Comments on: Who Cares How Many Subscribers You’ve Got?

By: brainpicker

brainpicker — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 17:06:46 +0000

Mark, great article. I absolutely believe we should “care” about subscribers, not just for monetization purposes but because the second you start neglecting your audience, your content loses its purpose.

A quick question though — something I’ve been trying to figure out for a long time. Is there a way to check how many RSS subscribers your blog actually has? I apologize if this is a total no-brainer, I’m learning as I go along. I can’t seem to figure out a way other than sifting through server log files, so I was thinking about creating a php script that notifies me whenever someone clicks the “Subscribe” button. Is there a simpler way? Like a WordPress plugin or something? Thanks much.

By: Net Covered

Net Covered — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 20:27:23 +0000

Good post. It is good to blog for fun in the first place and the you will earn money, too. Just don’t get overexcited about making huge amounts of moeny too soon and concentrate on content and your blog quality ;)

By: minde

minde — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 19:17:41 +0000

Nice post. Very good lessons but in my blog are 2 feeders only. One by feedburner and one by google. I believe that stats will increase one day.

http://www.notebooker.us

By: Josh

Josh — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 20:57:57 +0000

What I do to determine whether my blog is worth it is to just look at my web stats, and if the trend keeps going up, then I’m happy.

I started using google analytics last July, and I think pageviews dropped from one month to the next only twice, and that was usually because I had a month where for whatever reason I didn’t post as much.

I don’t even keep track of how many RSS subscribers I have. I figure that as long as more people visit my site, then I must be doing something right, or at well good enough.

By: Mr.NiceGuy

Mr.NiceGuy — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 17:48:51 +0000

Great post Mark. You are correct not all blogger are blogging for money. There are also rich people who only blog to have fun and to meet new business partners in the bloggers community. It matters much if you are satisfied with your outcome no matter how small it is.

By: lonifasiko

lonifasiko — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 13:58:13 +0000

I second that all bloggers (including me) are somehow ill;,we’re everyday checking how to increase traffic to our blog, trying to get more RSS subscribers, seeing blog stats…..

For me, in spite of not having many RSS subscribers, the most important thing is to post quality content, in a very readable way, with some humour. On top of that, users must feel that you are happy and proud about what you write.

It’s just a little bit self-confidence: I know I’m doing things well, I’m working hard, therefore, time will somehow put things in its place and I’ll get more RSS readers in the future. At least, that’s what I hope…

Regards.

By: prefabrike

prefabrike — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 11:18:46 +0000

thank you..Food for thought though as I look forward at the next design of ProBlogger – shuddering at the thought of another redesign.. thank you..

By: Darren Rowse

Darren Rowse — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 06:02:33 +0000

BB – yep, acknowledging guest posts is something that I do struggle with with this design. I always try to mention them in a fairly obvious byline as the first line of the post as I assume that’s the first thing people read – however I guess some do skip it. The other problem is of course that my name appears as the ‘author’ also which can confuse some. The only problem is that with one off guest authors to create an account is a bit of a long winded process at the moment as at b5media our blogs have an extra layer of security/logging in. Food for thought though as I look forward at the next design of ProBlogger – shuddering at the thought of another redesign :-)

By: Blog Bloke

Blog Bloke — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 05:24:58 +0000

LOL! Apparently I missed it Don. I read a lot posts every day and I generally skip the intro as I did in this case. Regardless, it can be confusing when 2 writers are listed as the author.

By: Don

Don — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 05:09:58 +0000

Did I miss something I think Darren told us in the beginning of the article that it was written by someone else!

By: Alston

Alston — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 04:31:22 +0000

Mark,
Thanks for the level headed thoughts, when writing content, the “proof is in the pudding!” Your heart has to be in what you’re writing about and if you build it, they will come!

http://americanenglishphrases.blogspot.com/

By: Blog Bloke

Blog Bloke — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 04:08:16 +0000

Darren, perhaps then it would be less confusing if you put the guest writer’s name at the top of the post where your name appears. That’s where I always look.

That’s why I do in my blog for my guest writers and it’s not that difficult to implement.

By: Darren Rowse

Darren Rowse — Sun, 06 Apr 2008 22:37:15 +0000

Couple of thoughts. For starters this was written by Mark Seall not me. I do happen to agree with much of it but didn’t want to take credit for the article as a few seem to have assumed it was by me.

BB – just as I rush out the door let me post a link, I’ve written about some of the reasons that I post my feedburner numbers here.

For me it’s less about how I measure my success – but from what I can tell it can help a little with building momnentum on your blog, even build a sense of belonging and is quite good at generating new subscribers (as the animation in the button draws the eye).

By: Blog Bloke

Blog Bloke — Sun, 06 Apr 2008 22:07:29 +0000

Then why don’t you lead by example and remove your feedburner stats that sit prominently in your top right-hand sidebar?

By: Beckster

Beckster — Sat, 05 Apr 2008 20:24:18 +0000

Thanks for the article – I have just begun blogging as a creative/cathartic outlet and am amazed at what a very large world the blog community is. It’s interesting that I think I’m doing this for myself, but some part of me seems to want others to read it to – what is that all about? Three weeks ago I never thought I would be blogging! As I cruise around, I’m surprised at how many blogs have advertising – never occured to me.

By: money blog

money blog — Sat, 05 Apr 2008 16:28:56 +0000

I really enjoyed reading your post. My concern is however, with the weight you provide SEO with. Shouldnt bloggers focus on optimizing their blogs more for search engines?

By: Nantucket Artist

Nantucket Artist — Sat, 05 Apr 2008 10:42:21 +0000

Chasing subscribers before developing content is putting the cart before the horse.

A well written guest article – thank you.

By: Tim Hurst

Tim Hurst — Sat, 05 Apr 2008 04:49:28 +0000

Nicely done, Mark. I like the spatial mapping – quite helpful.

I think you’re spot on about the futility in obsessing over statistics. But on the other hand, it can really be sort of thankless and anonymous sometimes, and so a little validation is all we’re looking for. Just a little pat on the back!

By: Tom Beaton

Tom Beaton — Sat, 05 Apr 2008 03:48:36 +0000

I think most of us have become stat-aholics in the blogosphere. We NEED to constantly know how we are doing. It is part of the competitiveness.

By: walisse

walisse — Sat, 05 Apr 2008 01:48:52 +0000

Thank you for this article.
Why are we so obsessed with the numbers? The most important thing is to do what we like and the rest will eventually follow.