When I first saw this phrase - Cyclic Web Feed - I had to check it out and see what they were talking about. It turns out, this is ‘The Autoresponder of RSS’. And whoever came up with this concept was brilliant! I’ll tell you why…
Blogging and RSS Feeds are great for current news or daily updates… but when it comes to telling a story, they are completely backwards. It’s like reading a book from the back to the front.
In fact, I once had a guy say to me that he had just read my entire blog - all the way back through 6 months worth of entries. I was both impressed and flattered lol, but it made me realize that blogging doesnt work well for a series or storyline that is best read in the order in which it was written.
I picked this term up while checking out FeedCycle.com, where they define a Cyclic RSS Feed:
A cyclic RSS web feed enables a subscriber to receive, perhaps on a daily basis, sequential episodes from within a series of episodes. So for example, if you have a 10 part training course, on day 1 you would receive the first topic, on day 2 you would receive the second topic, and on day 10 the cycle would be complete.
They actually offer the service to set up a Cyclic RSS Feed. It’s free to sign up with them, and they even have a list of ideas of ways that you can use this cool new service!
Internet Marketers are going to love this 
. It’s perfect for those 10-day courses and tips series, and a great way to get a whole new set of subscribers at a time where nobody wants to give out their email address… to yet another marketer!
Tags: rss, cyclic feed, feedcycle, podcasting, autoresponders
5 responses so far ↓
Brad // Oct 27, 2006 at 4:02 pm
Now THAT’S what I’m talking about!
Thanks for having such a great eye Lynn!
Another thing that fits in the same category
is auto responders that have a built in rss feed module.
They are starting to pop up everywhere.
Giving your subscribers the option to use either,
and then still only having ONE interface to deal with
for communicating (and tracking) your whole list,
is REALLY powerful!
I use AutoResponce Plus.
A really popular piece of software with some of the “big names” online.
(whatever THAT means, lol)
And Neil Morgan, the script’s author, is a great guy to work with too.
Yeah, rss is surely changing things fast for “list” marketers.
Isn’t it…
Thanks again Lynn!
Brad.
Lynn Terry // Oct 27, 2006 at 5:03 pm
I use Aweber to manage my lists, and they also offer an RSS Feed for both newsletters and autoresponders. But I’d have to test it out to see if it works the same as FeedCycle…
It’s been a long day so I cant wrap my brain around it at the moment, but I am thinking that with traditional services they might be able to view the entire course at once (defeating the purpose of the sequence - to build anticipation). I’ll check on that
Andrew Peacock // Oct 28, 2006 at 12:27 am
Lynn,
“Internet Marketers are going to love this”
That’s what I thought when I launched RSSResponder.com in.. wait for it… november 2004. (Check WHOIS - registered a few months earlier)
I sold a few copies. Nowhere near as many as I expected. And that was with JVs with people like Dr Mani, Adrian Ling, and others who were ahead of the RSS game.
The site’s not even online any more since I took my last order yonks ago.
Sigh….
Andy
Lynn Terry // Oct 28, 2006 at 9:53 am
Hi Andy!
That’s a shame - as RSS is more widely accepted as a form of communication now than it was then. There were actually a lot of products that came out that year for RSS, I remember.
It took me awhile to get on board with it all just like everyone else, but things have taken a major shift. It’s harder than ever to “build a list” and easier to promote blogs and interactive websites…
Have you considered re-launching??
Andrew Peacock // Oct 28, 2006 at 6:44 pm
Lynn,
I had actually, specifically as a WP plugin and the standalone software. Got too much on at the moment though…
Andy
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