One of the great features of a blog is it’s “RSS Feed.” That stands for “real simple syndication” – but it can be a little confusing and not feel so simple if you’re new to blogging. It allows your fans to get notified when you post a new blog, if they choose to subscribe in an RSS reader. Awesome, right? Here’s how it works for your fans:
But what if your fans don’t use an RSS Reader? What if you move your website to a new URL? How can you tell who’s following your RSS feed?
Easy answers! I use Feedburner along with the plugin FD Feedburner Plugin on my blog.
Five Reasons I’m a Feedburner Fan
1. It simplifies promoting my feed. Through Feedburner I get all sorts of options that are easy to setup and use.
2. It allows me to offer my readers a “subscribe by email” option in addition to the usual option to subscribe with an rss reader. You can see it in action near the top right of this page, under my welcome video.
3. It’s easy to embed other places. With a snippet of code from Feedburner, called the Headline Animator, I can take my blog posts and promote them on other sites. Here’s what it looks like:
4. It’s gives me cool statistics info. I can login to my Feedburner account and see how many people have subscribed, what they’re reading, and more.
5. It gives me control in case I change domain names, blog software, or otherwise need to update my feed URL. I won’t lose any subscribers, I just update the address in Feedburner and it will keep all the subscribers up to date.
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Michelle has been online since the late 80s, creating websites since the early 90s, and has coded thousands of web pages in that time. She's worked as a virtual assistant and website designer for small business owners including marketers, authors, coaches, crafters, and other solopreneuers.
I like your little video explaining the feedburner optin form. Nice and clean look, I’ll bookmark this page and see if I can do something similar
Thanks Dale
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Twitter: SmallBizMuse
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Isn’t that cool? I love their videos. You can find more on all sorts of subjects here: http://www.youtube.com/user/leelefever
Twitter: abnormalmarket
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I have a question about Feedburner. Do your stats fluctuate a lot each day? Do you think people subscribe and unsubscribe so quickly?
I’m wondering if my issues with Feedburner are unique.
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Twitter: MichelleShaeffr
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Yes, fluctuates quite a bit, here’s why: http://www.google.com/support/feedburner/bin/answer.py?answer=78955
Twitter: virtualfreedom
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Thanks for sharing this post Michelle. I like the fact that you used the video. Great job of explaining things.
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Twitter: MichelleShaeffr
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Wasn’t that video cool? Check out their YouTube channel for all sorts of great video demos.
Cool resource for the video’s Michelle. Thanks
I am a Feedburner fan too. I avoided subscribing to RSS feeds for a long time because I thought a reader was something you had to download. It wasn’t until I setup my own feed till I understood how it worked.
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Twitter: MichelleShaeffr
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I tried RSS readers but didn’t really start using one regularly until this year and I’m so glad I did – make it so much easier to keep up with my favorite blogs.
Twitter: lynettepatter
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This post is perfectly timed for me as I’m just beginning to draw my head out of the sand when it comes to RSS feeds. This helped alot! Thanks!
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Twitter: MichelleShaeffr
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Awesome! Thanks, Lynette.