Go Ahead – RSS Your BLog Off!

RSS stands for Rich Site Summary or Really Simple Syndication, depending upon whom you ask.  Either way, readers of your blog posts who sign up for an RSS feed are saying they find value in your content to the point they want to "subscribe".

First invented by Netscape almost twenty years ago, RSS technology saves time for people who regularly visit the web.  For your company, delivering blog posts to your readers’ "doorstep", via either a "feed" or via email, provides a wonderful means of developing loyal followers.

A blogger colleague of mine, on Problogger.net, explains that when a surfer bookmarks a favorite site, that surfer still needs to remember to visit the bookmarked site to check if any new content has been posted.  With an RSS, your readers will be notified each and every time you post new material on your blogsite.  Your browsers turn into your subscribers!

In today’s world, it’s not enough to "hand out" materials such as postcards and brochures, or even to post billboard ads.  Don’t get me wrong – all of those things can still be valid marketing tools.  But blogs are "available for acting and reacting", as I brought out in an earlier post (see "Buildings, Like Blogs, Can Be Interactive"). Not only do your blogs invite readers to post comments, the RSS feeds allow them to get updated on all your latest doings, while allowing you to be a trusted resource for relevant and timely information.  Readers can also easily go back to your earlier posts and read in greater depth on topics of special interest to them.

I invite you, on both your main website and your blog, to invite your readers to subscribe. Everyone benefits, so go ahead – RSS your blog off!