RSS Meets the Needs of Direct Marketers

Contrary to general opinion, RSS meets the needs of even the most demanding direct marketer, actually providing most of what e-mail marketing does, except for the strong push factor.

Most direct marketing reasons against RSS are in fact the result of inadequate understanding of RSS by most marketers.

a] Scheduled and autoresponder messages

There are already a few services and software packages on the market that allow for scheduled and autoresponder messages via RSS feeds. Once your visitor subscribes to your special RSS feed, he can receive a pre-determined set of messages in a specific time frame, determined by you. Use these messages to welcome your new reader to your RSS feed; thank your new customer after the purchase, send him additional information about the ordered product and give him the opportunity to buy an additional product at a lower price tag a couple of days later, and so on.

b] RSS metrics

RSS can in fact be tracked: track anything from the number of your subscribers, their reading habits, their reading frequency to your click-through rates and activities after clicking-through from your feed. This includes tracking which of your RSS feeds are performing better, are more interesting to your readers and drive more sales ... and the same for individual content items.

c] Message targeting

Since RSS feeds can be dynamically generated on a per-user basis, you can easily track the interests of your individual subscribers and then target marketing messages directly to them, making each message relevant to their needs and interests in order to increase your sales success.

d] Message personalization

If you generate your RSS feeds for each individual user, you can also personalize these feeds. Basic personalization includes elements such as the reader's first name, while more advanced personalization might include personalized content and product recommendations and so on.

e] Data capture

E-mail marketers have already become experts at using opt-in forms to get as much information from the prospect as possible; the prospect's name, his interests, the current products he is using, his current position in the purchase cycle and so on. RSS can be used in the same way, giving your visitors access to the RSS feed only after they've filled in a simple or complex opt-in form. This can work with e-zine subscriptions, as well as forms you require your visitors to fill in to either register on your website or download your free report or whitepaper.

Good news for direct marketers is that these capabilities are already available in many RSS publishing/marketing solutions, available at very acceptable prices, accessible even to the smallest companies.

Copyright 2005 Rok Hrastnik

Rok Hrastnik is the author of »Unleash the Marketing & Publishing Power of RSS«, acclaimed as the best and most comprehensive guide to RSS for marketers by leading RSS experts. The complete guide on RSS for marketers: http://rss.marketingstudies.net/index.html ?src=sa4

---

Blog Your Affiliate Links

Blogging is a relatively new form of communication, closely related... Read More

The Hybrid Blog and Ping

For the past two years, one of the best SEO... Read More

Blogging: A Profit Making Internet Option

Blogging is a relatively new form of communication, closely related... Read More

Why Journal Writing On The Web? Blogs Are Journals Giving Anyone An Identity, And An Awesome Forum

Journal writing used to be a private, personal experience done... Read More

How Can You Use Blogs To Increase Traffic?

I am conducting my 1st customer appreciation webcast and asked... Read More

Microsoft and Google Show Its Time for RSS Marketing

Many internet marketers are still wondering whether to start marketing... Read More

Use RSS Feeds to Improve Search Engine Optimization and Ranking

RSS is rapidly becoming a "must have" for a proper... Read More

17 Mistakes Professionals Make with Their Blogs

Are you getting results from your business blog? Is it... Read More

Do Marketers Really Need RSS?

The recent Forrester Research study, which claims that only 2%... Read More

Feed The Need: 5 Ways To Use RSS To Boost Your Business Or Organizational Success

RSS (it stands for Really Simple Syndication, among other things)... Read More

RSS Feeds Have Revolutionized the Internet

RSS feeds have revolutionized the Internet for one very good... Read More

Use Blogging to Manage Your Entire Web Sites Content

Blogging is a term that means different things to different... Read More

Starting Your Own Blog

I was sitting in my local Internet Cafe yesterday, I... Read More

Blogging for Profit Using AdSense

This article is designed to teach you how to profit... Read More

Why Every Artist Needs a Blog & How to Create an Artist Blog

As an artist, the key to selling more artwork is... Read More

16 Ways to Drive Traffic to Your Blog

You've got your blog set up and you've started posting... Read More

Why Wordpress is now my Blog of Choice

The more I use Wordpress, the more I love it.... Read More

The Fearful, Ignorant Guy Has Got A Blog On The Internet - It Must Be Easy!

Of all people in the world I was easily one... Read More

Even a 70 Something Technological Challenged Mom Can Get Started in Blogging With These 10 Tips

Blogging is all the rage. With these 10 Simple Steps... Read More

What is Blogging?

Blogs have been around for many years but have recently... Read More

How to Get a Blog on the Internet

Of all people in the world I was easily one... Read More

What Consumers Need To Know About RSS Feeds

Feeds are simple, really. What's even more exciting is that... Read More

Fun Free Feed Tools For Both The Publisher And The Reader

As you've probably been reading, there are basically three problems... Read More

How to Use RSS for Free Targeted Website Traffic

RSS (real simple syndication) is the new rage in communication.... Read More

Blood Test for Your Blog?

Are you contributing to one of the estimated 36.1 million... Read More

Blogging Communities Turn Faceless Strangers into Close Friends

I've been searching the Internet for blogging sites for a... Read More

Blogging Is Not Important - Its Crucial

It has been established that having a 'blog' helps your... Read More

The Language of Blogs

I read over a lot of blogs each week, casually... Read More

Why Your Blog Might Be Sabotaging Your Business

Many marketers were very excited when forum and newsletter discussion... Read More

How To Build Traffic To Your Blog

With the growing interest in blogging as... Read More

An Appeal To The Bloggers!

Blogging is smart an art. Blog sites are the nicest... Read More

Superbloggers Secrets

Blogs are extremely hot right now. Everyone is starting them,... Read More

RSS - How to Promote and Profit From Your Feed

Let me ask you three questions to get you thinking.... Read More