I have had some questions recently on what it means to subscribe to a blog. This subscribing thing isn’t new to me, in fact it is my saving grace each day – that doesn’t mean that everyone out there knows what it means. So I decided to take a post to explain a bit the benefits of subscribing and just how easy it is to do so.
I am currently subscribed to way too many blogs. Some of which are friend’s family blogs, a handful are my favorite photog’s blogs, and then there are the ever so helpful blogs of inspiration. It used to be a long process for me, clicking through my bookmarked blogs – only to find half of them hadn’t updated in days. Disappointed I would come back yet again, finding my way through each and every bookmark, hoping someone had updated. It was time consuming, and unnecessary. That was until I was introduced to RSS reader.
What is an RSS reader?
RSS stands for really simple syndication and is often times called a “feed”. You the reader subscribes to a feed by entering the URL into your reader (see below to find out how to get a reader), or by simply clicking the site’s RSS icon. The RSS icon is generally an orange box with 3 white lines inside. If you are using Firefox, this icon can be seen next to the site’s URL. Many blogs now will have an additional icon you can click such as The Creative Mama’s which is seen at the very top right of the page or to the left and down a smidge. That will take you through the process, step by step.
Why should I subscribe?
1. It’s free! No cost to you at all.
2. Using an rss reader helps you to save time and energy. Simply put – it does all the hard work for you. Your reader keeps track of all of your favorite sites and blogs, and in turn feeds you what new content it finds in one easy location.
3. The goodies. Oftentimes a blogger will offer special incentives to subscribers only – such as freebies, secret codes, e-books, and much more.
M’kay, now what do I do?
- You will first need to sign up with an rss reader. there are many readers out there. three that seem to be quite popular are: bloglines, googlereader, & newsgator.
- I use googlereader and love it. Be sure to know that signing up for a Google account (to use googlereader) does not mean you are signing up for another email. You may use any current email address. Of course if you already use gmail, it is all the simpler for you.
- Be sure to add The Creative Mama to your reader, then continue to add all of your favorite blogs! Before you know it you too will have a reader bursting at the seems with exciting content.
- You may also subscribe via email. for those of you who would rather be simply notified in your inbox when The Creative Mama has a new article, you may enter your email address in the footer section of this blog. (See the image to the right.) You will only receive an email when a new article is posted and you may unsubscribe at any time. It is a convenient and easy way to stay on top of the helpful content that will be offered here!
- Below is an awesome video put together by the people at Google to explain in detail the amazing benefits of having a googlereader and just how to use it.
If you’re interested in passing this information along, please just be sure to link back to us here at The Creative Mama. We hope this has been helpful for you!
