We understand that, as a retailer, your to-do list can sometimes seem never-ending. So, spending hours searching for the latest industry news online just doesn’t fit into the schedule most days. On Foreword Online, we try to help by bringing you the news you need to know. But, inevitably, there’s more going on than we can cover in one day.

That’s why we’re highlighting several easy, online, and most importantly, free tools that you can use to stay up to speed on everything you’re interested in without investing hours of your time. Check them out:

•Set Up An RSS Feed:

Really Simple Syndication (RSS) feeds streamline your internet surfing by allowing you to see at a glance if your favorite websites have updated their content.

Using an RSS reader, also known as a feed aggregator, you can subscribe to websites you regularly visit and read news from various sources all in one place. The reader’s software collects files from the websites you’ve subscribed to and displays the latest articles published on these sites in a single interface. With RSS feeds, you can browse in a minute what would have taken you an hour or more to accomplish searching online.

New content is displayed in links, generally with helpful comments attached, so you can pick and choose the articles that interest you and skip the ones you don’t. It’s that easy!

MBS Foreword Online - RSS Feed

An RSS feed keeps you up-to-date on your favorite websites.

Step 1: Sign Up

Register for the free RSS Reader of your choice. Most major email providers, including Google and Yahoo, offer RSS readers, as well as independent sites such as Newsgator and Bloglines. Because of the simplicity of Google’s RSS Reader, the following steps will detail how to set up a feed using their software.

Click here to sign up for Google Reader. If you don’t already have an account, then start by creating one. You’ll then be directed to a homepage with a welcome video; take a look to understand the basic features of the service.

Step 2: Choose a Site

It’s time to add some content to your Reader. You can use Foreword Online as an example. Look at the web address bar, and to the right you’ll see the small orange RSS icon (  ); this means that you can subscribe to the page. Click on the icon, and you’ll be directed to the site’s RSS feed.  Again, look at the address bar and copy the address listed. It will look something like this: http://foreword.mbsbooks.com/?feed=rss2.  Then, go back to your Reader.

Step 3: Subscribe to Site

To add this RSS subscription to your feed, look on the left hand side of the Google Reader page and click the ‘Add Subscription’ button at the top. Paste the link that you previously copied into the box. Now, click ‘Save.’

Step 4: Repeat!

Congratulations, you just successfully added your first subscription to your RSS Feed! Repeat the same steps for any additional sites you regularly visit. Need suggestions of other industry-relevant websites? See our Blogroll to the right for our most-read retail blogs. Check your RSS Feed daily on your computer or mobile device to streamline your internet searching and save valuable time!

•Create an Online Newspaper

This is a great option to keep up on your favorite brands’ social happenings. In only a few clicks, you can create your own customized online newspaper that automatically updates with the latest news from your favorite sites. You can even view it from your mobile device!

Here’s how to get started:

Step 1: Log-on

Visit paper.li and click the green button to create your own online newspaper. You’ll have to log on using a Facebook or Twitter account and grant the application permission to access your account, as with any third-party application on these sites.

Step 2: Add users

You can add a single user, list, or hashtag (#) from Twitter or a keyword from both Twitter and Facebook. From each of these features, you can further personalize your experience by adding filters to narrow down your results.

Here are some retail-related examples you can use to start your categories:

MBS Foreword Online - Paper.li website

Check out what your paper.li personal newspaper could look like!

@MBStextbook

@NACSorg

@ibmretail

@Paymetric

Or any other stores’ accounts to see how they engage on Twitter

Twitter Tags:

#CollegeStores

#Retail

#HigherEd

#Sales

Keywords:

MBS Textbook

Retail trends

Social Media Promotions

Loss Prevention

Price Comparison

Step 3: Publish!

Once you’ve added all the topics you’re interested in, just click ‘Publish’ and the site will compile all of your results.  It will automatically be updated every 24 hours, so bookmark the page and check back to view the latest news in a fun format!

•Subscribe to Weekly Email

Love reading Foreword Online but don’t have the time to check it each day? Make sure you don’t miss a detail by signing up for our weekly emails! You’ll receive a summary of each article we’ve written over the past week, complete with links so you can click on those you’re interested in, each Monday.

It’s beyond simple to sign up. Just look to the right side of the page and enter your preferred email under the green ‘Sign Up For Weekly Emails’ tab!

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