Remember the old saying, “Don’t sweat the details”? When delivering your future blog posts to your readers you shouldn’t have to overthink the details. Knowing your options will make it easier to get your posts out to your readers.
RSS is the magic behind blogging and the basic way new blog articles are delivered to readers. Someone who likes you or the topics you write about can click an orange RSS link to “subscribe” to the blog. They can choose to accept future blog posts into Outlook or readers like Google Reader or their AOL or Yahoo accounts. RSS isn’t just for techies, however it seems to baffle the average web visitor, so I always recommend that bloggers have alternative ways of subscribing.
Facebook has a bazillion users, right? When everyone you know is on Facebook, it’s an ideal way to deliver new blog posts to the people who want to read them. You’ll need a Facebook business page. You’ll need to give readers a way to “like” the page through your website and blog. Then you’ll need to share you each future blog posts on your page. The best result is that your readers will also share your posts, garnering you more “likes” on your Facebook page and more readers of your blog. Check out the Design to Spec’s page (Thanks for “like”-ing it while you’re there!).
Feedburner is a Google product that allows people to get blog posts via email. I’ve heard from many clients that this is the only way people subscribe to their blog. This comment seems to be true when you are aiming for readers who are less-than-techie, perhaps seniors, or still enjoy using email for communicating and receiving e-newsletters. You’ll notice on the Design to Spec website we have an opt-in box to “get email updates.” Give it a try… it’s that simple.
Of course there’s no reason you can’t offer all 3 ways to subscribe!
