List building tip: reward your blog subscribers

Are you building your list of blog subscribers? No doubt you've heard that list building is a critical strategy for building your business. And there are many tactics you can employ to grow your list.

Back in the olden days of the Internet (I got started in 1996!), your list meant your database of subscribers to your electronic newsletter (ezine). Now, there are many kinds of lists that comprise your business universe: your customer list, ezine list, special reports lists, twitter followers (yes, that's a list of people in your world), Facebook friends, Facebook "likers" (fans), LinkedIn connections, YouTube channel subscribers and of course your blog subscribers.

I think many bloggers neglect their readers. They offer an RSS feed on their blog but don't offer an email subscribe option. Did you know that most blog readers still prefer email over RSS? I do. And I consider myself to be a tech savvy, sophisticated blog reader. I realized a while back that though I subscribe to blogs with Google Reader, the blogs for which I receive email updates are the ones I read the most consistently.

In just about every presentation or teleseminar or blog review I do, I talk about the fact you must have an email subscribe option on your blog. Otherwise you're neglecting a lot of people who may want to stay on top of what you're writing.

There are several options for offering an email subscribe option. I use Feedblitz (fee) and have since it was launched in 2005. There's also Feedburner (free) and Aweber (fee), the autoresponder service, offers an RSS to email option for blogs.

How do you get readers to subscribe?

Like building an ezine list, it helps to offer an "ethical" bribe - a gift in exchange for subscribing to your blog. For example, when you subscribe to this blog, or any of my blogs, you get a gift. Sometimes it's access to a teleseminar recording or a transcript of a program I normally sell. Right now, I'm offering a complimentary lesson from my Online Visibility Secrets course, on how to use Google to boost your visibility.

Feedblitz makes this really easy to do. They have an option to create an automated message that goes to your new subscriber as soon as they confirm their subscription. In that message you can provide a link to a page where they can download their gift. You can also set up the subscribe system to redirect to a download page as soon as they confirm. I recommend doing both as a way of ensuring they get their gift.

I also like Feedblitz because I can fully customize the template for the email my readers receive with their updates so it's branded with my blog banner and other information or marketing messages.

You can also set up a similar process with Aweber through their autoresponder function.

However, Feedburner is not quite as sophisticated. You can set up for notifications to pull your logo into the email, and you could add a link to a download page in the confirmation email that subscribers get before they actually confirm. I couldn't find any way to redirect to a special page or send a follow up email.

Where there's a will, there's a way. With so many sites and so much content competing for your readers' attention, anything you can do to show appreciation for their subscription will help. You want readers to subscribe because those subscribers are the ones who will return time after time to read your words of wisdom. They are the ones who build a deeper more intimate connection with you. They are also the ones who drive more traffic to your blog by "liking" and sharing your content. A little reward can go a long way.

Are you rewarding your blog subscribers? If so, what is your system or process? What do you give your readers when they subscribe? Please share your tips in the comments!

(And be sure to subscribe to get your free gift...a lesson on how to use Google to boost your online visibility!)

Comments

[Pots and Pins]

Hi Denise: I love the idea of signing up subscribers and providing a free gift...but I think I need to update my blog first...do you consult? I could use some help! Thanks, Nan

[Denise Wakeman]

Hi Nan, yes, I do consult. I usually recommend starting with a blog review and then going forward from there if necessary. You can get info about my detailed blog review program: http://blogsquadcritique.com or get info about hourly consulting here: http://denisewakeman.com/work-with-denise/

Blog on!

[Natalia]

Hi Denise,

I'm just getting started with building a list... other than the ones you mentioned (Twitter, Facebook etc) I signed up with Mail Chimp because it's free, but do you know if they are any good? I signed up yesterday so it's early days yet.

[Denise Wakeman]

Hi Natalia, I don't use MailChimp so I cannot comment on it. I know others who do and are happy with it. I use 1ShoppingCart to manage my database and complete ecommerce system and I don't want to manage multiple list servers so I stick with one system.

Maybe other readers use MailChimp and can comment on how they like it.

Blog on!

[Denise Wakeman]

Phil Hollows, the founder of Feedblitz, sent me a link to a comparison chart between Feedblitz and Feedburner:

http://kb.feedblitz.com/article/AA-00444

[Peggy]

The company i recently started to work for wants me to start blogging so thanks for all the information, it will help me with the internship :)

[Julius]

I'd like to add that offering free workbooks to your readers can encourage them to subscribe and more importantly, stay in your list.

[Sukhdeepak]

I agree with you that many bloggers neglect their readers which is a bad step. In this way they not only loss their bloggers but their business as well.

[Carlos]

I totally agree with you regarding the preference of reading blog/site updates through email rather than reading it in RSS. It saves me time. Average users tend to open their emails every time they use the internet. When I open my email. The updates are there, and i can read right there straight. And Email option is less technical.

Rewarding the audience is also a common practice done by professional bloggers. Like giving them informational e-books in exchange for their subscription. It's a great way to build your list. It's a package actually. You get people to subscribe and at the same time. You're taking care of your list.

Carlos of "Vacuum Cleaners | vac"

[Diane Bolden]

Hi Denise,

I was happy to find something that touches on both Feedblitz and Aweber. I am using Feedblitz's service to send email updates to my blog subscribers every time I post a new article (and I use the free gift option as well). It's working well. Recently, I decided to create a membership program that relies on autoresponders and am going to be using Aweber for that. I am wondering if you would recommend that I transfer my subscriber list over to Aweber since they now also have the RSS to email service, or if it would be better to just stick with Feedblitz ($10/month) for my blog subscribers (so that I don't have to move everything over) and use Aweber just for the autoresponder ($19/month) but not my blog subscribers. Are there advantages to having everything in one system (Aweber) that outweigh the hassle of transferring all my subscribers and creating all new templates and opt in boxes, etc.?