Wouldn’t it be nice if you could narrow all of the feeds you receive in your email inbox down to just one helpful email message every day? It can get tiring going through the 5 or 6 or even 10 emails every day just to keep up with the news and blogs you like to read. It is possible to combine all of them into one daily digest email so your inbox doesn’t become as cluttered as my work desk is.
To do this, we will be using two tools but don’t get worried because the process is still simple. Both tools are web-based and are easy to use: we will be using Google Reader to combine multiple RSS feeds into one integrated feed and FeedMyInbox to deliver that feed via email.
Multiple RSS by Email — Setting Up
To send multiple RSS by email, you’ll need to first integrate them into one RSS feed. You have to have a Google account and then go to reader.google.com. In the top left hand corner, you’ll see a button to add RSS feeds called Add a subscription.
Add the feed address of your first feed there and then just keep adding them until you’re done. Next, click on the cog in the upper right hand corner and click on Reader settings. Go to the Subscriptions tab. Here, you can add your RSS feeds to specific folders. For your first RSS feed, you can add a new folder and then add the rest of the RSS feeds into the same folder.
The trick is to make this folder public. This means that it can be viewed by anyone. If the feeds are from public websites anyhow, who cares. You set your folder to public by going to the Folders and Tags tab. Check the box next to the folder you want the RSS feeds from, and then click the Change sharing button and choose “Public.”
Once the folder is public, you’ll see a list of links next to the folder. Click the view public page link. On that page, you’ll notice an RSS icon for the page itself — which is essentially a compilation of multiple RSS feeds which you’ve just created with Google Reader.
Now you’ve got your feeds combined into one. The next step to send the RSS by email is to set up the delivery method.
Multiple RSS by Email — Delivery
This step requires a web service called FeedMyInbox and it’s simple to use and doesn’t require registration. Once you’re at their website, you’ll see two easy fields to fill in: Feed URL and email address. Simple copy the RSS feed address from the public folder page and paste it into the first box. Then, of course, enter your email address in the second field (or wherever you want to send the email to).
You’ll get a confirmation email making sure you really want the subscription and voila!
Now, you’ll get all of those RSS feeds combined into one daily digest. That wasn’t that hard, was it? Be ready to receive less emails each day, less clutter and more organization.
Do you have another way of delivering multiple RSS by email every day? Share in the comments!
