This is part three in the series Blogger vs. WordPress.
Many of you had questions about the different ways to follow a WordPress blog, since GFC is no longer available for non-google websites.
First of all let me clarify a couple of things.
GFC functions exactly like an RSS feed, except that instead getting to choose which reader (i.e. google, yahoo, etc.) to use, the follower reads the blog via their blogger reader. Did you know that all those blogs you follow via GFC will also show up in your google reader? It’s true! And the other big difference is that the GFC widget displays follower numbers + a tiny thumnail picture of the most recent followers. And that is very appealing to a lot of people.
But can I get on my soap box for just a few minutes?
Y’all, numbers, whether they are GFC numbers, subscriber numbers, twitter followers, or facebook likes – they are very, very misleading, and they rarely provide an accurate assessment of the vitality of a blog.
Someone can have 1300 GFC followers, but only average 5-10 comments per day. Meanwhile, they’re getting tweets, retweets, facebook shares, pins, and e-mails. Those numbers definitely speak to the vitality of a blog, but those are numbers that are rarely seen, and even harder to track.
I think that’s what prompted the creators of Klout to come up with a way to measure influence on social media.
To learn more about Klout, check out my Klout 101 post.
Giving up GFC was not an issue for me at all. I fully understand that it in no way represents the activity, success, or vitality of my website.
<<steps off soap box>>
Now to answer a couple of reader questions:
Rebekah at Living & Learning asked:It may be the world’s dumbest question but can you explain (or point me in the right direction) how exactly an RSS feed works?
And
Amber at My Three Bittles asked: Can you talk about the ways to follow/unfollow a WP blog! I’m so used to GFC and I know that WP doesn’t offer that, so would it just be through RSS subscription?
I’m guessing you want to know how RSS works functionally, rather than technically? For how it works technically, check out RSS-Tutorial.com.
Functionally, here’s how you can follow via RSS:
And in case you want to add A Royal Daughter (or any other site) to your blogger reads:
You can always follow ARD via Blog Lovin’ and Hello Cotton too! Of course, subscribing by e-mail is the BEST way to never miss a post! *hint hint*
Okay, I hope that answers a few questions for you! I’ll probably hold off on the rest of the Q & A’s until sometime next week.
Don’t forget about #DesireToInspire tomorrow! I’ll hope you’ll be joining us!
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Community Q & A with Mama Marchand’s Nest
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RDD: As a blogger, what is your biggest challenge for growing your community, and how do you deal with it?)
MMN: I think the biggest challenge when trying to grow community is balancing the quality vs. quantity aspect of blogging. In order to grow community, you need to to post on a very frequent basis. However, I think that a genuine community thrives on quality posts which may not always happen when you are posting frequently. I want to bring my readers good, thought-provoking writing which means that some days there are no posts. And it’s hard to grow your blog when you aren’t posting – make sense? I still really haven’t found the answer I guess!
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That was fantastic information, thank you so much. I have now added you too my blogger feed, I had so many urls everywhere and now I can have them all there, so excited
Your site is a blessing as always. Tara
Great, thank you Tara! What a sweet and encouraging comment!
Thank you so much for this post/tutorial! I had no idea I could add any blog that didn’t have GFC to my reader with the “Add” button. Consider yourself added to my list
Why thank you Michelle!
Glad to be a help!
Thanks for all of this info!
Do you “lose” GFC followers when you switch? I know they just need to resubscribe to your blog through an RSS feed, but how do you capture them to do that?
Hey Jordy! I guess I should have addressed this in the post. No, I transferred feeds, so there was no interruption for my GFC followers. ARD is still showing up in their blogger reader.
Totally agree, the GFC counter is just a number and doesn’t reflect much about the blog. I definitely know a blogger with over 1000 GFCs and only gets a handful of comments a day. My previous GFC count was in the teens but at least every one of them left a comment and I know them
. Also, thanks again for your post on Klout because I love to see that number daily! Clear steps on how to add your feed url to the blogger/GFC reader.
Great, thanks Lisa! I think GFC is useful for sure, but it’s certainly not a good way to gauge success or readership.
Sharing this everywhere!!! It took me awhile to figure this out at first, so I’m sure there are lots of others that wonder how to make it work!
This is great & answered my question perfectly!! Thank you!!
Great, thank you!
Thanks for the info! You may be getting to this question later, but is there a way to see who follows you through a reader on a self-hosted WP site? I can see who subscribes through e-mail, but not those who do RSS feed. Am I missing something?
Nancy, thanks for bringing this up! I should have addressed this as a major difference between GFC and RSS.
RSS does not allow you to see who follows you individually. At least not through feedburner (which I use right now). However, feedburner tracks stats on your audience, including daily reach, what web browser they’re using, and other helpful stats.
I hope this helps!
Thanks so much!
I’m glad you posted this because it made me realize I haven’t subscribed via RSS yet! Thanks for the post
. I like your soapbox.
Thanks Brittany!!!
It takes a while to remember those things when someone switches….*wink* Heading over to yours now so I can do the same.
LOVE YOU!!
This is SO helpful!! I never understood RSS but I always felt like an idiot for asking
I think I want to get rid of GFC too but I wanted to figure out what RSS was all about first. You’re awesome!
Great! I’m SO glad to be a help, my friend!
Amanda, I’ve been waiting for the perfect moment to absorb this series and I just read all the posts. You did a great job. Whew, I really stink at this part of blogging. I feel overwhelmed and lame when it comes to the techy stuff. I feel a little stuck with Blogger b/c it is so user friendly. When I first started blogging, I tried using a WP blog. It was so horribly complex for me that I gave it up. It is like a foreign language. And though your posts give me GREAT reasons to switch or at least approach certain things differently, I feel like the learning curve is so rough. I know I have good content, but I really lack the professionalism, analytics, content security…some important stuff. Bottom line is I wish I could have your brain for like a week and makeover the whole 9 yds. Thanks for the food for thought, pal.
Just wanted to say “thanks” for posting these tutorials, even though I’m a little late to the punch here! They were helpful even though I am still a little lost in the blogosphere!