#amcrusading

FINISHED!

source

I have finally finished following the 216 blogs on the list for Rachael Harrie's Second Writers' Platform-Building Crusade! Wow, what a marathon of following and commenting! If you think that I somehow missed you (maybe I commented but then forgot to click the Follow button (!) or my subscribing via Google Reader for those who don't have the Follow button didn't seem to work) please let me know in the comments :-)

*updated tips

Tips for Newbie Bloggers

• Display your email address. You may have specific reasons for not wanting to share your email address (like the fact that it has your real name!) but it is very helpful to have your email address displayed. It means that when I (or anyone else's blog you comment on) receive an email notification of the comment you've left on my blog, I can reply to you directly by email. On your Blogger dashboard click Edit Profile, then tick Show my email address and then at the bottom of the page click Save Profile.
• *Set up a new email address. If you don't want to share your original email address because it has your real name (for example) it is WORTH IT TO SET UP A NEW ONE WITH YOUR PEN NAME! Yes, it is a mission. I know this because a few months into blogging I set up a new gmail account, I then transferred ownership of my blog to the new gmail/blogger account, and I then re-followed every single blog I was already following! Exhausting. But so worth it in the long run. And if you've only just started blogging it is better to do this NOW than in the future when you're following even more people. [If you don't want to constantly be logging in and out of two email accounts you can set it up so that the one forwards emails to the other. Then you only need to check one account all the time.]
• Display your blog link. Now this one you definitely do want to do! You know all the little profile pictures you see in someone's Followers list? If I click on your picture, I want to be able to see the link to your blog. If it's not there, then I can't follow you back! On your Blogger dashboard click View Profile. If, underneath My Blogs, you see the name of your blog, then you're ok :-) If not, click Edit Profile. Next to Show my blogs click on Select blogs to display. Then put a tick in the box next to your blog name and click Save Settings.
• *Another way to display your blog link (like if you've done the above and it doens't seem to be working!) Go to a blog you're already following and go to the Followers gadget. If you don't see your pic with your name just above everyone else's pics then beneath the gadget click Sign In (because, of course, you are already a follower). Once you are signed in, beneath your name click on Options and then Site Settings. A new window opens up. Inside the box with your name, click on Add Links. Type in the url and the name of your blog and click Add. Then at the bottom of the window click Done. This should change your settings for all the blogs you follow (and will follow in the future!).
• *If a blog doesn't have a "Subscribe to my RSS feed" button, and you want to subscribe to their blog through Google Reader, simply go to the home page of that person's blog (ie. before you have clicked on any of their individual posts or comments), copy the url from the address bar, go to Google Reader, a the top left click Add a Subscription, paste the url and click Add. Then give it a little bit of time to load the new subscription!

And a big THANK YOU to everyone from the crusade who has followed me!!

PS. If you have any questions about the above tips, write it in the comments

or email rachelmorganwrites[at]gmail[dot]com

:-)