Yah, I love RSS/News feeds, but it`s not a marketing thing for me. I, and the others in the mainstream I`ve worked with and talked to about this, use it as part of a daily routine to check the headlines of sites one goes to regularly for new developments and headlines, and that`s how I implement it with my clients` sites. If they`re news or info-driven, I have an RSS/News feed/Live Bookmark as part of the mix, and have had as best as can be expected success with it. It`s completely worth it to serve that market, as an RSS feed takes little time, again though, it`s a part of the complete picture that includes e-mail and other methods.I`d never subscribe (and I am a power user) to an RSS feed of the marketing (selling me stuff) type. I do blog and read occasional blogs; again though, it`s just another tool, another way to get material out. Most people don`t read blogs, unless they have extreme interest in the topic the blog is talking about. Most people don`t use RSS. Not saying it`s not valuable, and that there are lots of reasons for doing something to service a minority of people, but just like everything, it`s not a magic bullet. It`s a part... is worth it, but a part.p.s.- Email is not dying any time soon, nor is it dead. People have higher standards now; just like the standard junk mail you get in your traditional mailbox, but it is not dead nor out the door. Just maturing.
Tomasz,
How do you plan to market your RSS feeds? In other words, are you planning to push articles & educational content through the feed, or do you plan to push offers and promotions only?
I`ve worked with numerous companies who have already or are in the process of integrating RSS feeds as part of their online marketing strategies. The RSS feeds that we`re most often building carry content designed to build brand awareness & credibility, such as white papers, product related news (real news, not marketese-news) and blog discussions. Basically these are long-term strategies designed to indirectly increase sales through message frequency and recency.
I`ve not worked with any companies who are using RSS feeds strictly as a replacement for email promotions. I do think it`s worthwhile to experiment with the concept though. The cost is minimal, the results are easy to measure and you`ll never know unless you try.
According to an article I read several months ago, a Pheedo study showed:
"Not surprisingly, Pheedo found that standalone RSS ads, published as a full content item within a feed, are significantly more successful than inline ads, which appear next to other content within a single content item within a feed.
At an average 7.99% Clickthrough Rate, standalone RSS ads are over 9 times more successful than inline ads."
and
Here`s a potenitially stupid question- what IS an RSS feed? I have never heard of it, accept that it used to be my job title when I worked for someone else! What does RSS stand for?
Real Simple Syndication
it basically means the stuff you sign up for automatically is emailed to you when there is new material.
it also stands for Richard Scot Sloan, but that`s the more rare usage.
rich
Patti,
RSS is an XML formatted file that usually contains a syndicated stream of content from a website, blog or other web-based publication. RSS is loosely similar to email, but RSS feeds are not "sent" directly to any specific person, instead each person requests the feed content on demand.
To read an RSS feed, you need an RSS reader, which can be a standalone program or a plug-in integrated into your web browser, email client or other software. Some websites, such as Google, also provide RSS components to allow you to read feeds as part of your personalized home page. I use a RSS Bandit, which is a free, .Net based reader that you can download from http://www.rssbandit.org</A>
You can also view the structure of any RSS feed inside your web browser by simply entering the RSS feed`s URL. For example, try this link: http://news.yahoo.com/rss</A>
Regards,
Jason
clearly ONE of the two previous posters is an expert on the subject matter...and it wasn`t me!
(great post jason! popped you a "5" rating instantly!)
rich
tomasz
subscriber Posts: 14
Comments
omes.html?sjcontent=mail
It is very `right-on` topic, enjoy!
Thanks
I hope that this helps....
s-needs-a-blog.aspx
How do you plan to market your RSS feeds? In other words, are you planning to push articles & educational content through the feed, or do you plan to push offers and promotions only?
I`ve worked with numerous companies who have already or are in the process of integrating RSS feeds as part of their online marketing strategies. The RSS feeds that we`re most often building carry content designed to build brand awareness & credibility, such as white papers, product related news (real news, not marketese-news) and blog discussions. Basically these are long-term strategies designed to indirectly increase sales through message frequency and recency.
I`ve not worked with any companies who are using RSS feeds strictly as a replacement for email promotions. I do think it`s worthwhile to experiment with the concept though. The cost is minimal, the results are easy to measure and you`ll never know unless you try.
According to an article I read several months ago, a Pheedo study showed:
"Not surprisingly, Pheedo found that standalone RSS ads, published as a full content item within a feed, are significantly more successful than inline ads, which appear next to other content within a single content item within a feed.
At an average 7.99% Clickthrough Rate, standalone RSS ads are over 9 times more successful than inline ads."
and
"A different frequency question is the advertising frequency of inline ads. Pheedo`s data shows that ads placed in every other content item achieve a 3.24% CTR on average, 3 times more effective than placing an ad in each content item."
The original article is here: ads_more_successful_than_inline_ads.php
You may also want to read this Yahoo white paper on RSS statistics: http://publisher.yahoo.com/rss/RSS_whitePaper1004.pdf</A>
Regards,
Jasonhttp://www.inetsolution.com</A>
it basically means the stuff you sign up for automatically is emailed to you when there is new material.
it also stands for Richard Scot Sloan, but that`s the more rare usage.
rich
RSS is an XML formatted file that usually contains a syndicated stream of content from a website, blog or other web-based publication. RSS is loosely similar to email, but RSS feeds are not "sent" directly to any specific person, instead each person requests the feed content on demand.
To read an RSS feed, you need an RSS reader, which can be a standalone program or a plug-in integrated into your web browser, email client or other software. Some websites, such as Google, also provide RSS components to allow you to read feeds as part of your personalized home page. I use a RSS Bandit, which is a free, .Net based reader that you can download from http://www.rssbandit.org</A>
You can also view the structure of any RSS feed inside your web browser by simply entering the RSS feed`s URL. For example, try this link: http://news.yahoo.com/rss</A>
Regards,
Jason
(great post jason! popped you a "5" rating instantly!)
rich