How to Create an RSS Feed

Read on if you want to find out how to Create an RSS Feed for your website or blog. You work hard to get people to visit your site or blog. And when you find the perfect reader, someone who fits all the criteria for your target audience, you don’t want to lose them.

But the problem is that we all get so much content and information every day from so many different places. Your ideal reader might love what they find on your website, but almost immediately forget where they found it. And that means you’ve lost the perfect reader—the one you were making all this content for in the first place!

This problem can be fixed by using an RSS feed. RSS stands for “really simple syndication.” It is a script that you can put on your website so that people can sign up for it.

How to Create an RSS Feed

Writing a Feed

• Compile a list of your content. In a word processing program, create a simple list of your most recent content. Aim for 10-15 items, though you can make the feed with less or more. Copy the URL into the list, write the title and a short description, and write down the publish date.
• Create your XML file. Open up Notepad (Windows) or TextEdit (Mac). Before you can start entering your content information, you need to add your RSS header information. Enter the following code to the top of the text file: 
• Start entering your content. Each piece of content will need to be a separate <item> entry below the header. Copy the following code for each entry you need to make, replacing the items with the information for your content.
• Close your tags at the bottom of the feed. Once you have entered all of your items, close off the <rss> and <channel> tags before saving the file. An example feed with three items would look similar to this: 
• Publish your feed. Now that you have an XML file, it’s time to upload it to your website. Use your FTP program or cPanel to place the XML file on your website’s homepage. Make sure to create a link to the XML file so that people can subscribe to it.

Using an RSS Creator

• Find an RSS creation program. There are a couple options when it comes to RSS services. You can use a web service to automatically create and update your RSS feed for a monthly fee, or you can download an RSS feed program and update your feed manually. Popular programs include
• Create a new feed. Once you have chosen your service, create your first feed. The process will differ from program to program, but the general idea is the same for almost all of them. 
• Add an image to your feed. You can add an image that represents your feed. The image file will need to be uploaded to your website in order for it to load. Adding an image is optional, but highly recommended for podcasts.
• Add content to your feed. Once you’ve entered your podcast information, it’s time to start populating it with content. Enter within the title of the article, blog post, podcast episode, etc. 
• Create the XML file. Once you’re done entering in all of your content into your feed, you need to export it to an XML file. This XML file will allow visitors to subscribe to your RSS feed.
• Submit your RSS feed. There are a variety of aggregate sites that you can submit your RSS feed to. These sites collect articles from similar interests, and can significantly increase your viewership.

What Is an RSS Feed?

RSS stands for “really simple syndication.” It is a way to send content to users automatically so they don’t have to check your website or blog for updates. RSS has been around for a long time. It’s not as popular as it used to be, but it’s still one of the best ways to make sure what you post online gets to the right people.

It’s also pretty much the only way to publish podcasts reliably, since all podcast clients will use the RSS feed. Once you’ve set up an RSS feed for your content, your audience will be able to add it to their own RSS readers, which will then let them know when you post something new. This makes sure that your posts won’t be missed.