Bloggers have been using RSS feeds for years - many people use their preferred feed reader to quickly get scan the content of many blogs at once. If you have timely, frequently updated material, RSS feeds are a great way of syndicating content.

RSS feeds (Really Simple Syndication or Rich Site Summary) allow webmasters to deliver a summary of the site’s content and these can be updated as the site is updated. By delivering headlines, snippets of the content, or a full view of what is offered on the site, the reader can be drawn to the site, give them information or both.

While big business is now attracted to what RSS feeds can offer, I am generally seeing these being used by magazine and newspaper publishers to boost readership. But what about boosting sales?

Attract more customers and visitors - By syndicating content via RSS feeds, you can encourage repeat visitors by constantly delivering new headlines to attract them in their feed reader.

Keep subscribers informed of new developments - Imagine every few days, someone opens their feed reader and can view what new products and savings are available from a retail chain. PC World offers RSS feeds that provide information about new computers, PDAs, cellphones, and other gadgets. A similar RSS feed could be made use of locally, letting customers know when this cellphone is available.

Reduce the load on the subscriber’s inbox - By reducing the load on the subscriber’s inbox, any emails that are sent can be of a “more important nature”. E-mail marketing is annoying in my opinion, and should be used with great caution.

Let me point out a site like DealCatcher.com. This site lets you know about deals that can be found with major retailers such Apple Store, Best Buy, Office Depot, Old Navy, and many more.

But if you take a look at the companies that are featured on DealCatchers, few were making use of RSS feeds. Many had email newsletters being offered, but few were offering RSS subscriptions. If major internet retailers overlook the importance of RSS feeds, this is good news for DealCatchers but they are missing out on a great way of marketing new products and savings.

Office Depot has the right idea.  ;)