Feed your readers with these content distribution tips from Kathy Gray, brand engagement strategist for Pole Position Marketing. From the basics of defining RSS to ways to encourage subscriptions, Kathy shares everything you need to know to make disseminating your blog content easier.
2. RSS 101: FEED YOUR READERS @PolePositionMkg @KaGray
What is RSS?
RSS = Really Simple Syndication
It is technology that streamlines content
distribution between publishers and readers.
3. RSS 101: FEED YOUR READERS @PolePositionMkg @KaGray
What are the benefits of RSS?
Readers can easily & automagically receive your new content
Readers don’t have to remember to check your site for new posts
More reliable content distribution than social media
Keeps readers engaged with your site
4. RSS 101: FEED YOUR READERS @PolePositionMkg @KaGray
Where is my RSS feed?
In WordPress, your feed is typically located at one
of these two locations:
http://www.site.com/?feed=rss
or
http://www.site.com/feed
5. RSS 101: FEED YOUR READERS @PolePositionMkg @KaGray
Feed readers help readers organize feeds
Hi, this is Kathy Gray, brand engagement strategist for Pole Position Marketing and today we’re going to be talking RSS feeds and how to use them to keep users engaged with your blog. Let’s get started.
What does RSS stand for? Really Simple Syndication. It’s a technology that streamlines content distribution between publishers and their readers.
What are the benefits? Readers can easily and automagically receive you new content. They don’t have to remember to check your site for new posts. It provides more reliable content distribution than social media. Finally, it helps keep your readers engaged with your website.
If you’re using WordPress, your feed is typically located in one of these two locations. If your website is built on another platform, speak with your web developer to find out if your site has RSS capabilities.
When you look at the raw RSS feed your website creates, you may think it looks like a lot of jibberish. To read your RSS feed, the reader needs a feed reader. One of the most popular feed readers is Feedly. It allows readers to organize and read multiple feeds from different websites. .
One way to encourage blog subscribers who may not be familiar with RSS feeds and feed readers is to set up an RSS to email campaign. This allows your reader to receive new blog posts by email.
If you already use email marketing software, check with your provider first to see if they have RSS to email capabilities. Not all do, Constant Contact for instance does not. Our preferred email marketing software is MailChimp and they make it very easy to create RSS to email campaigns. Their user-friendly campaign builder will guide you through the steps. They even offer a free plan for those just getting started and building their subscriber base.
Depending on your provider, you may be able to feature additional content in your RSS to email campaign. For example, using MailChimp, we have a call-to-action to download additional content and provide an new Insider Tip each week. With MailChimp, you can opt to send your RSS to email campaign whenever a new blog post is published, once-a-day, once-a-week or a frequency of your own choosing.
Your readers will need to be opt-in to receive your emails, so you’ll want to look into different ways to encourage subscriptions.
Add a subscribe widget to the sidebar or footer of your blog encouraging readers to sign up.
Offer an incentive to encourage subscriptions. Here are two examples, a free marketing course and a free social media tools guide. Both are available after someone subscribes. B2C businesses will often offer a one-time discount to those who subscribe to their updates. Get creative!
You can also add a call to action with your blog posts
Have questions or thoughts? Give me a shout! You can find me on Twitter at @kagray or email me at Kathy@polepositionmarketing.com.