Feed Blog To The World

Today, I'm going to tell you how to make the most of your blog by "feeding" it to other applications like Twitter, Goodreads, etc.

(I had planned to post the discussion about Ad Copy on my Ebook Success series today, but I'm going to be gone all day. I didn't have time to finish it last night. So look for it perhaps tomorrow.)

This post was prompted by email correspondence between my friend AnneMarie Novark and me yesterday. I was trying to help AnneMarie get her blog set up to feed it to her social network sites.

Much of the time, I tend to think that everyone knows all this technical stuff rattling around inside my head so I never mention it. When someone asks me how to do something, I think: "Maybe others don't know this as well." So then it becomes blog fodder.

So, here's how to capitalize on the sparkling content you post by sharing it with some of the popular author social media.

Facebook

I'll tackle the hardest first. Facebook isn't easy if you're trying to feed a Blogspot blog. If you've got Wordpress, there's a plug-in you can use that's user-friendly. Otherwise, you have to set up the process through Notes / Import Notes Settings.

Here's a link to help get you started and learn more about it. Instructions are under FAQ but you have to search (click on Account / Help Center / type in "feed blog" and click the link that appears.)

Currently, I know of no way to feed your blog to your FB Profile page. I've attempted a couple of processes, but there seem to be glitches with the ones I've tried. If you successfully do this, let me know so I can post the info here.

In the meantime, you might install a FB Share widget. I have one on my sidebar, but it's so far down it probably isn't noticed most of the time. A reader can click that button and share a post on FB instantly. (Go, find, click!)

The Facebook Share button is a Blogger Gadget or widget as the rest of the techno world calls it. Open your Dashboard, click Design, click Add A Gadget. When the Add A Gadget window opens, in the Search box, type Facebook. Scroll down until you see the Share gadget, click to add. Then go drag and drop it where you want it.

Personalize it if you wish. Don't forget: click Preview. If you like what you see, click Save.

Twitter

This is the easiest. Just go to Twitterfeed. That's where I feed this blog.

Goodreads

I also feed SlingWords to Goodreads, but I find most functions on Goodreads a bit obscure. Of course, that's probably just me because I don't spend a lot of time there. Go to your Dashboard.

In main section, click on YOUR BLOG. In the right hand side of page that opens, in pale gray print you'll see next to NEW POSTS, edit blog settings. Click EDIT BLOG SETTINGS.

If you haven't fed your blog through already, it should open a page that says: Already Have a Blog?

If you already have a blog somewhere else, enter its Atom or RSS URL, and your Goodreads blog will automatically show summaries from your external blog whenever you post there. Fill in the blanks and click SAVE. That should fix you up.

Note: Atom is the default Blogger feed. If you don't know, from Dashboard, click Settings, then the Site Feed tab. Scroll down to the feed box. If it's blank, you are using Atom. If you've registered with Feedburner and have put that URL in the feed box, then use the RSS URL from that.

Amazon Author Central

If you're selling books, you need a page set up on Amazon Author Central. If you haven't set up your Amazon Author page, why not?

Go to your author page where you edit your BIOGRAPHY / BLOGS / EVENTS. Next to Blogs, you'll see Add Blog. Click that and follow the instructions.

Takeaway Truth

If today's post helps you, click the FB share and see how it works. Also, thank AnneMarie for asking the original question!

(A faithful reader who praised my blog (thank you!), suggested I put a Donation Button at the end of my blog posts. I'm willing to try most things so I thought I'd see if the great amount of time I devote to helping others via this blog was actually appreciated.

If what you read here helps you get ahead, please consider making a donation by clicking this button, or perhaps subscribe to the Kindle edition of SlingWords which is only $.99 per month. In any event, thank you for your moral support and any monetary support you see fit to contribute.)