Fight for your RSS readers and don’t give up

Bloggers know how hard it is to gain FeedBurner readers and since the number of readers displayed on your blog is dynamic (updated daily) and once the count goes down it can stimulate other readers to leave (the logic is: everyone leaves, why should I stay? So many people can’t be wrong!).

But, there are reasons for people to unsubscribe, and you – the tricky blogger, should avoid them. So, what can it be?

1. Your Blog is Boring. Even if this is the real reason you probably would not admit, but consider it to be the Nr. 1 reason for losing readers.
2. “Read More” results in Reading Less. There is no good reason to add the “Read more >>” tag in the middle of your post and cut the story into 2 halves unless it’s a huge article or sponsored post where you don’t wish to put entires fully on display. Mostly, bloggers do it to gain more hits but from what I know, many readers just read until the ‘more’ line and leave. You can lose a reader or win an extra hit, it’s 50/50, – would you gamble or just go for the safest bet and avoid the “more” tag?
3. Marshland of Info. Unless you have a groundbreaking opinion to share, don’t cover all the CNN’s news and SEO’s innovations. Have mercy on your readers, don’t tell them about iPhones, they heard already! Don’t tell them that SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization, they know already! In other words, don’t introduce your readers to outdated or “overdiscussed” theme.
4. Readers die in solidarity with the blog. The easiest way to lose readers is not to update your blog. Unlike posting boring posts, this won’t even require any action on your part. If you update daily, your readers will know they should come and check daily for updates, however if you leave it for weeks it’s hard to expect readers will be stubborn enough to come back over and over again just to see some old titles gathering dust. Just feed your visitors with some info so your Feed will benefit. You can have a life and like many bloggers make scheluded posts (this one, by the way, is scheluded to July 6th and will be posted when I am far away from my computer). Having a life is no excuse for forsaking your blog!
5. Flood the Readers with Sponsored Posts. Most readers would understand your desire to make money off the site or to cover the cost, however, remember to keep a good proportion. All these diet pill reviews and payday loans make the blog look cheap. Don’t review every product unless it’s really hard-to-pass-by money and remember to tell your readers the review was sponsored, in order not to lose their trust in your opinion. I’d say a ratio of 5:1 (regular : sponsored) is the very maximum if you want to build a good community of readers and followers.

Do you make these mistakes? Well, don’t.