If you don't have a way for readers to subscribe by email, then please consider signing up for a Feedburner account. Its completely free and great for your readers who don't always log on their Google Reader each day. This is my preferred subscription method which is why I am putting it as the top feature to add! I will subscribe by email so that I won't miss out on any posts or giveaways. There is also an option from Google Friend Connect for an email newsletter subscription. Has anyone tried that?
2. Add This
This feature will be attached to the bottom of every post and will allow your readers to share your posts with their friends on various social networks including Facebook and Twitter. I like getting the stats report once a week to see what posts were shared the most and using what network. Twitter is definitely the number one network for sharing! If you have giveaways where you ask people to tweet, then this feature will make it a little easier for them.
3. Who's.Amung.Us and Feedjit
Whos.Amung.Us is a nifty little feature will show you how many people are visiting your blog in real time. You can also see what posts they are looking at and where they are from. Plus, it will show you what words and pictures were copied off your blog. Feedjit is another visitor live feed that will show you what city and country they are from and what page they were looking at. It's fun to see all the different countries that visit!
Displays your Google Page Rank on your blog for all to see. Page Rank is a numerical assignment to the importance of a website, determined by an algorithm calculation run by Google. It uses links as "votes".
If you have a Facebook Page for your blog, make it easy for your readers to join by having your Facebook Badge displayed on your blog's sidebar. Go to your Facebook Page and click on Edit Page and then click Get Your Badge. You can see the various widgets available and decide which style you want to have.
6. Search This Blog and LinkWithin
Give readers a way to find posts for topics that interest them by adding a "Search This Blog" gadget to your sidebar. In Blogger, just click on Customize, Add A Gadget, and Search Box. Another way to help readers find specific topics on your blog is to use LinkWithin. I've been meaning to add it for weeks now and just haven't done it. When I added this post to my scheduled list, I knew it was time! It was so easy!! Under each new post, LinkWithin will add thumbnails of related posts. It keeps readers engaged and gets more exposure for your past posts without having to add links in your text.
7. Twitter Buttons and Widgets
Put a one click feature on your sidebar that readers can use to find you on twitter. On any twitter page, at the bottom, you'll see "Goodies". That will take you to a ton of choices for twitter buttons and widgets. Widgets let you display twitter updates on your blog. Buttons lead people to your twitter page. Choose the style you want, copy the code and the use Customize, Add A Gadget, HTML/JavaScript to add to your blog.
If you do book reviews, you may want to put the Amazon widget with each one. This makes it easy for the reader to check out the book on Amazon and read the reviews there. You will make a little bit of money if anyone buys a book or other product from Amazon that they saw on your blog.
If you would like to participate in a follow-meme or just want people to be able to follow your blog, add a Google Friend Connect gadget. In Blogger, to add the standard gadget, just click Customize, Add A Gadget, Followers. If you want to change the size or color of your gadget, you can go to the site for Google Friend Connect. I've notice some people don't want the number of followers to show, so they change the font color to match their background.
10. Contact Me
This one is pretty simple and straightforward. Make it easy for your readers to contact you by leaving your email in a visible spot on your blog.
Do you have any more favorites? Share with everyone in the comments!
Another round of great tips, I have to use then contact me because I don't think I have one on my page.
ReplyDeletePeace, Love and Chocolate
Tiffany