Websites using Feedburner

Okay, let s break down FeedBurner, covering its overview, revenue (or lack thereof), alternatives, pricing, and customer care.

FeedBurner Overview

FeedBurner was a service originally created by the company of the same name, which was then acquired by Google in 2007. Its primary purpose was to manage and optimize RSS feeds for bloggers and content creators. Key functions included:

• Feed Enhancement: FeedBurner takes your raw RSS feed and enhances it by adding features such as:

  • Subscriber Management: Tracking subscribers to your RSS feed.
  • Email Subscriptions: Allowing users to subscribe to your content via email.
  • Feed Statistics: Providing data on how many subscribers you have and how they are engaging with your content.
  • Customization: Letting you customize the look and feel of your feed with branding and logos.
  • Pings & Updates: Automatically notifying relevant directories and aggregators when your feed updates.
  • Feed Redirects: Using a FeedBurner URL, you can change your underlying feed URL without losing subscribers.

• Simplified Feed Management: Before FeedBurner, managing RSS feeds could be technically challenging. FeedBurner simplified this process, making it more accessible to a broader audience.

Revenue (or Lack Thereof)

Here s the crucial point: FeedBurner itself does not generate revenue for its users. It s a free service.

• No Direct Monetization: FeedBurner doesn t allow you to directly monetize your feed through advertisements or other means.
• Indirect Benefits: The benefit of using FeedBurner is in:
  • Growing Your Audience: Improved subscriber tracking, email subscriptions, and better visibility can help you grow your audience.
  • Data-Driven Decisions: Feed statistics can help you understand which content resonates most with your readers, allowing you to make more informed content decisions.
  • Branding & Control: Customization features enable you to control your brand identity in the RSS space.

Alternatives to FeedBurner

Given FeedBurner s somewhat stagnant development and potential future uncertainty, many are exploring alternatives:

• FeedBlitz: A paid service that offers similar features to FeedBurner, including email subscriptions, detailed analytics, and more advanced customization. Often considered a direct replacement.
  • Pros: More modern interface, better support, and features like automated email campaigns.
  • Cons: It is not free.
• Follow.it: Another popular paid service that is feature-rich, providing email subscriptions and multiple options to deliver updates. It has very flexible scheduling.
  • Pros: Solid feature set, good support, and a focus on email newsletters.
  • Cons: It is not free.
• ConvertKit: A marketing platform with a focus on email marketing. It can manage RSS feeds, but its primary purpose is broader, including landing page, forms, and other marketing automation.
  • Pros: Full featured email marketing platform.
  • Cons: More costly, more features than just feed management.
• Mailchimp: Primarily known for email marketing, but it also offers RSS-to-email functionality.
  • Pros: Widely used, versatile, integrations with other marketing tools
  • Cons: Not solely for RSS and has limited feed optimization features.
• Substack: A platform that allows you to create a blog or newsletter, which also publishes an RSS feed.
  • Pros: An all-in-one system for blogging and newsletters.
  • Cons: More limited feed management, focuses on the overall platform.
• Self-Hosted Solutions: Using plugins within your blogging platform (e.g., WordPress) or custom code.
  • Pros: Full control over your data, very flexible.
  • Cons: More technically challenging, requires more setup.

Pricing

• FeedBurner: Free. It s a Google service and free to use.
• FeedBlitz, Follow.it, ConvertKit, Mailchimp: Paid. Pricing varies depending on the number of subscribers and the features needed. Typically, these services offer tiered pricing models.
  • Example: FeedBlitz can be $5+ per month and higher, Follow.it is $8+ per month, ConvertKit is $9+ per month (limited free plan) and Mailchimp is $13+ per month (limited free plan)
• Substack: Free to start, but they take a percentage of any revenue you generate from paid subscriptions.
• Self-Hosted Solutions: Variable. Costs will depend on your hosting, plugins, and any development required.

Customer Care

• FeedBurner: Limited. Since it s a free, older Google product, dedicated customer care is minimal. There s no direct support line. You can find help through Google s help forums or online documentation, but the response is not guaranteed.
• FeedBlitz, Follow.it, ConvertKit, Mailchimp: Better Support. These paid services typically offer support via email, chat, or phone depending on the plan. Expect quicker and more personalized assistance.
• Self-Hosted Solutions: No direct support. You are responsible for the support required. This could be from a plugin vendor or other technical resources you work with.

Key Takeaways

• FeedBurner is Free but Limited: While free and user-friendly, it s a somewhat legacy service with limited development and customer care.
• Consider Paid Alternatives: If you are serious about email subscriptions, RSS management, and analytics, paid services like FeedBlitz or Follow.it might be a better fit, despite the cost.
• No Direct Revenue: Don t expect FeedBurner (or its alternatives, for that matter) to directly make you money. Instead, think of them as tools to grow your audience and engage with them more effectively.

Let me know if you have any more questions.