Let’s talk basic information about RSS feeds, RSS structure, and simple RSS strategies that will help the entry-level Internet marketer understand concepts, the code, and how to create a valid RSS feed for their site. A good place to begin is to mention the “hands-off” or “automatic” approach that many Internet marketers adopt by choosing a platform that creates an RSS feed automatically.

Site platforms such as WordPress or Joomla! automatically create a site feed. There are multiple choices for site platforms but these two are mentioned for example purposes. The feeds which are automatically generated usually contain the latest articles, posts, or information added at the site. Some platforms generate a feed based on the home page of the site. This is a great approach and “automatically” generated feeds save the site owner time and energy. Automated RSS feeds have their place and their purpose. However, the “automatic” approach can significantly constrain the full potential of leveraging RSS.

While the “automatic” approach is a good thing, it is the opinion of many that taking RSS a bit further and working with some manual feeds can be better in several respects. For example… say you are marketing a product or service that has several different forms or models. Let’s also say these different forms or models of the product or service are by their very definition targeted to different segments of the buying public due to demographics or use. In this case it would be very beneficial to create separate, highly-focused RSS feeds for the model, form, or demographic. This approach not only allows the site owner to focus feeds for a particular audience it also eliminates the casual news and site updates (etc.) that can appear in an automatically generated feed from the home page. This “targeted” feed is greatly appreciated by many in the buying segment you cater to.

For example, let’s say your product is Ford automobiles. If your site generates an automatic feed of the home page it will bring in all the latest news at Ford including models, site events, company policies and any information that lands on the home page. Perhaps you have a strong segment of the buying public (who generate a large part of your sales) that are only interested in the Ford Mustang GT. It would be in your best interest as a marketer to provide a feed that is focused on the Mustang GT. For the segment of your customers who buy this particular model, a feed like this will be much more attractive and the feed subscription rate would be many times higher than for the automated home page feed.

· Targeted Feed Creation

There are software programs available that will help you create your targeted feed. If you seek a software solution, a great place to start is here:

http://www.feedforall.com/download.htm

In my opinion, you are better off learning some basics about simple, valid RSS feeds and hand coding your own. It is not as hard as you might think. In fact, it’s easy and it will allow you to understand and create valid, compliant feeds that will be greatly appreciated by your audience. NOTE: It will only be necessary to hand code a targeted feed template once… then it is just a matter of adjusting the elements and the items to update the feed or to create other targeted feeds based on different topics.

· Coding A Simple, Valid RSS Feed

The following code is a simple RSS feed that will validate and perform well with any RSS mechanisms, readers, or applications on the web or PC. This example contains two feed items:

===============================================================================

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="US-ASCII"?>

<rss version="2.0">

<channel>

<title>Feed Title Goes Here</title>

<description>Feed Description Goes Here</description>

<link>http://www.yoursite.com</link>

<category domain="">Category Goes Here</category>

<copyright>Generally Site Name Goes Here - Or Other More Specific Copyright Info</copyright>

<language>en</language>

<lastBuildDate>Fri, 9 May 2008 02:01:51 -0500</lastBuildDate>

<managingEditor>your-email@yourdomain.com</managingEditor>

<pubDate>Fri, 9 May 2008 02:01:51 -0500</pubDate>

<webMaster>your-email@yourdomain.com</webMaster>

<generator>Custom Feed - Hand Coded</generator>

<image>

<url>http://www.yoursite.com/rss-feed/feed-icon.gif</url>

<title>Feed Title</title>

<link>http://www.yoursite.com</link>

<description>Your Site Feed | What You Say Happens</description>

<width>80</width>

<height>15</height>

</image>

<item>

<title>Item 1 Title</title>

<description>Item 1 Description

</description>

<link>http://www.yoursite.com/url-path/to-article-or-page/</link>

<pubDate>Fri, 9 May 2008 02:15:00 -0500</pubDate>

<guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.yoursite.com/url-path/to-article-or-page/</guid></item>

<item>

<title>Item 2 Title</title>

<description>Item 2 Description

</description>

<link>http://www.yoursite.com/url-path/to-article-or-page/</link>

<pubDate>Sat, 10 May 2008 03:15:00 -0500</pubDate>

<guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.yoursite.com/url-path/to-article-or-page/</guid></item>

</channel>

</rss>

===============================================================================

Let’s break this down in terms you can better understand. Think of the following section of the code as the “head” section of an HTML page:

===============================================================================

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="US-ASCII"?>

<rss version="2.0">

<channel>

<title>Feed Title Goes Here</title>

<description>Feed Description Goes Here</description>

<link>http://www.yoursite.com</link>

<category domain="">Category Goes Here</category>

<copyright>Generally Site Name Goes Here - Or Other More Specific Copyright Info</copyright>

<language>en</language>

<lastBuildDate>Fri, 9 May 2008 02:01:51 -0500</lastBuildDate>

<managingEditor>your-email@yourdomain.com</managingEditor>

<pubDate>Fri, 9 May 2008 02:01:51 -0500</pubDate>

<webMaster>your-email@yourdomain.com</webMaster>

<generator>Custom Feed - Hand Coded</generator>

<image>

<url>http://www.yoursite.com/rss-feed/feed-icon.gif</url>

<title>Feed Title</title>

<link>http://www.yoursite.com</link>

<description>Your Site Feed | What You Say Happens</description>

<width>80</width>

<height>15</height>

</image>

===============================================================================

The elements contained in this “head” section are as follows:

· The first three tags include the declarative statement of the XML version and the encoding of the file, the opening RSS tag, and the opening channel tag. These are generally of no consequence to newbies at this point.

· The remaining tags are self-explanatory and each instance given in this feed example will explain their use and meaning.

· The important rules in this segment: double check and make sure that the date structure shown in the example is strictly followed and that the day of the week always matches the date itself.

The ITEM section of the code: These are the actual results shown to the feed user.

The following code is where your feed items reside and you will find it quite simple to follow:

===============================================================================

<item>

<title>Item 1 Title</title>

<description>Item 1 Description

</description>

<link>http://www.yoursite.com/url-path/to-article-or-page/</link>

<pubDate>Fri, 9 May 2008 02:15:00 -0500</pubDate>

<guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.yoursite.com/url-path/to-article-or-page/</guid></item>

<item>

<title>Item 2 Title</title>

<description>Item 2 Description

</description>

<link>http://www.yoursite.com/url-path/to-article-or-page/</link>

<pubDate>Sat, 10 May 2008 03:15:00 -0500</pubDate>

<guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.yoursite.com/url-path/to-article-or-page/</guid></item>

===============================================================================

Note that except for the <item> tag, the element tags do not overlap. An element opens and closes <> </> within the structure before the next element appears. Also note the date/time structure used in the <pubDate> elements.

In order to add additional items to the feed results, simply add the following instance of the code for each additional item you want to include:

===============================================================================

<item>

<title>Item 3 Title</title>

<description>Item 3 Description

</description>

<link>http://www.yoursite.com/url-path/to-article-or-page/</link>

<pubDate>Sat, 10 May 2008 03:15:00 -0500</pubDate>

<guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.yoursite.com/url-path/to-article-or-page/</guid></item>

===============================================================================

The closing channel and rss tags:

Finally, there are the closing channel and rss tags which close the document and are of little consequence for the newbie aside from the fact that they must close the document:

===============================================================================

</channel>

</rss>

===============================================================================

By following this simple structure you can create as many feeds as necessary to service your customers and your targeted audience.

It is a good idea to create a folder within your site directory where the feed or feeds will reside. Place the feeds within the folder. For example: a folder called “rss-feed”. This will create a url path to the feed like this:

http://www.your-site.com/rss-feed/your-rss-feed-file-name.xml

When your feeds go live, check them to be sure they validate. If you have not made any errors in the structure or the code they will validate. You can use this validation tool:

http://feedvalidator.org/

Hand coding an RSS feed is simple and easy. The benefit of doing it will give you total control over exactly what appears in a targeted feed. Once you have created one hand-coded feed, it will be easy to understand how to update the feed and create new feeds based on topics in demand.

In the next article let’s explore a simple way to monetize the feed items using specific code injection.