You have an RSS feed and you have worked hard to get the word out. According to your logs you have subscribers! Now the hard part: how to retain the subscribers to your RSS feed. Follow these simple steps to insure that your subscriber base will grow.

1. Original Content
A consistent stream of original content will do well to earn subscribers loyalty. The best RSS feeds provide content that is compelling and unique. Do not rehash existing content, look for a unique angle or spin if you wish to cover something that is hot in the blogosphere.

2. Quality Over Frequency
A posts quality is far more important than a post’s frequency. Readers will tire of rambling or nonsensical posts that contain no real value. Time is precious and there are plenty of feeds and blogs, in order to retain readers provide quality not quantity.

13 Tips to Growing RSS Feed Subscribers
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Back in July, I informed you what I believe to be the best comment/Akismet configuration in WordPress. This is the configuration I use on my own WordPress powered blog but for the past two nights I’ve checked my email after work, I’ve noticed that my blog had been slammed by spam bots. I’m used to seeing something being advertised in these comments but this time, these comments appear to be garbage text. Check out the screenshot to see what I mean.

Typically, with my configuration, I’ll see 4 or 5 spam comments in my moderation queue as most of the other spam comments are made on posts older than three months. With these however, all of the posts which have been spammed have been within that three month time span and the content of the comments have no rhyme or reason. Seems like a giant waste of time and or money.

Anyone else experiencing this type of behaviour?

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Al Moser trashes voice over PowerPoint in this blog post about using multimedia in eLearning. He feels audio is a weak solution because it reduces knowledge retention, reduces productivity, reduces accessibility, and removes searchability. He concludes by saying recorded VIDEO sucks. (I think he means boring videos suck not all videos).�  I believe Al is making this about the tool (PowerPoint + audio) when he should be talking about the method and the quality of instruction. The simplest tools, in the hands of an artisan, can make a masterpiece.
On issue one: does audio in e-learning …
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It’s always fun when a story?hits the blogosphere while you’re stuck on a plane.

This will be short, because I’m?connecting over a 14.4K modem line (I have the deepest sympathy for folks who still do this every day!), but I just want to say a few basic things about?the RSS-related patent applications mentioned in the article and elsewhere.

First, these patents describe specific ways to improve the RSS end-user and developer experience (which we believe are valuable and innovative contributions) — they do not constitute a claim that Microsoft invented RSS.

We have always fully acknowledged the innovators and supporters of RSS, like Dave Winer,?Nick Bradbury and many others, and I?can say, without?hesitation,?that?I and my colleagues?personally?have the deepest respect for their invaluable contributions.

From the beginning we have sought an open and reasonable relationship with the RSS community. As one example, we have published various?RSS and Atom extensions under a Creative Commons license. These specifications provide proof of our commitment to offer our contributions to the community and evidence of our efforts to advance the technology. We honestly hope that our work brings benefit to all feed publishers, developers and users, and we’ve been happy with the response we have received from the community so far.

Finally, as a number of commenters have noted, we are far from the?only company to apply for patent protection in this space. Other companies, including Apple and Google, have apparently also applied for patents. Applying for a patent on your innovation is common industry practice, and one which, by incenting and protecting the companies and?people involved, encourages everyone to contribute to the community.

I hope this helps put our position in perspective. I want to reiterate that my team?and I are fully committed to RSS and?feed syndication technologies in general?and to the community.?Please post any additional questions (I’m sure you didn’t need an?invitation :), and I’ll get back to them in the new year.

Thanks,

Sean Lyndersay
Program Manager Lead, RSS

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Born and raised in Brooklyn NY, Shavon Meyers has seen her share of hard times but was determined not to let her surroundings stop her from fulfilling her dreams. She found an outlet in her English literature classes and realized her ability to express herself through writing. She began writing poetry in junior high school and continued to improve her skills while working on several short stories. After creating hundreds of poems and short stories Shavon decided to fulfill one of her life long dreams of publishing her work of poetry. In her first publication, QuietStorm Vol. 1(Poeticallycomplexforwardthinkingsimplicities), Shavon gives readers a brilliant & detailed look at the world through her eyes. Experience love, pain, struggle, spirituality & triumph in this exceptionally crafted work of art. Shavon currently resides in Brooklyn NY and is working on the follow up to QuietStorm Vol. 1. She is the host of her own radio show on www.thebsideshow.com and her daily thoughts can be read on her blog at blog.thebsideshow.com. A portion of the proceeds from QuietStorm Vol. 1 will be donated to The Womens Organization of Rebirth Through Healing (W.O.R.T.H.). www.youreworthit.org

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Read the Bldg Blog interview with Mary Beard about the Wonders of the World series (Part I and Part II) Westminster Abbey is the most complex church in existence. National cathedral, coronation church, royal mausoleum, burial place of poets, resting place of the great and of the Unknown Warrior, former home of parliament, backdrop to the funeral of Diana, Princess of Wales–this rich and extraordinary building unites many functions. “Westminster Abbey” is both an appreciation of an architectural masterpiece and an exploration of the building’s shifting meanings. We hear the voices of those who have described its forms, moods, and ceremonies, from Shakespeare and Voltaire to Dickens and Henry James; we see how rulers have made use of it, from medieval kings to modern prime ministers. In a highly original book, classicist and cultural historian Richard Jenkyns teaches us to look at this microcosm of history with new eyes.

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Small businesses and workgroups without an IT department can take advantage of Leopard Server’s ability to automatically configure Leopard clients for use on the server, including file sharing, Mail, iCal, iChat, Address Book and VPN. Leopard Server also includes a new setup interface with a built-in Network Health Check, a new Server Preferences application and a server status Dashboard widget. With the wiki server, groups can easily create and edit collaborative web pages, called wikis, with a few clicks of a mouse. The wiki server also maintains a complete history to restore previous entries and merge or compare different versions. Podcast Producer is the easiest way for anyone to record content, automatically upload it to the server and convert it into a podcast. Using Xgrid, Podcast Producer can leverage Macs on the network to encode the video, and the podcast can then be delivered over the Internet to a blog, iTunes, or even to multimedia enabled mobile phones over high-speed wireless networks using QuickTime Streaming Server. Apple has made scheduling across different calendar programs simple with iCal Server to coordinate events, schedule meetings and track time more effectively. iCal Server uses the open CalDAV standard for integration with leading calendar programs, including iCal 3 in Leopard, Mozilla’s Sunbird and OSAF’s Chandler. In addition, Apple’s Directory makes it easy to search for people in an organization and view their contact information, picture, colleagues, groups and even see a location map. Spotlight Server takes Spotlight’s lightning-fast desktop search capability to the network server level. Designed for workgroups with shared documents, projects and files, Spotlight Server delivers search results of content stored on mounted network volumes. Content indexing is done automatically and transparently on the server so searches are always fast and up-to-date. Leopard Server’s core services, including Apache 2, MySQL 5, Postfix, Cyrus,

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Want to have a wonderful wedding away from home? “Destination Weddings For Dummies” is your all-in-one guide to getting married out of town, giving you savvy tips on everything from making travel arrangements to hiring vendors to dressing the wedding party. Fron Vegas to the Vatican, this hands-on, practical resource helps you arrange a unique, unforgettable wedding anywhere in the world. Focusing on the various ways you can use the Internet in your planning, “Destination Weddings For Dummies” is filled with Web tips, shortcuts, and URLs, as well as instructions for creating your own digital wedding planner. You’ll see how to establish a realistic wedding budget and get your friends and family on board. Then, you’ll choose the perfect location; from Europe to the tropics to the open sea, we’ve done the scouting for you You’ll also discover how to: Get married legally around the world Know who, when, and how to invite Create your own destination wedding Web site and blog Fit all th

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The undisputed, highest weighing factor to search engine marketing is of course Link Building. We all know it and we all know that it is the hardest part of search engine marketing. So how do we find those one way, quality links willing to link back to us? We are told specifically by search engines to avoid link farms, and spamming is out of the question, so where do we start? Assuming you don’t have the marketing budget of the big boys, this can be tough. Let’s take a look at the most popular ways.

RELEVANT LINK EXCHANGES

On topic link exchanges can be beneficial to both parties and can help move your site on up the SERPS. Paying attention not to spam your potential partner, why not try and see if they are actively looking for a link exchange? Check their website. See if they have a links page. A good way to do this is to set up your own website directory or a directory specific to your niche. In exchange for your partner linking to you, you can link to them from your directory creating a “Three way link exchange” which done correctly holds more weight.

SUBMITTING TO DIRECTORIES

Submitting to general and niche directories is a time consuming task, however the search engine marketing rewards can far outweigh the labor. Free web directories are a great way to get free and on topic links and if you can afford a few dollars, you can outsource this work very cheaply. Many directories take a long time (Sometimes months) to process submissions. This is a good thing as your backlinks will build slowly and search engines will not see you as “Link Spamming”.

ARTICLE SUBMISSION

Just like what you are reading now, one of the easiest and most enjoyable methods of search engine marketing is writing and submitting articles to article repositories. Not only are you creating a useful resource for others, you are also creating extremely targeted and on topic content. Most article repositories allow you to include a link back to your site too.

POSTING IN FORUMS

Many forums allow the use of “Signature” links. Used correctly, and in a forum with your niche, you can gain many on topic backlinks by simply asking and answering questions. Not only do you gain those backlinks, but you also gain credibility in your industry.

BLOG COMMENTING

Although a dying trend as a result of link spamming, blogs are a nice way to get some backlinks. Many blogs allow you to link back to your website with your comment. Be sure to contribute something to the conversation.

SOME WORDS OF CAUTION

Link spamming hurts everyone. Be careful to create original and useful content. When writing articles, do not stuff your keywords. When posting on forums, don’t post for the sake of a backlinks, similarly with blog comments, be sure to contribute something. It will elevate your reputation and you’ll be surprised at the actual traffic you get from them. Search engine marketing is a time consuming task. There is no quick fix. Do it right and you will be rewarded, eventually, with those golden top 10 positions.

It’s official. The Web 2.0 is here. If you have no idea at all that it is already here or what it is in the first place, then you must have been living in the cave for the past 5 years.

Face it. If you’re still using some of the outdated Web 1.0 methods to increase traffic to your website, you may still get some results out of your marketing efforts but you will eventually lose out to the newer guys who go Web 2.0.

Now let me share with you 3 tips on how to increase traffic to your website, the Web 2.0 way.

1. Think viral. The concept of viral marketing will never die out. The Viral meme is what defined and made Life in the first place. For as long as there is Life, the concept of the Virus (biological, marketing, electronic, etc) will still continue to haunt us – for good or ill.

There are 2 basic elements that determine the success of your marketing virus:-

I) The strength of your viral marketing message, or in the words of Mark Joyner, its “Buzz-worthiness”, that is, its merit or quality that makes people want to tell others about it because it is so good.

II) The mechanism by which the virus must spread. Is it easy to spread the message? Must your referrers go through an elaborate and troublesome process to spread the message? Or need they only do what they’ve always been easily doing in order to spread your viral message?

From the above 2 elements, you already have an action plan formulated for you that can be condensed into one sentence:- create a message that promotes your website, be it in the form of a video, audio, multimedia, text, blog or a whacky buzzword, that is truly “buzz-worthy” and at the same time easy to spread via existing networks.

2. Attack the Social Networks. Either exploit the existing social networks such as MySpace, Friendster, Squidoo, etc, or create one of your own that is built around your niche.

There are many Friendster or MySpace clones out there available for download (for a fee of course) which you can use, tweak or get a programming expert friend of yours to develop a Social Network of your own that is built around the niche that you’re involved with.

A good way to market through Social Networks is by having an interesting profile that offers consistently updated information about yourself and your business or your website. Duplicate your blog in your MySpace or Friendster blog as any updates to your profile or blog will be reflected to the friends in your network.

Browse the Social Networks for friends who share the same interests and passions as you and add them as friends. Send private messages to them and work something out. Say you’re starting a private group of like-minded people who are passionate about whatever it is your niche is about. Mention incentives such as money, exclusivity, fame, etc.

Place a limit to the number of people who can join this private club of yours and be sure to include only those people who have lots of friends in their network, perhaps ranging in the hundreds.

3. Blogging, of course, is one of those defining elements of Web 2.0.

There are different approaches to exploiting the Blogging phenomenon to market your website. One is to have a blog of your own. The other is to somehow enable others to have blogs hosted by you. But if you go the second route, you’ll face tough competition from Blogger, WordPress, TypePad, etc.

The trick is to create a service or software which has something the others do not have. Or you can create a service, software, tool or tip page that complements your so-called competition by giving something of benefit to users of such blogging services.

One way is to offer RSS feeds tools that enable other bloggers to syndicate their content to other websites or deliver their feeds to their readers’ desktops or emails.

Another way is to give other bloggers the opportunity to include “Bookmark” links on their blogs. Websites such as http://Del.Icio.Us or Digg offers users the ability to share their favourite websites with other people.

You can exploit this phenomenon by creating an account with the various social bookmarking sites and sharing links to your websites or you can create cool-looking “Bookmark This” icons for other bloggers and get them to link to your website in return.

If you write a blog of your own, you can market your blog by visiting other people’s blogs and leaving useful and beneficial comments on them. Most of the time their comments forms enable you to include a link back to you in their comments page.

Browse the blogs around your niche and most of the time they have a link saying “Links to this Post”. This enables you to link to their posts in your blog if you happen to like their blog posts. Give and take. Blog about another person’s blog and a link to your website may appear in that person’s blog in return. This process is automatic.

There you have it – 3 new Web 2.0 ways to increase traffic to your website. In truth, there are literally hundreds of other ways to improve your website marketing the Web 2.0 way that are not covered here in this article. Now it is up to you to apply what you have learned here and come up with something that is even better.