RSS feeds
Turn posts from an authorized RSS or Atom feed into article ideas.
An RSS feed turns posts from an RSS or Atom feed into new articles for your blog. (An RSS or Atom feed is a web address that lists a site's latest posts; most blogs, newsletters and podcasts have one.) Use it in Pro for content you own elsewhere, or content you have permission to repurpose.
Cost: 25 credits per weekly refresh (including the first one at setup). Articles are 25 credits each.
Why it helps
- You turn existing material, such as a newsletter, a second website or a partner's publication, into articles for your own blog.
- Each post is reviewed for fit with your brand before it can become an article.
- Posts that overlap with articles you already have get a fresh angle instead of being thrown away.
Before you start
- You need the feed's address, not the website's homepage. It often ends in
/feed,/rssor.xml. - You must own the content or have permission to repurpose it.
- You cannot use your own blog's feed for this brand. Rewriting your own posts would create copies that compete with the originals in search. To improve those posts, use Site Optimizers → Existing Content instead. See Existing Content.
Set it up
- Open Auto Blog → Feeds and select New feed.
- Choose RSS feed.
- Optional: type a Feed name. If blank, it is named "RSS:" plus the website.
- Paste the address into RSS or Atom URL. It must be a public
https://address. - Tick I own this content or have permission to repurpose it.
- Check the cost box (Per refresh: 25 credits, Schedule: On setup, then weekly).
- Select Create feed.
If you see "This feed publishes your own website's articles…", the address belongs to your brand's own website. Use a different source.
What happens next
- The feed is read. The first check starts right away and lists the feed's posts.
- Each post is read. If the feed includes the full post, that text is used. If it only has headlines or short summaries, outwrite.ai opens the post's page and reads the main article text. Menus, comments and sidebars are ignored.
- Each post is reviewed. outwrite.ai checks whether the post is useful to your readers and whether your business can add something. Promotional tone in the source is fine: the article uses the substance, not the sales pitch. If the post overlaps an article you already have, it gets a different angle and title.
- Kept posts become ideas with a working title, a reader question and an outline.
The first ideas often appear within minutes. Posts that need their page opened are read in small groups, so a large feed can take a few hours to finish. After that the feed checks weekly for new posts. Posts already seen are recognized and not added again.
Why a post is skipped
Every post stays in the list with a note explaining what happened:
| Readiness | What it means |
|---|---|
| Reading source | Saved and waiting to be read. It continues automatically. |
| Checking brand fit | Read, now being reviewed for your brand |
| Ready to write | A campaign can pick it |
| For your review | The review judged it a poor fit, and the note says why (for example, unrelated to your readers or the same subject as a past article). Campaigns will not pick it automatically, but in Planned automation you can choose it. |
| Needs source material | There was not enough readable text. The note says "Not enough readable source material. Use a full-content feed or make the source accessible." |
| Review needs attention | The review could not finish after retrying. Other posts are not affected. |
| Already added | It has already become an article. |
How to tell it's working
| Feed status | What it means |
|---|---|
| Checking sources | Reading the feed now |
| Connected | Ready ideas are available |
| Reading sources | Posts are still being read and checked for brand fit. It continues on its own. |
| Needs source material | Some posts need more readable text. Read the message under the status. |
| Needs attention | The feed could not be read. See When a feed needs attention. |
Common questions
Why can't I add my own blog's feed?
Rewritten copies of your own posts would compete with the originals in Google. Improve the originals with Existing Content instead.
My feed only shows headlines. Will it work?
Yes, as long as each post's page can be opened without signing in. outwrite.ai reads the page itself. If the pages are blocked or behind a login, the posts are marked Needs source material.
The feed stopped finding new posts. What should I check?
Open the feed address in your browser and check it still lists recent posts. A feed that is private, moved or has not published anything new cannot supply new ideas. A week with nothing new is not charged.
Does the article copy the original post?
No. The post is the starting point. outwrite.ai writes a new article for your audience, researches it and checks every factual claim.
