ALTERNATIVES TO FOLLOW-BY-EMAIL

FOLLOW UP POST - As mentioned in my April 14, 2021, Blog Post, Google is doing away with the "Follow by Email" option for Blogger blogs.  

This means anyone using the FOLLOW BY EMAIL gadget on your Blogger Blog (or for those who use Feedburner), they will no longer automatically receive email notifications every time you publish a blog post. 

It also means that if YOU follow other people using Feedburner's FOLLOW BY EMAIL option on THEIR blogs, you will no longer receive email notifications when they publish their blogs.

I currently follow many of you via email notification, and am in the process of removing myself from your lists, and following you via different means. Regarding blogging friends who do not offer that option on their blogs, I have followed for years through the BlogLovin' option. I am in the process of transferring all my FOLLOW BY EMAIL buddies to two other options: Feedly and BlogLovin'.  And hope to determine which is preferential.

FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO DO NOT USE THE GOOGLE READER:

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

SOME FOLLOW-BY-EMAIL OPTIONS

I found this webpage that offers a preview of the 6 best free email marketing services. Or click here:

https://themeisle.com/blog/best-free-email-marketing-services/

Keep in mind, when it says you can send up to 300 or 500 emails per day, it means one email per address. So if you have 1,500 email followers, that means 1,500 emails per day.

Someone in my previous post mentioned Mail Chimp. They allow up to 2,000 subscribers (that equals 2,000 emails every time you publish). You are allowed up to 10,000 email notifications per month. So if you post 3 times per week, and have 150 subscribers, that would be 1,800 email notifications per month. If you have 300 subscribers, that would be 3,600 email notifications per month, well within the allotment. 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

BLOGLOVIN' OPTIONS

At BlogLovin' you may choose to receive email notifications Frequently, or Daily on a single digest post. Or you may visit the BlogLovin'site periodically, or obtain their app for tablets and phones and follow directly that way. As Connie Crafter pointed out in a comment on April 14, Google acquired BlogLovin' in 2018. This acquisition may be why the free Follow-by-Email option is being eliminated by Goggle on Blogger blogs. Because Google owns BlogLovin', we don't know what the future holds in store for us there. Still, it is a nice option. AND, if you "follow yourself" on Bloglovin, you have a very nice picture of every one of your posts going back years.

That being said, it appears that BlogLovin' has eliminated their convenient organization tool where blogs could be put into categories. They have a tag option which does not appear to have the same usefulness. This is a change in the last few years.

To use BlogLovin', create an account and get started by "searching" for the blogs you wish to follow.

1. TIP: it is easiest to copy and paste the blog address into BlogLovin's search option.) 
2. If you don't already have a BlogLovin' account, you may actually have followers without realizing it. 
3. BEFORE creating your account, search for your own blog address and then CLAIM IT to create your account. 
4. When you click on CLAIM IT, BlogLovin' will suggest you copy and paste an HTML code onto your Blogger Blog POST. This step is not always necessary. But I found that putting that HTML code into a side bar or the bottom bar of my blog was sufficient. Bloglovin' recognizes its own HTML code on your Blogger blog, for automatic updates. (look at the very bottom of my blog to see where I placed the HTML code unobtrusively) as an ADD A GADGET HTML. 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

FEEDLY READER OPTIONS

FEEDLY - is another platform, similar to BlogLovin', but it allows you to organize the blogs you wish to follow. To use Feedly, create a free account. As a new blogger in 2012, I used their platform, but discontinued later for other options. Now I find myself returning to them. Follow the steps below (thanks to Leslie Miller for helping me through the process). (if you are reading from my blog, click on the photos to enlarge)

1. On the left sidebar, click the PLUS symbol:

2.  Copy-and-Paste the blog address you want to follow:

3. Select the option under the word SOURCES (it highlights in grey shown below):

4.  A little pop up box appears. Select the FOLLOW button:

5. Another little pop up window appears so you can either select an existing NewsFeed Category, or create a new feed category. The free option only allows you three Categories:

6.  Add to your Category:

7. You are now AUTOMATICALLY following any blog or website that updates its feeds:

You can also change the "follow options" for each blog, or each category, to suit your needs. 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hopefully, one of these options will assist you in determining what is best for you in the way of following your favorite bloggers.

Lovingly,