Who are you reaching?

Ever wonder who is reading your blog? And how they're finding you? Blogger has some statistical information available, so let's take a look!

If you're like me, when it's time to post something, you sign on and go immediately to your New Post screen. You might see this info, but it's more annoying than anything else, so you breeze past it on your way to the really important stuff: What You Have To Say.

But let's take a closer look at this screen:

This is on your overview page, and actually has some interesting info.

Jump Breaks

Have you ever pulled up somebody's blog and seen snippets or teasers of their posts, followed by Read more?

I understand it can be aggravating. You have to click on Read more... and go to a different page, which takes time. Why would the author do that? Why not just leave the whole post up there? There are a couple of reasons.

Posting Options

Let's look at configuring your blog posts. 

Go to your Layout page, and click Edit in the lower right corner of the Blog Posts box.

Lots of cool stuff to look at here, so think the look you want and play with some of these options:

Signature

Would you like to include a signature at the end of your blog? There are several ways to do it, but for the sake of ease I'm going to give you a quick and dirty version.

Well, fairly quick at least. We're going to create text in a word processing program, copy it into a post, copy it's HTML (hyper text markup language - geeky tech stuff that you don' t HAVE to learn and don't really wanna know) and copy that into your template.

Favorite Posts

After you've been blogging a while, you'll have some posts that capture your flair. Blogger has a couple of good ways to do that.

One is a gadget called Popular Posts that lets you post links to your posts that had the most visitors. New visitors can get a feel for what your readers enjoy.

Another is Link List, which I've covered briefly in another context. This is where you link to some of your personal favorites, so you can direct your readers to some things you think are important.

From this point forward, all references will be to the new Blogger interface.

Pull up the Layout page, then click Add a Gadget.
Choose Popular Posts.

Favicons

This week we're creating Favicons.

Favicon is short for "favorite icon" and is the little photo/logo that appears on the tab when your website opens in the browser window. When you pull up Blogmama, you see a little photo of me:

I'm not on an ego trip, but I thought that tiny picture would be better than a "BM" or "BS." Just sayin'

Introducing - the NEW Blogger Interface

Have you switched to the new Blogger interface yet? If you're using this menu -

you're not. But never fear - the new one is easy once you walk through the features! Just above the Language icon, click Try the updated Blogger interface.

Design Tips - Fonts

Now that your header is complete, let's consider the overall look of your blog. Particularly FONTS.

Something to keep in mind with this: less is more.

More Header Design Tips

Last week I posted some general tips for changing the basic look of your blog header. We tiptoed into Template Designer and tweaked a couple of things. Do you want to do something jazzier? Like have a photograph with some text?

Header Design tips

Let's dress up your header!

Go to Layout. If you don't have a header gadget, click Add a Gadget, scroll and add Page Header.

We're not going to upload a custom background in this example. We'll just use place text on the existing template.

Enter the Title of your blog and a Description (optional), then Save.

Next, click Template in your left sidebar.

Playlists

Would you like music to play on your blog? You can create a list of your favorite songs to play when people visit your site. This can be a very effective feature that adds interest to your blog. You can also have fun with it if you periodically change your background and want to have scene-specific music (like holidays, seasons, etc).

Blog List & Link List - share your interests!

Hopefully you've made friends with some other bloggers, so here's your chance to create a community!

If people enjoy your blog, they'll probably have some of the same interests and want to know some of the blogs you follow and some of the sites you like.

Embedding Videos

You may want to have a video in your post, and it's an easy thing to do!

There are a couple of ways to do that. You can upload the file by clicking the icon on the posting task bar. That can take some time, and Blogger has certain size limitations. But there is a better way: you can embed a video from another site such as Youtube.

Sending your blog posts to Facebook

Networked Blogs is the application that lets Blogger talk to Facebook. There are several steps to connect everything, but once it's set up you won't have to bother with it again.

Sign in to Facebook.

Adding Facebook and Twitter Buttons to your blog

Now that your blog is up and running, you'll want your friends to connect with you on Facebook and Twitter. These buttons are easily added and best located in a sidebar.

For Facebook:
Sign in to Facebook, then click here: Facebook Badges
Click on Profile Badges

Design & Posting Considerations

Everyone wants traffic on their blog. What are some things to think about for your followers?

Design:
Visual appeal is important for bloggers. "Busy" templates and gadget placement might be something you enjoy seeing, but your viewers can get bogged down by too much material.

Ask some of your friends for their opinions, especially fellow bloggers and friends who follow blogs. Stalk some other blog sites and think about what you like about it, but also what you don't like.

Can you find the author without scrolling to the bottom of the page? Are their pages descriptive and easy to navigate? Are the fonts easy to read? Is there a lot of extraneous stuff cluttering up the sidebar?

How To Include A Link In Your Post

Sometimes we find something online we think our readers would enjoy and want them to be able to click-and-go. It's a simple concept and is easy to do once you get the hang of it. You just need to tell your blog where to go!

BEFORE YOU BEGIN - Decide where you're sending the reader 

Adding Pages to your blog

Right now your blog just has a main (home) page, and that's really all you need. But many of you have hobbies and bios you might want to share, and pages are the best places to showcase those.

Go to Layout, then click Add a Gadget at the top.

Comments and Notifications settings

Now that you have subscribers reading your blog, they're likely to make comments on your posts. Unless you want to perch on your blog and watch it round the clock, you'll want to be notified when someone makes a comment.

From Overview, click on Settings, and then Basic. Let's look at your options.

Let your friends subscribe!

Now that your blog is set up, your friends will want to read your posts. They can either randomly visit your site or they can receive an email every time you post. Adding this feature (gadget) is simple:

Click on Design, then Add A Gadget

Welcome to my new blog!

After helping so many friends start blogs, I've decided to launch an instructional blog!


Blogging is fun and easy once you get started and learn a few tricks. Regardless of your skill level, you CAN be a blogger. If you follow these step-by-step instructions, you could have a new blog up sooner than you think!


Once you start blogging, you'll want to spread your wings and add new elements and try new things. This is NOT intended to be an all-inclusive, find-it-all-here resource. It IS intended to be encourage you and show you a new tip once a week.


I will try to post every Tuesday morning. If you have any questions, please post them in the comment box or email me. Your question may be the topic of my next post!


This blog will be dedicated to BLOGGER blogs. I also blog using Wordpress, but Blogger is the easiest way to get started and learn the basics.


If you're ready to go, let's start in the logical place:  Step 1