Blog subscribers are one of those key measurements that many people use to evaluate the value of a blog. But what’s the real value of a blog subscriber? I think there’s really one key value of a subscriber that you might not think about as often as you should.
Skellie wrote an interesting article (Are Subscribers Over-rated?) in which she talked about the value of a blog subscriber. She wrote a thoughtful analysis of the topic and came to some interesting conclusions about subscriber stats. I’m going to take a much simpler approach, although I recommend that you read her article.
Simply put, a subscriber is a vote of confidence for your blog.
It doesn’t mean that they’re going to read your blog every day. It doesn’t mean that you’re going to get a correlating number of page views, inbound links, or the like.
A subscriber is someone who was willing to make a show of support for your blog. And if they subscribed by E-Mail and two different blog readers, don’t think of it as inflating your subscription numbers. Think of it as three votes of support.
If your numbers increase over time, it’s like a greater measure of support for your blog. If they decrease… well, it’s a sign that you’re losing support.
If you don’t care about these shows of support, then don’t worry about your subscriber count. If you do, and most of us will, then this might keep things in perspective.
How many people make one new friend a day? Garner support from another person?
Blogging isn’t necessarily a popularity contest, but a little ego boost always helps.
Come to think of it: maybe you should subscribe if you haven’t already?
Mark, you have echoed my sentiments exactly! The only reason I care about subscribers is that it lets me know people are reading. The ego boost is nice too.
@Rob D – yeah, we have needs!
I could use more subscribers. And readers. And lovers.
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@Mimzie – well, two out of three ain’t bad.
For me, the value of subscribers is in the repeat traffic. It reduces your reliance on social media and search engines for traffic. And in most cases, your subscribers are your advocates, so will promote content on your behalf via social media.
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@James – no question that subscribers can deliver those kinds of benefits. However, some subscribers are more active than others.
Thanks for helping to put things in perspective. Sometimes we can’t see the forest ’cause of all those darned trees in the way.
Great post
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