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Best answer

Gmail to RSS

M

Trying the pre-built Gmail to RSS zap to try to create a feed of my email auto-labeled as Newsletters - trying to build the zap but have no idea what item from gmail to put into the fields so this thing works - 

what goes into the Source URL field - the message URL ? that isnt working - 

 

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Best answer by Kris Bolton 21 April 2020, 02:55

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This post has been closed for comments. Please create a new post if you need help or have a question about this topic.

10 replies

Danvers
Userlevel 7
Badge +12

Hi @MARS Thanks for your question!

 

When you say that the Message URL isn’t working, could you give a little more detail? The Source URL should be a link to the content that you’re adding to the feed. If you use the message URL, you’ll be able to click on that link, but if anyone else looks at the feed, they wont be able to see the email, because it’s in your account. 

 

I hope that makes sense, ​let me know if you have any questions!

M

Hey thanks ! There’s no instruction on which URL to use for RSS - the emails in gmail don't have a public URL you can use - when I try to use this pre-built Zap i have no idea what to fill for some stuff - and using the message URL doesn't work it creates a link back to sign in to Gmail to see the email - its doesn't “turn email into RSS posts”  - there’s no guidance on how to get this zap to work - @Danvers do you know how to get this to work?

would love some help by someone who has succeeded in creating an RSS feed from a labeled list in Gmail - would be awesome and solve my Newsletter flow - thanks so much!

K
Userlevel 1

Hi @MARS

I hope you’ve already solved this but if not, the easiest way is as follows (it’s how I use it myself) :grin:

A quick note on the Zapier RSS feed option - it’s a powerful and useful tool, but for what you’re trying to do, it’s not the ideal option. It’s great at aggregating and building up feeds, but using it to parse email HTML is a bit above it’s pay grade.

Luckily, it’s easy to get what you are looking for to work - just takes a little effort.

Without further adieu…

 

Step One: Kill The Newsletter

 

 

  • Once you’ve input something above, you’ll get a screen like:

 

Don’t close this page as you’ll need the info in your Zap!

 

Step Two: Create the Trigger for your new Zap

 

  1. Start a new Zap and choose Gmail as your Trigger. The trigger event you want to use is “New Email Matching Search”. Should look something like the following:

 

  1. Next, click “CONTINUE” and choose your Gmail account. Then click “CONTINUE” again.
  1. Now we’re going to put the search to work! In my Zap, I have a folder called “Newsletters” that all my email newsletters get filtered to. You may have set up something similar in your Gmail account. If you haven’t, you will need to for this to work. The easiest is to use my example of a label named “Newsletters” and filter all your email newsletters to that folder. The idea is that we have one place in Gmail that collects all our email newsletters so that we can send them to our chosen RSS reader automatically
  1. Under the “Customize Email Matching Search” you will want to put the search string in so that Gmail can find your email newsletters. In my example, I use “label:newsletters” as my search string

 

  1. Once you’ve clicked “CONTINUE”, you should get something like the following (I hope!):

 

  1. That finishes off the first part of your Zap. Now onto the last part.

Step 3: Create the Action in your new Zap

  1. We’re going to choose Gmail as our App and “Send Email” as our Action Event. I know you probably really want to use Zapier’s RSS here, but stay with me, it will all make sense soon!
  1. Again, choose your Gmail Account and click “CONTINUE”
  1. Now we are going to customise the email that we’re sending with Gmail.
  • Remember when we got that really odd email address from kill-the-newsletter.com in Step One? (You didn’t close the webpage did you?) Here is where we’re going to use it.
  • You’ll need to fill out the following items in the Customize Email section (with your information obviously!) and you can ignore the rest
  • To: Input the kill-the-newsletter email address
  • From: Your chosen Gmail account email address
  • Subject: This one you’re going to need to click into the box and choose the “Subject” from your first step. It should show up as “1. Subject: Subject line is here”. In my example below, it’s showing up as “1. Subject: How to 10X Prod...orking Remotely”
  • Body Type: You want to choose “HTML” here (if you want pretty pictures in your RSS reader). If you prefer plain text, then by all means choose “Plain”. Both types work fine in RSS readers.
  • Body: Here you want to choose the “1. Body HTML” option if you chose HTML above (you need to click “Show all options” to get the “1. Body HTML” option . This will render the email correctly (and pretty) in your RSS reader. If you have chosen to stick with “Plain”, then choose “1. Body Plain” so you don’t get a messy RSS feed. I’ve included what both options should look like for you in the screenshots below.
If you chose HTML you’d want it to look like the above

 

And this is what plain text would look like

Almost done! Click “CONTINUE”

  1. Ok, last test now. Click “Test & Review” and you should get something that looks like:

Remember to turn your Zap on! 

You’re now pushing all those email newsletters to your chosen RSS reader.

 

Now, in order to read all these newsletters, you need to put the XML feed that you got from kill-the-newsletter page (you didn’t close it right?). It’s the one I’ve highlighted below:

 

Hopefully this process all made sense and it works for you. If you have any questions just let me know - happy to help.

Because I hate a bunch of junk in my email inbox, I actually have a routine that deletes all the email newsletters after they’ve been pushed to my RSS reader. If you’re interested I can let you know how it works too. A word of warning though, it does use Inte****at (which I know is probably a dirty word at Zapier), so I won’t elaborate here.

All the best!

Cheers,

Kris

M

Thanks Kris! - this is awesome - I will use it!

 

About the way i was trying to use the zap - want to clarify that everyone seems to be saying tha the premade “Post new emails on Gmail to an RSS feed” (Try This) zap isnt a good/working way to do what it claims to do - “

Email is great for private conversations, but not so easily shared with others. This Gmail-RSS integration offers a user-friendly solution: an RSS feed for those emails. It will trigger for each new email you receive on Gmail, automatically posting the email as a new item to the custom RSS feed provided by Zapier so everyone can stay in the loop.

Note: This Zap can be set up to only trigger for new emails under specific labels if needed”

 

doesn't sound like people have gotten it to work - i’ll use your solution instead

K
Userlevel 1

Hi @MARS 

Glad this will help - it sure makes my inbox a much neater place!

I’m going to play with the template to see if I can make more sense of it as it has been awhile since I used it. Will report back to you when I’ve had another look.

I guess it depends on what you’re trying to achieve with creating an RSS feed. If you’re trying to share the items, then by all means share the kill-the-newsletter XML details with anyone you want. Just remember that once you do, they will see everything that meets the Zap’s criteria so be careful what you forward to the feed.

If you need help with it, just shout!

Cheers,

Kris

nicksimard
Userlevel 7
Badge +11

Hi @MARS2 and @Kris Bolton!

That template will create an RSS feed that one can subscribe to and whenever an email matching the search comes through Gmail, an item will be added to it. 

It’s true that the source URL won’t link people to something they can view, but there shouldn’t be a need to view your actual email, since if they could do that there would be no need for an RSS feed :)

I tested a feed URL in my RSS reader app and it came through remarkably well using the Body HTML from Gmail. You could also use the Body Plain field if your emails are mostly text and the HTML isn’t rendering well in people’s readers.

@MARS2 how had you tested it, when you said:

using the message URL doesn't work it creates a link back to sign in to Gmail to see the email - its doesn't “turn email into RSS posts”

M

what goes into the Source URL field? It’s a required field

Danvers
Userlevel 7
Badge +12

@MARS The source URL should be the url of the feed. If you’re using the ‘Kill the news letter’ site that @Kris Bolton recommend, then you need to use the url where it says ‘Subscribe to the Atom feed at’

 

 

@Kris Bolton Don’t worry, you’re allowed to say Integromat! While we’d prefer members to share Zapier solutions where possible, we know that there are some things that our competitors do that Zapier doesn’t. 

K
Userlevel 1

Morning to you @Danvers​​​ and @MARS 

Sorry about the Integromat comment - it’s a tool just like Zapier that has a time and place.

In this instance - it’s the fact you can delete Gmail messages via Integromat which unfortunately isn’t avaiable via Zapier.

I love both systems and use them when appropriate depending on the task.

Keep up the fantastic work and great system!

All the best,

Kris

 

S

It’s authentic that the source URL received’t link humans to something they can view, but there shouldn’t be a want to view your actual e-mail here, given that if they may do this there would be no need for an RSS feed :)

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