After seven years, it’s time to say goodbye to Feedburner and say hello to Feedblitz.
A week ago, I wrote about my worries that RSS feeds delivered via Feedburner might not work after October 20, after a note on the Google Developers’ Feedburner website said that the Feedburner APIs would shut down on that date.
I noted at the time:
RSS is the “delivery backbone” for creating and delivering much of the content that people use the internet for. You would have thought that turning off the flow of content that’s used by so many people and businesses is a pretty big deal, one that would warrant some communication from Google. I can find none.
There’s been some big confusion over what Google actually intends, with many people simply wondering as I did if it meant no RSS feeds – or email subscriptions – any more. There’s been no clarity from Google, so I think it hardly surprising that Twitter has been awash with tweets from people wondering about their subscriptions that Feedburner delivers, both RSS and email.
While some knowledgeable voices have expressed doubt that the Feedburner API closure means no more RSS, it hasn’t diminished concerns.
So I reached out directly to Google to ask for clarification – and never had a reply.
It was after reading a post a few days ago on Jay Baer‘s website on why he moved from Feedburner to Feedblitz that I decided to make the same move.
So I followed Feedblitz’ excellent migration guide and I’m now set up to serve content to subscribers to this blog via RSS and email using Feedblitz’ services.
I’m especially impressed with the seamless way in which Feedblitz carried out its migration, puling in all the RSS and email details it needed from Feedburner to replicate everything at Feedblitz in a way that’s transparent to current subscribers – you should not experience any interruption in your subscription.
The one thing in the migration process that did give me pause for thought was the need to disable Google’s 2-step verification process in order for Feedblitz’ migration wizard to work. But I did, let Feedblitz do its work and then re-enabled 2-step verification. The downside is that some of the apps on my smartphone and computers that access my Google accounts via APIs needed re-verification, something to be aware of if you use 2-step verification.
Feedblitz is a paid service compared to Feedburner which is free, and its pricing structure is based on how many email subscribers you have, not how many RSS subscribers. If, like me, you have many RSS and few email, it’s a low-cost and viable option. Vice-versa, be prepared to pay more.
Note, too, that Feedblitz isn’t the only game in town if you’re looking for an alternative to Feedburner. For instance, read what Jim Connolly chose to do as he migrated his email subscriptions away from Feedburner.
I haven’t yet learned all about the depth and breadth of what Feedblitz offers me as a web publisher compared to Feedburner. For now, I’m pleased that I have enabled a service in which I have much greater confidence will be around for a long time.
So why not take a look at Feedblitz, which offers a 30-day free trial.
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36 responses to “Moving on from Feedburner to Feedblitz”
Moving on from Feedburner to Feedblitz http://t.co/CvlpPtgs
[…] September 15: Moving on from Feedburner to Feedblitz. I decided to move away from Feedburner. The post you're reading, and it's update at the end, tries […]
A likely move for me too. RT @jangles: Moving on from Feedburner to Feedblitz http://t.co/x9rxMeqS
@donnapapacosta I listed to you often on FIR and hope that FeedBlitz can welcome you as a customer! [I work for them]. Thanks to @nevillehobson for the tweetout
[…] Moving on from Feedburner to Feedblitz After seven years, it’s time to say goodbye to Feedburner and say hello to Feedblitz. A week ago, I wrote about my worries that RSS feeds delivered via Feedburner might not work after October 20, afte… […]
Moving on from Feedburner to Feedblitz http://t.co/nP0GNWb1
Moving on from Feedburner to Feedblitz http://t.co/Mrteo52q via @jangles
This could be vital if they really do kill Feedburner -> Moving on from Feedburner to Feedblitz http://t.co/4aqeO5Ds (via @jangles)
RT @EmLeary: This could be vital if they really do kill Feedburner -> Moving on from Feedburner to Feedblitz http://t.co/4aqeO5Ds (vi …
@EmLeary @jangles feedblitz too expensive for me and I suspect most other hobby bloggers :(
@liveotherwise Sorry to hear you think FeedBlitz expensive. Check – only email subscribers cost $; all RSS subscribers are FREE. http://feedblitz.com/pricing monthly not per message.
If you have a blog, you need to strengthen your feed service. http://t.co/BTDemKLY #adn
RT @topgold: If you have a blog, you need to strengthen your feed service. http://t.co/BTDemKLY #adn
Thanks, I’ve bookmarked this ‘just in case’. But given that it looks fairly straightforward to migrate I’m going to wait and see. It could be a case of out of the frying pan and into the fire.
It pains me to move, Stuart, the emotional attachment to Feedburner since the very early days – before Google bought the company – is strong.
But to me, it largely comes down to ongoing confidence. Am I confident that Google will continue Feedburner and RSS, etc? No I’m not. And now that I did start looking at alternatives, I discovered services like Feedblitz offering lots more useful features and functionality than Feedburner does.
So logic took over from emotion – and I moved.
Nicely done Neville. I think you’ll like Feedblitz. We’ve been very happy so far with them. Great service.
Thanks, Jay, your experience is the driver!
Thank you Jay and Neville for your kind words. Neville, welcome! Glad to have you and your community as part of our growing family.
Best,
Phil
Thanks, Phil, looking forward to peace of mind!
Moving on from Feedburner to Feedblitz http://t.co/eWnsBTee via @jangles
RT @jangles: Moving on from Feedburner to Feedblitz http://t.co/CvlpPtgs
So you have more faith and a little known startup than in the all mighty Google? Who’s to say Feedblitz won’t go belly up in 6 months? Is there an easy way to migrate from Feedblitz back to FeedBurner or something else if they go under?
Michael, I have a lot of faith in Google – but not in what they’re doing with Feedburner. I have faith in what others whose opinions I value have to say about Feedblitz – that helped me decide to jump.
But as you say, it could all go pear shaped in 6 months. If it does, then I was wrong ;) C’est la vie, no?
Hi Michael:
FeedBlitz has been around since 2005 – we were at that time on FeedBurner’s dashboard before they rolled their own solution. Moreover, we’re still here in 2012 despite FeedBurner’s free offering. I think competing for nearly 7 years as a premium service against a free offering powered by Google and still being here speaks volumes. Plus, you know, we have this thing called a business model. It works. We may be small but we’re on a sound financial footing.
As for switching out – you can do that at any time. And if you follow the steps in the Guide you will own your readers at the end, making future switching easy. And *that* keeps us on our toes! :)
Hmmm early bird !
Thanks for writing this article because now I would also think about the next step for my blog networks and replacing the feedburner with some other or the same as yours.
http://t.co/6OHeiMSf http://t.co/SVm8VAcp
Moving on from Feedburner to Feedblitz http://t.co/I08WZV4Y via @jangles
My feedburner says I’ve been at 0 subscriptions since the 18th. So they’re all gone! I’m going to make the switch now. Luckily I’m a new blog so I had under 100 subscribers. I feel bad for larger blogs. :(
Your subs are al still there – FeedBurner simply isn’t reporting them now. See http://www.feedblitz.com/zero-subscribers-at-feedburner-sept-21-2012/
[…] no need to do anything as I’ve migrated over to the excellent Feedblitz service (thanks to a useful blog post from Neville). You should be seeing some improvements in the appearance and functionality of the emails as I […]
[…] Moving on from Feedburner to Feedblitz […]
Why we need to shift it to feed blitz. Still feed burner is better that any other account. We need just a proper knowledge to use it.
http://www.keydatabase.in/2012/09/what-is-rss-feed-how-to-get-use-this.html
information article.. thanks ? use this feedblitz
[…] why. They have issued “Dear John” posts (Jay Baer, Danny Brown, Judy Lee Dunn, Jane Friedman, Neville Hobson, Cecily Kellogg, Jason Konopinski, Jayme Soulati, Jack Steiner) with advice on options for […]
It’s been awhile since I’ve used feedburner, but I stopped using it after I realized all of the links pointed back to feedburner instead of the original website. Is this the case with feedblitz as well?
No – if you follow the FeedBurner Migration Guide available from feedblitz.com you end up with the cnonical feed URL on your site so you control the subscribers, and you use redirects to have FeedBlitz serve it for you.