Ways RSS Feeds Can Benefit Your Business

As I mentioned before, Google Reader is one of my favorite features that Google offers because it allows me to read the latest articles and posts from nearly every website and blog that I read on a regular basis all in one place.

This can be a tremendous time-saver and tool to keep you up to date on all of the happenings in your niche, and boost your productivity as a result.

Subscribing to Feeds

It’s all about productivity. If you already subscribe to RSS feeds, you know exactly what I’m talking about. Still, RSS hasn’t quite reached mainstream status, most likely because it is hard to really understand just how helpful it is until you try it first-hand.

So for those that have not tested the RSS waters yet, go register for a feed reader. Again, I use Google Reader myself (it’s convenient if you already have a Google account).

Spend a little time visiting all of the sites and blogs that you read on a regular basis. Also find some that you don’t, but perhaps would if you had the time. On each of these sites/blogs, look for the classic feed icon:

You can usually find it at the top of your browser if a feed is available for the page you are on (in Firefox, it appears on the right-hand side of the address bar). Click it to add the feed to your reader.

Now you have tons of up-to-date articles coming to you in one place that you can check just as easily as your email. Read what you want, skip the rest. Now imagine how much time you will save on a daily basis from not having to surf around.

Offering Feeds

Feeds are not mainstream…yet. Still, you may be surprised at how many people do utilize them. If you operate a blog or a site that runs any kind of articles, you should definitely look into offering feeds. Most blog platforms will feature them anyway.

By not offering feeds, you are missing out on an opportunity to keep customers informed of what your business is up to. You’re missing out on a fantastic promotional tool. When you get subscribers, you don’t have to worry so much about them coming to you, because you’ll be going to them.

Note: FeedBurner is a great way to keep up with subscription stats.

SmallBusinessNewz offers a variety of different feeds including the main one that lets readers receive all articles as they are posted, and more niche ones, like ones for each tag such as Tools and Resources, eCommerce, Marketing, Management, etc.

Feed Reading Options

Google Reader is just one of many options you can use to read feeds. To be honest, it’s really the only one I’ve regularly used and I am not all that familiar with the others. I am a big fan of Google Reader and I have not found any reasons to look for a replacement so far. I do know that there are others that are quite popular though, and you might find one of them more to your liking. Other popular ones include:

1. NewsGator

2. Bloglines

3. Rojo

4. FeedDemon

5. NewzCrawler

6. Omnea Reader

7. Awasu

8. Blog Navigator

9. SharpReader

10. RSS Bandit

Your options are not limited to these. Different readers offer different options, so you may want to do some exploring to find the one most suitable to your needs.

RSS is an invaluable tool for any online business whether you are the reader or the publisher. Try being both to get the most out of the technology.

Do you read or publish RSS feeds? How do you think it has impacted your business?