A breakthrough concept.
The aggregation of RSS feed is expanding exponentially, to the point that 75.3 million people currently use this news channeling system on a regular basis. Our daily lives are constantly influenced by one source of news or another, RSS feeds are an emerging phenomenon with a powerful exponential growth. The overall concept empowers small companies and individuals to have as much of a voice as the media conglomerates.
Publicize your RSS feed.
There is little argument from webmasters and publishers that RSS brings in traffic. So once you've made the leap and created a feed, how do you tell your visitors about it?
1. Submit Your RSS Feed to RSS Directories.
This will not only increase the number of sites linking to your website and amplify your link popularity, it will also increase the RSS feed’s profile. A number of RSS search engines and RSS directories exist that allow you to submit RSS feeds freely. Feeds are generally categorized and grouped together by subject. Web surfers looking for RSS feeds about a specific subject will often search the RSS directories to locate a feed that matches their specific criteria. Topic specific RSS feed and pod casting directories are also emerging. Choose a web feed's category carefully and only submit relevant feeds to topic specific directories.
2. Explain RSS.
While you have finally figured RSS out, some of your visitors may not have done so. Although the concept is ingenious, it can also be a bit confusing for beginners. The concept of RSS feeds might be completely new to some of your website visitors. Hence it is generally good practice to walk website visitors through the steps of locating, subscribing and reading an RSS feed. We recommend including a page on your website that contains a general explanation of RSS and that also details how website visitors can subscribe to an RSS feed.
3. Graphic on Website.
Since the inception of RSS, bright graphic flags have been used to denote the location of an RSS feed. Instinctively, many website visitors now look for a colorful flags on websites. The looks of the flags have changed but a variety of options exist. When you add the image, be sure to link to the location of the RSS feed. Some webmasters use chicklets to indicate the presence of feeds. Web surfers click on the chicklet that relates to their RSS feed reader or news aggregator and the feed is added to their list of feeds. Others feel that the volume of chicklets simply adds confusion, and opt for a single relevant RSS graphic.
4. Press.
As with any important addition to your company, it is completely appropriate to send a press release to let the media know you have RSS feeds available for specific content. This will often garner a little attention. Additionally, key news editors may opt to subscribe to your RSS feed in order to stay abreast of your latest corporate news. Considering the possibility of these subscriptions, distributing a press release to signal the availability of an RSS feed is common corporate sense.
5. Newsletters.
Include a mention in your e-mail newsletter that content is now available via an RSS feed. Many newsletter subscribers appreciate an alternative subscription method and will subscribe to a web feed as well.
6. Auto Discovery.
Some of your website visitors might be web savvy. Be sure to include an auto-discovery tag in the HTML header of each web page. Many RSS Readers will automatically discover that an RSS feed is available for specific content, notify the website visitor, and ask if they wish to subscribe.
7. Blog.
If you have a blog or know bloggers, be sure to share with them that you have added an RSS feed for specific content. Blogs are a great vehicle to spread the word. Marketers instantly understand the power of word of mouth, but few marketers understand the movement of blog to mouth. This growing phenomenon has added credibility to online blog endorsements.
In order to reap the benefits of an RSS feed, it is important the feed be properly publicized. Taking simple steps to promote an RSS feed will go a long way in ensuring a feed’s adoption.
