RSS is a great way to distribute your content, but what if you don’t have any subscribers?

Firstly, you need to be using RSS, short for Really Simple Syndication. A lot of people don’t subscribe to RSS because they don’t know what it is, but that’s changing. The beauty of RSS feeds are that they don’t fill up your inbox and you can’t get spammed.

Simply follow my steps to promote your feed and you should find you have loads of subscribers.

On a website, you’ll often see a little orange icon that is the RSS button. There is sometimes text that suggests readers subscribe. If a person hits on the button and they don’t have a reader, they will possibly see an XML document. That just confuses them and causes them to leave. Instead of allowing this to happen, you need to do something different to almost everyone else out there who is offering RSS feeds via the button.

Create an RSS information page.

For the many users who haven’t learned about RSS and it’s benefits, you should create a simple page that helps them learn quickly about it and why they need it. On your page you should have five simple elements:

1. A quick explanation of what RSS is. Add a link to Wikipedia’s RSS page for those who like in depth detail.

2. Three to five bullet points about how choosing an feed will benefit your readers.

3, A link to an RSS reader you like. For a really simple web based reader, I recommend using the one in Google + as it’s easy to understand. There are dozens out there, so research and choose what you like.

4. Include two or three different RSS options, web based, desktop download and even mobile device options.

5. A short paragraph on how to subscribe to your own RSS (and a link).

6. A short paragraph on why your RSS is a MUST for them!

7. Links to every RSS feed on your site, and any other relevant website feeds you offer

Now go and promote your new page!

Like everything on the Internet, you’ll need to promote it! Add your feed URL to your mail messages and in your ezines. Use something compelling to encourage readers to subscribe. Let them know how important it is to be subscribed to your site in real time.

Ensure that your subscription links are visible in every format. If they don’t see it, they can’t subscribe!

It’s that easy to promote your RSS feed to your website readers. Follow these steps and watch your subscriptions multiply.

Some of your subscribers will report your email as spam even though they did subscribe to your list. This is one reason why you need to send messages to your list on a routine basis. If you only send emails sporadically, your subscribers will forget that they subscribed and may report your emails as spam.

Here are some suggestions to lessen the chance that your subscribers will report your messages as spam.

• Never send your email messages to anyone unless they have subscribed to your list. While spam laws say it is not against any regulations to send messages to past or current customers, these people did not specifically subscribe to your list so they may report your emails as being spam.

• Never send any email to a list that you have purchased. These people did not opt-in to receive anything from you so your chances of some of these people reporting you as a spammer are greatly increased. It is NEVER a good idea to purchase a list of leads, no matter what you’ve been told about the subscribers on the list.

• Don’t mislead your potential subscribers. Let them know exactly what they will receive. Don’t use manipulative subject lines just to get subscribers. Tell them at the end of every message you send that you will be sending promotional emails.

• In the opening paragraph or end of your messages, remind your subscribers that they agreed to receive emails from you. You could say something like:

You are receiving this email because you agreed to receive emails from me through a double op*t-in procedure. Details are available upon request.

If you no longer wish to rece*ive any comm*unication from me, just cli*ck on the unsubscribe link at the end of this email.

PLEASE NOTE: The above statement includes asterisks in known spam words.

• Don’t type whole words or phrases in all capital letters. Since this is how the Nigerian Bank Scam emails are sent, typing in caps may get your message forwarded to a blacklist. Beside which, since a word or phrase all in caps is considered shouting, you don’t want your subscribers thinking you are yelling at them.

• Capitalize the beginning word of every sentence. Use good grammar, proper punctuation, and always proofread your messages. You want your messages to look professional as an unprofessional looking email is more likely to arouse the suspicions of your readers.

• Include great content so that your subscribers look forward to your next email. If your subscribers feel that you are providing excellent content, they will be less likely to report your emails as spam.

• Always tell your subscribers how they can unsubscribe. You will want to tell them that they can easily unsubscribe by clicking the unsubscribe link at the bottom of the message.

• Provide your contact information just in case your subscriber has any problems. Be sure to answer any questions, problems, and/or complaints as quickly as possible. If your response time is 24 hours or longer, be sure to tell them that. Not only will this to prevent your subscribers from reporting your message as spam, but will also help in building a solid relationship with them.

This is a question I am asked regularly so this short article is intended to help explain the concept and relevance of RSS.

If you own or manage a blog for any purpose, an RSS feed is critical if you intend to keep your readers up to date with your latest posts. There are a number of ways your readers can subscribe to your blog but the most common system used is via RSS feed.

So what is RSS?

Simply put it stands for ‘Rich Site Summary’ or it’s often dubbed ‘Really Simple Syndication’. It’s a technology being used by millions of web users around the globe to keep track of their favourite websites. Most consider it a form of news feed that you subscribe to.

In the days prior to RSS if you wanted to keep track of updated information on a website you had to ‘bookmark’ the site in your browser and return regularly to the site to check for changes. The problem was you had to do all the work yourself. If you were tracking numerous sites it could quickly become complicated. It was easy to miss something critical or get stuck in a never-ending loop of revisiting the same information over and over.

RSS Saves the Day!

What we needed was a technology that simply informed us every time a site updated. In practical terms, this is what RSS does. It provides a method of receiving relevant, up-to-date information in quick time after it is published.

In a way it’s like subscribing to a magazine that’s delivered periodically but instead of arriving in your mail it comes directly to your RSS Reader each time your favourite sites are updated. Even the most technically deficient web user can easily get the hang of RSS and make the most of the technology.

How Do I Use RSS?

First up – get an RSS Feed Reader!

There a plenty of free options available with a mix of useful (and useless) features. A simple starting point is Google Reader or Bloglines. Personally I still find Google Reader more than adequate but a simple search will provide a host of alternative options.

I find the readers work a little like email. Unread feeds will appear in bold in a kind of inbox style list. Click on a particular feed and it will provide you with the updated information and usually an option to visit the actual site. When you’re done simply move on to the next feed.

The best way to learn how to use your new feeder is to subscribe to a few feeds and give it a go. The help sections provided will guide you through the process if you get stuck.

There are two ways to locate an RSS feed. First will be on the site you are visiting and secondly from your browser. On site subscriptions typically involve a button or widget and come in many shapes and sizes so just keep an eye out and click to subscribe.

Most web browsers have RSS feeds built in these days. When you visit a site you will likely notice an RSS feed in the right hand side of the address bar where the sites URL is located.

To quickly subscribe all you have to do is click the orange button. Once you do this a few times you will start to see unread items appear in your Feed Reader and you can get underway. You can also unsubscribe at anytime so don’t be afraid to select a few starting options as you can always remove them at a later date.

There’s no security concerns, your email will be kept private and not used for any other purpose than to send your daily updates.

I hope this has helped and that you are now a little more familiar with the RSS technology. Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.

What’s a call-to-action? In marketing, a call-to-action or CTA is an instruction to the audience to provoke an immediate response, typically using an imperative such as “call now,” “find out more” or “schedule an appointment.”

Calls-to-action take on many different looks and purposes when you’re marketing your real estate business. You’re in business to sell homes so you need to generate new leads and referrals and to do so, you need to direct prospects to engage with you. This is where calls-to-action can help. A button, a banner and links are all calls-to-action and they always perform better when there is a sense of urgency.

Common Calls-to-Action

Download. Whether it’s a First Time Buyer’s Guide or Tips to Get a Mortgage, offering prospects something of value in exchange for their email address is a great call-to-action. Remember not to ask for too much in exchange or it will suddenly become a burden and the prospect will not follow through. Simply ask for a name, email and maybe one other piece of information like a phone number. The more you ask, the more you risk a higher abandonment rate.

Share. It can be a button or a word hyperlinked. Use this CTA when you want someone to share your social message or blog post. There are plug-ins available that will appear in your choice of spots on the blog post, but typically, a share CTA at the top of the post performs best. Facebook offers businesses a call-to-action on their pages. Leverage these to direct visitors to your website to connect.

Subscribe. If you have a blog, add a “subscribe” button. Place it in a few spots on your blog, particularly the first page in a column to the right or left of your content. You can add a “subscribe” pop-up when viewers are almost finished reading your article.

Scheduling. Offering a link to an online scheduler is a great CTA as your prospect can book an appointment with you without calling or leaving messages or any hassle. A link to a scheduler in an email or on a web page is easy for the visitor to use outside of office hours. A scheduler offers a calendar sharing only your available time. The client schedules time and you receive a notification. You can confirm the appointment or send out an alternative time. Online appointment booking is easy and client friendly, and the best part is that appointments can be made seamless through your email system 24/7.

Note that the online scheduler is probably used the least and offers the most value within emails. Leverage the online scheduler within your “new listing” emails to help clients schedule tours or setup appointments to sign papers. Add a link to your email signature and remind clients that they can book appointments according to THEIR schedule by using the scheduler.Impress upon the urgency to book time to view new listings in a very tight real estate market directly through your email signature.

Get More Information. This CTA is typically at the end of an article or web page. The CTA is to answer additional questions by contacting you or entering information in a contact form.

These are just a few of the CTAs commonly used in marketing to convert a prospect into a client. Add CTAs to every web page, blog post and email newsletters to generate interest while providing another touchpoint, a reason to connect with you.

Try an online scheduler within your email signature. You have a call-to-action in every email you send. Clients can schedule appointments online and book time on your calendar-without calling, emailing or any hassle at all. See how calls-to-action like online scheduling can increase your business.

If you’re looking to make money online, you need to have targeted website visitors going to your site on a daily, weekly and monthly basis. This is the case for any product or service you plan on promoting now or in the future. Many people don’t realize that RSS feeds are excellent for generating the kind of traffic they need to be successful in their online endeavors.

In case you’re not familiar with what RSS stands for, it means Really Simple Syndication, and it’s a very effective way to promote your blog or website. In this article, I’m going to explain how beneficial this can be, and demonstrate why many people use this particular technique of traffic generation.

Those who have a word press blog don’t have to be concerned about creating an RSS feed, because it’s created for them automatically. Each time they post new and fresh content on their blog, their RSS feed will update automatically with the title and the first couple of sentences of their most recent post.

Although the RSS feed is defaulted to display their last 10 posts, their able to change this through their word press admin panel. I typically change my settings to display the last 20 posts on my feed. Each page on your blog should have a “Subscribe To Our Feed” button, enabling individuals to subscribe easily if and when they want to. Visitors to your site can be notified every time you post fresh content to your blog.

Because all this is done in the background, you don’t have to concern yourself with manually updating your feed or contacting subscribers. As long as the content you post is useful and informative, they’ll be notified about your new content and will continue to visit your blog.

You can notify those who haven’t been to your blog recently about a new feed they can subscribe to if they wish, and you can also submit your RSS feed to feed directories. If someone wants to stay updated about what you’re posting on your blog, they can find your feed in these feed directories and subscribe to it. There’s a program called Feed Burner you can utilize to develop another feed for your existing feed. Since Google owns it, your new content will be indexed quickly.

Another thing I’d like to point out about this feed, is that you can promote it like a website. This will result in more subscribers, leading to more targeted visitors to your blog. You can even monetize your RSS feed to earn revenue from it, but that’s the subject of another article.

Think of your favorite magazines. The articles and advice held your interest, and you looked forward to the weekly or monthly editions. The topics were subject-specific to your hobby, career, or general curiosity and they were broad enough to enable you to explore areas you’ve never considered.

Some magazines offer “opinion columns” or “reader feedback” and “tell us what you think” space just for you. Your opinion counted. You, the reader, were the life line of the magazine’s existence. Well, ladies and gentlemen, in this world of high-tech sophistication, we have just defined an Ezine.

An Ezine is nothing more than an electronic magazine. It is a tool used to communicate the same information you received in print. Magazines are delivered through the mail to people who “subscribe”. Ezines are delivered through the email to people who subscribe.

Unlike print magazines, Ezines are usually free and there are many thousands available to select covering almost any topic you could possibly consider. Nothing is too remote or far-fetched in the imagination.

Subscribing to an Ezine is like joining a club of with people who have the same interests. There are Ezines for the culinary arts, home and garden, interior design, spiritual and inspirational, educational, business, writing, marketing and promoting, training, and the list goes on and on. Whether your interest is writing articles for Ezines or developing an Ezine of your own, you need to know the options available and how to access them. Before launching your own Ezine, take the time to explore the internet, visit various Ezines and explore the topics.

Ezines thrive on quality content and credibility of its authors. People subscribe to an Ezine because they have a need for advice and information or seek comprehensive research on a specific topic. As the editor, you are responsible to insure this happens which means you must know the subject so that you can scrutinize articles you receive. One way to guarantee success is to take the time to write several articles.

“Learning by doing” is the key to success in any endeavor. If you want to publish an ezine, you should understand the nuts and bolts of its creation and development. That can only occur by actually performing the tasks and functions necessary yourself. Remember, your name and reputation is connected to this very public communication.

Why Consider Developing An Ezine?

An Ezine is a marketing tool that drives traffic to your web site. It’s the “carrot,” the “draw” to what you want your visitors to really see. Your web site is the selling point of the product or service. Your Ezine is an effective tool for leading potential customers to that site.

Let’s take another look at the print magazine. What do you think covers some of the cost for its publication? That’s right!! The products and services advertised for sale. Each time a subscriber reads an article, they have the potential of being led to a product or service sold in that magazine. The same thing occurs when using the Ezine. Most of the articles topics will spark interest that can lead the reader to a product or service offered for sale on the web site. Yes, the initial start-up in Ezine creation can be time consuming, but it one of the best product and service referral sources around. Write you plan, take it slow and be committed to succeed.

The world has travelled a long way in terms of technology and sophistication. Yet none of these changes can replace some things. One such thing is the feel of holding a crisp new magazine, fresh from the press, delivered right at your doorstep. Some women crave dresses and chocolates while some for magazines. However, the prices of these magazines are so exorbitant that the thought of buying just melts away.

With cheap subscription, options available these days you can get all the top magazines are highly discounted prices. Just beware of scammer, though.

There are so many magazines out there. Which one should find a place at your doorstep? Here are the top five magazines that hit the mark.

Fashion…

Vogue

Vogue is probably the most sold magazine on the face of earth. It covers beauty, fitness, high-end up to date fashion, inspiring stories on women achievers, travel and loads of scoops of gossip. This is your window to the parties of the rich and famous and eyes into the wardrobes of the fashion fanatics. You can get this as cheap as $1 and issue with 70% savings off the cover price. There are 12 issues in a year and at a discounted rate, the magazine will cost you less than $20 an year.

Bazaar

The ultimate authority in fashion is claimed by Harper’s Bazaar. A complete fashion guide for all ages, Bazaar talks about celebrities, fashion, parties, gossip, dressing tips, designers, accessories and a truck load of ‘must know’ information in related fields of fitness and body care. Being a monthly issue, you will get 12 issues a year for cover price of $50. With a maximum of 80% discount, you can avail the same at less than a dollar per issue.

Wholesome…

O – The Oprah Magazine

Unlike skinny models and anorexic actors on the cover, O always portrays the humble Oprah. The magazine exudes a wholesome appeal with wide range of topics covered for the women of substance. An ideal magazine for the realistic women of today, right from the homemakers to the successful and aspiring entrepreneurs. This monthly magazine can be availed at $55 at cover price per year or at a discounted rate of $20 a year.

Fitness…

Shape

From fitness to fashion, Shape gives information on staying healthy the right way. The fitness tips are absolutely amazingly practical and produce results. Their tips on maintaining diets for specific purposes and tips on psychological health care makes the magazine a ‘must have’ on your shelf. This lifestyle magazine inspires women to be in shape the right way. The people are real and the lifestyle tips focus more on providing a realistic approach to health and fitness.

A woman’s needs are different and hence need for a separate woman’s magazine. A woman has many different profound roles in a society. In addition, each of these roles requires a complete different approach. This is what magazines should focus on.

In the world of internet and computers where everything is getting electronic, the magazines have also taken the form of e-magazines. Almost all the magazines are now available in electronic format which can be purchased or even downloaded free and read right on your computer screen.

Free subscriptions and free trials

There are many free magazine sites on the internet that offers free subscription of all the popular magazines. You can simply subscribe by filling up their form and the e-magazines are sent to you free of cost in your mail box every month. You need not require paying anything for them. Only some sites may ask to fill feedback forms or post reviews on their sites for customer feedback and advertisements.

Some free magazine sites offer electronic format of their magazines to be free downloaded as trials. The readers are given the trial magazines free of cost and they are expected to subscribe them if they like. The subscription may also be free of may be charged. Usually such offers are cheaper than the ones you will get in your nearest library or book store. They also offer you great deals and schemes that may include extra reading materials, free gifts, etc.

Get your favorite magazine now with just a click

Many of the popular free magazine sites have a large database of free magazines available to be downloaded. They are also equipped with efficient searching tools that let you search for any magazine you may want varying from title to author, publisher to date, etc. The free magazine sites offers subscription that doesn’t let you miss any updates about the magazine. They may also provide extra information other than the content of the magazine alone. You also need not worry about when the next issue of your favorite magazine will be out. You get recent updates about the subscribed magazines at regular intervals. Whenever it is out, you are the first one to have the magazine in your mail box.

Forget your bookstore now

A lot of people who like to read magazines have switched to the electronic format. Everything is getting digital with the increasing use of computer. People like to carry a single laptop instead of a dozen of books. They can carry infinite number of books with their laptop. So forget the bookstore where you were receiving your subscriptions from. Subscribe to one of the free magazine sites now and get the free subscriptions in your mail box. If you like to hold the magazine physically and read it, the free magazine sites provide that too. The offers are very reasonable and cost you far less than your bookstore. The bookstore may not have the latest issue of some particular magazine, on the sites, you don’t miss a single word.

Get free gifts with magazines

The free magazine sites also offers attractive schemes where you get free gifts and chances to win amazing prices with your subscription. The magazine subscription costs are very less and you get discount coupons, holiday packages, free download, and a number of attractive prices to win. Some magazine