Dear Bloggers:
When I click over to your blog, like what I see, and want to follow you, lately I’ve found many of you don’t have an RSS feed icon or button at the top of your site. Some of you don’t have one at all! And when that happens, I have to go to the huuuuuge effort of copying your web address, opening my google reader, clicking “add”, and then pasting your web address into the box, and hitting “ok.” If you had the RSS subscribe button on your site, I’d only have to click twice. And sometimes I’m lazy.
Sure, it sounds ridiculous, but remember:
The fewer steps people have to go through in order to follow your awesomeness, the more likely you are to get followers.
So please, add a link. If you don’t know how to create the RSS feed, go to Feedburner and follow the instructions. Then, for the button – well, I am not good at explaining this stuff, so I won’t even try. . . here are just some suggestions on where to start:
*If you use WordPress, explore the plugins options to see if you can find an RSS widget or something. I use the “Add to Any Subscribe Button,” a plugin that I downloaded. But I don’t totally recommend it – It’s ok. I wish it were bigger, though. thatswhatshesaid
*If you use Blogger … well, then I’d ask “why are you using Blogger and not WordPress?” I haven’t used Blogger in 1.5 years and I’m so glad I switched. Unfortunately, that means I can’t remember how to.
Ha. I’m so not helpful, I know.
Additionally, becuase I’m 30% computer illiterate, I haven’t managed to make nice big buttons for social media on my site. I’ve been trying, but have failed. And as you know, I have other, more pressing, tasks at hand. But I’d love to have you join me on the following, so we can connect and share more stuff! So here are my very un-glamorous links:
- I waste time on Facebook as The Borrowed Abode.
- I also will be promoting my shop with discounts, etc ,on FB – as Janery
- I tweet on Twitter ( @borrowedabode )
- I am training myself to post photos on Flickr
- Most importantly, I’m totally addicted to Pinterest.
This amuses me. Because when other bloggers started raving about it, saying they were addicted, I rolled my eyes.
Then I gave it another shot.
Hello, Pinterest is pretty much the best image saving tool I’ve ever found. I’ve created a ton of different categories (a.k.a. “boards”) and am now able to save anything and everything my little heart desires – WITHOUT any clutter. Love it. And I can snoop around and see what other bloggers are saving, too. What a great way to save and share ideas and inspiration. Now I just need to stop wasting time over there!
But let’s not make this post all about me. Let’s make it all about you!
Of the hundreds and hundreds of visitors my Google Analytics says I get each day, only a few of you ever comment.
Please, take a moment to comment and let us know where we can find you – on your blog, twitter, etc!
22 Comments
You can’t find me anywhere. MWUHAHAHAHAHAHA!!
Seriously, I don’t have a blog because I have NO idea how: A) I would keep up with it because I spend so much time reading a gazillion other blogs and B) I have absolutely nothing interesting to write about.
And even though this is a different post I want to go ahead and thank you ahead of time for the landlord letter you blogged about a while back. The pickin’s are SLIM where we’re moving to soon and even more so any that actually accept dogs, so we’re going to use your letter as a guideline and write our own to include with any applications we submit for rentals. I never would have thought of it otherwise!
I’m so glad you found the letter helpful! Please let me know how it goes!
I’ll SUPER connected to you now! LOL
@artsynina:twitter facebook.com/artsynina pinterest.com/artsynina
Hey Jane if you’re looking for a place for some nice social media buttons, my go-to place is http://www.iconfinder.com/! They have SO many, especially for Facebook, Twitter, and RSS! And thanks for this post! I was reading this and going, “Yes! I know plenty of bloggers who need to read this!” Because I follow all my favorite sites through my Google Reader, it’s so frustrating when I can’t find an RSS button or their feed isn’t working. At least if they’re on Blogger you can follow them through the Blogger toolbar. But LOL why aren’t they using WordPress? 😉
Well I have to be honest and admit that I finally figured out how to post a comment on your blog with Disqus. I am A LOT (more than 30%) computer illiterate, yet I LOVE blogging, and enjoy following so many other great blogs as well. And I am probably one of those bloggers you follow who doesn’t have an RSS feed. Or maybe I do? I will look into it this weekend and see what I can find out. Blogger has been a bit of a challenge for me to use, and I contemplating the switch over to WordPress because I have heard it’s great. I just haven’t taken the time to invest into it. I appreciate your candid post about all of this, though. As a newbie blogger, I enjoy your blog and feel like you have a lot of good insight into the blogging world.
Oh and you can find me on my blog. http://www.ourbigfatfarmwedding.blogspot.com
Hey Lauren!
First, I’m sorry you had trouble with Disqus! I probably should do a post on
how to use it. Add that to my every-growing list of “things I need to blog
about” 🙂
It was pretty easy to migrate to WordPress – I simply went to their site,
got my domain name (at the time it was borrowedabode.wordpress.com) and then
followed their instructions for downloading the Blogger content and then
uploading it to WordPress.
When I migrated from my .wordpress.com account to my self-hosted ”
theborrowedabode.com” account, I used the super helpful support at HostGator
to do it.
You could always open a practice blog account on WordPress to get the feel
of it, too. 🙂
Hope this helps!
-j
I’m not sure where I first saw a link to your site, but I’ve recently started reading. You can find me over at my blog: http://www.skooksplayground.com and if you want to steal some peeks at the images I find inspiring you can find me on Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/skooksplaygrnd/
All my other “find me here” stuff is on my blog.
🙂
I think I have an RSS and an email subscribe button at my (blogger, don’t hate) blog. Haven’t decided if I want to put my twitter there, though. For some reason I am averse to being too connected. Makes no sense, but here we are…
I don’t blame you for wanting to maintain some semblance of privacy 🙂
I have commented before and talked to you twitter 🙂 I will follow on Facebook once I finally get around to setting up my blog Facebook page (don’t want to tie my personal page to my blog!). Pinterest is all kinds of AWESOME and why I never get enough sleep anymore 🙂 Anyway, here are all the sites I am at with user name, I believe I follow you at all of them.
Pinterest-supermomboots
Twitter- @supermomboots:disqus
Blog from http://www.wherearemysupermomboots.com
I love your tip above about RSS feed buttons and having social media buttons period, I am getting lazy too and if I cannot easily connect directly from your site I probably won’t do it. I can’t figure out how to add the Pinterest button to my site though, it just won’t work. Not totally related to this, but it you use google reader do you know about the Next button? It is by far my favourite google tool. I wrote a post a few days ago about it. Makes it soooo much easier to comment while using my reader.
Anyway, even though I don’t comment on every post I do read them all and enjoy. I read an article recently about blog etiquette and the author was saying you should comment on every post you read but I just can’t do that. I feel stupid if I don’t have something to say and talk anyway. So I comment when I do have something to say or to add to the “conversation”.
I read every single post! Sorry for the lack of comments! You can fine ME at salonjuleen.wordpress.com and juleen76.wordpress.com.
I read every single post! Sorry for the lack of comments! You can fine ME at salonjuleen.wordpress.com and juleen76.wordpress.com.
Hi Juleen, thanks for saying hi!
My comments in the post were definitely not meant to chastise anyone for not
commenting…I just wanted to let you all know that I’d love to get a peek
at who’s visiting! 🙂
No RSS feed button on a blog is SUCH a pet peeve of mine! Being new to Google Reader, I had no idea you could add it manually, so thanks for teaching me! Now I have to see if I can go back and find all those blogs I’d written off as never-to-be-read again…. THANKS! 🙂
Also…I am ridiculously obsessed with Pinterest, too. http://pinterest.com/ipuella/ and/or @sparkietweets:twitter, that’s me!
I guess I need to get that RSS feed on my page! I’m still using blogger cuz I’m scared to switch…but hopefully someday I’ll figure out how!
you can find me at http://www.cleansmartsimple.blogspot.com
rss feed link coming soon 🙂
Hey Alexis! Don’t be scared to switch! I followed the WordPress
instructions carefully and it went off without a hitch. I will say this –
from my experience – the longer you wait to switch the more content you have
to worry about migrating…so if you want to do it, you may be glad if you
do it sooner rather than later.
However…I’m not trying to be bossy. Just sharing things I picked up and
wish I’d known before. 🙂
Pinterest is so addciting!!!
http://www.simplykellyblog.com
twitter @simplykellyblog
oh my gosh Jane! COULDN’T AGREE MORE! Also, my personal pet peeve (sp?) is when you want to comment on a blog and they make it so difficult that it’s aggravating!!! I will NOT comment if you make it super difficult. 🙁 Lastly, please PLEASE add a “name/url” option to the comment section so I can tell you who the heck I am! I have found so many amazing blogs after they have found and commented on my posts! 😀
Thanks for sharing Jane! Hopefully some people will respond to this and make finding/following them easier!
Good tips, Jane! I think I have your advice covered but I’m definitely going to double check. I want to be IN YO FACE with my blog so anything that can help I will do! xo
I’ve been contemplating switching to WordPress too, especially after Blogger’s recent issues. I’m over at Puma Life, http://www.pumalifeblog.com. I love reading your blog and do comment from time to time, but don’t comment nearly as often as I should and I’m sorry for that! : )
Great post! I love all of the advice and couldn’t agree more! I bet you can go into the code and just resize the subscribe image by adding height as an attribute.
I have the same commenting issue, too, so I’m going to take a second and comment for you! Found your link through googling “find me on Pinterest” button. (isn’t is fascinating to see how people find your blog?) Thanks for a great post even though I’m a little late to find it. 😉