Just a quick note encouraging you all to follow my blog with Bloglovin' before Google Reader goes dark on July 1. (You needn't re-follow all your blogs individually, either—you can import subscriptions from other readers).
I know Bloglovin' has some bugs and is missing a few features—the ability to save posts to read later, for example--but I prefer it to the other options for one huge reason: it lets you read actual blog pages in their own design, the way they're meant to look... and it gives bloggers pageviews.
Why do pageviews matter? Many bloggers rely on people actually viewing their sites (instead of just the text and photos from a single post) to earn money from ads, sponsors, Etsy shops and links. When you read a post through something like Google Reader, that didn't count as a pageview. So every time you view an actual blog, or read it through Bloglovin', you are helping to support your favorite bloggers!
I don't make MUCH money from ads on this blog, but I have noticed since folks started switching over to Bloglovin' my pageviews have doubled (30,000/month average now). And instead of $10/month from Google Adsense, I'm seeing $30 or more. (That may not sound like much, but I live on a REALLY tight budget, and that's guilt-free money to spend on sewing and knitting supplies to blog about!)
So again—please follow me on Bloglovin'!
Have you all made the switch? Or are you going with a more Reader-esque option?
P.S. I believe this also marks the death of Google Friend Connect, which was linked to Google Reader and is being superseded by Google Plus? RIP, Friend Connect! I guess I'll remove it from my sidebar at some point...
P.P.S. If you are a blogger, even if you don't make the switch to reading blogs on Bloglovin', you should still claim your blog over there to have more control when people subscribe to you that way!
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Hey, you can still save blogs to read later, under each preview on the main page you can toggle from Mark Read to Mark Unread and that blog will stay in the queue. I don't know if there is another way to do this, but that works for me right now. If you write them, I'm sure they would be glad to include that in their next upgrade.
ReplyDeleteTrue! But with Google Reader even if you clicked "mark all blogs" in a particular category as read, the ones that you had saved to read later still stayed unread.
DeleteI still am mostly enjoying Bloglovin', though I can't understand why the app version doesn't let you read blogs by category. (I have my blogs in categories like "Knitting", "Sewing", "Vintage", "Science Fiction," "Kids & Parenting," etc.
I didn't know about page views. Now I feel sad about all those times I read my favorite blogs and they didn't know...
ReplyDeleteHey Mikhaela from one of your anonymous 30,000 page viewers :) I enjoy your blog and I am so glad your getting a little something back for everything you share.
ReplyDeleteAw, thank you! Just to clarify—a pageview is not the same as a unique vistor (since a single visitor may look at multiple pages). I WISH I had 30,000 people visiting my site every month! I get about 7,000 unique visitors per month, I think.
DeleteI've tried to use POCKET to save my blog posts but Safari on iphone doesn't seem to support it.... or I just don't know how to use it :(
ReplyDeletehmmm... it looks really cool! too bad it isnt working. my old ITouch doesn't support ANY apps (including Bloglovin') so I am now only able to read blogs directly on the computer or on my mother's old iPad.
DeleteGrumble grumble. I admit, I have avoided Bloglovin because I am an misanthropist/contrarian ... no, okay, actually, because I annoyed that I am supposed to "claim" my blog on it. Just seems like advertising. Grump grump.
ReplyDeleteI am using "The Old Reader" which is just like, you guessed it, the "Old" Google Reader!
All free services come at a price! You can't really blame them for wanting to drive traffic, though I do admit it is annoying... I'm NOT saying you're evil for using a nice plain reader, just saying why I am liking the pageview-friendly alternative.
DeleteOk, I caved, I've done it :) I'm also happy they have an iphone/ipad app cause following blogs while I'm mobile has to date been a pain in the bum!
ReplyDeleteYes! Though weirdly the app doesn't seem to let you see your categories of posts... maybe they will fix soon.
DeleteI opted out of Bloglovin' because it looked like it showed sites in the original format, ie computer friendly. I'm always reading on my phone so I need a mobile view. Right now Feedly is giving me that but I have other issues with it. User friendly my arse. Anyway, did I misunderstand how Bloglovin' works?
ReplyDeleteThey have a mobile app for reading on your phone. And many blogs have a mobile-optimized version, too—if you read my blog on an iPhone you get a mobile version...
DeleteYes, you have a nice sensible mobile view which is brilliant! But there are so many good blogs that don't, which makes a reader handy. I might try the app out though!
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ReplyDeletehey htere - i just found this post ...through...;bloglovin ;). already found you over there a whie back when another blogger mentioned google reader closing up.
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