Okay, so I'm sure that most everyone has heard that Google Reader will closing as of July 1st. If you haven't heard- I'm sorry!
Seriously though, don't panic. Your blog won't disappear. Your followers won't disappear. Your list of blogs that you read now -might- disappear if you use Google Reader but we all have plenty of time to switch to a new reader and truthfully, it's not as big of a hassle as it sounds.
If you follow blogs through Blogger Dashboard
I use my blogger dashboard to follow blogs and to read them. There are a few wordpress blogs that I subscribe to via email too so my big freak out moment was "Will all of the blogs on my list disappear? If so, will I disappear on my reader's lists?"
I found a really helpful answer on the blogger help forum:
"The reading list on your dashboard is based on the feed of the blogs you are reading and their feeds are not going away. If you have items in your reading list on the dashboard that are only there because you added them through GReader and they are not Blogger blogs, they might be removed from the list when GReader goes away but any Blogger blog that is on your Reading List because you used the "following" gadget on another blog to start following it, should remain intact. GFC is already a basically discontinued product, and the removal of GReader will not affect its status.- Mishka"
So if you clicked "follow" on a bunch of blogs, your blogs will still be on your dashboard after July 1st.
If You Follow Blogs Through Google Reader
If you do use Google Reader to keep up to date on your favorite blog reads, no big deal, just pick a new reader. There's a bazillion different readers to choose from. Here are just a few:
Bloglovin' (with a sweet tutorial for switching your GReader to bloglovin from LilaLoa )
Feedly ( here's the how-to for switching over from the Feedly blog )
The Old Reader
Flip Board
Pulse
Hello Cotton (for the lady bloggers)
Encouragement for Blog Authors
If you're worried about the close of Google Reader hurting your blog, there's no time like the present to offer other ways for readers to subscribe to your blog! Add a button so it's easy to subscribe to your RSS feed, twitter, facebook page, pinterest account, hello cotton account and so on. Also use Blogger's new "Subscribe via email" widget in your sidebar for those readers who don't want to set up another account.
See my previous post on how to line up your social network buttons on your blog and how to add social network buttons for a single button
Post links to your newest blog posts on your social networks so no one misses out on a post and your traffic keeps moving. Offering several ways for readers to connect makes life easy for everyone! With that in mind, you guys can follow me in a million different ways too!
facebook twitter pinterest bloglovin hello cotton feedburner
If you already have a non-Google Reader way to follow blogs that you love, please share in the comments!
Learn everything I know about blogging and DIY blog design with my ecourse Bloggerific: A Guide to a Beautiful, Successful Blog
Do you have any tips for those who are novices at blogging? You may have written about this before. Any tips are appreciated.
ReplyDeleteAlexa
Oh my gosh, I've got a million of them! Here's some links:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.vavoomvintageblog.com/2012/12/7-blog-post-ideas-to-boost-traffic-in.html
http://www.vavoomvintageblog.com/2012/12/10-dos-and-donts-of-blogging.html
http://www.vavoomvintageblog.com/2012/11/tutorial-how-to-make-blog-button-with.html
http://www.vavoomvintageblog.com/2012/03/tutorial-how-to-add-social-networking.html
http://www.vavoomvintageblog.com/2010/08/how-to-have-great-blog-and-lots-of.html
And I -highly- recommend checking out the tips on SITS:
http://www.thesitsgirls.com/
and the 6 weeks to a better blog series:
http://sillygrrl.com/2012/05/29/6-weeks-to-a-better-blog-recap/
Thanks so much!
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for this post, Brittany!! I'm so bad at internet changes (I'm still a bit thrown-off by the new Blogger, hehe) but this is a really helpful post :)
ReplyDeleteI read mine through the blogger dashboard too, so I'm glad to hear that will be the same
ReplyDeleteThanks for the tips! I've already noticed a ton of followers switch to Bloglovin'.
ReplyDeleteThis is sooo annoying. I've got different blogs on my reader to my dashboard. As well as somecrossovers.
ReplyDeleteI liked how I could read blogs via google reader on my phone. Why can't they realise if it ain't broke don't fix it.
Thanks so much for this post - I read blogs through the blogger dashboard, and thought that this would be going too - what a relief that this will remain after July 1st!!!! :)
ReplyDeleteSeriously fantastic post, Brittany, thank you very much for posting about this topic so soon after Google announced they'd be shutting their feedreader system down (a rather baffling move when you consider how many people around the world - millions I'd venture to guess - use it). I've been using Bloglovin' since early 2012 myself, so I won't feel the sting from a user's perspective, but am curious to see how it impacts the traffic to my blog (hopefully not too negatively for any of us in the long run).
ReplyDelete♥ Jessica
Thank you so much for this post and all your other amazing blog tips! I started a blog back in November, and your advice has been invaluable! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!
ReplyDelete~xoxo CoriLynn
how do i figure out what blogreader i have. i didn't even know i had one. i just have all the blogs i read saved on my regular internet favorites and i click on those to read them, is that a blog reader?
ReplyDeleteA reader is a list of blogs that you follow with new posts generated each time someone publishes something new so if you read them through your internet favorites, you'll be fine and won't be affected at all! :)
ReplyDeleteI used google reader and was immediately concerned, but I tried Feedly. It is free for all the blogs I read 100+ and many readers were not. I just logged in with my google account and everything was loaded automatically, the blogger blogs plus all of the other blogs that I follow though google reader (and it automatically updates my google reader - read status- when I accidentally logged into it when I forgot). It was also much nicer in how I can organize my blogs and I think I finally got rid of a couple of duplicates that I had and couldn't delete in google reader.
ReplyDeleteSo far it is working out great for me. The only thing that I don't like is that it doesn't work (or look right) in IE (which is what I use at work).
Thank for the update, Brandy!! Glad to hear that it was an easy switch. I usually use the blogger dashboard but I think I may switch to feedly too. Ive read a lot of good things about it. I wonder if it allows more than 300 blogs in a list? Blogger dashboard is kind of limiting like that
DeleteAhh finally someone who understands that Blogger Dashboard isn't in danger at all!
ReplyDeleteI know you wrote this in March, it is now doomsday July 1st, and all my GFC followers/fellow bloggers are freaking out over.. nothing.
Thanks for confirming me that I was right :')
xoxo
Oh my I don't know what rock I have been under but I love your new header.
Oh thank you! I just changed the header the other day :) Yes, I know a lot of people are panicking and complaining about it but its really not that big of a deal at all! Its funny, yesterday I saw about a billion "follow me on bloglovin!" posts in my reader! :P
Delete