Docs. RSS Data Feeds
Data feeds are perfect for sending recurring emails (together with the recurring schedule feature), or for quickly aggregating content for a single email. Data feeds use the same interface and workflow as regular emails and sections.
- Adding a Data Section
- Feed Configuration
- RSS Element Variables
- Dynamic Layouts
- Scheduled Emails
- Multiple Feeds
- Ordering Posts
- Advanced Configuration
- Troubleshooting
Adding a Data Section
To insert a data feed section select Data to email from the More options menu.
Feed Configuration
The data section looks similar to 1/2/3/etc column sections with additional fields that can be used to configure the feed and content.
| Item | Description |
|---|---|
| Data feed | URL of RSS feed |
| Max items | The max number of items to show |
| Section | Choose the layout for the data feed |
The interface looks similar to:
RSS Element Variables
Sendicate reads the following RSS elements and converts to variables that can be used in the compose sections.
| Element | Variable | Description |
|---|---|---|
| <title> | {data.title} | The title of the item |
| <link> | {data.url} | The URL of the item |
| <description> | {data.body} | The text of the item. Stipped of HTML and images. |
| <author> | {data.author} | The author of the item |
| <media:content> | {data.image} | An image of the item, eg <media:content url=”http://..” medium=”image” /> |
| <description><img>.. | {data.image} | The image of the item, extracted from the description |
Note: For {data.image}, Sendicate will either grab the image from the <media> element, or will extract the image from the description.
Dynamic Layouts
A powerful feature of the Sendicate data feeds is being able to easily mix and match multiple sections to create compelling layouts. For example you can create a layout with 1 column, then 3 columns, then a headline, then 2 columns. Each section can have as many items specified with the max items field.
Furthermore, dynamic content can be mixed in with static sections to create a mix of fresh and pre-determined content.
To use this feature create multiple Data to email sections and use the same feed in each.
Scheduled Emails
Data emails can be scheduled to be sent one-time, or recurring with the scheduling feature.
To send recurring emails use the data feed feature together with the scheduling feature. Emails can be set to send daily, weekly, or monthly. By default only new content will be sent.
Note: One-time scheduled emails will fetch the data feed at the time the email is scheduled. Whatever is shown in the preview will be sent at the scheduled time. However, recurring emails fetch the data feed at send-time. If there is no new content the email wont’ be sent.
Multiple Feeds
Feel free to use as many feeds as you like from a variety of sources, such as your blog, Pinterest, or Instagram.
Ordering
The order of the RSS posts is determined by the date/pubdate field. Newest posts are at the top, and older ones are below.
Advanced Configuration
Additional options can be applied by adding appending values to the URL.
| Item | Description |
|---|---|
| content=new | Default. Only shows new items |
| content=all | Will show all the data in the feed |
If your feed is http://www.sendicate.net/blog/atom.xml append the query string as follows:
http://www.sendicate.net/blog/atom.xml#content=all
Troubleshooting
Make sure the RSS feed validates if there is any problem. 9 times out of 10 there is a RSS syntax error.