Build Your Subscriber Base With RSS Push Notifications For Bloggers
If you produce content in the digital realm, then you probably know of RSS feeds. And you also know that RSS can be integrated with email newsletters, to send updates of freshly published posts on your blog.
But, how many people open their cluttered inboxes, searching specifically for the email update from YOUR blog? And how frequently do they open it, if at all they do? We both know that the answer isn’t a pretty one. So, what can we do to make your readers click on your RSS updates, then?
Hello, RSS-to-Push!
What if I tell you that sending emails is not the only way to keep your subscribers updated? There’s an easier and more effective channel you can turn to — RSS Push Notifications. Studies reveal that push notifications result in a 50% higher click rate compared to emails. And numbers don’t lie.
RSS Push Notifications are tiny, clickable messages that appear on the device (both mobile and desktop) screens of your subscribers. You can set this up in less than 5 minutes. How? Simply add your website or RSS URL to your push notifications dashboard.
If you want to know more about this handy and upcoming technology, then read on. Also, find out how to effectively use it to boost your blog traffic and build an active subscriber base.
Why RSS Push Notifications are awesome
Here are two reasons why RSS Push Notifications are just what you need to keep readers hooked to your blog.
1) Subscribing has never been this easy!
With email newsletters, one would have to provide their email IDs and maybe other contact info, in order to subscribe to your updates. This can be irksome and may even prompt the potential subscriber to not subscribe for your RSS updates through emails. But with RSS pushes, your blog visitor simply needs to click on “Allow” to the opt-in request to become a subscriber. And that’s it, they can now receive your RSS push updates!
2) They need not be on your blog or their inbox to receive your ‘New Post’ notification
Your subscribers need not look for your email update, and you need not worry about your posts not being read. The RSS notifications land bang on their device screens, be it mobile or desktop. How? These notifications work on browsers, like Chrome, Opera or Firefox, across devices, without subscribers having to be on your blog real-time. As long as they are online, your readers will receive the notifications.
Strategies to effectively wield RSS-to-Push
Let us now look at a few of the push notification strategies you would want to deploy to ensure high engagement and make the best of this automation feature.
1) Increase subscribers with a hassle-free opt-in
Web Pushes have become increasingly popular lately. When visitors land on your site, you can set an opt-in request to trigger after a specific time. This opt-in asks permission to send your visitors push notifications from your website. The visitor simply needs to click on “Allow” to become your push notification subscriber. They need not give their email addresses or any other contact information.
For converting your first-time blog visitor to your push notifications subscriber, you would want to give them the right context about what your RSS push notifications have in store for them. Give your visitors some time to figure out what your blog is about. You could set your opt-in to trigger once either of the following activities have been fulfilled by your visitor:
– After the visitor has read a blog post: Set the opt-in to trigger at this point, because the visitor is likely to allow receiving RSS push notification updates from your blog, knowing that they want to read more of such posts from your blog.
– After the visitor has spent a certain amount of time on your blog: You can set your opt-in box to appear after spending about 15 seconds on your blog. We recommend that you experiment with the timing here, after which the opt-in appears. From your little experiment, you can analyze the best timing that gets your more subscribers!
You can read more about opt-in strategies here.
2) Customization leaves a great taste!
A spray and pray approach doesn’t cut it anymore. People are strongly inclined towards what is relevant for them, and if they don’t find that from a particular source, then you can expect a higher unsubscription rate. This is where tailor-made RSS pushes keep your subscribers happy.
Though this is an automated channel, you still have control over the kinds of customization you want on your notifications. Customization includes the message copy, images, CTA and a lot more.
3) Schedule as per various time zones of your audience
Your subscribers might be located all over the world. It is all the more reason for you to schedule your RSS pushes as per various time zones. You can customize this feature by allotting subscribers to different segments based on time zones. This way, you won’t have to worry about disturbing the sleeping segment. This is a crucial element because it’ll avoid getting your subscribers unpleasantly surprised with your updates. For an older blog post that you want your subscribers to read, schedule an RSS push for a later date and time.
Now that you have a fair idea about RSS feed push notifications, you can now put a strategy in place to keep your blog subscribers engaged. We recommend that you first outline your target subscribers, their likes and personalize your messages accordingly. Remember to test out various methods and strategies, along with the frequency with which your push notifications go out, the timing and the relevancy.
If you’re already excited to implement RSS push notifications to your blog, then click here to learn how to do so. For more such post updates, stay tuned to The PushCrew Journal to be on top of your game.
Originally published on The Marketer’s Last Mile — the PushCrew Blog
