@futuregeek Nope, we don't track that. Generally if you're interested in stats, I recommend putting an external script on your blog, like Google Analytics or Fathom Analytics. It won't tell you RSS, but will give you an idea of readers who click through.
@manton Ok. Thanks. I will check out Fathom.
I have just always wondered since I started blogging if there is anyone at all out there reading it or if it’s just going into the ether. Not big on stats and metrics but I am so curious if I have 0 RSS subscribers/readers or 2 or 20…Not going to stop blogging but super curious.
@futuregeek If you really want, and aren't afraid to tinker a bit, there are a handful of ways to figure out how popular your feed is. You could put a server (called a reverse proxy) in front of your blog and route all traffic through it. You'll get full access to the logs and can see exactly how and when the RSS feed is fetched. This will usually cost a bit of money, Cloudflare is one provider offering reverse proxy services.
Another way is using a feed analysis/monetizing service, like Google's Feedburner. Your blog will get a new feed address, and you will have to redirect your readers to that feed. But after that, you will get those juicy statistics. Feedburner is free.
A third option is to modify your current feed, via a custom theme, to include a tracking beacon (also called tracking pixel). Most web analytics software, like Matomo, have support for this.
But, as @manton already mentioned, regular website analytics (without RSS stats) is by far the easiest way to get started.
@sod Thanks for responding and with all that detail! 👊🏻
Will have to consider all my options. Honestly I will probably not do anything. Definitely don’t want the hassle, added complexity or trackers or analytics on my site. Might have to settle with never knowing for sure.
Wondering if just asking via a post or poll on my blog might give me a general idea… but that might be tacky or uncool. 🤷🏼