I have almost 2000 RSS readers, what do I do with them?

9 replies
Hey guys,

On my blog, I have 2 different options for people to signup with me. One is to signup directly to my list and the other is to sign up through rss using feedburner.

At one point, I was thinking about taking the rss option down so they can only signup to my list, but I noticed through testing that a lot of people will signup through the feedburner. I think the reason is that they don't feel as threatened or they are not giving away info. To tell you the truth, I'm not really sure.

Anyway, I now have almost 2000 feedburner rss readers and besides them getting the updates on my posts, I don't know how i can monetize them.

How can I monetize that list of subscribers?

Is there a way for me to pull their info out of the feedburner so I can somehow add them to my list? If so, do you think that's ethical or not (CAN SPAM)?


I would love to hear some strategies from you. I'm sure I'm not the only one on this forum that has similar questions.

THANK YOU!

Peter
#readers #rss
  • Profile picture of the author MJ Sterling
    I don't think it's right to add them to your list.. maybe send out a message on the RSS feed inviting them to join your list.

    As for monetizing it, probably the way to monetize everything else.. give them stuff of value, build a relationship and sell them what they want. I know it's easier said than done, and takes a while.. but it's better than spamming them innit.
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  • Profile picture of the author Peter Helps
    Thanks MJ. I figured that adding them would be nit cool.

    As far as giving away a lot of info with lots of value, I already do on my blog so they get it within the rss feed.

    Is writing a blog post the only way to contact my rss readers?

    I feel like there has got to be some way of getting those rss readers?

    Thank MJ. Would love some more input from the warrior forum experts.
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  • Profile picture of the author Peter Helps
    Also, does anyone know if it is possible to add/edit feedburner's rss feed?

    You know how when you click on the sign up link for rss on someone's blog, you end up on the rss feed signup page. I'm wondering if if is possible to add some HTML to that page.

    Thanks.
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    • Profile picture of the author AndrewHansen
      Hey Peter,

      This is a really good question and an important one.

      Because if your goal is to monetize, the point has to be made that in a number of ways, having people subscribed to your feed rather than say, your email list, makes it HARDER for you to make money from them. By definition, it's people getting the benefit of your site... without actually COMING to your site.

      My 2c would be:

      1. There are wordpress plugins (if you use WP) that can let you slot ads into your RSS feeds. If you have no other options that's not a bad default. I can't remember the name of the plugin off the top of my head but a quick search will bring it up.

      2. Of course you can always put relevant links (aff links etc) into your blog posts that they'll of course see.

      3. While it's not appropriate to just add them to an email list from feedburner, you can make a blog post telling them, and giving them some incentive to go to another page and opt in to get onto your email list... maybe tell them they can get discounts on special products, or a special piece of insiders only content you've written or... any number of things. Then gradually you can work to get as many of them as possible actually opted into your email list as well as reading your feed.

      Hope that helps mate.

      Andrew
      Signature

      More Affiliate Marketing & SEO Strategy For Free Than Most Courses Will Give You If You Pay... http://andrewhansen.name

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  • Profile picture of the author Peter Helps
    Thanks for the advice Andrew. I didn't know that there was plugins I could use to modify the RSS feed. That's awesome. I'll start looking for them.

    If anyone knows of any, it would be great if you could share them with me.

    Now, I'm wondering, are there plugins that can actually add an html code into the rss feed. That would be cool because I could embed the opt in code into the feed and get people to signup to my list through the rss feed itself.

    What do you guys think?

    Peter
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    • Profile picture of the author FastLearner
      I use RSS footer plugin to add extra line of content to the feed, for example a nice link back to your blog.
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  • Profile picture of the author fasteasysuccess
    Like mentioned above the best way to get them onto your actual list is to offer something that highly motivates them to go from non subscriber to subscriber
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  • Profile picture of the author SeanSupplee
    They are your RSS readers their there to read your blog. If you have something to sell or say say it in your blog. Plus on your blog you should have a opt in form anyways for them to join your list. I really think the two are separate.
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  • Profile picture of the author Peter Helps
    Thanks for the input guys. The reason why I asked that is because I know that there are people who just read the rss and never go to the blog.

    for instance, I have several rss subscriptions via Google and I never actually go out to the website.

    I do have an optin form on my blog and I do provide great content to my readers. However, I think that if I had something within my rss posts that would either bring them back to my site or allow them to signup to my list from there, it would help out a lot.

    I mean think about it. Inside Google RSS reader, you can share your rss feeds with others. The people who end up seeing your reader have probably never been to your site.

    On the other hand, maybe I'm just over analyzing this. Am I?
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