To most low end Internet users, RSS is just another word they don't understand and probably don't want to, that's why you have to let people know on your website that you do have RSS feeds and that they can benefit them the visitor.
The problem is, if you don't know what that little orange box on your screen that says "XML" is, most people will ignore it and it's wasted.
While it's great now that Internet browsers like Internet Explorer are thinking about building in built RSS readers into their browsers, you will still need to educate your readers on what it is.
So how can you go about educating your visitors while making your site more RSS friendly?
Good question and here are some even better answers.
#1 - Educate Your Readers
The best way to get people on your website to subscribe to your RSS feed is to educate them on what RSS is and what it can do for them the reader.
Instead of just sticking an orange "XML" logo on your website, put a "What is this" link next to it. Then have that page take your readers to a page that educates them on what RSS is and why they should download a free reader and add your website.
#2 - Autodiscovery
Some browsers do now actually come with an inbuilt RSS reader, so this makes your life a lot easier. To help this along a bit tho, you can use the Autodiscovery feature inbuilt in some browsers by adding the following code to your website.
Place this in the head section of your website.
<link rel="alternate" type="application/rss+xml" title="RSS" href="http://www.bizwaremagic.com/blog/atom.xml" />
#3 - Feedburner.com
As you know, when you try and view an RSS feed in a browser that isn't XML compatible, it looks like a bunch of jumbled code, like what I showed you before.
So what happens if your readers does not want to download an RSS reader? Simple! Use Feedburner.com.
Feedburner.com turns your garbled XML code into perfectly readable HTML your reader can read easily in their own browser.
#4 - Headline Animators
Headline animator from Feedburner.com allows you to display your RSS feeds in a more user friendly way. The best way to see what I mean is to go to Feedburner.com
#5 - Link To Your RSS Feeds
Make sure you also link a lot through out your website to your RSS feed sign up tool. If people can't find out how to sign up for your RSS feed or they can't see that you have an RSS feed, they won't sign up, so make sure you promote it heavily.