How-To: 7 Tactics for Getting Online Readers to Stick

Here are seven tried and tested methods to get visitors to become regular readers, be it through RSS subscriptions or simply by reading a good amount of posts. All of these methods, used in conjunction, tripled my RSS subscriber count in April.

A note on traffic.

“Steroid traffic” is a term I coined to mean quick surges of traffic that don’t necessarily average more than 1.1 pageviews per visitor. It has short-term benefits and the visitors rarely stick around.

In contrast, natural traffic — traffic from search engines or referrals — averages well over 2.0 pageviews per visitor and generally become repeat visitors. This piece focuses on generating natural traffic.

1. Use a highly visible Feed Button. Make sure you have a BIG RSS button near the top of your site and also in your sidebar. If you need Feed Icons, check out FeedIcons.com, which has a downloadable package of customizable ones.

[Full Story at Marketing Vox]