New to SITS? Welcome!! Go read this to get started.
Welcome to the weekly blogging tip and Saturday Sharefest comment game! This week I’m talking about why you should use Feedburner.
Your blog has an RSS feed so people can subscribe to it and read it in a feed reader, and using a service called Feedburner provides you with tools to make the most of your feed. (If you don’t know what an RSS feed is, check out RSS in Plain English.) Some of the benefits of using Feedburner include…
Keeping track of approximately how many subscribers you have. It’s smart to analyze the traffic and subscribers to your blog on a regular basis to help you see trends. But be aware that Feedburner does not provide an absolute number of subscribers. You might find that you have 30 subscribers one day and 70 the next day. How can that be? The number of subscribers Feedburner reports is the total number of individuals who requested your feed on a given day. Naturally, not everyone accesses their feed readers daily, so the number of subscribers fluctuates. For a more complete explanation, see this post by ProBlogger.
Ability to offer email subscription to your blog. Subscribers will get an email every time you publish a post. I don’t always get to open Google Reader everyday, so I have email subscriptions to the blogs that are most important to me.
Ability to change your feed location without losing your subscribers. This is especially useful if you migrate your blog from one platform to another (i.e. Blogger to WordPress), or if you start a whole new blog and want to keep the subscribers from your old blog. Your subscribers are following the Feedburner URL, so all you need to do is change the “feed source” in your Feedburner account and your followers will continue to get your posts from your new blog.
How To Burn Your Feedburner Feed
Here’s a nice video blog that demonstrates setting up a Feedburner feed.
Visit the site and log in with your Google account. Enter your blog’s URL next to “Burn a feed right this instant.” Click next, enter a name for your feed, and you’re all set.
Now you want to be sure your blog readers subscribe to your blog using the Feedburner feed – and ONLY the Feedburner feed. If you have links to both feeds available on your blog, some people might end up subscribing with your original Blogger or WordPress feed, and this will result in an inaccurate estimate of your blog subscribers. Here’s how to do it:
- Under the “Publicize” tab in Feedburner, click on the Chicklet Chooser. Select the little orange RSS button (big or small – your choice) and then scroll to the bottom of the page and copy the HTML code. Go into your blog’s sidebar widgets and either add the code from Feedburner. I recommend you put this at the very top of your sidebar.
- Go to your Blogger dashboard and click on Settings > Site Feed. Enter your Feedburner feed (something like http://feeds.feedburner.com/yourfeedname ) where it says “Post Feed Redirect URL.” Be sure to click Save Settings! If you’re a Blogger user, be sure to read “5 Tips to Enhance Your Blogger Blog with Feedburner.”
- WordPress users can use the FD Feedburner plugin.
There are a lot of other useful tools available through Feedburner. I recommend activating the following:
- Under the “Optimize” tab: Activate the Browser Friendly, SmartFeed, and FeedFlare options .
- Under the “Publicize” tab: Activate Email Subscriptions and FeedCount options.
Now, let’s play a game! Here are the rules for the SITS Saturday Sharefest:
- Leave a comment here with a link to one of your best blog posts (or just your main URL if you prefer).
- After you leave your comment, visit the link of the person who commented BEFORE you.
- Comment on their post and be sure to say “Happy SITS Saturday Sharefest” in your comment.
Now, go leave some comments! And please visit my blog, Mom Improvement.
SITS Girls Bloggy Boot Camp now has tickets available for the Phoenix and San Francisco events!
Want to subscribe to SITS and get an email each time we post? Just click here.
And, as always, when you see this:
LEAVE A COMMENT.
I just wrote a post about NOT being a mommy blogger…..I needed to vent. And I’ve been so busy working on my new site that I’ve missed all you guys! I’ll post it soon……I think everybody will love it!
.-= Diva (in Demand)´s last post: I’m Not A Mommy Blogger =-.
Thanks for the info. All this is new and confusing to me!! I appreciate any help I can get. Happy Saturday!!
.-= MessyMissy´s last post: Cheap Chicks =-.
I love all this great info you share!
.-= Diane {createdbydiane.blogspot.com}´s last post: Hana Sushi =-.
Twitter: geezees
says:
Happy Saturday Sharefest!!
http://geezeescanvas.blogspot.com/2010/02/ever-been-to-paris.html
I had just about given up on my feedburner stats because they fluctuate so much. I thought there was something wrong! I’m happy to know that there is a reason and it doesn’t have anything to do with me.
Always love these tips, thanks!
ooh.. i definitely needed to read this.
I just signed up on feedburner and am still learning so much!
.-= Erin´s last post: The clean plate club =-.
Thanks for the explanation about the fluctuating Feedburner. I couldn’t figure out what the heck people were doing!
.-= Susie @ A Slice of my Life´s last post: Happy Spring! =-.
Wow thanks a bunch for the explanation about it all, seems like a really useful tool!
Happy belated SITS Saturday Sharefest everyone
.-= Vivienne´s last post: #109 | 9th March 2010 – #116 | 16th March 2010 =-.
I’m too late for Saturday but I didn’t want to skip it!
Happy Sunday!!
.-= Kathy ´s last post: Surprise I’m not bashing my husband! =-.
This is one of the best explanations I’ve gotten about “feed burning.” For some reason, it’s been an amorphous beast I just can’t wrap my arms around and finally understand. I feel much closer now. Thank you!
.-= missy´s last post: 6 word Saturday =-.
I know it’ Sunday, but I like Saturday Sharefest. I am off to go play with Feedburner
http://www.peelmeagrapeblog.blogspot.com/
I am a day late:)
I, too, am a day late…but better late than never, right?
.-= What’s Around the Next Bend ~Dawn´s last post: five plus five equals ten?? =-.
I signed up for feedburner a long time ago, but haven’t really known what to do with it or how to optimize it. Thanks!
Here’s my blog…a day late, as per the norm.
http://ameliorationofang.blogspot.com/
.-= Angelia´s last post: Where’s The Line? =-.
Ok, if this results in a double post, I’m sorry.
Soo…what I said and can’t seem to find…is that I signed up for feedburner quite awhile ago but was never sure exactly how to use it or optimize it-so Thanks!
Here’s mah blog:
http://ameliorationofang.blogspot.com/
.-= Angelia´s last post: Where’s The Line? =-.
I know I’m late…. Thank you for the tip!
.-= Carrie´s last post: Easter Blocks =-.
Better late then never! Great tip!
=-.
.-= Megan Wagner´s last post: Spring Break! Two Days til’ I’m off to Gatlinburg, TN
Hope everyone had a great weekend. It’s been a busy one for me. I’ll be stopping by more SITS blogs in the coming week. Thanks for those who have done the same for mine!
.-= Jenn´s last post: Got Milk? – Horizon Milk that is! =-.
Holla! Heyy there. Thanks for explaining the whole fluctuating subscribers thing. Mystery solved…mostly
)
I spent last week trying to figure out FeedBurner! Man, I could have used this post then.
Hope everyone else is doing well – the weather here is STILL lovely (I’m crossing my fingers!).
.-= Megan (Best of Fates)´s last post: My Life of Crime =-.
2 days late… better than never, though! Happy Sat!
Twitter: elizabeth_agd
says:
As always, great advice. I’ve always wondered how to “manage” followers
.-= More Than A Mom´s last post: I’m A Mommy Blogger And Proud Of It! =-.
I am addicted to Feedburner!! Too awesome! Thanks for explaining why the readers number changed everyday. I was wondering that….
Easter Story Cookies–
http://frugaltractormom.blogspot.com/2010/03/easter-story-cookies.html
I am addicted to Feedburner!! Too awesome! Thanks for explaining why the reader numbers change everyday. I had been wondering….
Easter Story Cookies–http://frugaltractormom.blogspot.com/2010/03/easter-story-cookies.html
.-= Tractor Mom´s last post: Hurry! Dinsey Coupons =-.
Ridiculously late leaving this comment but read your post and it was so helpful – I’d heard of Feedburner before but didn’t have a clue what it was all about – I set myself up on it yesterday so thanks for that
.-= muummmmeeeeee……´s last post: Conversation with the dog… =-.
This was incredibly useful as we’re about to make the switch to WP!
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