Publishers
Jott Feeds
Jott Feeds allow your readers to listen to your content via RSS feed and any phone. Users simply call 1 (866) JOTT-123, say "Jott Feeds," then say the name of your feed. Jott will use it's text-to-speech engine to read the content back to the user. There are no downloads required and Jott works on every phone and every carrier network.
Jott Feeds is a fantastic tool to expand the reach and relevance of your site or blog. Your subscribers get easy mobile access to your content when they would otherwise be twiddling their thumbs. We take care of the toll free number, a world-class phone call experience, the text-to-speech technology, and the simple web UI where users manage their feeds. We also make it easy for you to advertise this feature to your subscribers using our "Feed Badge."
"Why would I do this?" you might ask. Well, beyond the benefits of having your content available to Jott users on demand, we will be testing advertising placement in Jott Feeds over the next few months and will be developing a revenue share program around those advertisements. Those providers who sign up early for a Feed Badge will benefit from the early exposure to how the service works and will gain traction in popularity.
FAQ
Q: How do I sign up?
A: If you already have an RSS feed, it's easy for your readers to add it to their Jott account. Just get a Feed Badge to put on your site. The badge links to a page where the user will add your feed. The URL will already be pre-populated. We recommend that before you put the badge on your site, that you listen to your feed to see if there is anything you want to change (see some optimization tips below). Sometimes making a couple of minor changes can make a big difference to listenability without affecting readability at all.
Q: Will you place advertising around my content?
A: We will eventually be testing advertising placement in Jott Feeds for Basic account users to make sure we maximize the effectiveness of the advertisements without harming our user experience. When we do roll out advertisements in earnest, we'll be sharing revenues with our content partners.
Q: Is there a place for publishers to share tips and tricks?
A: There sure is. Just head over to Jott Forums. There, we have a space dedicated to publishers where you can share tips and tricks about how to make a great Jott Feed.
Request to be a Featured Feed
We will slowly add more Featured Feeds that appear to Jott users during set up, and we'll be making some changes to the way Jott Feeds are organized to allow for better usability and categorization on the site. If you think your RSS feed should be considered a Featured Feed, please send an email to publishers (at) jott (dot) com and provide us with:
- Feed name
- Company Name and Address
- Contact Name, Email, and Phone
- 35x35 .gif logo - similar to current feed logos
Optimize your feed for Jott Feeds
While Jott Feeds is designed to read any RSS feed, you can make some minor modifications that will make the customer experience much better for your new "listeners" if you'd like to optimize for Jott Feeds. Here are some helpful tips:
- Focus on the right length of your feed - Headlines don't work as well as full text of articles or good summaries
- Listen to your feed and make adjustments - If the text-to-speech engine is having trouble with something, consider re-writing it
- Avoid abbreviations - Write miles per hour instead of MPH or 65 degrees Fahrenheit rather than 65F
- Spell out URLs - Text-to-speech works better if you spell out URLs, e.g. "www dot jott dot com slash information" rather than "www.jott.com/information"
- Avoid reference links and lists - These make sense visually, but not as much when read aloud
- Highlight quotes, particularly long ones - For instance say - The president said, quote, I am not a crook, end quote.
These are definitely just helpful tips. For the most part, the text-to-speech engine works really well to convey the major points in your article, and our users love the convenience. These are extra credit and we'll definitely be highlighting the best feeds. If your feed is already listed and you'd like to update it with a better sounding one, please email us at publishers (at) jott (dot) com.