According to research conducted by e Marketer, less than 20% of Internet users intentionally read content with the aid of an RSS reader. Indeed, even frequent Internet users have no idea what that little orange RSS square represents and certainly don’t realize that there is a big shift brewing in the depths of online marketing and publishing.
Change may be quicker than we think for 3 very convincing reasons.
There are some advantages to RSS that will compel most, if not all, Internet users and content consumers to “learn” to use an RSS reader; and start managing RSS subscriptions. In the same way email eclipsed “snail mail” for content delivery, RSS will eclipse email as the consumer’s choice for opt-in messaging. If you are an email marketer, the time for you to get engaged to RSS has come. Here’s why:
Reason #1: RSS = Embedded Video (and audio)
Recently, a small business client asked me to embed video into emails; they endeavored to send to established clients. Their vision was clear:
- Create a quick video email with a web cam, stick it right into their corporate Outlook email with a You Tube style preview.
- The customer gets the email, clicks the You Tube-looking video preview and the video starts playing.
- No landing page, they wanted everything to happen right there inside the email client, whether it was Outlook, AOL, G mail, Yahoo or otherwise.
Many brilliant companies have tried various tactics to embed video into email in such a way that it doesn’t consistently get blocked or stripped by various email providers. The best solution included an embedded video preview image inside the email which opens up the web browser and plays the video when clicked. This is not a marketer’s ideal solution. Internet users do not like to be bounced around from window to window. We want to view video instantly, seamlessly. Enter RSS. Using an RSS feed, adding video (and audio) that can be viewed instantly is as simple as adding basic text.
Reason #2: RSS = 100% Deliverability
Email deliver ability statistics for a typical email marketing campaign indicate the likelihood that a client will actually receiving your message and open it, is 60% or less. It is either automatically sent to a Spam Folder or gets deleted. Even reputable companies like Aweber, who make their livelihood sending emails for other people and have intimate agreements with email providers like G mail, AOL and Yahoo, only get 90% deliver ability.RSS is very different. If your client has opted-in to your RSS feed, they are sure to receive 100% of your brand building messages. There is no doubt about it.
Reason #3: RSS = No Spam
Spam is annoying. It takes time to delete, it contains inappropriate messages which make parents steaming mad and it is the perpetual burden of corporations and email providers.Email will not be free forever. You may not have to pay if you send a few emails to friends and family, but if you’re sending out a significant number of messages… you’ll pay. In fact, email providers are already debating and tweaking a platform similar to cell phone companies, whereby you will have a sending quota. All of this in a final attempt at curbing the clever spammer. This will only serve to highlight the value of RSS.
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