Monday, September 12, 2011

FAMP: Link Up

A few short months ago when I began blogging I posted a comment on another person's blog and clicked to follow her.  The next day I returned to her blog and found her post was directed at me (without saying my name).  She informed her readers that she was super irritated with people who left comments but didn't have their own blog on their profile so she could follow back. I hung my head in embarrassment and quickly rectified the situation.

Through the last few weeks I have read comments that reveal I was not alone in this mistake. Others of you have made it.  This recent blogging campaign has shown me that others of you are doing it now. So this post will teach you how to make things right.


Please know that if you don't have your blog linked to your Google profile, I am not irritated or full of judgment. I simply want to help those who want to learn.

And From A Marketing Perspective, you should always have your link in your profile to make it easy for people to find you.

1. Open your blog.
2. Click on the "View My Complete Profile" under "About Me"
3. Select "Edit Profile"
4. By "Show My Blogs" hit "Select blogs to display"
5. Choose your options and save

Now when you follow someone or comment on another blog, anyone can click on your profile and see hyperlinks to your blog(s) under the heading My Blogs. (See below). Tip: Don't keep out-of-date or private blogs on this list. It's irritating to your followers to not know which blog they should follow.


I hope this was helpful and less pointed than the way I learned.

Are you linked up? How long did it take you to learn? How did you finally figure it out or were you always completely on top of it?

13 comments:

Michelle Fayard said...

This is a great post, Laura, because it really makes me sad when I can't find someone and follow them back. I'd hate them to think people don't care.

J E Fritz said...

It drives me nuts when people follow/comment but don't link up. And it's not because it's anything rude on their part--it just feels wrong not to follow back.

I think it took me a few weeks to figure out how to link up. Smart thinking to put the how-to up there.

Kathi Oram Peterson said...

Very thoughtful of you! I'll have to check and make sure I'm doing it right.

BTW: You won the book I'm giving away in last week's drawing, but I do need to know where you want me to send it. Please let me know. Thanks!

Tracey Wood said...

Laura -Sage n practical advice indeed. Well done. -But I think you got off lightly having only to hang ur head for that kind of misdemeanor! (I recently had to hang my head when a nice lady stopped following me for using a very rude word on my blog. I felt myself blush all the way to the roots of my hair. She was right. I'm old enough to know better;) )

Mary@GigglesandGuns said...

I haven't been called out as you have. I was blessed to have an early follower who aimed me in the right direction. Don't feel too guilty because you are certainly not the only one. Right now at least a dozen of my followers are in that boat.
These are great directions.

Mary

elizabethanne said...

Great practical advice. My blogger blog isn't my writing one, and so I don't have a link to it on my profile (my writing blog is a wordpress one). I think I have my profile set up so there's a link to my writing blog -- it's under my profile name, cited as "my website", I believe. I really appreciate it when there's the option of doing name/url when choosing in "comment as". That's how I prefer to leave my info.

I've just listed you as a recipient of the Versatile Blogger Award. You can find the details on this post on my blog: http://elizabethannewrites.com/2011/09/13/im-a-versatile-blogger/

Julie said...

that makes sense. I notice mine is already checked, however, question: on SOME blogs when I try to comment, my Blogger name/picture doesn't pop up, so I click to post under my google acct. but then it says my google acct. isn't allowed to post to blogs. so I can't post on some blogs. It really confuses me! btw- I have the sme thing happening on here when I am trying to post right now. so I have to manually enter my blog address. :/

Susanna Leonard Hill said...

Thank you for this very helpful post. I think I was and am linked up, but completely by accident :)

Laura Barnes said...

Awesome comments, thanks for the support.

@Kathi, Thank you so much for the win!!

@Tracey, don't stop being you! I wish I was brave enough to say naughty words on my blog.

@elizabethanne, yay!! I'm headed over to your blog now!! I like the comment/url option as well which is on this site. Did it not work for you? I usually am to lazy to scroll down and use it and end up using the Google comment most, but I should use the other more often.

@Julie, I have problems with my followers pictures showing up all the time on blogger. Is that what you're talking about? That's really strange about the Google thing, though, I've never had that happen. I'll play around more and see if it's one of my settings that are off.

Melissa Sugar said...

Wow, I am just thinking about this very issue. After the QQQE Pay it forward blogfest, I accumulated many new followers. I was so happy with the turnout I was jumping up & down. I decided to be a good blogger & visit every single person who began following me, read their blogs, comment in the comment section & follow their blog. I was so frustrated to find that about one third of the names or pictures I clicked on took me to a profile or "about me" page, but didn't display a blog to follow. There are many that I have been unable to find after a diligent search and I don't have enough time each day to perform such searches.

I wish you would re-post this as a headliner post. There are so many new bloggers like myself who have increased our following & the number of blogs we follow as a result of the pay it forward blogfest & Alex Cavanaugh's Insecure Writers Support Group blogest, just to name a couple and we could all benefit from your helpful advice.

BTW, I have read many more of your post today. I am commenting on about one- fifth of the post I read because each time I leave a comment I have to retype my name, website & email address etc. Am I doing something wrong? Normally when I comment on other blogspot blogs I am asked if I want to comment under my google name or the blog I am signed in to. (hope that made sense). I love your blog & wanted you to know I am reading a lot more of it than my comments reflect. I also need to find out if I am doing something wrong and if there is an easier & quicker way to leave my comment. Sorry so long.

LauraBarnes said...

Thanks so much for letting me know that. I apologize that you are having to do that. I use an interface so that I can comment from my email and so my replies will show up underneath the comment. When you leave a comment, if you click the box that says "Post as" you can choose which profile to use to comment from. Using one of those should make it so you don't have to retype in your info each time - just once. I will try to add that to the blog so people understand. I'm so glad you told me! And thanks so much for reading!!

Stacy S. Jensen said...

I use Blogger and have tried to make it all user friendly for WP and others to comment, etc. Congrats on the 200 and counting. :)

Theenchantedwriter said...

Fabulous! Thanks for your awesome site.

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