or even general web stats. These community widgets display images of readers that have recently come to the site. So long as I see a constant change in these images, I know I'm getting regular readers. Fairly low tech but much more personal than just looking at numbers on a graph.
21/09 08:32:05
caymanhost wrote:
Hi Sucker
Well, I'm named and shamed but after reading your "Sniper" article and clicking through to your intro page, how could I not want to be one of your subsccribers - now I am :0)
For anyone not familiar with Internet Marketing Sucks, it really is worth checking out, lighthearted and funny, but with some genuinely useful tips and information.
Now my guilt has been assuaged.....
Well, I'm named and shamed but after reading your "Sniper" article and clicking through to your intro page, how could I not want to be one of your subsccribers - now I am :0)
For anyone not familiar with Internet Marketing Sucks, it really is worth checking out, lighthearted and funny, but with some genuinely useful tips and information.
Now my guilt has been assuaged.....
21/09 10:23:21
caymanhost wrote:
Hi Bret,
I agree that the social blogging widgets are great for both readers and blog owner. Sometimes though, skimming through a feed is really all I have time for and I guess a lot of people face the same problem if they follow a lot of blogs.
I should have known that the first two comments would come from the sites I mention and wasn't subscribed to. I wanted to subscribe to your feed Bret, but I couldn't find it........Just Kiddin', I have now included you in my reader too. Thanks for leaving your thoughts and for an interesting blog, helpful for not tech savvy bloggers like me!
I agree that the social blogging widgets are great for both readers and blog owner. Sometimes though, skimming through a feed is really all I have time for and I guess a lot of people face the same problem if they follow a lot of blogs.
I should have known that the first two comments would come from the sites I mention and wasn't subscribed to. I wanted to subscribe to your feed Bret, but I couldn't find it........Just Kiddin', I have now included you in my reader too. Thanks for leaving your thoughts and for an interesting blog, helpful for not tech savvy bloggers like me!
21/09 10:31:47
Janet wrote:
Hi Cayman Host
Nice to see my blog up there in your list so I'm shamelessly promoting it! Thanks for the comments on mine and your continued interest.
Like the others I love the social networking widgets. It's great to see familiar faces on my blog and on other blogs and it generates a real feeling of community.
On another note I wonder why the 'Live Traffic Feed' has me from St John's, St John and not St John's Antigua, the flag is correct but I doubt many many readers would recognise it!
Nice to see my blog up there in your list so I'm shamelessly promoting it! Thanks for the comments on mine and your continued interest.
Like the others I love the social networking widgets. It's great to see familiar faces on my blog and on other blogs and it generates a real feeling of community.
On another note I wonder why the 'Live Traffic Feed' has me from St John's, St John and not St John's Antigua, the flag is correct but I doubt many many readers would recognise it!
30/09 18:37:28
caymanhost wrote:
Hi Janet
Thanks for dropping by and taking the time to leave your greetings and hey, promote away! Us small Caribbean countries with flags that nobody recognizes need to stick together :-)
Maybe you should take up the issue with Feedjit - I assume it's an error in their program. I'm always having problems with our George Town which often seems to translate into Georgetown.
At least now you know that although I may not always appear on your social blogging widgets, I'm a regular reader :-)
Maurice (TCH)
Thanks for dropping by and taking the time to leave your greetings and hey, promote away! Us small Caribbean countries with flags that nobody recognizes need to stick together :-)
Maybe you should take up the issue with Feedjit - I assume it's an error in their program. I'm always having problems with our George Town which often seems to translate into Georgetown.
At least now you know that although I may not always appear on your social blogging widgets, I'm a regular reader :-)
Maurice (TCH)
30/09 21:05:51
20/09: Why Am I Reading YOUR Feed?
RSS subscriptions. Bloggers clamour for numbers and either proudly display their subscriber numbers, keep them a secret, or display them with a virgin like self conscious cringe and apologize for their puny status. This social blogging stigma is evidenced by posts like the one over at Internet Marketing Sucks where the author discusses Faking Your Feed Count.
It's funny really because RSS subscription numbers are only a very vague estimate of the truth, and yet, we set so much store by them. The reasons for that are another story and that's not what I'm about today.
I was reading a post yesterday over at TechTraction entitled Make Your RSS Feed Easy To Find which echoes the same things I have written about here in the past. RSS is still a mystery to many and you need to be mindful of this if you wish to grow your readership.The drawback of RSS feeds is that for a publisher they are very impersonal and knowing that your feed stats are probably not really accurate means that you remain disonnected to a certain degree. An obvious indicator of growing subscribers is commenting by regular visitors, but again, there are plenty of people who lurk and never participate even though they may be reading and enjoying your blog on a regular basis.
To illustrate the blogs I read via RSS at the moment, I've given you a few screenshots. Is your blog in there? Am I one of your flesh and blood readers? Did you already know that or is it a pleasant/scary surprise?
There is every chance you've never heard from me on your blog, then again I may have contributed, visited frequently. I'm in the habit of adding blogs that I intend to read more than once into my reader - some stay and some don't because I can only read so much! Why not see if I'm one of your subscribers - if I am, leave me a comment and say howdy, if I'm not, tell me what I'm missing out on - go on, I'm giving you the green light to shamelessly plug your blog. And remember, others may see your name up there in lights and want to subscribe, so make it easier by adding your comment for them to click through on. In alphabetical order, here we go.............
Go to the full post to see more..................
tags: RSS, RSS Feeds, RSS Subscribers, RSS Stats, Feed Readers
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