Simple Tips On How To Get More Blog Subscribers and How To Apply Them In Marketing Your Business

Updated: September 21, 2011

Last August 31 was 11th birthday of Blogger and “blogger fiestas” were held all over the world to celebrate the occasion.

In Manila, the celebration was at Fully Booked along Bonifacio High Street in Taguig and I was one of the invited speakers for the event.

That night, I talked about how to increase your blog subscribers and gave the audience three simple tips on how to get more readers – tips which I’m sharing with you today.

But more than that, I’m also sharing how those tips can be applied in business marketing, because in the years which I’ve been blogging – I’ve realized that the strategies involved in growing one’s blog readership is almost similar to how you can get more customers for your business.

Tip #1: Ask people to subscribe
If you want something from somebody, the best and most simple thing you can do is to ask for it. So if you want more subscribers, then you have to invite people to subscribe.

In real life, specially during blogger events, it’s normal to hear people inviting others to visit their blogs – but I rarely hear anybody asking people to subscribe. Try it and you’ll see that this straightforward strategy is actually effective.

Moreover, in your blog layout, make sure that the “invitation” to subscribe is prominently displayed. I’ve displayed mine above the fold at the sidebar – a premium space. And as I know that most of my readers are not bloggers, I’ve included an explanation what RSS is to make them understand what subscribing means.

In the same way, this technique can be applied for your business, and in many forms – distribute flyers, make cold calls, dispatch a sales team, etc. Be active in making your presence felt. Seek out your market and ask people to try your business.

Tip #2: Give people a reason why they should subscribe
Of course, inviting your blog visitors to subscribe is never enough, you should give them good reason why they should. On my sidebar, I stated one of the best reasons to subscribe here – because my content is FREE!

But more than that, make sure that you give your readers more specific reasons why they should be updated with your posts. One good example for this are my articles about credit cards. Try to read each of them and you’ll notice that at the end of every post, there is a simple message telling them that if they want to learn more about credit cards, debts and improve their finances, then they should subscribe to my blog.

And this strategy likewise applies to your business – give your customers a compelling reason to buy your products. But don’t just give the benefits and sell the features of your items, be a great salesman and offer an emotional rationalization to solicit a purchase.

Tip #3: Know and seek out your target market
Again, another simple tip that not many bloggers do. Ask yourself who would be most interested in reading what you’re writing and go to where they are.

For me, I’ve had good success in getting new subscribers by attending business summits, seminars and trade fairs. Online, I participate in discussions in business forums and interact with online social networking groups for entrepreneurs.

In business, knowing and seeking out your target market is the best way to lower your cost and get the most results in your marketing campaigns. I’ve written about this in detail before and you can read about it here: Targeted Marketing: What, Why and How

Bonus Tip
Ironically, I ended my talk by saying that the number of blog subscribers is simply just that – a number; and one should not think that the more subscribers you have, then the better your blog is.

It’s not the quantity, but the quality – as the cliche goes. A blogger should realize that what’s more important than the number of readers you have is the sense of community that you and your subscribers feel. We all start out as strangers, make your blog a medium that will create friendships.

And how does this apply in business marketing? I will leave you with something what Jayvee wrote in his blog. He’s referring to internet marketing, but I think it also captures the true essence of business marketing today:

… we should have conversations with our customers. They are our equals. That we should not be afraid to let them take control of our message. That we should be transparent and learn to take risks and reform our company to seeing Internet campaigns as a process, like building real relationships.

Learn more about blogging? Or learn more about business marketing? Why choose just one when you can get both by simply subscribing to Ready To Be Rich.