What is RSS and what can you do with it?
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RSS stands for Really Simple Syndication. An RSS feed is an XML file created by WordPress that includes a snippet of your latest post or posts. In other words, it is a file that syndicates or groups your content so others can download it and get your updates.
RSS Symbol on Websites
You may have noticed the RSS symbol on websites. Mine is in the lower right-hand corner of every page with all the social icons.
The primary use of an RSS feed is to offer site visitors and syndication services the ability to subscribe to your feed and be notified when you post something new.
You can also set up an RSS feed service to automatically send email notices when you add a new post to your WordPress website. That’s the “simple syndication.”
When you subscribe to a website’s updates, in many cases, you are subscribing to how they syndicate their RSS feed. So when a new post is added, WordPress updates the feed, and you get an email.
How that email looks and when it is sent depends on how that particular syndication is configured and varies by website. Various services and plugins help you customize the use of your RSS feed. We’ll talk about those, too.
Why I Love RSS Feeds
You may have noticed the website feed icon and wondered what that stands for. Now you know. Click on that icon, and you’ll get the URL for that feed.
Power users can add that URL to their feed reader service, like Feedly.com. Some folks, like me, use their email program or a mobile app for the feeds they are interested in.
Browsers also offer the ability to subscribe to a feed via add-ons. The downside of this approach is that you will not see the updates if you are not in that browser or on a different device.
Using Your Email Program for Feeds
I use an email program called PostBox. It allows me to subscribe to feeds and receive updates like any other email. In addition, I can organize feeds in folders by topic. This way, I don’t have to go to a website or worry about using a specific browser.
You can also subscribe to feeds if you use Outlook. However, it appears this functionality has been removed in the recent OS for those on Macs and iPhones. So there’s an app for that!
How to Use Your WordPress Website’s RSS Feed
Most site owners are interested in how they can find and use their website’s posts feed to keep site visitors updated. So the first question asked is, “Where is my feed?”
You’ll find your WordPress posts feed at yourdomain.com/feed.
Now that you know where it is, what can you do with it? WordPress can create all kinds of feeds on the fly. For posts, tags, comments, and pages, you can create a URL for the type of feed you want to offer. And there are plugins to help you customize your feed even further.
Setting Up Your Website’s New Post Feed via Subscription
Your posts feed allows site visitors to sign up and get an email when you add a new post to your site. In addition, you can configure how that email looks depending on what service you are using for your RSS campaign.
ConvertKit* is a feature-rich email marketing tool that allows you to automate your built-in RSS feed and customize it to match your site’s look and feel. Once set up, an email goes out to all your subscribers when you add a post. In addition, RSS can be customized to include images, number of posts, summaries, or entire posts.
You can set up ConvertKit to send at a particular time every day that you have posted something new. Or, you can configure the service to send weekly with an excerpt of all the posts for the week. Then, it’s up to you!
If you use MailChimp, you can install the Featured Images in RSS plugin. This plugin then includes the designated Featured Image for each post, increasing click-thrus.
The Yoast SEO plugin allows you to customize your RSS feed to contain information showing if your feed is displayed elsewhere. This is because some websites display other websites’ feeds as content.
You can add content before and a link to your website at the bottom of every item on your feed.
Using RSS Feeds from Other Websites on Yours
You can display RSS feeds from other websites on your site or in your sidebar. To do this, you would need an RSS aggregator. Here’s a plugin to check out:
Are you ready to make RSS feeds work for you?
You have an RSS feed to utilize to gain new subscribers and exposure. You can also subscribe to other websites’ feeds to stay in the know or display other’s feeds to complement your content.
Now that you know what to do with RSS feeds, how will you use them to your advantage?
At your service,
*Some of the links on this page are to companies I have a professional affiliation with.
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