Cross-Posting with EchoFeed
I've been cross-posting using a self-hosted EchoFeed instance for a while, but now Robb has built a managed version, I flipped to that and it's brilliant.
Alllllll the way back in February 2021, I shared my thoughts on Micro.blog, and in that post I said...
The only real value I would get from MB, would be the cross-posting service, which I don't think is worth $5/month.
That still holds true today. The best part of Micro.blog, in my opinion, is the cross-posting feature. Socially I only really use Mastodon, but still, cross-posting links to every post I write is a pain in the arse. So a way to automate that would be cool, but not cool enough to warrant $5/month.
Then, around 6 months ago I discovered Robb's Echo tool (now called Echo Classic). I set this up (albeit with a little help from Robb) on my Synology and hey presto! Posts were automagically cross-posted to Mastodon.
Enter EchoFeed
But Robb recently started working on EchoFeed, a managed version of his Echo tool.
Robb asked me if I would beta test it; and I happily obliged! So I jumped in, set it up and forgot about it. Because that's how good this tool is. You plug it in, let it do its thing, and forget about it.
I have a custom RSS feed that only contains a link to the post and the post's description, so EchoFeed just chugs away in the background, doing it's thing, posting my links with a little summary.
Supported services
EchoFeed doesn't just support Mastodon, either. You can set it up to work with the following services:
- Mastodon
- Micro.blog
- Bluesky
- GitHub
- Discord
- Webmentions
- Webhooks
It takes literally 2 minutes to configure a cross-posting feed, and you're done.
Amplify
Once of the little extra tidbits that Robb has baked into EchoFeed, is the Amplify option.
If you switch the option on, anything posted to Mastodon using Echo will be re-posted by the EchoFeed Amplify account, which is a cool way of giving people more visibility.
Pricing
Micro.blog's $5/month was too much for me as I'd only use their cross-posting service. EchoFeed on the other hand is free for a single echo, or $25/year if you need more.
Better yet, if you have an omg.lol account, Robb offers a $5/year discount. I do have an omg.lol account, so EchoFeed only cost me the equivalent of $1.60/month.
Pretty bloody good.
I only need a single Echo setup, for Mastodon, so I could have gone for a free account, but I prefer to support indie developers where I can, so I had to sign up. And since I had the ability to add more echos, I decided to set one up for my Bluesky account too (which I never use, but whatever).
Anyway, if you're looking for a no hassle cross-posting service that's cheap, but works extremely well, check out EchoFeed.
Want more?
So you've read this post and you're still not satisfied? Ok then, here's some other stuff for you to do: