In less than 3 months, Google is shutting down Google FriendConnect widget service to all non-Blogger blogs. Many in the blogging community are mourning the soon-to-be loss of a substantial chunk of their readership. Below is a list of ideas – many that can be used more than once – for encouraging your Google FriendConnect followers to subscribe to your blog via your RSS feed or through email.

• Send your current GFC followers a newsletter through your GFC widget account.
• Ask your Twitter followers to subscribe to your feed and tweet out a direct link to make subscribing easy.
• Ask your Facebook fans to subscribe to your feed and share a direct link to make subscribing easy.
• Share a link to your feed with your Google+ Circles.
• Host a giveaway on your blog, with the required entry being subscribing via email (An email subscription is needed for your verification).
• Use your MailChimp newsletter to suggest your followers subscribe to your feed.
• Give your readers options by offering both RSS and email subscription options on your blog.
• If you haven’t already added coordinating social media icons to your site, do so now and locate them in a prominent position on your home page, like in your header or at the top of your sidebar. This makes it very easy for readers to see their options and subscribe.
• If you are on WordPress, use a plugin like What Would Seth Godin Do (shown at the top of our individual post pages) that advertises the fact GFC widgets will be discontinued soon and to please subscribe via a different method.
• Use an author bio box plugin (which appears at the bottom of every post), which allows you to include text and subscription options.
• Relocate your existing GFC widget to your blog’s footer area (or remove it entirely) to discourage/prevent new readers from subscribing that way.
• Include one line reminders – with a subscription link – at the bottom of your blog posts.
• If you’ve built a high level of reader engagement by responding to your commenters, send a group email to your core audience.