One year ago today, we launched this little idea called Feed My Inbox, a simple RSS to email application. We never set out to re-invent the wheel ... only to grease it up so that it worked a hell of a lot better.

To say we've been surprised by the popularity and growth of Feed My Inbox over the last year would be a serious understatement. It's been tons of fun, and the app is something our team is fully dedicated to for many more birthdays.

We are so grateful to all of the people that use this service. Here are some statistics of what happened behind-the-scenes over the last year:

Unique Visitors- 131,134
Pageviews- 550,599

Active accounts- 34,727
Feeds we're tracking- 56,606
Confirmed subscriptions- 66,840
Emails sent- 3,077,382
Feed entries emailed- 33,771,734

Service Outages- 37 (most of them less than 5 minutes)
Uptime- 99.91%
* We're getting better at this!

Although the application looks pretty much the same to you, under the hood it is literally 100% different. We have learned a lot along the way and are now to the point where we can scale this thing for the long haul.

I also wanted to give you an update on where we hope Feed My Inbox is headed in the next year. Putting this in writing is serious business, so we fully intend to live up to the following:

1. New features are on the way

We are currently working on the next big version of Feed My Inbox, which will bring many of the feature requests we have collected over the last year to light. We are not close enough to say when it will be launched, but it is officially a work in progress. Stay tuned to the blog for the first announcement.

2. We heart webmasters

Since we announced that webmasters can embed a sign-up form on their website that ties to Feed My Inbox, tools for you to see subscribers and have more control over outgoing emails have been sorely lacking. We have not forgotten about you, and over the next year we'll be bringing some game-changing stuff your way that no other RSS to Email provider can do.

3. We're listening

Our small team is BIG on customer service. We answer all emails and keep a close eye on the support discussions over at Get Satisfaction. If you have any feedback, questions,  suggestions or constructive criticism, don't hesitate to send it our way. 

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Hey everyone! This is a quick note to let you know that Feed My Inbox emails did not go out at the normal time this morning due to a little blip with our system. The issue is fixed and emails are going out as we speak. You should receive all your notifications by 11am CST today. Thanks!

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The idea for our latest application, called Linkpatch, came nearly 2 years ago. The important decisions we made over the course of that time are what I would like to discuss today, in hopes of describing our process of creating web apps, and explaining why we think this app will be extremely valuable for website developers, managers and owners.

The Process

We created the basic functions of the application in about a week, and started using it internally as soon as we could. We did the same thing when building Feed My Inbox. As a company that can't justify extensive planning, usability testing and so forth upfront, this was by far the best approach for us.

By installing Linkpatch on client websites and working through errors on our own, we were able to fix any bugs, think of useful features and update the app accordingly. That's definitely a huge luxury of developing an app that's for people just like us. As big believers in Getting Real, the first version of Linkpatch is the most basic iteration we could widdle down. We have a long list of other features that would be useful for tracking website errors, but it's more important to launch as soon as possible and get an idea of what you (the customers) think. Better yet, if no one finds the app as useful as we do, our investment in features so far has been minimal.

Why did it take 2 years?

Another thing we don't do much is plan for the future. That way, we can change course on a moment's notice. Almost a year ago, we decided to build Feed My Inbox instead of focusing on Linkpatch. Thanks to the wild success of that application, it's taken a lot for us to find time outside of client work to finish this project. I would not ever recommend spending 2 years on a web app before it sees the light of day, but we've only spent an actual 3-4 months actively working on it. Since we were using it internally the whole time and it met our immediate needs, we were able to put it on the burner until we could really make it the priority.

Webmasters need better

The one reason we developed Linkpatch is because link checkers and site crawlers don't cut it. They absolutely don't, and there is one glaring reason why: they don't account for external sites linking to you.

It's always a good move to run your site through a program that checks for broken links. The internal link structure of your site is important to verify. However, internal broken links are a very small piece of the puzzle! How about all the other sites you don't own that might have mis-typed or out-of-date links to your site? The only way to catch external links to your site that are broken is to monitor them on a regular basis.

Aside from webserver logs (messy), monitoring traffic to your error pages is the only way to catch those issues and submit a fix quickly. Webmasters and analytics junkies alike can all see how fewer broken links can lead to a better user experience. If someone gets a 404 (page not found) error on your site, by having Linkpatch installed, you have what you need to keep it from happening again ... no matter where the broken link is.

Filling a small void

I recognize that the void Linkpatch fills is a small one, for a relatively small (but growing) group of people. It will take longer for us to market this app and help people understand why it is so important. But if you want to provide great service to your clients, cover all your bases and be well above the status quo as a webmaster, you will pay attention to broken links on a regular basis. I hope you have tried it and gotten a free 5-site account with our introductory promotion. If so, please don't hesitate to let us know what you think, and how we can make it better.

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This announcement has been an extremely long time in the making, but we are thrilled that today is the day to talk about our second web app, called Linkpatch.

Linkpatch is meant for anyone that develops, oversees or works on a website. The purpose is simple: it sends you an email whenever someone encounters a 404 page (or other error pages, for that matter) on your website. The email has tons of useful information, from which you can figure out exactly what the problem is and fix it. Here is what a Linkpatch email looks like:

As you can see, the email provides a wealth of information about the user, where they came from and where they were trying to go. No matter what kind of error it is, you have all you need to go in and fix whatever might be wrong.

It's a foundation

As you may have seen with Feed My Inbox, the way we build web apps is to start extremely simple, let it simmer, and listen to our customers. Once we have a great idea of where we want to take things next, we build in more features.

Linkpatch is no exception. We know it's a really simple idea, but it's extremely useful for people that are behind-the-scenes of any website. We have tons of ideas on how to make this service more useful for webmasters, but we're going to let this app simmer first and listen to what you people have to say.

We're committed to Linkpatch, and building out a wealth of fantastic features in the future, just like we are committed to Feed My Inbox.

How to get a FREE 5-site account

Starting today, we have a special offer for all you early adopters out there. For 30 days (through July 8), we're giving away FREE 5-site accounts to anyone that is willing to post a message about Linkpatch on Twitter.

Visit this page to submit your tweet and get a free 5-site account.

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Recently we have been getting more inquiries from feed/website owners about moving their list from FeedBurner, FeedBlitz and other newsletter providers to Feed My Inbox. We are happy to help you move an email list over, but it's important to lay down some ground rules first.

We hate spam, and work very hard to make sure every subscriber using FMI has requested the content we are sending, and has an opportunity to opt out at any time. In order to prevent issues with our customers or any ISPs, importing your list is a manual process. Each feed and subscriber list is carefully reviewed by someone on our team before it can be imported. Here are some guidelines to keep in mind:

Basic requirements:

1. The easiest way to have your list approved quickly is to include a column with the date and time each subscriber opted-in to your mailing list. Exported lists from most newsletter providers include this information by default.
2. If the opt-in date and time is documented as part of your list, and the website contains appropriate (not spammy) content, we will import your list without requiring each subscriber to opt-in again. If not, you'll most likely get some questions from us, and there is a great chance all subscribers will have to click a confirmation link before receiving any updates.

What's against the rules:

• Lists that have been purchased or rented from a 3rd party (no exceptions)
• Any email addresses that you have collected or been given without the consent of those individual parties
• Your personal address book, simply because you have not communicated with those people in this nature before with their permission

Basically, if you don't already have permission to communicate with these subscribers by way of your website feed, and don't have a record of previous communication with them, we won't import the list. The privacy of our customers always comes first.

What about analytics and customization options?

For feed owners, what we provide on our end for you is extremely basic. Currently you do not have access to your subscriber count (available by request, though) or any sort of additional tools to better serve your subscribers.

Rest assured, we have plans for some really exciting tools for you in the works, but we're a small company and this is a part-time gig at the moment. Be patient with us and we'll make it worth your while in time.

Touch base with any questions, folks. Thanks!

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Thanks to the fact that you people keep using Feed My Inbox like crazy, we have to schedule some additional server maintenance this weekend to keep everything moving very fast and reliably. 

This Saturday, May 2, from 1 - 3pm Central Standard Time, the service will be unavailable while we add a new database server to the mix. No customer data will be at risk as a result of this maintenance, as we are simply moving the database and turning everything back on. If anything does not go according to plan, we'll be sure to let you know with another post to this blog. Thanks!

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What I really love about building web applications is watching them take on a life of their own. Feed My Inbox was our first real experiment with web apps, and it's been an incredibly fun experience. What started as a way for my Mom to read my personal twitter feed has now evolved into a legitimate business that is now supporting nearly 15,000 customers and counting. We're really proud of that, and won't be letting up anytime soon.

If there is anything I have learned as part of this process, it is to create the most simple iteration of your product and launch. Strip it down to the bare bones features; and launch.

This has a few crucial benefits for any small, self-funded company:

• It's easier to see light at the end of the tunnel, and do what it takes to launch a product without losing momentum.
• If your app is a bust, the time and money you spent on it is minimal.
• Less features to start means a more manageable learning curve for people to get started using it.
• Most importantly, you can count on your customers to tell you what features are really important, instead of trusting your own personal opinion.

Since Feed My Inbox launched, we have learned a TON. My best thinking 6 months ago would be ridiculous compared to what I know now about the app, our customers, and where we're headed. For instance, I thought from the beginning that we could support the service with advertising. Boy was I wrong about that. We WILL in fact monetize the service, but it will look nothing like what I had originally thought. What a waste of time it would have been for us to build anything out to support that original business model.

I want to be clear that this article is not about being anti-features. It's about being anti- business plans and pricing charts and complicated wireframes and wasteful marketing plans before your app even has any legs. Let your software breathe, listen to your customers, THEN make the best decisions you can about what's next.

Bottom line, screw what anyone else thinks and launch it. If you make mistakes, that makes you human. The quickest way to expose and fix them is to launch the project. On the web, nothing is permanent. If it's wrong, change it. If it's great, make the most of it. Either way, just get it out there and it's okay to learn as you go.

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A few weeks back we secretly launched a new bookmarklet for Feed My Inbox. Don't know what a bookmarklet is? Have no fear! We've embedded a simple 2-minute video demonstration for you below on how it works.

If you have an account, make sure to login, click "Tools", and drag the bookmarklet to your toolbar from there so your email address is pre-filled. We hope you enjoy the new feature, be sure to let us know what you think!

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Thanks to the 8,000+ customers and nearly 30,000 feeds we are now tracking, Feed My Inbox will be getting new digs this weekend! We are going to move the site to newer, faster hardware so that we can continue awesome growth of the service moving forward.

How it effects you

Feed My Inbox will go offline on Sunday around 1pm central standard time. There will be a message on the site informing everyone about the scheduled maintenance. We expect the downtime to last between 2-5 hours, however this will have absolutely no effect on your account or any emails scheduled to go out. During this time, you will be unable to access your account, subscribe to new feeds, confirm/unsubscribe from feeds and so forth.

Once we finish the move, the service will be back running like normal. We are taking all of the appropriate measures to ensure this process goes very smoothly. Thanks very much, feel free to drop us a line if you have any specific questions.

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