Creative RSS Button - Could it Work?
Posted by Ann SmartyThe number of subscribers is the main metric of a blog’s popularity (I am pretty sure everyone knows that but I needed an introductory sentence 
). Recently, I’ve been exploring and experimenting with some creative looking blog RSS buttons and came to an interesting conclusion: no matter how unique and prominent it looks, people still tend to prefer that standard little Feedburner button that humbly asks to subscribe.
Is that because it looks so familiar that it catches a reader’s attention and clearly denotes the action? I tend to believe that’s actually the answer. Does it mean standing out does not necessarily mean encouraging action (people obviously see it but they just don’t feel like subscribing)? Is there still a creative solution?
Anyway, I did to little testing to make any statements. Webmasters still use different creative ways to encourage people to subscribe, and when done wisely, that might work. Some essential rules I tried to sort out are:
a non-traditional RSS button should be preferably orange, as that’s the standard color for it
a creative RSS button should resemble a traditional-looking one in form and feel
a creative RSS button might be supported by the call to action
Here are a few examples:
Type: thematic
Source: The Soccer Weblog
Features: highly relevant to the blog content (=> associative); orange (=> makes it clear what action it calls to)
Type: humorous and dynamic
Source: Jamie Huskisson
Features: amuses, attracts and fixes attention
Type: Denotes the action
Source: BrianRobinson
Feature: describes the action
Type: text invitation
Source: Saving for a Wedding
Feature: calls to action
Type: traditional button + text call to action
Source: Next Generation Materials
Features: looks familiar and calls to action
Type: brand-logo consistent
Source: Today’s Hottest Deals
Features: looks familiar and matches the brand
Type: traditional image interpretation
Source: CUFX
Features: entertaining, attracts attention (and looks familiar)
So my question to you, dear Mozzers, is: have you ever tried to play with your blog RSS button? Have you succeeded? Do you think it might work? (Thanks in advance for your help).Do you like this post? Yes No