If you’re read any of my blog posts, you’ve probably noticed the little “greet box” above my entries (look up!). If you’re not sure what I’m talking about, it’s the box that looks like this:

Now, you may be asking yourself, “Why should I bother with something like that for my blog?” I’m going to attempt to answer this question, but keep in mind that there are likely many other reasons than I can come up with myself.

One of the reasons for having a blog to begin with is to generate traffic and get more exposure, and ultimately to acquire new clients (if you’re selling a products and/or services). Let’s face it: people generally don’t have blogs so that only they can read it themselves (okay, some do, but these are usually private blogs that are not accessible to the public). A blog is meant to be read by people, and the wider audience you have, the better.

One of the aspects of a blog (and social media marketing), especially a WordPress blog, is having an RSS feed that people can subscribe to and read without necessarily having to come visit your actual blog’s web address on a regular basis. It allows them to read what you write along with other blogs they enjoy from the comfort of one application, such as Google Reader (a free tool, by the way – this is what I use myself). Having more people subscribe to your RSS feed (every WordPress blog has a feed automatically in place – it’s built-in) means more quality traffic is driven to your site. I say quality, because if someone subscribes to your feed, it means they actually enjoy what you’re writing and are genuinely interested in what you have to say (as opposed to random readers who are not necessarily interested in your niche of expertise).

There are a few basic principles I’ve come to learn since I began blogging. If you want people to do something:

Have a link to it, perhaps with an image as well to catch people’s attention a little more, on the front page of your blog, on your blog page (if it’s not the front page), and also in each blog post, or even as part of your header (in my case, I have a link to my RSS as part of my header above the menu bar, and it’s accessible from any page you’re on in my site).

Don’t forget to ask! There is absolutely nothing wrong with asking people to subscribe to your feed – it will actually encourage them to do so, if they like what they see in your blog, they are more likely to subscribe if you simply ask them to do so! That’s where the WP Greet Box plugin comes into play!

I’ve been using this little plugin for several months now, and I have noticed a difference in the number of RSS subscribers to my blog since I started using it. I keep track of my subscribers via Google Feedburner – another free tool. The numbers have gone up by approximately 25% as compared to before I used this plugin! It is also free to use, although they do request donations (again, no harm in asking), or at the very least to write about the plugin if you like it. This is the reason I’m writing this post, however I’m not writing it because someone is paying me to do so – I’m writing it because I honestly love this plugin!

The other nice thing about this plugin (for me) is that it is visually appealing (the little graphics are very “web 2.0″), and it’s also “smart enough” to customize which greeting to show your reader, depending on where they’re coming from (for example, from Technorati, or from Google, or StumbleUpon). (Click here to see some screenshots.)

If you have a WordPress blog, try this plugin for yourself! You can download it from here!

If you do use it, please let me know what you think of it! If you already use it, what are your thoughts on this plugin?

Related posts:

1. Review: The Wibiya Toolbar
2. Build a Better Online Business with WordPress
3. Steps to Maintaining Your WordPress Site or Blog
4. Why have a blog?
5. What WordPress Theme should I use?