RSS Feeds - How To Market Using RSS

What is RSS? - Really Simply Syndication (formally: RDF Site Summary, or Rich Site Summary)!  

RSS is a web content syndication format which can be used to deploy content and updated information to your internet viewers in real-time (or, rather as you update your RSS feeds).

RSS has become more and more popular because of it's simplicity in setting up and allowing customers who subscribe to the RSS feed to view a short headline and introduction leading them to the main content. The user who chooses to subscribed to that RSS feed can then click to read more of the interest article (or information update) you have published on your site. As RSS feed use grows, more and more complex feeds such as streaming video and audio are being implemented into feeds and websites.

The real benefit of RSS feed use is becoming ever present as it allows for RSS viewers to streamline what they want to view, or subscribe to. For Website Owners, they have the benefit of ease-of-use and simplified (or streamlined) content update notices for important issues of interest to those subscribers.

As RSS grows in use, it is becoming a bigger part of the general internet marketing mix for eCommerce. The feeds can be used to send content from BLOGs, update pages, notices to users/customers in a simple fashion. Windows Vista, Internet Explorer 7, MicrosSoft Office Vista products have all implemented RSS feed tools into the software...as well as a host of other programs are now using RSS feeds. Though RSS has been around and in use for a very long time - in the past few years it's use has continued to grow exponentially.

If you have an ecommerce website, you need to start learning to use RSS feeds for your content as older trends (such as email marketing) are becoming more and more tiresome due to spamming and programs filtering unwanted junk. The benefit of RSS feeds again is the subscriber can "choose" what they want - you can provide the content to them by regularly updating the feed!

A simple use explaination of RSS:  A RSS formatted file is uploaded to your hosting server, your end viewer can click on the "subscribe to RSS feed" link/image and add that feed to their list of RSS items - or they can add the "RSS feed URL" to their program that allows for the feed to be shown (see the images on the right for identifying generally accepted RSS feed notices on a website)

RSS is now in use widely in Windows Vista

If you're running Windows Vista with Internet Explorer 7 and MicroSoft Office Vista, you will notice the RSS features built in. Many feeds can be added at the click of the "Add RSS Feed" Button or Image found on websites now...it is becoming more and more present and important to add this feature for your customers. (Click image for larger view)

If you're also running Microsoft Office for Vista, you'll notice a feed tool showing in your Mail Program when you first start it...feeds can be added in Outlook by "adding the feed URL" to your RSS folder in Outlook. (Click image for larger view)

As you can see, this form of media will have it's advantages for your customers who you need to update or stay in contact with regularly.  It gives them the opportunity to quickly review a topic or article that might be of interest to them. You have the advantage of updating one stream of content, and letting your customers view the updated content in real-time - when you update that content. Instead of emailing them, you can direct them through other marketing to subscribe to the feed for regular updates - an you can also run multiple RSS feeds on your website for multiple topics!

The other hidden advantage of RSS feeds is that you can now (as the acronym description suggests) "syndicate" your feeds to other related sites such as directories and other interested and related websites.

Another step and high growth opportunity is by paying or submitting to RSS feed providers who then repost your RSS feed on their site and a host of other sites or media they feed to (some of their customers pay for the RSS syndication of worthy material as well).  The practical impact of this has been used by the News and Media industry for years. News feeds are sent out through providers to the newsrooms, and the news editors choose the "news worthy stories" they then re-broadcast on Radio, TV or print in Newspapers. This has a domino effect in terms of the world wide coverage you can get, though it's not for every ecommerce site owner. Some site owners might simply with to remain small with their customer base for RSS purposes.

We have put together a basic and simplified "How to create your own Basic RSS Feed - Getting Started Tutorial". On the right side banner of this newsletter you will see the steps and supporting material links to download and get started on your own RSS quickly and simply. Good luck and HAVE FUN WITH IT!

AND - YES we are now using RSS for our newsetter releases!

Subscribe to newsletter update notices:  
Add feed URL to Outlook Vista:  http://www.eshopsetup.ca/rss/rss.xml

 Issue 1 - January 2007

Identifying RSS Fees
You can generally identify RSS feeds by these images on a website using RSS format - images can vary:

Of course, these are just generally used ones, you can always create your own look and feel for the RSS feed icon!

How to create your own Basic RSS Feed - Getting Started Tutorial

1) Download our ZIP files: You can use either one - Includes MS Word and Text-Notepad sample file

(If you have trouble downloading, right click on the above ZIP File link and "Save Target As..." to your computer.)

In the text file you will need to replace the items marked between the " **replace the text and double asterix** "  with your own details / content / links - Ensure the "date formats" are entered correctly - or to make it easier for you...

Use the MS Word Sample File -  (items to replace are in red - though you will have to copy the ALL the text into Notepad after replacing the content to finalize and save your .XML / RSS feed file)

2) Copy in your own text content to replace ours

3) Save the file from "Notepad" with a file extension ".xml" - Be sure to use the .xml extension. A simple file name is: "rss.xml" (Notepad does not have the .xml extension available, but you can still save it with that extension).

4) Create a SUB-folder on your hosting server for the file...
Name the folder something like this (we used ours as example):
http://www.eshopsetup.ca/
rss/

5) Upload your "rss.xml" file to that folder.

6) You now have a RSS feed on your hosting server you can update and change regularly!

7) Obviously you will need to create a notification on your website to let people know you use RSS update content...you can right click and save one of our images (above) and add it to your own website!

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