Using readMedia's RSS Feeds

RSS: The Basics

RSS (Really Simple Syndication) is a way that web sites allow you to “subscribe” to a “feed” of headlines, news stories, or other content from that site. By subscribing to the site with an RSS reader, you can get updates to the site (or a lot of sites) in one place without having to visit them throughout the day. RSS can make it very easy to stay up-to-the-minute on a lot of website updates.

RSS users subscribe to feeds found on the internet and access these feeds using software called RSS readers or feed readers. These programs check the subscribed feeds regularly for new content and then show it to you all in one place.

readMedia’s RSS Feeds

When you send a press release using readMedia’s Newswire, it is automatically posted online and optimized for discovery by search engines. This is a great way to enhance your organization’s online visibility. Your release is also included in several RSS feeds that readMedia delivers to the media, blogs and the general public. There are three types of RSS feeds attached to every release sent through readMedia:

• Breaking News – every news release is included in readMedia’s feed of late-breaking news—the first stop for media who want an overview of news from readMedia clients

• News By Topic – every press release is “coded” for its content, and then included in the appropriate topic feeds. For example, if your news release had to do with hospital closings, it might be included Health, Business and Labor feeds

• News By Organization – readMedia generates custom RSS feeds for each of our clients’ organizations that includes only your news. Here’s an example of a page containing news from one readMedia member.

Frequently Asked Questions

What happens when I send a press release? When a press release goes out, it is immediately included in the appropriate RSS feeds and delivered to the feed’s subscribers.

Who uses these feeds? Anyone can subscribe to an RSS feed. Reporters and editors use them to keep up to date on the topics they cover regularly. PR professionals use them to track their organization’s news and breaking news in their field. Some publishers use them to populate web pages with news they’re interested in. And anyone who is interested in the feeds’ content can subscribe.

Can I use my readMedia news feed on my website? Absolutely. You can link to your own RSS feed on readMedia’s site from your own so that visitors to your home page can subscribe to news. You can even have your webmaster use the RSS feed to update your own site. Here’s one example of how a readMedia news feed can be incorporated into a website.

Where can I find my feed? To make it easy to find your feed, you’ll first want to make sure that your logo has been uploaded into your readMedia account. Your logo helps you locate the RSS feed specific your organization. Then, just find a recently issued news release on the readMedia recent news page and click on your logo. There you’ll see an orange RSS link that says “Recent News from Your Organization”. Click the link to subscribe to the feed, or simply hold your mouse over the icon and the feed’s full address will appear at the bottom your browser.

Can I build a feed into my website? It’s relatively easy to incorporate these RSS feeds into your website. You’ll need the help of someone familiar with your website. There are two basic steps to take:

First, you’ll need to run a program to translate your readMedia RSS feed into a language your website will understand (html).

Second, you’ll need to insert this converted language into your website. This will populate the page with the contents of feed you’ve selected. After this initial setup, you’ll never have to worry about hosting a press release on your website again. Your news will automatically appear shortly after it’s released.

Which RSS To HTML Converter Should I Use? The choice is up to you. There’s a variety RSS to HTML converters to choose from. You’ll want to find one that suits your needs. Try searching for “RSS to HTML” in Google to learn more, or visit this site.