Discovering Dad was a proud participant in the first ever Blogging Idol contest hosted by Daniel at Daily Blog Tips.  The challenge for all competitors was to see who could get the biggest increase in subscribers, as measured by Feedburner, during the month of July.

As I mentioned before, Discovering Dad had a strong showing but couldn’t quite gain enough new subscribers to pull out the win.  I started the contest with 274 subscribers and ended with 364 subscribers, producing a net gain of 90 new subscribers or a 33% increase.  By contrast, the winner Stock Market India gained 585 new subscribers during the month, or a 60% increase – congratulations!

Am I disappointed? Well…I like to win, but no.  Why not? Because I learned some really important things about my site, my niche and my readers.  To me, subscribers are readers who have taken that extra step of loyalty to the site, and they are the ones who have the most potential to help you grow.

Key Learnings from Blogging Idol

1.  It’s not as easy as it sounds. Gaining a new subscriber, at least in the parenting niche, is a challenge.  There may not be a ton of dad blogs out there, but there are enough to keep readers busy for days without visiting the same site twice.  You need to give readers a reason to keep coming back to your site.  Then, you need to *WoW* them to get them to subscribe.  In addition, unlike some other niches, like technology, finance and social media, new readers are not automatically accustomed to adding your feed or subscribing by e-mail.  That sounds like an excuse, doesn’t it? But, let’s assume that it is true. Why do readers in some niches subscribe more readily than in others? (See #2)

2.  You have to give readers something they want.  Many sites gain subscribers by providing optional downloads, e-books or other incentives, some gain new subscriptions by having contests with cool prizes.  Readers like to get things in return for their time, and if you can offer them something functional or entertaining, then they will be more likely to subscribe.  Ultimately, though, you want people who will stick around after the contest is over, or come back to your site after they’ve gotten the free download.  How do yo build these longer term relationships? Consistently deliver great content.  If you’re content engages them to participate and makes them wonder what they’re missing, even if slightly, when they’re gone, then you are much more likely to gain a new subscriber.

3.  Don’t be afraid to promote yourself and your blog.  There are very few sites out there that become hugely successful in spite of the blog owner/writer’s efforts.  Think you’re going to write content that goes viral without guiding it along, at least part of the way, yourself? Think Google or Technorati cares how good your latest post really is? No – they care about what others think, and how many inbound links you are getting.  So, should you be shouting your own praises from ever social media site on the Internet? No, but you need to have a presence beyond your blog.  When deciding to promote yourself, though, keep three things in mind:  1) don’t brag, just share, 2) promote others more than you promote yourself, and 3) only promote your best stuff, kinda like always putting your best foot forward.

4.  The details matter. People notice the details of your site more than you think.  They notice when buttons or images are not aligned properly or uniformly sized.  They notice when you make grammar or spelling mistakes.  They notice when you swear or say things that are offensive.  They notice when your site is difficult to load or navigate.  Readers notice the details about your site, and they do keep score.  Mess up too many times, and they’re gone.  A mistake here or there may be overlooked, but failure to recognize or resolve problems (or perceptions) on your part will result in a low conversion rate for subscribers.  If you don’t care about the specifics of your site, then readers will think you don’t care about them either.  Subscribers want to know that you care enough (about them) to pay attention to the details.

5.  Try – measure – feedback – modify – try again.  Try new things with both your site and content.  I’m not saying that you should go out in left field, but it’s OK to switch from a fastball to a slider every once in a while.  Be strategic, though, in the things you try, and be sure to have a goal and system to measure your success in place prior to venturing into new territory.  Ask for feedback from your readers:  what did they think of the new video section?  what types of content topics do they want to see more of from you?  what topics or features are not connecting well with them?  Take action – modify things based on the measurements and feedback you received.  Then, try again…and again….and again.  One of the most rewarding things about blogging is the interactive nature of it, and if you find a way to make your readers feel part of the success of the site with you, then not only will your subscriber base grow, but also the amount of fun your having with the blog will increase exponentially too.

Blogging Idol taught me many things about my site, my readers and myself.  I love blogging, and I love the people I meet through the Discovering Dad site.  It may not be easy to increase the number of subscribers each month, but the effort involved is still worth it to me.  Besides, I’d rather have 90 new friends than a couple hundred new acquaintances.  Discovering Dad subscribers are more than readers, you are all great friends!

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