Blogging Basics: How to increase your followers and build your platform (Part 1 of 3)

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I've run these posts before, but they're so important I thought they might be worth a repeat.

My "How to increase your followers" series will involve:

Part 1 - Following blogs and making sure you can be followed
Part 2 - Ways to increase your followers and/or subscribers
Part 3 - Some essential blogging requirements.

And on October 1, I'm being interviewed at Laura Barnes' blog as part of her Saturday Savvy Sensation series, where I'm giving some tips about platform-building. I hope you can all join me there :)

In this post, I'll be focusing on making sure people can follow or subscribe to your blog (and giving you a few tips on ways to increase your followers in this respect). I'll also be giving you ways to follow other peoples' blogs, particularly where there's no “Followers Gadget". I’ll be focusing on Blogger, WordPress, and personal web pages.

Following/Subscribing

To a lot of people, “following” and "subscribing" means pressing the “Follow” button on this gadget:

But it’s a little more than that, so bear with me.

Following or subscribing is basically a way for you to mark the location of a blog and read new blog content as it is posted. Unless there was some way for you to do this, you’d never remember which blogs you visited, or find the blogs you wish to return to again and again. You’d also spend hours physically checking blogs to find out if they’ve posted anything new since your last visit.

Followers Gadget

The Followers Gadget was introduced by Blogger as a means of social networking, and was later merged with Google Friend Connect (I’ll just call it the Followers Gadget here). It’s a pretty handy gadget, because:

1. for followers - by clicking on the “Follow” button, you can be identified as a follower of a particular blog AND automatically subscribe to blog updates through the blog’s feed. See my post about Google Reader, which is a fantastic way to read the feed you’ve subscribed to as quickly and efficiently as possible.
2. for blog owners - you can see which (and how many) other bloggers are interested in your blog and what you have to say. It’s also a means of adding subscribers to your blog feed, which means more people are reading your posts.

If you use a Blogger platform (eg, if your URL is http://yourblogname.blogspot.com), you have the option to add the Followers Gadget (go to “Design”, then “Add a gadget” then scroll down the list until you can select the Followers gadget). I have seen some Blogger users who choose not to add the Followers Gadget, but by far the majority of Blogger blogs do have this.

Many WordPress users (eg, if your URL is http://yourblogname.wordpress.com/) are not able to add a Followers Gadget to their blogs (Wordpress does not allow this). If that is the case, you'll need to include other links/gadgets/buttons on your blog that allow people to subscribe to your feed (I discuss this more below). You can also add Networked Blogs, which operates in a similar way to the Google Friend Connect gadget.

Bloggers who use personal web pages are able to add Google Friend Connect to their sites.

How do I follow a blog that does not have a Follower’s Gadget?

If a blog doesn't have a Follower’s Gadget, there are other ways you can follow/subscribe to that blog so you can read its posts:

(1) subscribe using RSS

click on an RSS button (which often looks like the following). It usually has this orange square symbol and may be very tiny, so you might have to look around for it. In some blogs, the button is not actually labelled “RSS”.

You’ll then be directed to a page similar to this one – click on the correct button depending on which reader you use (“Google” if you use Google Reader)

Some WordPress blogs have both a “RSS – posts” link and a “RSS – comments” link, so click on “RSS – posts”

Many WordPress blogs don’t have the orange square symbol, so look for this instead:

Then click on “entries RSS”

(2) if you have Google Reader, copy the URL of the blog you wish to subscribe to, open your Reader, click on “Add a Subscription” on the top left, and paste the URL. This subscribes you to the blog's feed in the same way as if you subscribed by RSS

(3) subscribe by email (you’ll receive an email every time a new post is posted on the blog you’ve subscribed to, which may not suit some people. However, if you wish to read every post a person publishes, this can be a useful tool)

(4) click on Posts (Atom) at the very bottom of all the posts on the blog’s home page (for Blogger). This will usually take you to the same Feedburner page as clicking on the RSS button

(5) click on the Networked Blogs widget (if you have a Facebook account). It’s fairly similar in operation to Google Friend Connect though with a Facebook interface. It allows you to read the posts from the blogs you've subscribed to, in a similar way to Google Reader.

(6) on some WordPress blogs, when you make a comment you can tick the “subscribe to this site by email” button, which has the same effect as the dot point above this.

And there you have it, a number of different ways you can follow a blog.

Making sure your blog can be followed

If you want to make sure your blog can be followed:

1. add an RSS button or link (essential)
2. add a Followers Gadget (if your blog host supports it. This is the most common way of following in the blogging community among non-Wordpress users)
3. add a Networked Blogs widget (optional)
4. add a "Subscribe by email" gadget (preferable).

And keep an eye out for Part 2 of my Blogging Basics series, which will give you further tips for increasing your followers/subscribers in this respect.

How about you: Do you have any following or subscribing tips, or additional ways to follow/subscribe other than those I’ve listed above?

When did you last back-up your blog? (plus directions if you don't know how)

I had a major panic a couple of weeks before The Great Blogger Crash. Everything on my blog went screwy - little bits of computer code appeared, my followers all disappeared, I couldn't open my dashboard - everything you can imagine to give me a headache and a spot of "Oh my God, what if...?" Things were back to normal the next day, thank goodness, and I'd backed-up my blog a few days before so I wouldn't have lost everything, but the whole incident made me squirm. I thought it might be timely to remind you to back-up your blog regularly, and show you how to do it if you don't know already.

As to the reminder part

Um, yes, do it! :D

And the directions...Here's how to save a copy of your blog template, in four easy steps (honest!)

Step One - Click on "Design" at the top right of your blog (or you can go through the Blogger Dashboard instead if you prefer)

Step Two - Click on "Edit HTML"

Step Three - Click on "Download Full Template"

Step Four - Save the file (I usually add the date to the save-name, so I can easily work out which is the lastest download)

And as for saving your entire blog content...Check out Clarissa Draper's post here.

And that's it, eezey-peezy. I've set my calendar to remind me to back-up my blog every two weeks, but you can do it more or less if you prefer, of course. Make sure you save your blog often though - we put so much work into them, and I've heard some horror stories about people who've lost the whole thing. For good!

How about you: Did these directions help you? Do you back-up your blog often (if so, how often)?

Other stuff:

I was interviewed by Deana Barnhart on platform-building last week. Check my two-part interview out here and here.

You'll have seen I've been doing a bit of tinkering with my sidebar and my banner - hope you like :D Also, I finally got my act into gear and joined Networked Blogs - I'm looking forward to catching up with heaps of you there!

Thanks so much to everyone who's given me an award lately! I've popped your names and awards up on my Awards Page *grins*

Oh, and I've changed my blogging schedule to Mondays-only for the next little while, as I dive into my revisions in preparation for querying.

Hope everything's well with you all, and Happy Monday!

Blogging tips: tips for increasing your followers and/or subscribers (Part 2)

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If you haven't already, have a squiz at Part 1 of this post, my tips on following blogs and making sure you can be followed.

I'll be writing a post in the future which suggests ways to increase your blog following. One of those tips is to make following your blog as quick and as easy as possible. Many bloggers only have limited time, and will close out of your blog rather than hunting for a way to follow you or subscribe to your feeds. That's if they can find your blog to start with! (More on this below).

Below are some ways you can make following/subscribing easier:

• ALWAYS, ALWAYS, ALWAYS have your blog linked up to your profile page. I've highlighted this because it's SO important! When you leave a comment, odds are that other bloggers will want to follow you back to your blog. Many, many bloggers out there don't have their blog listed on their profile page, and are losing out on dozens, if not hundreds, of followers!!! If you haven't done this, or aren't sure what I mean, check out my earlier post here. It includes a step-by-step instruction (including screen-shots) on how to do it. Actually, this is so important, you should check to make sure you've correctly linked up even if you think you've already done it!
  

• if you have more than one blog, make sure it's obvious in your profile which is your writing blog. Most bloggers won't have the time or the inclination to click on two or three or seven different links in the search for the elusive blog related to your writing!

• include a Followers Gadget on your blog if at all possible. This is a great way to build up your blog’s following. Place the gadget high up on your blog and in an obvious place, so bloggers don’t have to hunt for it

• for WordPress users who can’t include a Followers Gadget, add the Networked Blogs widget to your blog

• always include an RSS button, particularly if you have a WordPress blog. Make sure it’s at the top of your blog, or in a place that’s readily identifiable. Many bloggers will not spend the time hunting for a button if it’s difficult to find, nor do they want to scroll right down to the bottom of your blog to find it. Some blogs have tiny RSS buttons that are hidden amongst dozens of other widgets/gadgets - I'd hate to think about how many bloggers have exited without subscribing
  

• label your RSS button. Consider including the word “free” in the title. To many beginner bloggers, “subscription” implies something you pay for, so they're reluctant to click it. Here's how I've labelled mine:

Note that a problem often arises when bloggers don't add RSS subscription buttons, and instead rely on “Subscribe by email” applications. Many bloggers don’t like to have their inbox cluttered by emails of this nature, and will close out of your blog without subscribing. And some bloggers forget to include any of these subscription links/gadgets/buttons at all, which makes them impossible to follow unless you know how to “Add a Subscription” in Google Reader (or some other nifty trick).

• check that your RSS button is correctly linked (by clicking on it). When I changed my blog URL (a whole ‘nother post in itself!), I had heaps of Feedburner issues, and didn’t realize my RSS button didn’t work until someone told me about it months later

• as I said above, don’t force people to subscribe by email! Most bloggers will simply close out of your blog without subscribing, and you’ll lose out. Include the Followers Gadget (or Networked Blogs widget) or an RSS button at a minimum. 

How about you: do you have any other tips for increasing your followers or subscribers by making following/subscribing easier?

Blogging tips: following blogs and making sure you can be followed (Part 1)

During the first part of my Crusade, a number of people mentioned how difficult they found it to follow some blogs. This issue came up so many times, I thought it would be useful to write a post to:

• help you make sure people can follow or subscribe to your blog (and give you a few tips on ways to increase your followers in this respect); and 

• give you ways to follow other peoples' blogs, particularly where there's no “Followers Gadget".

In this Part 1, I'll be concentrating on helping you make sure others can follow or subscribe to your blog, and giving you ways to follow other peoples' blogs. In Part 2, I'll give you some tips on ways to increase your followers by making it easier for people to follow and/or subscribe to your blog.

Because technology and I are not the best of friends, I’ll be using pretty general language (so forgive me if I make any mistakes in terminology etc). I’ll be focusing on Blogger, WordPress, and personal web pages in this post.

Following/Subscribing

To a lot of people, “following” and "subscribing" means pressing the “Follow” button on this gadget:

But it’s a little more than that, so bear with me.

Following or subscribing is basically a way for you to mark the location of a blog and read new blog content as it is posted. Unless there was some way for you to do this, you’d never remember which blogs you visited, or find the blogs you wish to return to again and again. You’d also spend hours physically checking blogs to find out if they’ve posted anything new since your last visit.

Followers Gadget

The Followers Gadget was introduced by Blogger as a means of social networking, and was later merged with Google Friend Connect (I’ll just call it the Followers Gadget here). It’s a pretty handy gadget, because:

• for followers - by clicking on the “Follow” button, you can be identified as a follower of a particular blog AND automatically subscribe to blog updates through the blog’s feed. See my previous post about Google Reader, which is a fantastic way to read the feed you’ve subscribed to as quickly and efficiently as possible.

• for blog owners - you can see which (and how many) other bloggers are interested in your blog and what you have to say. It’s also a means of adding subscribers to your blog feed, which means more people are reading your posts.

If you use a Blogger platform (eg, if your URL is http://yourblogname.blogspot.com), you have the option to add the Followers Gadget (go to “Design”, then “Add a gadget” then scroll down the list until you can select the Followers gadget). I have seen some Blogger users who choose not to add the Followers Gadget, but by far the majority of Blogger blogs do have this.

Many WordPress users (eg, if your URL is http://yourblogname.wordpress.com/) are not able to add a Followers Gadget to their blogs. If that is the case, you need to include other links/gadgets/buttons on your blog that allow people to subscribe to your feed (I discuss this more below).

Bloggers who use personal web pages are able to add Google Friend Connect to their sites.

What if a blog does not have a Follower’s Gadget?

If a blog doesn't have a Follower’s Gadget, there are other ways you can subscribe to that blog so you can read its posts:

(1) subscribe using RSS

• click on an RSS button (I’ve included the following button on my site). It usually has this orange square symbol and may be very tiny, so you might have to look around for it. In some blogs, the button is not actually labelled “RSS”.

• You’ll then be directed to a page similar to this one – click on the correct button depending on which reader you use (“Google” if you use Google Reader)

• Some WordPress blogs have both a “RSS – posts” link and a “RSS – comments” link, so click on “RSS – posts”

• Many WordPress blogs don’t have the orange square symbol, so look for this instead:

Then click on “entries RSS”

 

(2) click on Posts (Atom) at the very bottom of all the posts on the blog’s home page (for Blogger). This will usually take you to the same Feedburner page as clicking on the RSS button

(3) click on the Networked Blogs widget (if you have a Facebook account). I don’t use this myself at the moment, but I believe it’s fairly similar in operation to Google Friend Connect though with a Facebook interface

(4) if you have Google Reader, copy the URL of the blog you wish to subscribe to, open your Reader, click on “Add a Subscription” on the top left, and paste the URL. This subscribes you to the blog's feed in the same way as if you subscribed by RSS

(5) subscribe by email (you’ll receive an email every time a new post is posted on the blog you’ve subscribed to, which may not suit some people. However, if you wish to read every post a person publishes, this can be a useful tool)

(6) on some WordPress blogs, when you make a comment you can tick the “subscribe to this site by email” button, which has the same effect as the dot point above this

And there you have it, a number of different ways you can follow a blog.

Making sure your blog can be followed

If you want to make sure your blog can be followed, add a Followers Gadget (preferable, if possible), a Networked Blogs widget (optional), an RSS button or link (essential), and a "Subscribe by email" gadget (preferable).

And keep an eye out for Part 2 of these Blogging Tips, which will give you further tips for increasing your followers/subscribers in this respect.

How about you: do you have any following or subscribing tips, or additional ways to follow/subscribe other than those I’ve listed above?

Using Google Reader to Organize the Blogs you Follow (Tips and Tricks)

I follow a huge number of blogs, over 500!!! Without being organized, I don’t think I could possibly keep up with everything, let alone manage to comment as often as I wish (I still don’t manage that anyway, but at least I can dream, right).

(Source)

If you’re subscribed to more than, say, 10 or 15 blogs (which is most of us here), think seriously about signing up for Google Reader. If you have a Gmail account, you'll have access to Reader already, just click on the “Reader” link at the top left of the Gmail page. If you don’t have Gmail, you should be able to sign up for a Google Account and get Reader that way.

The default setting for Google Reader means that all blogs you “Follow” using Google Friend Connect, or subscribe to using RSS feed, will automatically appear in your Google Reader. You can skim blog posts in Reader, and decide which you want to open and comment on, which you will read without commenting, and which you want to skip reading this time around. Check out some of the shortcut keys I’ve listed below to make things even quicker.

You can also organize your subscriptions in Reader, so you can choose which particular type of blogs you look at on Tuesday evenings, say. I’ve found this SOOOO useful; I couldn’t keep up with all the blogs I follow otherwise. Here’s a (hopefully) simple “how to”:

Organizing Google Reader:

Sorting your subscriptions

I’m not sure if you’re aware of this, but you can pull up a list of all the blogs you’ve subscribed to and organize them into folders. If you’re running short of time, or need to prioritize which posts you look at first, you can pull up just the blogs in a particular folder and read through those (and leave the other posts for another time/day).

To organize your subscriptions into folders

(1) Go to “Settings” at the top right of your Google Reader page

(2) Click on “Reader Settings”

(3) Click on “Subscriptions”. This will pull up a list of all the blogs you subscribe to



(4) Select the box beside the blog you want to “organize” (red circle). You can select multiple blogs at once. Then go over to the “Change Folders” drop-down menu (blue circle)



(5) In the drop-down menu, either click on the folder you want to put the selected blog in (if you’ve already created a folder) or else hit “New Folder” and name the folder when the pop-up box appears. I called my new folder “Crusaders”. You can then click on the “Crusaders” option in the drop-down menu, and the blog(s) you selected will be allocated to the “Crusaders” folder in Google Reader



(6) Once you’ve organized all the subscriptions, click on “Back to Google Reader”



Choosing only a certain category of blog to read

To search for the posts in a particular folder (after you’ve organized your folders as per the above):

(1) Click the drop-down menu labelled “All items” in the top left of Google Reader



(2) Select the folder you wish to search

(3) Press search

(4) Read away :)

Much easier, I think!

Using Google Reader:

Shortcuts

There are a lot of shortcut keys you can use to make life easier. Here are some of the ones I use the most:

s – Stars or un-stars an item (to save it for later)
j/k – Selects the next/previous item in the list
r – Refresh
Shift+A – Mark all as read
o – Open / Close item (in list view)
v - opens the original source for an article in a new window
f – toggles reading list to full screen mode and back
1 - displays the subscription as expanded items
2 - displays the subscription as a list of headlines
? - displays a quick guide to all of Reader's shortcuts

Searching within feeds

This is also very useful. You can use the search bar at the top of Google Reader to search through the feeds you've subscribed to. Matching items are displayed in either Expanded View or List View, depending on the way you usually use Reader (1 and 2 in the shortcut keys above). The search terms will be highlighted so you can scan them quickly.

(ETA) Subscribing to blogs with no RSS button

Jordan pointed this out in the comments below (thanks so much):

If you just want to subscribe rather than follow, blogs often have buttons to subscribe to their RSS feeds. You can click on that and choose the option to read it in Google Reader.

If a blog doesn't have an RSS button, copy its URL, go to Google Reader, click the Add Subscription button and paste the URL.

I hope these tips and tricks help you out.

How about you: do you use Google Reader or another program to organize your subscriptions? Do you know any other useful tips or tricks?

Blogging Tips: Link your blog to your user profile

I thought I'd do a series giving some tips and tricks to help you get the most out of your blogging. I'm focusing mainly on Blogger rather than WordPress or LiveJournal, though some of my tips might help users of these other blogging platforms as well.

Today I'm talking about linking your blog to your user profile. During my travels around the blogosphere, I've noticed that a number of bloggers haven't actually linked their blogs in this way. What this means in practice is that, although I can see their name and some personal details when I click on their avatar (either in my Followers widget or on my Dashboard or when they leave me a comment), I can't follow them back to their blog.

To put this another way, it means that those who don't have their blog linked to their user profile are missing out on followers and possible comments for their blog. So you should check this to make sure.

Here's how to do it:

Checking your user profile - is your blog linked up?

(1) Open your blog

(2) Click on "View My Complete Profile" if you have an "About Me" sidebar gadget

OR

(3) Click on "View Profile" in your Blogger Dashboard

(4) This takes you to your user profile

 

(5) Look down the bottom of your profile, under the heading "My Blogs"

 

 

(6) Is your blog name listed below "My Blogs"? (NB, you can have multiple blogs linked here)

(7) If "Yes," that's great, you're all good. If "No," keep on reading.

Linking your blog to your user profile

(1) In your user profile, click on "Edit Profile"

(2) Next to the heading "Show my blogs," click on "Select Blogs to Display"

(3) Check the box next to your blog name (that's "Rach Writes..." for me, the other blog is my old blog which is no longer operational)

 

 

(4) Click "Save Settings"

(5) And that's it. So relax, have a cookie, and enjoy!!! (Though I'd probably pop back to your user profile and make sure the link has gone through, just in case)