This is a question that comes up a lot among bloggers, with bloggers around the world split on which is better.
I think that it really comes down to what the goals you have for your blog, because different goals require their own unique tools to achieve them. But let’s take a closer look at each option to help you decide which one is best for you!
RSS Subscribers VS Email Lists
Let me first say, before I get into pitting them against each other, that this is not an ‘either or’ battle! It is important as bloggers to have both RSS Subscribers and an Email List! So if you do decided that you want to focus on building an email list – do not remove all opportunities to subscribe to your RSS. Because your readers have preferences and some prefer to subscribe to newsletters while others would rather subscribe to your RSS.
RSS Subscribers
This is where the majority of bloggers start out. RSS is usually already build into the blogs theme which allows visitors to start subscribing from the beginning.
Tracking Your RSS Subscribers
If you have not already, sign up to FeedBurner (it helps you keep track of how many people are subscribed to your blog) AND install the Feedburner FeedSmith Plugin – for WordPress (as it makes sure you do not miss tracking any RSS Subscribers!).
Why Do We Want RSS Subscribers?
As I said earlier, that if you want to get the most out of your blog you definitely want to take advantage of both RSS Subscribers and Email Subscribers, let’s take a look at some of the reasons you want to continue to build your RSS Subscribers.
- Builds Your Blog An Audience
I don’t want to fool you into thinking that every RSS subscriber will visit your blog each time you post a new article. In fact I would say if you get 20-30% of your RSS subscribers to to read your post you are doing well.Don’t be disheartened by this. Instead just figure these calculations into your goals. If you want 100 regular readers a day, then you may need 500+ subscribers. But the main thing is that RSS subscribers gives your articles an instant audience!
- Builds Your Blogs ‘Social Proof’
A lot of first time visitors will judge your blog instantly by one simple thing – your feed count. If you make your RSS feed count public then the size of your feed count will either validate your blog in the eye’s of your visitors or potentially lower their expectations.The higher your feed count, the higher your ‘Social Proof’
This is why with my blogs, I usually do not show my feed count until I am definitely in the 100′s (usually not until I hit 500 rss subscribers). because I want people to visit and think “There must be something great about this blog!”
Email Subscribers
Now if you have been blogging for any time now, you are sure to have heard the following saying:
The money is in the list!
I am sorry to tell you, that they are not talking about your RSS Subscriber list. Maybe 18months ago when you could sell blogs for $22 per subscriber, but these days RSS Subscribers are not worth that much money, so a lot of bloggers are turning to building an email list.
They do this using products such as Aweber, GetResponse or MailChip, which look after all the details of your subscribers and make it easy for you to send emails to your list.
In case you were wondering, I use and recommend Aweber!
Why have so many of the probloggers made the move towards a focus on email lists?
Why Do We Want Email Subscribers?
- More Qualified Buyers
When people sign up for your list they are telling you that they want more information from you on a specific topic. While people are telling you something similar when they sign up for your rss feed, it takes a lot more for someone to give you their email address, then to add another feed to their feed reader. - Provide Additional Information You Don’t Want On Your Blog
Sometimes you have tips, or advice, or even product reviews that you don’t want to put on your blog. It also allows for follow up contact, because statistics show that if you remind people about an offer it increases the chances of making a sale. - Joint Venture Potential
Having a blog can get you certain opportunities with joint ventures, but if you have a responsive list then you are going to be a highly valuable asset to any internet marketer in your niche.
As you can see this is not an either/or equation. If you are wanting to get the most out of your blog then you should definitely be looking to build your rss subscribers as well as your email list.
However, most people usually have a preference to which they like more, so why don’t you throw your opinion into the ring?
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Very Helpful tip. I am already following what u have mentioned but still missed out few important points. I just installed Feedburner FeedSmith Plugin.
.-= Kevin S @Free Vector Graphics´s last blog ..Visiting Card WordPress Theme =-.
I think both are important, too, though obviously I try to get as many join my email list as possible. I also agree with you about showing off your reader numbers to get more subscribers – I am still waiting to get mine high enough first, though.
.-= Ruth – Web Career Girl´s last blog ..Small Weekly Tasks Can Really Add Up When It Comes to Passive Income =-.
Rss and email have their own function regarding to blogging. RSS for alert of new post , and email list for alert of new product. That’s my opinion about both of them.
.-= Dana @ Blogging Update´s last blog ..Having Killer Content for Blog Easily =-.
Email subscribers are definitely more valuable, because a standard RSS subscriber may subscribe to you and never notice the new posts in their feed reader. Email subscribers seem to be more “serious” about wanting updates about your sites. Also, email newsletters using Aweber and the other services mentioned means that you can update subscribers of more than just your latest post – you can market anything relevant to your subscribers, which gives you more opportunities to link to other projects and earn income.
.-= Kikolani´s last blog ..Reasons to Love CommentLuv Blogs =-.
I have never tried building a email list but I am considering it now. Thanks for your insight on this topic.
.-= Agent Deepak´s last blog ..Blog with a Sex Appeal =-.
I guess I still haven’t caught on to the email list building benefits, but as I read more and more articles on it, my interest in it rises. Thanks for the article.
.-= Keith´s last blog ..Add Multiple Feeds to Facebook Fan Page =-.
@Agent Deepak & @Keith – Glad I was able to spark some interest!
I agree that the money is in the email list. I am guilty of subscribing to a bunch of RSS feeds that I haven’t actually looked at in months. Meanwhile, I check my email several times per day. So, as a subscriber, I’m much more likely to pay attention to my email than to my feed reader.
.-= Mark@Moving Companies Pittsburgh´s last blog ..Pittsburgh Movers =-.
Man! I was wondering this very thing just yesterday! I noticed that Copyblogger’s feed now comes through Aweber and was wondering if I was missing something. Building a list is something I have been seriously considering for a few weeks and I was worried that it would interfere with my RSS subscribers.
Thanks for clearing this up, Tom! I’m a new subscriber.
.-= Nick Tart´s last blog ..Interview: Emil Motycka, From ‘Mow Boy’ to $135K =-.
I’ve definitely noticed that email subscribers are much more committed to making some sort of purchase in contrast to RSS subscribers.
As they say, the money is in the list!
@Mark – That is an excellent point.
@Nick – Thanks Nick! I truly believe that you should focus on building both your RSS and your email list.
@Justin – Exaclty. I post about an offer on one of my blogs, and also emailed the same offer to one of my lists, and the post didn’t make a sale while the email did.
Both have a place but email is the most important. When people say the money is in the list I don’t think they are wrong at all. I’ve never heard someone say the same for RSS subscribers.
I would certainly use both for my sites and us them differently. Oh, and yes, AWeber rocks.
Regards,
Karl
.-= Karl Foxley´s last blog ..15 Free Tools To Add To Your Online Business Toolbox =-.
I think it also depends on your market. My blog targets people who are very new to internet marketing and they don’t even understand what RSS is and how it works. I imagine this is similar in non IM related niches. I have built my list ~ but I still send email announcements each time I post a new post. They wait for my daily email ~ I wish they would use the RSS feed but at this point they aren’t. My email list is doing double duty at this point.
.-= Jackie Lee @Internet Markeitng Strategies for Beginners´s last blog ..What’s the 1 Thing I Can Do To Start Making Sales? =-.
This is a great post. I have been thinking about RSS vs Email, but I just can’t get into the email thing. I really do not have the time to write additional information by email. Maybe in a year or so I will change my mind when I have more readers, right now my site is less than 2 months old.
.-= element321 @ evolutionary desings´s last blog ..Blog Promotion Another New way to Promote Your Work =-.
Hi,
Im Jp from Blogmatters.net, Beginners Blogging Guide. Joining your community
Well both are important. Rss subscribers as build audience and email list to contact them whenever you have to BUT…using the email to market should not be abused. Bugging people makes them annoyed and will report you as a spammer so before using email list. Better open up the message nicely, address to them one by one and send unique messages to each.
Nice article!
.-= jp manching @ beginners blogging guide´s last blog ..Removing NoFollow Attribute Results to Traffic Increase =-.
Good post. I always assumed that your email following was more important. I’m still using Feedburner to send the my latest post emails though. I’m thinking of doing a mail out to them with a few freebies to show my appreciation and drive a bit more traffic my way.
.-= Rob Cubbon @ Graphic and Web Designer´s last blog ..Sync up your Social Media and increase your Tweets =-.
I’ve been thinking about email vs RSS for some time now and I’ve decided to start an email list on my blog asap. From what I’ve read the email subscribers are more valuable, because you can update them more often than your RSS subscribers with info that is not on your blog.
.-= Marko´s last blog ..Find the Name of the Song Without Knowing the Lyrics =-.
Excellent. I’m not sure which I prefer but I do seem to interact more with my email subscribers. They are also more likely to follow me on twitter and fan me on facebook. I think I will begin to focus more on building my email list. Thanks for the suggestions!
@Marko – That is exactly right! You have made a great choice in building your list early.
@Ralph – That is because they are more invested into you. You will find that your list will buy more also!
I think both do have a part to play on a blog but email is always more effective both for selling products and also for getting people back to your blog (when you broadcast your blog post).
great tips tom..will get my email list kicking soon
.-= mk akan´s last blog ..5 GREAT BENEFITS OF PARTICIPATING IN BLOG COLLABORATIONS =-.
@mk akan – That is exactly it. You can still let people know about each blog post through your Aweber account, so it could be used for both.
Though both are very useful I think Email list is more reliable. In my experience of RSS, I’ve experience some errors over which I had no control. Two months ago my Feedburner broke down and I have no idea why. I have to burn a new one.
.-= Walter´s last blog ..Criticism: the unwanted mentor =-.
I have a newsletter/email list but need to take advantage of it! So far it’s been used for exclusive access to a few short e-books but not sure of the effect.
My experience with signing up for other lists has been mixed. I hate to receive mundane notices like ‘new post’ or constant notices about deals or asking me if I finished reading a download. This may be why people are reluctant to signup.
I don’t really like email lists because they usually send spam or parts of get rich quick schemes that doesn’t really deliver value. But I don’t mind subscribing to things I know value-delivering.
Since you asked
, Aweber is the number one product I see when I selectively choose to sign up for something. I have used is for several clients in the past and it is so easy to use and modify on the fly.
While I think it’s more important to have an email list that you can market to, I agree that having one of the other would be a mistake. There are some blogs I just want to know when they post or they aren’t really selling anything anyway so having their posts clogg up my already overflowing email is overwhelming. I have found a few that have a daily Aweber messages which I have since left since they were about being in my face rather than a quality message. I always remind my clients to send quality emails, not daily emails just to be in their face. You’ll lose a following quickly like that.
I constantly struggle with this question. How do you feel about a LightBox and gathering subscribers?
.-= Ryan Hanley´s last blog ..I Hate This Life Insurance Question =-.
That is a good question Ryan. I have always struggled with the idea of lightboxes because everyone hates popups. But the problem is that they work.
I am currently working on an ebook for this blog and will probably do my own light box tests then.
I also implement subsribe via RSS and email in my blog to make sure that they have options where to subscribe. I also add my twitter account so that they can read my updates directly with their twitter account.
Tricia