If you're like me when it comes to blogs, you'll have a list of daily reads then lots (and I mean lots) of other blogs neatly tucked away in to your browsers' bookmark folder, just waiting for their turn to be read. Enter Bloglovin'. This handy site has transformed the way I read blogs, so I thought I'd share the love and break down the wall of mystery!
1. Firstly, what is Bloglovin'?
Bloglovin' is basically the new Google Reader, except with more features to make keeping track of your favourite reads much easier. Bloglovin' allows it's users to track their favourite blogs, organise them into categories and to read them from within the Bloglovin' platform - say bye bye to a million bookmarks!
As well as all of this, Bloglovin' also gives users the option to attach their Bloglovin' account to their own blog by inserting a small piece of code into a post, therefore, adding the blog to the ranks on the site. Sound great right?
2. Claiming your blog.
Once you're signed up, you're given the option to "claim" a blog as your own, it's a way of saying - 'hey, I own this!'. This is a simple case of searching your blog using the in-site engine, then selecting it from the list. After that, Bloglovin' generates a short piece of code that you then publish into a new post on the blog (you can go back and delete this post later if you want). Then hit done and you've claimed your blog!
After that you're presented with some options. The most important one is how you want to categorise your blog. This determines how readers find you on the site. Select the one that's most relevant to your content, then also add a small bio for your blog too.
3. Categories explained
Bloglovin' sections off every blog by putting it into a category. This is to help readers find blogs of interest, and also to keep like-minded content together. Obviously. It's great as a reader because it lets us browse through the whole section for new blogs we might not have found otherwise, but it's also a handy tool for bloggers to gage content against what is essentially our peers.
4. Now what?
Now you're set up, it's really up to you how you use it. It can go one of two ways. You can leave it alone and simply have it as another means for new readers to find you, or, you can use it as a reader yourself. In the same way that you claimed your own blog, Bloglovin' lets you search for any blog and add it to your reading list, even if that blog isn't registered on Bloglovin'. You can organise your blogs into categorises to keep them tidy, choose to only show new posts, prioritise, you name it. It's a readers' idea of heaven.
All of the blogs are viewed within the Bloglovin' framework, so you never leave the site but can navigate through all of your usual reads. Plus, you can favourite posts from all of your blogs and they're collected in one area on the site!
5. Climbing the ranks
There is a certain degree of competition if you do decide to be a pro-active member of Bloglovin'. Categories are basically ranked. The more popular your blog, the higher you'll appear on the list of blogs within that category thus making your blog more visible to new readers. How do you get higher on the ranks? By getting more followers! Bloglovin' kindly provides several cute buttons for us to use for this purpose. Grab the code, stick it on your blog and promote promote promote!
Good luck with your Bloglovin' challenge! Drop us a link to your blog in the comments and we'll give you a follow :)
Svea xo
No comments :
Post a comment ( 0 )