We We all want more people reading our blogs - that's why we have them in the first place, right?

Readers who subscribe to your blog's feed are great - because they will probably keep coming back to visit again and again as your new posts show up in their feed readers or email software.

It just feels good too, doesn't it - knowing that there are people out there who like what you write enough that they want to keep reading more? It can also be a point of pride if you have a lot of subscribers.

So how do you get them?

Of course the standard answer is to write good content that people want to read. And you need to do that - but there are still some things you can do to make it easier - and hence more likely - for people to subscribe:

1) Get a FeedBurner feed. Why? They offer lots of nice features to make your feed better. And a way to track how many subscribers you have, regardless of the feed reader they use.

2) Make your subscribe button big and bold!
WordPress and other blog software tend to put the subscribe link down towards the bottom of your blog where it can't be easily seen. Put it above the fold of your blog so people can find it faster. Using a bigger button than the standard small one can help too.

This page has 51 RSS Buttons For Your Blog that you can use. You can also make your own with photoshop or other graphics software - or - make your own customized one with a Feed Button Image Generator (this is what I'm using on my blog now!).

Many people like to offer their visitors direct links to add the feed to specific feed readers - you can do that with just one button now at FeedButton.

3) Provide a way to subscribe by email.
Some people don't know what RSS or feed readers are or don't want to be bothered with it. FeedBurner provides a method for people to subscribe through email and can generate the code for you to add the form to your blog. It can be really helpful to add that form at the top of your blog near your 'big and bold' feed button.

4) Explain what subscribing and RSS are.
There are  still many people out who don't understand what is meant by subscribe and may think they need to pay something. Providing a page on your blog where you explain it to people may be enough to get some of them to subscribe. A couple of examples are Darren's "What is RSS?" and my "What does 'subscribe to my blog' mean?".

5) Add a subscribe option at the end of your posts.
Adding a link to subscribe at the end of your posts might catch the attention of people who just finished reading your post and liked it. Why make it harder by expecting them to scroll back up to the top of the page to subscribe?

6) Add your feed link to your emails.
When you are corresponding with people through email - don't just add your blog link to your signature - add the link to your blog feed too!

Editor Added:

This video gives a great & entertaining example of how to use your reader:

Video Source