Creating a special offers RSS feed using TourCMS

What is an RSS feed?
RSS stands for Really Simple Syndication and is a lightweight XML format generally used for sharing news headlines between websites. In this article we demonstrate how to utilise the flexibility of RSS feeds and create a feed of special offers to add to your website.

Differences between an email newsletter and an RSS feed

How do you subscribe to an RSS feed?
There are many RSS readers now available. These can be standalone applications, web based or plugins for MS-Outlook. An example is Netvibes

Full example
A live special offers RSS feed in can be found at http://www.egypt-uncovered.com/late/rss.xml
This is part of Egypt Uncovered's late availability & special offers page

Below is the full TourCMS template for this RSS feed. You can use this exact template code or use it as a basis of your own RSS feed.

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="iso-8859-1"?>
<rss version="2.0">
<channel>
<title><$TourCMSwebsite output="name" xml="1"$></title>
<link><$TourCMSwebsite output="mainurl" xml="1"$></link>
<description><$TourCMSwebsite output="short_desc" xml="1"$></description>
<language>en-gb</language>
<generator>TourCMS</generator>
<ttl>720</ttl>
<lastBuildDate><$TourCMSsystem output="rebuild_datetime" format="2822"$></lastBuildDate>

<TourCMSlist_departures orderby="offer_datetime" order="desc"  bookable="show" has_offer="show" maxdisplay="30">
<item>
<title><$TourCMStour output="t_name" xml="1"$>, <$TourCMSdeparture output="d_offer_price_display" dec="rhide" xml="1"$></title>
<pubDate><$TourCMSdeparture output="d_offer_datetime" format="2822" xml="1"$></pubDate>
<link><$TourCMStour output="t_tour_url" xml="1"$></link>
<description>
<$TourCMStour output="t_shortdesc_dis" xml="1"$>
&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;

Date: <$TourCMSdeparture output="d_start_date_display" xml="1"$> to <$TourCMSdeparture output="d_end_date_display" xml="1"$>&lt;br /&gt;
Offer price: <$TourCMSdeparture output="d_offer_price_display" dec="rhide" xml="1"$>&lt;br /&gt;
Offer: <$TourCMSdeparture output="d_offer_note" xml="1"$>&lt;br /&gt;
Normal price: <$TourCMSdeparture output="d_main_price_display" dec="rhide" xml="1"$>&lt;br /&gt;
Note: <$TourCMSdeparture output="d_note" xml="1"$>&lt;br /&gt;

&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;a href=&quot;<$TourCMStour output="t_tour_url" xml="1"$>&quot;&gt;Click for further information about this tour&lt;/a&gt;

</description>
<guid><$TourCMSwebsite output="mainurl" xml="1"$>_<$TourCMStour output="t_id"$>_<$TourCMSdeparture output="d_id"$></guid>
</item>
</TourCMSlist_departures>

</channel>
</rss>

For an RSS 2.0 format remember to use RFC 2822 compliant dates such as Thu, 3 Jun 2004 11:23:19 +0100. This can be done by adding the format="2822" attribute to the date tag.

Also ensure that, as for all XML feeds, that the data is valid XML format and does not have any single or double quotes. This can be ensured by adding the xml="1" attribute to the tag.

Finishing touches
One you have completed your RSS feed you will need to ensure that your site visitors are made aware that it exists. This can be done by adding

to the HEAD section of your all your HTML pages. (Change the location of the RSS file to the location on your website)

Additionally it is common practice to add the

icon to all pages, linked through to your RSS feed.

Other ideas

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home > support > solution library > RSS feed Creating an RSS feed to promote special offers What is an RSS feed? RSS stands for Really Simple Syndication and is a lightweight XML format generally used for sharing news headlines between websites. In this article we demonstrate how to utilise the flexibility of RSS feeds and create a feed of special offers to add to your website. Differences between an email newsletter and an RSS feed Your site visitors can choose to subscribe / unsubscribe without having to give you their email address. This will lead to higher subscription levels as they know that they are in control of their subscription and don't have to identify themselves to you Your site visitors will be immediately notified of special offers rather than having to wait for a weekly or daily email Individual special offers can be filtered and sorted by RSS reading software giving the subscriber more control over how they wish to be kept informed Its not an either / or situation. You can have an RSS feed in addition to your normal communication mechanisms How do you subscribe to an RSS feed? There are many RSS readers now available. These can be standalone applications, web based or plugins for MS-Outlook. An example is Netvibes Full example A live special offers RSS feed in can be found at http://www.egypt-uncovered.com/late/rss.xml This is part of Egypt Uncovered's late availability & special offers page Below is the full TourCMS template for this RSS feed. You can use this exact template code or use it as a basis of your own RSS feed. <?xml version="1.0" encoding="iso-8859-1"?> <rss version="2.0"> <channel> <title><$TourCMSwebsite output="name" xml="1"$></title> <link><$TourCMSwebsite output="mainurl" xml="1"$></link> <description><$TourCMSwebsite output="short_desc" xml="1"$></description> <language>en-gb</language> <generator>TourCMS</generator> <ttl>720</ttl> <lastBuildDate><$TourCMSsystem output="rebuild_datetime" format="2822"$></lastBuildDate> <TourCMSlist_departures orderby="offer_datetime" order="desc" bookable="show" has_offer="show" maxdisplay="30"> <item> <title><$TourCMStour output="t_name" xml="1"$>, <$TourCMSdeparture output="d_offer_price_display" dec="rhide" xml="1"$></title> <pubDate><$TourCMSdeparture output="d_offer_datetime" format="2822" xml="1"$></pubDate> <link><$TourCMStour output="t_tour_url" xml="1"$></link> <description> <$TourCMStour output="t_shortdesc_dis" xml="1"$> <br /><br /> Date: <$TourCMSdeparture output="d_start_date_display" xml="1"$> to <$TourCMSdeparture output="d_end_date_display" xml="1"$><br /> Offer price: <$TourCMSdeparture output="d_offer_price_display" dec="rhide" xml="1"$><br /> Offer: <$TourCMSdeparture output="d_offer_note" xml="1"$><br /> Normal price: <$TourCMSdeparture output="d_main_price_display" dec="rhide" xml="1"$><br /> Note: <$TourCMSdeparture output="d_note" xml="1"$><br /> <br /> <a href="<$TourCMStour output="t_tour_url" xml="1"$>">Click for further information about this tour</a> </description> <guid><$TourCMSwebsite output="mainurl" xml="1"$>_<$TourCMStour output="t_id"$>_<$TourCMSdeparture output="d_id"$></guid> </item> </TourCMSlist_departures> </channel> </rss> Notes on TourCMS tags for building an RSS feed <pubDate><$TourCMSdeparture output="d_offer_datetime" format="2822" xml="1"$></pubDate> For an RSS 2.0 format remember to use RFC 2822 compliant dates such as Thu, 3 Jun 2004 11:23:19 +0100. This can be done by adding the format="2822" attribute to the date tag. Also ensure that, as for all XML feeds, that the data is valid XML format and does not have any single or double quotes. This can be ensured by adding the xml="1" attribute to the tag. Finishing touches One you have completed your RSS feed you will need to ensure that your site visitors are made aware that it exists. This can be done by adding <link rel="alternate" type="application/rss+xml" title="RSS" href="http://www.YOURDOMAIN.com/DIRECTORY/rss.xml"> to the HEAD section of your all your HTML pages. (Change the location of the RSS file to the location on your website) Additionally it is common practice to add the icon to all pages, linked through to your RSS feed. Other ideas Create individual RSS feeds for different activities or countries that you sell. For example if you sell tours in France and Spain, create a specific RSS feed for your French offers and one for your Spanish offers. Your customers will then be able to choose which special offers they want to subscribe to Create an RSS feed for specific marketing partners so you can easily display special offers or other content on their website.

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Creating an RSS feed to promote special offers