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RSS: Really Simple Syndication

May 7th, 2008

More websites are starting to offer RSS feeds, and more users
are making use of RSS readers instead of visiting every website
they want to read individually. But what is RSS, why is it
getting popular, and - most importantly -what can it do for you?
Read on.

What is RSS?

RSS stands for ‘really simple syndication’, and it does exactly
what it says on the tin. Invented by Dave Winer, one of the
first webloggers, the format aims to provide a standardised way
to obtain a website’s content, instead of forcing people to try
to pick it out of masses of HTML. It is a simple XML (strictly,
RDF) language designed to make it easy to describe content.

Information RSS gives you about content includes its title, the
dates when it was created and last updated, and its URL. There
is also a space for content, which can either be used to provide
a summary of the content at the URL or just to provide the
content itself.

Which Version?

There is a bit of a controversy about the versions of RSS, for
the simple reason that one is wildly different to the others.
While RSS 0.9 and 2.0 are broadly similar, RSS 1.0 is widely
considered to be a disaster - little software understands or
uses it, as it’s just too complicated. For most purposes, then,
you should stick to RSS 0.9 if what you’re doing is relatively
simple, and offer RSS 2.0 if you want to give more detail to
some of your users.

How is RSS Produced?

While you could write a script of your own to turn your content
into RSS (it wouldn’t be that difficult if you store your
articles in a database), almost all CMSes and blog software
packages now do it for you automatically - if you’re looking for
it, keep an eye out for a small orange button that says ‘XML’ or
‘RSS’ on it. All you have to do is give some prominence to the
RSS feed, with instructions to your visitors on what it’s for
and how to use it.

With most software, then, the RSS should be produced either when
you update your content or, alternatively, every time someone
asks for the RSS. It’s important to understand that RSS isn’t a
‘push’ mechanism: updating it doesn’t send changes to anyone
until their software asks for them to be sent. This often means
a window of five to ten minutes between something going in the
RSS feed and people seeing it.

How Do RSS Readers Work?

RSS readers work by allowing a user to ’subscribe’ to a feed,
either by entering the URL of an RSS feed manually or by
clicking on a link that starts with feed://. The reader then
works something like an email program, retrieving new entries as
they are added to the RSS and alerting the user - indeed, they
are similar enough that many email programs now include a
built-in RSS reader.

When the user opens the new RSS entry, they will see what you
put in the content area, usually with a link to open that page
of your website in their web browser. You have to realise,
though, that they won’t see any of your ads or graphics in the
RSS feed, so it’s best to give them some kind of incentive to
click through.

What Else is RSS Used For?

RSS readers might be the most common use of RSS, but the format
was designed to be used for almost anything. There’s nothing to
stop you, for example, from taking an RSS feed from another
website and publishing it on yours - you can even be an
‘aggregator’, mixing relevant content from the RSS feeds of lots
of different websites to create a new, more useful website.

That’s where the word ’syndication’ in RSS’ name comes from: it
lets you virtually syndicate other people’s content on your
site, and it lets people syndicate your content on theirs. It
benefits everyone, since the one doing the aggregating gets more
content for their website, while the one being linked to gets
more links to theirs. If you want to do well on the web, you
should make sure you’ve got an RSS fede

Ways To Improve Your Selling

May 7th, 2008

It has long been known that until something is sold, nothing else happens. The selling profession is therefore one of the most challenging and most profitable career paths one can choose. And for those with an innate ability to sell, it can be gratifying and profitable from day one. Others, who may want the income and freedom that comes from sales but who are not as naturally gifted, will benefit from a few specific tips on their way to improving sales.

First, acknowledge what type of sales you’re best at. Door to door business to consumer, telemarketing, corporate business to business, and online are all different ways of selling. And while most salespeople must focus intensely on prospecting and business development, many in the corporate business to business sales world are responsible for closing million dollar deals in partnership with others at their company who generate the lead. Once you’ve narrowed down the type of sales you’re best at, which may take years as you progress through your sales career, there are some additional resources that could help you.

Sales coaching is a new form of improving your sales. You partner weekly with a veteran salesperson outside of your company who works with you on specific techniques, motivations, scripts, behavioral training, or attacks the call reluctance or lack of confidence you may feel in your role. The sales coach is your advocate, someone who has experience working with many types of salespeople and can assist you with a perspective that only an unbiased third party can provide.

Another resource is lead generation. Specifically, find, hire, or create a method of generating more leads. Sales ultimately is a numbers game - the more leads you have in your pipeline, the greater your chances of closing more deals. If you can pay someone to generate more leads or create a direct marketing method of generating interest, much of your hard work will be done for you. This would free you up to focus on closing deals and generating income.

The final resource to consider is one not many people think of, but can be tremendously valuable. This idea was first proposed by Ben Franklin and popularized by BLANK in Think and Grow Rich. Create a mastermind of salespeople. This requires some work up front but could pay great dividends, especially if you don’t compete directly and mutually respect each other. A group like this could have various forms - you could be local to each other and meet weekly, or connect online or by phone on a regular basis, you could all be part of the same industry but sell in non-competitive territories, or you could hire a coach among you to assist each of you in getting the most out of this process. It’s been proven time and again that a mastermind group of similarly driven and focused salespeople could be one of the most beneficial things you do.

Regardless, if you’re committed to sales success, you must continually improve yourself using either motivational techniques, lead generation and prospecting resources, or outside support from coaches or mastermind teams.

Dave Lloyd can be reached at publisheremail@gmail.com and has written an online guide to improving your selling at www.sellingshortcuts.com