I’m on vacation this week and had a chance to clean up a very cluttered Google Feed Reader. I started with close to 175 subscriptions and cut it down to 100. I also organized my subscriptions into categories…BtoB, SEM/SEO, Marketing, etc. I learned something through the process - anyone using an RSS feed to spread their message needs to understand that RSS feed marketing will soon play a role.

I had too many blogs I was subscribed to and not reading so I needed to clean house. As feed readers become more common so will the act of cleaning them up. So, how do you avoid being cut out of a reader? Here are some RSS marketing tips that I learned:

  • Consistent Posting: If there hadn’t been a post in the last month, the feed got cut. Post consistently to let subscribers know you’re serious about your message. At least once a week is reasonable.
  • Have Some Original Content: Sites that posted complete text versions of other’s content and added slight commentary show lack of creativity and meaningful original content. Linking to articles is great and gives additional resources, but have something to say about it!
  • Let Me Share: If there is a post I want to bookmark on del.icio.us, don’t make me have to go to your site and wait for it to load. Let me hit a button to bookmark from my reader. I didn’t cut all feeds that didn’t allow me to do this, but it was part of my decision. Show some community involvement by adding some social features in the feed.
  • Break Up Your Text: People get bored with endless paragraphs of text. Break it up with a picture, bullet points or something to rest the eyes.
  • Forget the 30-Part Series: I saw one blog that just kept pushing next chapters in a very long series. You’re alienating new subscribers by not mixing in some different content. I don’t have the time to catch up on the series.
  • Show Number of Comments: Maybe this is just me, but I like to see how many comments there are on a certain post. It’s nice to see if there is a conversation happening that I might want to check out.
  • Don’t Bombard The Reader: If your blog is a company blog, don’t push your product or service in every post.
  • Title, Title, Title: Coming up with unique, engaging post titles is tough, but you need to try. Developing a style or angle allows readers to better understand you.
  • Give A Little: Feed readers keep people from visiting your site and seeing your personal touches. Don’t forget to sprinkle in a little about you so your readers feel an attachment to you in their reader.

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