Should I Use RSS or Email to Keep My Site Viewers Updated?

If you have a website or blog or are in the process of creating one, you will be faced with the challenge of how to get viewers to come back and visit often.  Everyone knows how important it is to have visitors come back to visit a website and blog again.  Getting returning visitors may be quite a challenge, but over time you will find that many of your visitors will return on a regular basis.  By using both RSS Feeds and email subscriptions, you will encourage visitors to return often.

There are some advantages and disadvantages to using RSS feeds, as there are with any software or program.  If you are interested in getting started with RSS Feeds, you need to be aware of all the disadvantages to using them.  The same is true for individuals who use email subscriptions to motivate visitors to return.

Using RSS Feeds to Attract Repeat Visitors to Blogs and Websites

One tactic that has grown in popularity over the years is using a RSS feed to get visitors to return to a website when new content and information is posted.  RSS stands for Really Simple Syndication.  To start receiving RSS feeds, visitors simply have to sign up to receive them.  Although RSS has grown in popularity and has been around for a very long time, only a small percentage of people sign up to receive RSS feeds.  You will be at a disadvantage if you rely on RSS feeds alone to encourage visitors to return to your website or blog.

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Advantages of Using RSS Feeds

• Internet users who sign up for RSS feeds can keep the information they receive organized
• No requirement to maintain a RSS subscriber lists
• Internet users decide which RSS feeds they want to receive and which ones they do not
• Free plugins for RSS feeds are available for several blog platforms
• RSS feeds can be syndicated via the Internet to reach Internet users who have never visited their website or blog
• RSS feeds are usually inexpensive in comparison to e-mail subscriptions

Disadvantages of Using RSS Feeds

• RSS feeds do not always work perfectly
• Subscribers often receive the same feed more than once
• RSS plugins can take up a lot of space on a computer or server
• Many people do not sign up to receive RSS Feeds or are unfamiliar with them

To encourage visitors who are unfamiliar with RSS feeds to sign up to receive them, you can offer additional information on how RSS feeds work.  This may or may not encourage visitors to sign up for RSS feeds.  In addition, you may want to provide additional information on all the various RSS readers that are available online, including but not limited to Bloglines, Google Reader, NetNewsWire and FeedDemon.

If you are interested in attracting repeat visitors to your blog or website, you definitely want to consider using RSS feeds to let everyone know about any updates to content and information that you have.  However, you should not rely strictly on RSS Feeds to attract repeat visitors and should consider using other options as well, such as email subscriptions.

Using E-Mail Subscriptions To Encourage Repeat Visits to a Blog or Website

If you are looking for an alternate way to keep in touch with visitors, prospects and existing customers or clients, you should consider offering an email subscription or an opt-in list that your visitors can sign up to join.  You can reach out to millions of people using email subscriptions to keep in touch with existing readers and prospective customers and clients.

In the past, newsletters use to be the main way that most individuals with websites or blogs kept in touch with their readers.  However, many individuals and business owners are choosing to use other methods to keep in touch with people versus newsletters these days.  Now, most people with websites or blogs provide an opt-in form on that visitors can enter their e-mail address into to subscribe  and receive a wide-variety of information.

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Advantages of Using Email Subscriptions

• Ability to send out a variety of publications, including newsletters
• Ability to send out information as often as you like
• Ability to maintain an email list

Disadvantages of Using Email Subscriptions

• Subscribers can opt-out anytime they wish
• Emails often get deleted or put in the trash bin
• Emails can get buried in with thousands of other emails

If you are interested in getting visitors to return to your website or blog, you should consider offering an opt-in form or an email subscription.  Even though there are some disadvantages to using email subscriptions, for the most part email subscriptions are a perfect way to encourage your visitors to return to your website or blog.  Here are a some popular email newsletter tools to get started with: MailChimp, ContstantContact and iContact.

Final Thoughts…

Whether you begin putting RSS Feeds to use, email subscriptions or a combination of the two, by using these resources you will increase the number of visitors that return to your blog or website on a regular basis.

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Brian Flores is a blogger of InMotion Hosting, a dedicated server company in Los Angeles. 

You can follow him on Twitter @BrianAFlores.

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