What is FeedBurner Email?
FeedBurner email is a service that allows publishers to deliver their feed content to subscribers via email.
Who needs this service and why?
Bloggers, podcasters, personal and commercial publishers who want subscribers to have an alternative method for receiving feed content - the familiar setting of their email inbox.
What will it help publishers do that they can’t do today?
Today, if subscribers want to read/view/watch syndicated online content, they typically have to go to where the content is hosted or know how to subscribe to the feed and consume the content within an aggregator or reader (e.g. MyYahoo!, FeedDemon, iTunes, etc.) With email subscription capability, subscribers can now receive this information in their inbox, similar to an e-newsletter.
How does it work?
From within the “Publicize” tab of the application, publishers activate the service with a simple click, then paste code into their blogging template or web site. See what this looks like on a blog or built right into your Browser-Friendly page. A daily digest containing new content from the feeds is delivered to subscribers who have opted in to receive this content View sample email.
Why is FeedBurner Email so special?
Besides being backed by the FeedBurning seal of approval, FeedBurner email has a very specific focus — it is strictly a publisher service. There is no subscriber landing page at FeedBurner and no dashboard for subscribers to login to and manage their emails. Besides its simplicity in configuration and delivery, FeedBurner Email sports the following main features:
- Easy-to-read, plain text or HTML email containing the latest posts.
- Messages are largely “brandless,” which means that a) the emails are delivered as “from” the publisher, not FeedBurner and b) there is no FeedBurner header and only a very light “delivered by” footer.
- Publishers have access to the email addresses that subscribe to their feed, and they can export these addresses and move from FeedBurner to another service at any time.
What are the specific features?
Subscription management
- View and sort the list
- Activate, deactivate, and delete individual email addresses
- Export your list in Excel or CSV format
- Receive an optional email when people unsubscribe
Communication preferences
- Customize the subject line and body text of the email is sent to subscribers after they opt-in to receive your feed by email. This can come in handy if you want to localize the email.
- IMPORTANT NOTE: Emails are text only and the original ${confirmlink} reference must be included in your confirmation email in order to activate the subscription.
Email Branding
- Customize the subject line and title of the email that is sent to your subscribers
- Add a custom logo that appears at the top of HTML email messages
- Change body and headline text fonts, sizes and color as well as the color of the links
Delivery Options
- Choose your timezone
- Select a two-hour delivery window within which your daily digest will be sent
What are the technical requirements to use the service?
Publishers interested in offering this service need only have a burned feed with FeedBurner. Subscribers need only have a valid email address.
What triggers the email to be sent out?
FeedBurner sends subscribers a daily digest of new content from your blog, so a new post, new title, link or change to the published date will trigger the email delivery. If you do not post anything that day, no email is sent out.
How much does this service cost and what methods of payment are accepted?
FeedBurner Email is a free service. However, we do accept voluntary payment in the form of props and general goodwill.
How do you get started?
Log into your FeedBurner account, select your feed, navigate to the “Publicize” tab and select “Email Subscriptions.”
When did FeedBurner Email launch?
- FeedBurner Email launched on April 19, 2006 to much fanfare.
- Customer feedback prompted some immediate feature updates on May 17, 2006.
- A pretty major email update was launched on August 29, adding customization, branding and delivery options.
- Minor updates were made on October 11, 2006.
What else should we know?
FeedBurner offers alternative email services from FeedBlitz and RMail, each of which can be activated from within the FeedBurner “Publicize” tab. FeedBlitz provides a set of both publisher and subscriber tools, and RMail provides a very straightforward service to offer email subscriptions based on your FeedBurner feed.
I still have questions
No problem. Visit us in our well-staffed Support Forums or send us an email using our Contact Form.