RSS Feed
What is an RSS feed?
An RSS feed or RSS file (RSS is the acronym for Really Simple Syndication) is a file generated by some websites that collects, in an orderly way, the information about what has been published on that site.
RSS feeds work using an XML file (webfeed), and all the published elements contained in an RSS feed are called items. Each item in an RSS feed usually includes elements like a title, summary, publication date, author, and a link to the original webpage where the information is published.
1. Advantages of using RSS feeds
To access the RSS feeds of your favorite sites, you need an RSS feed reader and you have to subscribe to them. The most popular RSS readers are FeedReader, Feedly, Inoreader, NetNewsWire, and Netvibes.
- They save you time since you don’t need to visit websites just to keep up with their content updates.
- You can subscribe without having to register and get access to all the information in a website’s RSS feed.
- Unsubscribing is just as easy as subscribing; you simply delete the RSS feed from your RSS reader.
- It provides precise and relevant information without being an intrusive communication system.
- It always reports information in real time: as soon as a website is updated, its RSS feed is automatically made publicly available.
2. RSS feed and email marketing
RSS feeds are widely used in digital marketing strategies and bulk emailing, as they allow you to establish a simple and effective communication channel, provided your email marketing tool supports it.
A very simple example of using an RSS feed in email marketing is scheduling an automatic, personalized message to be sent to each subscriber every time a new entry is added to the RSS feed—meaning, whenever a new post is published on your blog.
With Mailrelay you can create fully automated mailings that take the data from your website’s RSS feed, automatically lay it out in a newsletter and send it to your contact lists as often as you want. It is a highly valued feature for improving engagement with our customers and subscribers.