Marketers Still Dont Get RSS Metrics - How We Really Can Measure RSS

Even after all that's been written and explained, even reputable online marketing publications such as ClickZ still don't get RSS metrics.

In an otherwise good RSS marketing article, Add RSS to Your Marketing Mix, Heidi Cohen has this to say about RSS metrics:

"From a marketing perspective, RSS's measurability is still evolving and therefore limited. You can't tell who has received your feeds as you can with e-mail."

Yes, RSS's measurability is still evolving and probably will evolve beyond e-mail metrics. In some ways it already has ...

And it's also true that you can't tell who has received your feeds ... if you're using the most established RSS approaches and just the basic technologies.

However, once you connect your feeds with your existing user databases, you can in fact go beyond what e-mail metrics offer.

Here are some possibilities ...

a] Use the "unique feed URL" approach, where each subscriber receives a feed with a unique identifier, based on which you can track precisely what feeds are being requested ... namely what annonymous user is requesting what feed.

b] If you'd like to integrate annonymous feed subscriber data with named (registered) user data, you can easily provide feeds only upon registration or only to logged-in users, and actually connect each unique feed URL with a named user. Especially if you provide feed customization this won't be a problem at all. Once you've integrated this data you can measure every and any iteraction your user has with your feed.

c] If you don't want to force your visitors to register in order to subscribe to your feed, you can still use the unique feed URL approach, which you connect with a user session, cookie or other identifiable information. Once your RSS feed subscriber registers you can integrate the data you already collected based on existing feed interaction and website interaction with his new user account.

d] The other approach you can use is user authentication, where you limit access to your feeds with a username/password combination. If each unique users receives a unique combination, you can track everything based on this information.

There are other possibilities as well, and the actual implementation of those above is somewhat more complicated than it seems at first sight. It does for example also require a more complex internet marketing strategy. It does require using more complex tools than the simplest RSS publishing solutions available on the market. It does require integration with your user database and internet platform.

But the point is that it's not only theoretically possible, but also in praxis. And in fact simple for companies with their own advanced internet platforms.

Just a quick disclaimer ...

a] If your feed gets widely syndicated you can in fact lose view of who's receiving your feed, even if you're using unique feed URLs (you can of course measure this as well, by analyzing user agent data). Using the user authentication model solves this problem as well.

b] Even if your feed does get widely syndicated, that's still comparable to your e-mail messages being passed around by users. And if we take in to account that measuring open-rates is getting increasingly difficult due to users blocking images, e-mail metrics don't look that shiny anymore.

If you'd like to find out more about RSS metrics, simply start by reading our collection of RSS metrics articles, reports, interviews and news at http://rssdiary.marketingstudies.net/content/cat_rss_metrics.php

I'm also hoping that there'll soon come a time when responses like this will no longer be needed, because marketers will finally understand the power of RSS metrics.

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.htm l?src=sa16

---

Google News Updated : Tue, 07 Oct 2008 20:50:00 GMT Fed Announces Plan to Buy Short-Term Debt - New York Times Telegraph.co.uk Fed Announces Plan to Buy Short-Term Debt New York Times - 58 minutes ago By EDMUND L. ANDREWS and MICHAEL M. GRYNBAUM WASHINGTON - The Federal Reserve announced a radical new plan on Tuesday to jump-start the engine of the financial system. Fed makes boldest move yet Christian Science Monitor Federal Reserve to buy up short-term commercial debt Los Angeles Times Bloomberg - NECN - The Associated Press - Wall Street Journal all 1,716 news articles Publ.Date : Tue, 07 Oct 2008 19:51:44 GMT Axelrod Says Obama Will Counterpunch if McCain Raises Ayres - New York Times Axelrod Says Obama Will Counterpunch if McCain Raises Ayres New York Times - 2 hours ago By Patrick Healy NASHVILLE - Senator Barack Obama is prepared to hit back, including with Keating Five scandal if necessary, if Senator John McCain uses tonight’s presidential debate to attack him over his associations with controversial figures like ... Video: AP Campaign Minute AssociatedPress Palin Adds Fannie Mae Execs to List of Objectionable Obama Associates Washington Post The Associated Press - U.S. News & World Report - FOXNews - Christian Science Monitor all 4,761 news articles Publ.Date : Tue, 07 Oct 2008 18:32:14 GMT Fitch says AMD factory move has no ratings impact - Forbes Canada.com Fitch says AMD factory move has no ratings impact Forbes - 51 minutes ago AP 10.07.08, 3:48 PM ET Fitch Ratings said Tuesday Advanced Micro Devices Inc.'s ratings are not affected by the chip maker's plans to spin off factories into a new joint venture with investors in the Persian Gulf state of Abu Dhabi. What AMD's fab spinoff means for Intel, industry MarketWatch Who Benefits From AMD’s Financial Engineering? New York Times The Associated Press - BusinessWeek - Motley Fool - Bizjournals.com all 656 news articles Publ.Date : Tue, 07 Oct 2008 19:58:11 GMT Study: Using fan on sleeping baby reduces risk of SIDS - San Jose Mercury News dBTechno Study: Using fan on sleeping baby reduces risk of SIDS San Jose Mercury News - 8 hours ago By Linda Goldston Ayde Gonzales's mother was surprised when she insisted that her newborn son must sleep on his back, not on his side. Fan Use May Save Your Baby’s Life, Reduces SIDS Risk eFluxMedia Fan in Room Seems to Cut Infants’ Risk of Crib Death New York Times Bloomberg - Wall Street Journal - U.S. News & World Report - WebMD all 612 news articles Publ.Date : Tue, 07 Oct 2008 12:46:19 GMT Union-Backed Party Opposes Term Limits Plan - New York Times New York Daily News Union-Backed Party Opposes Term Limits Plan New York Times - 1 hour ago By Fernanda Santos The Working Families Party began on Tuesday the labor community’s first major offensive against Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg’s plan to change term limit laws through legislation that would extend to three, from two, the number of terms ... UPDATE 1-NYC lawmakers to weigh bill raising term limits Reuters Bill to end term limits introduced in City Council New York Daily News New York Times Blogs - WNYC - Campaigns & Elections - Crain's New York Business all 331 news articles Publ.Date : Tue, 07 Oct 2008 19:15:23 GMT Kenya deports anti-Obama author - Christian Science Monitor BBC News Kenya deports anti-Obama author Christian Science Monitor - 4 hours ago Jerome Corsi, author of "Obama Nation: Leftist Politics and the Cult of Personality," tried to launch his new book, but violated immigration rules, Kenyan officials say. Barack Obama's African grandmother Sarah Onyango Obama roots for him Times Online Anti-Barack Obama author detained while promoting his book in Kenya Los Angeles Times AFP - The Associated Press - New York Times - BBC News all 507 news articles Publ.Date : Tue, 07 Oct 2008 16:09:55 GMT Get moving: Guidelines set healthy activity levels - The Associated Press ABC News Get moving: Guidelines set healthy activity levels The Associated Press - 38 minutes ago WASHINGTON (AP) - Get moving: New exercise guidelines released Tuesday set a minimum sweat allotment for good health. For most adults, that's 2 1/2 hours a week. Government tells Americans to take stairs, go out and play Bizjournals.com Get 2 1/2 hours of exercise per week, US says Reuters USA Today - Food Consumer - MarketWatch - MyFox Dallas all 183 news articles Publ.Date : Tue, 07 Oct 2008 20:11:51 GMT RSS Software Increase Website Traffic

PARLOT::Ebooks, Scripts, Websites, and more...

Adsense websites

RSS Round-Up: Whats Happening with Simple Syndication?

Have you been following the explosion of RSS -- Really... Read More

Blog Reflection

I still consider myself to be a blog writing novice... Read More

Blogging for Profit Using AdSense

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

How Can You Use Blogs To Increase Traffic?

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

Using Feedburner to Add Statistics to Your RSS Feed

Out of many of the free RSS and blogging services... Read More

Internet Communication

Email, Instant Messaging, Blogs, RSS, Forums and Listservs: What's Next?How... Read More

Starting Your Own Blog

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

How RSS Advertising Can Help Business Gain A Higher ROI

I recently read the case study conducted by Pheedo, an... Read More

See RSS Feeds from Your Website

RSS feeds have made it so convenient to gather current... Read More

How To Create A Blog

A blog is an online diary or as some people... Read More

Gathered Statistical Data Announces that Blogs will Dominate the Internet in Less than a Few Years

... if not months to come.At a distinctive and stable... Read More

Creating A Basic RSS Feed For Your Site

The future of RSS Feeds and internet marketing is looking... Read More

Top 10 Blog Writing Tips

Most of the "rules" about writing for ezines and newsletters... Read More

How to Promote Your Blog for Free Online

11 Ways to Promote Your Blog1. Ping weblogs.com and other... Read More

Writing Quality Blogs

Writing?Blogs?Blogs are on-line journals where people express themselves through writing.... Read More

16 Ways to Drive Traffic to Your Blog

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

What is a Blog? In Plain English Please

If you are fairly new to the Internet, you have... Read More

Microsoft and Google Show Its Time for RSS Marketing

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

Its Not Enough to Blog

A properly created weblog will do the following for your... Read More

NEWS FLASH! Article Directories JUMP-ON The RSS Syndication Band Wagon

Quick question... do you publish 'Articles' on a regular basis?I'm... Read More

Sales Marketing: Secrets To Using Blogs (Online Diaries) To Increase Your sales And Profits

These days, everybody is blogging.How about you?You can incorporate blogging... Read More

Why Wordpress is now my Blog of Choice

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

Benefits to RSS

RSS streamlines communication between publishers and readers. Since RSS has... Read More

Top Ten Reason to Publish an Ezine AND a Blog

Blogs are the hottest thing going these days when it... Read More

Snob-Bloggers: You Just Might Be A Snob If You Publish A Blog

You Might Be A Snob-Blogger If?According to Jupiter Research, about... Read More