You probably have seen this three-letter acronym in the course of your internet surfing. RSS stands for Really Simple Syndication or Rich Site Summary; syndicating means republishing an article that comes from another source such as a website. A RSS feed is a means of publicizing updates about websites. It may or may not include a summary and photos of the latest posting. But those that provide summaries (thus Rich Site Summary) allow users to skim through the article so that they can decide later on if they want to access the website source. The RSS feed usually contains the title of the update originating from the website. It is also usually the link to the website source.
What are the Benefits of RSS?
RSS provides benefits to both readers (users) and web publishers.
1. It gives you the latest updates. Whether it is about the weather, new music, software upgrade, local news, or a new posting from a rarely-updated site, you can learn about the latest as soon as it comes out.
2. It saves on surfing time. Since an RSS feed provides a summary of the related article, it saves the user’s time by helping s/he decide on which items to prioritize when reading or browsing the net.
3. It gives the power of subscription to the user. Users are given a free-hand on which websites to subscribe to in their RSS aggregators which they can change at any time they decide differently.
4. It lessens the clutter in your inbox. Although your email address will be required to enjoy the services of online RSS aggregators, RSS does not use your email address to send the updates.
5. It is spam free. Unlike email subscriptions, RSS does not make use of your email address to send updates thus your privacy is kept safe from spam mails.
6. Unsubscribing is hassle-free. Unlike email subscriptions where the user is asked questions on why s/he is unsubscribing and then the user is asked to confirm unsubscribing, all you have to do is to delete the RSS feed from your aggregator.
7. It can be used as an advertising or marketing tool. Users who subscribe to or syndicate product websites receive the latest news on products and services without the website sending spam mail. This is advantageous to both the web user and the website owner since advertising becomes targeted; those who are actually interested in their products are kept posted.
What are the Drawbacks of RSS?
The disadvantages of RSS stem from user-preference concerns and the fact that it is a new technology.
1. Some users prefer receiving email updates over an RSS feed.
2. Graphics and photos do not appear in all RSS feeds. For conciseness and ease of publication, RSS feeds do not display the photos from the original site in announcing the update except for some web-based aggregators.
3. The identity of the source website can be confusing. Since RSS feeds do not display the actual URL or name of the website, it can sometimes get confusing on what feed a user is actually reading.
4. Publishers cannot determine how many users are subscribed to their feed and the frequency of their visits. Moreover, they do not know the reasons why users unsubscribe which could be important in improving their advertising.
5. RSS feeds create higher traffic and demands on the server. Most readers still prefer the whole update over a brief summary of the entry, thus they still access the site.
6. Since it is a new technology, many sites still do not support RSS.
How Do I Start Using RSS?
There are two things needed: an RSS feed and an RSS aggregator or reader. The RSS feed comes from an RSS-supported website. There are also websites that provide a list of RSS feeds from different websites. An RSS aggregator is used to read the RSS feed from the source website. It scans and collects data on the latest RSS feeds from the worldwide web.
An aggregator comes in two forms: a downloadable program, also known as a desktop aggregator, and an online or web-based aggregator. Downloadable aggregators may require payment before they can be acquired, while internet-based aggregators are usually free of charge. All you need to do is to register an account and you are ready to use their services. Both versions allow you to customize, or choose, which RSS feeds to enter. Paid aggregators are usually chosen by more experienced users and they usually allow more freedom in customizing feeds.
1. Choose an RSS aggregator to use. For beginners, web-based aggregators are recommended since they are usually user-friendly.
2. Scan the homepage of your target website for the RSS or XML button. It contains the RSS code you need to enter in the aggregator. Copy this code. Syndic8 provides a directory of websites that support RSS.
3. Paste the code (which contains the URL of the website) in your aggregator. There is a space provided for pasting the code.
After you have done these three easy steps, you can start reading the RSS feeds coming from the website. New postings appear as they are published in real time at the source website.
RSS and Internet Marketing
The original idea of RSS came from Netscape, where the intention was to provide a means for users to customize their personal homepages with links to websites that were of interest to them, similar to bookmarking websites.
The application of RSS to internet marketing was an unforeseen development to RSS technology developers. Since users are given the freedom to add RSS feeds to their aggregators, those who are interested in particular products and services available on the internet can now be notified real time. Marketing becomes more specific to interested people and not a hit-and-miss operation.
Medium to big-scale companies who intend to use RSS for marketing their products and services should consider linking up with email account providers, (e.g. Yahoo, MSN, Google mail); networking websites (e.g. Friendster, Multiply, My Space, Hi5); websites of newspapers and television network websites (e.g. New York Times, CNN). Smaller companies can also look at networking websites as well as personal blog websites (e.g. Blogspot) and websites of clubs and organizations that would probably make use of their products or services e.g. a fishing supplies store can look for the website of their local fishing club for possible RSS marketing.
Clearly, RSS is an innovation in worldwide web information management as well as online marketing. We can expect better RSS technology in the not-so-distant future as its popularity increases among users and website owners alike.
HTML messages allow for text formatting, multiple columns, images, and brand recognition. They are growing in popularity and over 95% of customer email programs today will support HTML email. Unfortunately most spam is also formatted using HTML and thus differentiating between requested email and HTML spam messages can be difficult.
HTML emails are therefore more likely to trigger spam filters. According to email deliverability expert Dori Friend, you should NEVER use HTML email. Dori’s advice is supported by some studies.
A 2004 study by AWeber.com shows that plain text messages are undeliverable 1.15% of the time and HTML only messages were undeliverable 2.3% of the time. But on the other hand we have seen tests were they changed from html to plain text and the open rates dropted with over 15%.
The whole Text vs. HTML email problem is still widely debated in ecommerce circles and the best advice we can give you is to test it out on your own. Test and determine what works best for your customer base. Your test results will always be your most reliable source of information.
Here are some things to consider when making your decision:
Over 95% of customer email clients are capable of receiving HTML emails. The compatibility rate will continue to increase. Few outdated email clients cannot display HTML, but you can pretty much bet that the majority of your customers will have newer versions of email clients.
A surprisingly large portion of the population still uses dial-up to connect to the internet. This creates a longer load time for HTML emails.
Spam filters are becoming increasingly sophisticated and often block HTML emails since most spam comes in that format. Work related and personal emails are generally in text and do not have delivery problems.
HTML file sizes are typically larger than text emails and might therefore automatically get transferred to a user’s Bulk/Junk or Trash folders. Aim to create HTML emails less than 24k in size.
Text has limited formatting features when compared to HTML, but it does not necessarily mean it is less effective. Whether you use Text or HTML, be sure to follow these formatting rules.
Tips for Formatting TEXT Emails:
Use a text editor such as Notepad or WordPad when formatting your emails. Do NOT use Microsoft Word as it embeds a lot of formatting bugs that make it difficult to work with and results in errors on the recipients’ ends.
In text emails don’t make the text bold, italicized, colored, or centered. Instead you can use CAPITAL letters for the words or phrases that need emphasis.
But don’t go overboard; too much capitalization is difficult to read, gives the impression of yelling, and resembles spam. In fact many spam filters will deduct points for every CAPITALIZATION.
The width most email clients can properly display is 65 characters (including spaces). Use a hard return (i.e. press the “Enter” key) every 60 characters or so. Remember that spaces count too. Exceeding 65 characters runs the risk of your recipients seeing awkward line breaks or cut off sentences.
Create your text email first in Courier font and then in Arial. These are the most commonly used display fonts by email clients. Adjust line breaks and “white space” (i.e. the space between paragraphs). Your message will not look the same in both fonts, so do not stress over it. Concentrate on perfecting the format in Courier.
Tips for Formatting HTML Emails:
Use an HTML editor like Dreamweaver and take advantage of all the easy to use formatting options. Here you can play around with the text alignment, font size, colors and more, and you don’t even need to know HTML!
Just as with text emails, HTML emails should not exceed a specified width. Wrap your message in a table no wider than 420 pixels. Your message may get cut off or not print properly if your table width is too large.
Try to avoid using images. People with slow connections will have a hard time downloading them and those viewing your message offline will not see them at all, which could appear unprofessional on your part.
Some email clients like Gmail initially don’t show images, so make sure your messages are readable with or without images. We understand that images can be an essential component of your message, and if that’s the case, then be sure to compress your image files properly.
Use your formatting options tastefully. HTML allows you to make text bold, italicized, and underlined. You can use color and embed hyperlinks rather than use long URLs. You have a lot more ways to make your message visually appealing, however you want to be careful not to go too far.
We’ve offered you some tips and suggestions for creating both Text and HTML emails. Run regular tests to see which format produces better results; it’s possible that your readers may change their mind from one email to the next and that’s OK.
If you know how to effectively format each type you can cater to any audience.
About The Author: Bjorn Brands is a successful entrepreneur who transitioned from having his own building company to a great online business. Check out his site and see for yourself how his FREE course can help you do the same. http://www.moneyacces.com
In today’s online world search engine rankings can make your business succeed, and while rankings in Yahoo and MSN are very valuable, their combined market value is still less than that of Google. This makes achieving top rankings in Google that much more important.
In this three-part series on How to Optimize for Google we will touch on a number of important aspects for top Google rankings including website optimization, links, Google Webmaster tools, and a number of other considerations.
The focus of Part 1 will be on page website optimization….[more]
Search engine optimization (SEO) and search engine marketing (SEM) are two of the most powerful and profitable things you can do for your online business. As Google celebrates its twelfth birthday there are Internet shoppers than ever, with more choices than ever. So let’s take a few minutes to see how you can beat the competition and dominate Google.
This article has three parts; Stats, Spying and Shortcuts. Each section and tip can be used alone or used together for faster results. The following information is what the SEO and SEM experts know and gives you the inside scoop on the tools they use.
