RSS Feed Mastery

Best Practices for Building & Using RSS Feeds

A custom RSS feed is a powerful asset for content distribution. By following best practices and using automation, you can broadcast your latest posts across social media, email, and other channels with minimal effort.

Structuring Your RSS Feed

Use Standard Formats

Stick to widely supported formats like RSS 2.0 or Atom and use the correct MIME type (e.g., `application/rss+xml`) for maximum compatibility.

Include Complete Metadata

Provide a clear title, description, publication date, author, and a unique GUID for each item to help readers and search engines.

Use Absolute URLs

Ensure all links (to articles, images, etc.) are absolute (`https://...`) to prevent them from breaking when consumed externally.

Provide Full Content

Include the full article content in your feed for the best subscriber experience. If using summaries, make them informative.

Validate and Test

Regularly use a tool like the W3C Feed Validator to catch errors and test your feed in popular RSS readers to ensure correct display.

Promote Your Feed

Make your feed discoverable by linking to it in your site's `` and displaying a visible RSS icon or link for users.

Automating Content Distribution

Once your feed is optimized, you can automate content distribution to social platforms. The goal is to have each new blog post automatically turn into a social media update, email, or team notification.

Social Media

  • LinkedIn & Facebook: Use services like Zapier or IFTTT to automatically create posts from new RSS items.
  • Twitter (X): Set up an applet to automatically tweet your new blog posts with a title and a shortened URL.
  • Reddit: Post updates to relevant subreddits, but be mindful of community rules on self-promotion.

Other Channels

  • Email Newsletters: Power your newsletter with your feed using "RSS-to-email" campaigns in services like Mailchimp.
  • Team Communications: Pipe your feed into a Slack or Discord channel to keep your team informed of new content.
  • News Aggregators: Ensure compatibility with Feedly, Inoreader, and Flipboard for wider reach.

Tools for Automation

Zapier

A powerful, flexible platform for creating multi-step automation workflows connecting your RSS feed to thousands of apps.

IFTTT

"If This Then That" is great for simple, one-to-one automations using pre-made "applets" for common tasks.

Buffer / Publer

Social media management tools that can pull from your RSS feed to schedule posts at optimal times.

Dlvr.it

A dedicated RSS-to-social service focused on content syndication that continuously monitors and pushes new items.

Hootsuite

Offers an "RSS Autopublisher" app integration to watch feeds and auto-post to connected social profiles.

Mailchimp

Provides "RSS-to-Email" campaigns that automatically send your new posts to your subscriber list on a schedule.

Example Workflow: Bringing It All Together

Imagine this: a single action—publishing a blog post—triggers a cascade of automated events:

  1. Your valid RSS feed updates instantly.
  2. A Zapier workflow posts the new article to your LinkedIn and Facebook pages.
  3. The item is added to your Buffer queue to be tweeted at the optimal time.
  4. Your weekly Mailchimp newsletter is automatically populated with the new post for Friday's send.
  5. A notification appears in your team's Slack channel, alerting them to the new content.

This entire system ensures maximum reach for your content with minimal ongoing effort, all powered by your well-structured RSS feed.