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Will RSS replace Email marketing?

RSS, a standard that allows companies to communicate directly with their customers without fear of spam or e-mail filters, is quickly gaining popularity. This comes as no surprise, since RSS can be implemented at a low cost and can be used for various business purposes, such as PR, direct marketing, online publishing, customer relationship management, e-commerce, search engine optimization and sales facilitation.

However, many recent studies show that RSS is still only achieving marginal penetration and has a long way to go before companies can completely shift outbound communications to this content delivery channel. A recent Jupiter Research study found that only 3 percent of the 4,000 internet users surveyed actually use RSS. A research study from Forrester Research claims that only 2 percent of all online households in America are using RSS. A Pew Internet & American Life Project report notes that only 9 percent of Americans online have a good idea of what RSS feeds are.

As of now, marketers need to find ways of using RSS as a supplement to e-mail delivery, such as using it to announce their e-mail e-zines, providing targeted news feeds as a compliment to their e-mail communications, using RSS for high-importance customer updates and so on.