Do you have a favorite blog and want to let the author and readers know that you are a fan? Well now you can do that and more with the Blogger Following feature! You can even keep track of the blogs you follow via your Reading List on the Blogger dashboard.
How do I become a Follower of a blog?
There are several ways to become a follower of a blog. One of the easiest ways is to visit a blog that has added the Following widget and click on the "Follow this Blog" link under the "Followers" widget:
You'll then see a popup window with the options to either follow publicly or anonymously:
Select how you'd like to follow the blog, then click the orange "Follow" button. It is that simple, you are now a follower of the blog! If you elected to follow the blog publicly, your profile picture will be displayed on the blog with a link to your Blogger profile (Note: The widget may not show all followers of the blog. If this is the case all followers will be linked from the widget). When you become a follower of a blog, the blog will also be added to your Reading List on your Blogger dashboard. Additionally, you can become a follower of any blog or URL (even if the blog doesn't have the Followers widget) by adding the blog to your Reading List on the dashboard.
How to remove yourself from following a blog
The easiest way to remove yourself from following a blog is to visit the blog, and click "Stop Following" under the Following widget on the blog.
You will then see a pop-up window to confirm your action. Click the orange "Stop Following" button and you will be removed from following the blog. If the blog doesn't have a Followers widget, you can still stop following the blog. To do so, go to the "Blogs I'm Following" tab under your Reading List on your dashboard.
Then click the blue "Manage" button. You will then see a list of all the blogs that you are following. To stop following a blog, click on the trash icon next to the blog you want to stop following.
You also have the option to change how you'd like to follow the blog (publicly or anonymously) from the drop-down menu.
Lastly, following a blog will create a subscription to the blog in yourGoogle Reader account.
What does Blocking a follower do?
When you Block a follower of your blog, the user will no longer appear in the Followers Gadget on your blog and will not see your blog in their Blogger Reading List. However, since your blog is public, the user can still use the other feed readers to subscribe to your blog, read your posts, and comment.
How to grow your audience with Following?
The Followers widget is a great tool to help you grow your blog's audience. Readers often visit a blog and enjoy it but fail to return. With the followers widget you can get all readers to return and become a fan. We highly recommend that you write a post about your followers widget and encourage all readers to become a follower. Additionally you should put your followers widget at the top of your sidebar so more readers will notice it. Many readers ignore sidebar items so by writing a post about your followers widget and moving the widget to the top of your sidebar, you will inevitably grow your audience.
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