It is not a well-known fact, but using RSS can offer great benefits to your business. Below are some examples that are often used. Please be aware though, some of these techniques could possibly be abused. So please use carefully.
Twitter: Automatically create a new tweet when you have new posts. There are many ways to do this, a popular and free tool to use is Twitterfeed.
Facebook: Create updates when you make new posts. There are applications you can use to do this. I've found Facebook apps to be very flaky but one that seems to work is My Blogs.
Widgets - create a widget that updates with your blog, so others have the option to display the feed on their own blogs or even their desktop. Example applications include "Spring Widgets" and "Google Gadgets".
Offer downloads - compile a PDF document, or offer a video. Publishing a podcast, radio or other media is also a good idea.
Create affiliate branded RSS feeds: Let affiliates display your blog content and let them be rewarded for it. I've created a custom feed for my affiliates, which contains the affiliate's ID.
Deal finder: we all like to save money, especially when it comes to spending money on our business. Large online stores like Amazon or shop.com offer "deal of the day" or similar offers. These offers can be subscribed to your feed reader, so they will display as soon as they are available.
Track packages: Track your own packages with SimpleTracking.com or let your customers know if you sell a physical product.
Yahoo Answers: Certain marketers know the usefulness of giving helpful advice to questions raised on Yahoo answers. To make this easier, you can subscribe to an RSS feed on the category most related to your field of work or product line.
Track your own or other blogs' comments: Sometimes email notifications quit working. But the RSS always does. If you are using a WordPress blog, your comment feed is usually: http://yourblog.com/?feed=comments-rss2 or http://yourblog.com/comments/feed/
Watching your competition: keep an eye on your competition, their action on the social networks, video accounts and blogs. The best way to automate this is to use FriendFeed.
Industry watch - there is an option with the Yahoo or MSN search engine's, where you can type a phrase that suits your interests, and if you are using IE 7 or Firefox, an RSS feed icon will appear. If you click this icon you will subscribe to the keyword feed.
Advertising - I haven't done any advertising on RSS myself, but I have displayed ads in RSS feeds. I've noticed that click through ratios have enhanced, sometimes better than actual site visitors. Try using FeedBurner, Text-Link-Ads or Pheedo for this type of service.
Keep clients updated - notify your customers off your current service status. Businesses to offer usable services like online shopping, web hosting or payment gateways should use this. Using RSS, your clients can be updated by the second.
Twitter: Automatically create a new tweet when you have new posts. There are many ways to do this, a popular and free tool to use is Twitterfeed.
Facebook: Create updates when you make new posts. There are applications you can use to do this. I've found Facebook apps to be very flaky but one that seems to work is My Blogs.
Widgets - create a widget that updates with your blog, so others have the option to display the feed on their own blogs or even their desktop. Example applications include "Spring Widgets" and "Google Gadgets".
Offer downloads - compile a PDF document, or offer a video. Publishing a podcast, radio or other media is also a good idea.
Create affiliate branded RSS feeds: Let affiliates display your blog content and let them be rewarded for it. I've created a custom feed for my affiliates, which contains the affiliate's ID.
Deal finder: we all like to save money, especially when it comes to spending money on our business. Large online stores like Amazon or shop.com offer "deal of the day" or similar offers. These offers can be subscribed to your feed reader, so they will display as soon as they are available.
Track packages: Track your own packages with SimpleTracking.com or let your customers know if you sell a physical product.
Yahoo Answers: Certain marketers know the usefulness of giving helpful advice to questions raised on Yahoo answers. To make this easier, you can subscribe to an RSS feed on the category most related to your field of work or product line.
Track your own or other blogs' comments: Sometimes email notifications quit working. But the RSS always does. If you are using a WordPress blog, your comment feed is usually: http://yourblog.com/?feed=comments-rss2 or http://yourblog.com/comments/feed/
Watching your competition: keep an eye on your competition, their action on the social networks, video accounts and blogs. The best way to automate this is to use FriendFeed.
Industry watch - there is an option with the Yahoo or MSN search engine's, where you can type a phrase that suits your interests, and if you are using IE 7 or Firefox, an RSS feed icon will appear. If you click this icon you will subscribe to the keyword feed.
Advertising - I haven't done any advertising on RSS myself, but I have displayed ads in RSS feeds. I've noticed that click through ratios have enhanced, sometimes better than actual site visitors. Try using FeedBurner, Text-Link-Ads or Pheedo for this type of service.
Keep clients updated - notify your customers off your current service status. Businesses to offer usable services like online shopping, web hosting or payment gateways should use this. Using RSS, your clients can be updated by the second.
About the Author:
If you're looking to pull more profit out of your business blog, check out the IM Blogging Bootcamp. This 4-week intensive program designed to get you actively and effectively blogging to reach more of your prospects and convert more of them into lifelong customers.
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