Using RSS Blocks in the Email Builder

Overview

The RSS blocks in the CRM's Email Builder enable you to create automated email campaigns that are populated with fresh content whenever a new item is published to an RSS (Really Simple Syndication) feed. You can use these blocks to build email templates that automatically include the latest blog posts, news articles, or other syndicated content.

RSS Header Block

The RSS Header block is used to display information from the main channel of your RSS feed. This block dynamically inserts details about the feed itself, such as its title and description.

Available Custom Values

You can use the following custom values in your email template to pull in specific feed information:

• {{rss_feed.title}}: Inserts the title of the RSS feed.
• {{rss_feed.description}}: Inserts the description of the RSS feed.
• {{rss_feed.url}}: Inserts the link to the main RSS feed page.
• {{rss_feed.date}}: Inserts the last build date of the feed.

These same custom values can also be used in the subject line of your email.

Basic vs. Custom Mode

When you add an RSS Header block, a dropdown menu labeled "RSS Editing Options" appears with two choices: Basic and Custom.

• Basic: This option inserts a pre-formatted, non-editable header section into the text editor. It uses the feed's title and description.
• Custom: This option inserts a more detailed, editable header template that includes the feed URL and date. You can modify this template to suit your design.

RSS Items Block

The RSS Items block is used to display the individual items from your RSS feed, such as specific blog posts or articles.

Available Custom Values

This block supports several custom values for displaying item-specific data:

• {{rss_item.title}}: The title of the individual RSS item.
• {{rss_item.content}}: A summary or description of the item. This value pulls from the feed's <description> tag, or from the <content:encoded> tag if no description is available.
• {{rss_item.url}}: The direct link to the full item online.
• {{rss_item.content_full}}: The full content of the item, pulled from the <content:encoded> tag, or from the <description> tag if necessary.
• {{rss_item.date}}: The publication date of the item.
• {{rss_item.author}}: The author of the item.
• {{rss_item.imageUrl}}: The source URL for any associated image. To display the image, you must use the special {{rss_img}} tag with the source attribute, for example: {{rss_img alt="alt_text" src=rss_item.imageUrl height="200" width="200"}}.

The block also uses the tags {{#rss_items rss_items}} and {{/rss_items}} to define the start and end of the section where individual items will be listed.

Basic vs. Custom Mode

Similar to the header block, the RSS Items block offers Basic and Custom modes in the "RSS Editing Options" dropdown.

• Basic: Inserts a simple, non-editable template that displays each item's title (as a clickable link), a content summary, and a "Read on" link.
• Custom: Inserts a more detailed, editable template that includes the author, publication date, and full content for each item, along with a "Read in browser" link.

HTML-Based RSS Feeds

By default, the values returned by custom variables like {{rss_item.title}} are HTML-escaped. This means special characters (like &) will be converted to their safe equivalents (&). If your RSS feed contains HTML that you want to render properly, you must use triple braces {{{ }}} instead of double braces. For example, using {{{rss_item.content}}} will render the HTML content correctly.

Scheduling an RSS Email Campaign

To schedule an email that uses RSS blocks, follow these steps:

1. Navigate to the "Send or Schedule" tab for your email.
2. Select the "RSS Email Campaign" sending option.
3. Provide a name for your campaign in the "Campaign Name" field.
4. Paste the full URL of your RSS feed into the "RSS Feed URL" field.

Sending Options

When setting up the schedule, you will have several options:

• When we should send: Choose the frequency—Daily, Weekly, or Monthly—and set the specific time for sending.
• Send on: If you select a weekly frequency, you can choose the specific days of the week for the campaign to run.

After configuring the recipient list and reviewing the settings, the side panel will confirm the email type as "RSS" and show the associated feed URL.

Testing RSS Emails

When you send a test email for a template containing RSS blocks, a new "RSS Feed URL" field will appear. You must provide a valid RSS feed URL in this field to populate the test email with content. Without a feed URL, all RSS-based custom variables will appear as empty text.

Important Note: If you attempt to schedule an RSS-based email using the standard scheduling options (Send Now, Schedule for Later, or Drip Mode), the RSS content will not be populated. You must use the dedicated "RSS Email Campaign" option.

Viewing and Editing RSS Campaigns

Your scheduled RSS campaigns can be found in the Scheduled tab of your campaigns section. They will be clearly marked with a type of "RSS" to distinguish them from standard "Normal" email campaigns.