Showing posts with label Google+. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Google+. Show all posts
Tuesday, August 13, 2019
Saturday, February 2, 2019
Google+ Going Away Soon - Tweak Blogger To Stay Visible
With the impending doom of Google+ just around the corner, and deletion of Google+ profiles, communities, etc., you may need to adjust a couple of things.
For instance, if you're using Blogger for your website pages or a blog, and if you have previously associated that with your Google+ profile, then you need to tweak your settings.
Go into your blog and go to the "Settings" section. Choose "User Settings" at the bottom of the list. Then, to the right, make sure the button for "Blogger" is selected and not the "Google+" profile. Right beneath the "Blogger" button is the word "Edit." This is for your Blogger Profile, which you need to fill in, update, whatever, especially if you have the profile set to be viewed on your blogs. Click Edit and fill in the blanks, then "Save Profile" at the bottom. There's even a spot on there to upload your picture, as the one you had on your Google+ profile will no longer show up soon.
On the left menu choose "Posts, Comments, and Sharing" and scroll to the bottom. There you will see "Use Google+ comments in this blog?" Make sure it's set to "No." Right below that you may see a large drop-down box. Make sure it says, "Google+ Disabled."
Google+ users should have all received an email by now telling them how to download their Google+ stream, comments, etc. Do it. Just in case you ever want to access it to search for something later. It will be in an html file. Have it saved to your Google Drive or to your own laptop. I went ahead and opted to delete my Google+ profile ahead of schedule, to avoid the April rush. However, when you go to do that, you DO NOT have to delete your YouTube channels, or any other stuff. Just Google+. Unless you are a Google Suite user, then that's different. Follow the instructions in the email you received. I think it stays active.
If you have more than one Blogger blog, you will have to adjust these settings for each one. Okay, that's it. Tweak away. Happy blogging.
For instance, if you're using Blogger for your website pages or a blog, and if you have previously associated that with your Google+ profile, then you need to tweak your settings.
Go into your blog and go to the "Settings" section. Choose "User Settings" at the bottom of the list. Then, to the right, make sure the button for "Blogger" is selected and not the "Google+" profile. Right beneath the "Blogger" button is the word "Edit." This is for your Blogger Profile, which you need to fill in, update, whatever, especially if you have the profile set to be viewed on your blogs. Click Edit and fill in the blanks, then "Save Profile" at the bottom. There's even a spot on there to upload your picture, as the one you had on your Google+ profile will no longer show up soon.
On the left menu choose "Posts, Comments, and Sharing" and scroll to the bottom. There you will see "Use Google+ comments in this blog?" Make sure it's set to "No." Right below that you may see a large drop-down box. Make sure it says, "Google+ Disabled."
Google+ users should have all received an email by now telling them how to download their Google+ stream, comments, etc. Do it. Just in case you ever want to access it to search for something later. It will be in an html file. Have it saved to your Google Drive or to your own laptop. I went ahead and opted to delete my Google+ profile ahead of schedule, to avoid the April rush. However, when you go to do that, you DO NOT have to delete your YouTube channels, or any other stuff. Just Google+. Unless you are a Google Suite user, then that's different. Follow the instructions in the email you received. I think it stays active.
If you have more than one Blogger blog, you will have to adjust these settings for each one. Okay, that's it. Tweak away. Happy blogging.
Monday, October 22, 2018
Google+ Shutting Down - Not Blogger!
With the impending shut-down of the consumer side of Google+ apparently slated for August of 2019, those of you who have a Google+ account will have one less online space to update. Of course, there will also be one less online space whereby your blog posts may be aggregated and disseminated publicly to users in a single stream. That's the hub of the problem.
I've read the news posts regarding the shutdown. I understand their reasoning. Google+ just isn't working out. It hasn't gained that all-important popularity like some of the other social networking sites. But, how then are bloggers supposed to get their blog noticed when Google+ goes silent? And, let's be clear, it is Google+, NOT BLOGGER, that is going silent.
Well, there are Google searches. Adding labels to blog posts will help get it noticed in search results. Hopefully Goggle will allow more than 20 labels to a post. Adding a blog roll and a link list to your blog and asking those you list to add your blog to theirs is another way of generating readers and followers. Adding a link to your blog or listing your blog site in your profile information in other social media sites you are involved in is another. Guest blogging on other blogs will help too. Getting your blog pinged and crawled is important. Adding links to keywords in your blog posts (most of you already know) may help drive traffic to your blog and help someone else out, too. None of this is new, but some of it may have been forgotten in the shadow of the big social networking sites that consume a lot of time.
There are more than a few people, like me, who have decided to spend less time on social media sites like Facebook ( providing free content for Facebook to sell ads while not sharing the revenue stream they get from them, and being pressed to pay Facebook to 'boost the post') and Twitter (similar to Facebook), and LinkedIn (ditto x 2), in favor of generating content and traffic for our own blogs, and spending more time actually writing books, essays, articles, etc, for which we may be paid and which our loyal readers are eager to have.
Don't worry. Be Happy. Blogger is not going anywhere anytime soon. At least, I hope not. It's still the easiest blog platform to get started with, to update, and to customize. Wherever you blog, you should be thinking of your blog as prime real estate. Those blog rolls and website links you can add are fertile ground. And if you want to grow your followers, be sure to add an all-important email subscription button to allow visitors to get your updates, minus the drama, directly in their inbox. Re-explore all that functionality that has been overlooked or undervalued since you first set up your blog, or abandoned it in favor of social media sites.
Remember, sharing is key, and subscribing via email to the content you really like may just make you a happier blogger and a happier reader. And, allowing moderated comments on your blog(s) will allow you to be as social as you want or need to be.
Be sure to check into affiliate marketing opportunities for the websites you own, and set up an AdSense account with Google and monetize your own blog and start generating some revenue for the content you work so hard to create. I'll be adding a blog roll for our author's here, so you can visit their blog sites, and I will be adding a link list for other writing-publishing-related sites, as well as one for writing groups, that an author, or aspiring author, might be interested in exploring.
In closing, I want to mention that the opinions stated herein are my own and may not be endorsed by everyone in our writing group. But as writers we all need to be certain that the investment of time and energy, and it's considerable, is well balanced with the return.
Susan Cronk
I've read the news posts regarding the shutdown. I understand their reasoning. Google+ just isn't working out. It hasn't gained that all-important popularity like some of the other social networking sites. But, how then are bloggers supposed to get their blog noticed when Google+ goes silent? And, let's be clear, it is Google+, NOT BLOGGER, that is going silent.
Well, there are Google searches. Adding labels to blog posts will help get it noticed in search results. Hopefully Goggle will allow more than 20 labels to a post. Adding a blog roll and a link list to your blog and asking those you list to add your blog to theirs is another way of generating readers and followers. Adding a link to your blog or listing your blog site in your profile information in other social media sites you are involved in is another. Guest blogging on other blogs will help too. Getting your blog pinged and crawled is important. Adding links to keywords in your blog posts (most of you already know) may help drive traffic to your blog and help someone else out, too. None of this is new, but some of it may have been forgotten in the shadow of the big social networking sites that consume a lot of time.
There are more than a few people, like me, who have decided to spend less time on social media sites like Facebook ( providing free content for Facebook to sell ads while not sharing the revenue stream they get from them, and being pressed to pay Facebook to 'boost the post') and Twitter (similar to Facebook), and LinkedIn (ditto x 2), in favor of generating content and traffic for our own blogs, and spending more time actually writing books, essays, articles, etc, for which we may be paid and which our loyal readers are eager to have.
Don't worry. Be Happy. Blogger is not going anywhere anytime soon. At least, I hope not. It's still the easiest blog platform to get started with, to update, and to customize. Wherever you blog, you should be thinking of your blog as prime real estate. Those blog rolls and website links you can add are fertile ground. And if you want to grow your followers, be sure to add an all-important email subscription button to allow visitors to get your updates, minus the drama, directly in their inbox. Re-explore all that functionality that has been overlooked or undervalued since you first set up your blog, or abandoned it in favor of social media sites.
Remember, sharing is key, and subscribing via email to the content you really like may just make you a happier blogger and a happier reader. And, allowing moderated comments on your blog(s) will allow you to be as social as you want or need to be.
Be sure to check into affiliate marketing opportunities for the websites you own, and set up an AdSense account with Google and monetize your own blog and start generating some revenue for the content you work so hard to create. I'll be adding a blog roll for our author's here, so you can visit their blog sites, and I will be adding a link list for other writing-publishing-related sites, as well as one for writing groups, that an author, or aspiring author, might be interested in exploring.
In closing, I want to mention that the opinions stated herein are my own and may not be endorsed by everyone in our writing group. But as writers we all need to be certain that the investment of time and energy, and it's considerable, is well balanced with the return.
Susan Cronk
Thursday, December 22, 2016
Don't Forget the Marketing
If you've been wondering what options are available to you, in addition to those trusted standards like magazines and newspapers, you may want to consider online ad campaigns on sites like Goodreads, and on social media sites like Facebook. There are also high-impact options like Google Ad Words that can get your books in front of hundreds of millions of people. And don't forget to talk to your local newspaper about an online ad for their website. They may cost a bit more, but they are key to reaching local as well as more distant readers.
Check into advertising on sites and in groups that are focused on your target audience. Most sites offering advertising options will permit you to select your daily budget amount, the price to be deducted from your prepaid advertising budget amount, and the duration you want your ad to run. And, most sites providing paid advertising options also provide data that can help you target your future ads more effectively. And, you may want to approach other indie authors and consider swapping linked ads on their space for placing an ad for their book(s) on yours.
And, most importantly, don't forget to put ads for your books on your own website and link those book covers back to where those books can be purchased, i.e., your Createspace e-store, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books-a-Million, etc.
Here are a few articles that will provide some insights into online advertising. Remember, producing the book is only one part of a successful outcome in the whole writing + publishing equation.
Publishers Weekly Articles
Google Ads 101: A Guide for Indie Authors
Facebook Ads: A Guide for Indie Authors
Goodreads Ads for Indie Authors
Bookworks.com
Targeted Book Advertising Strategies for Indie Authors
Regardless of what means you choose for advertising your books, it's important to do your homework, and don't feel locked in to just one site. Spread the word about your book by doing ad campaigns on a variety of sites. You'll be surprised what increased sales you may see from a very small initial investment.
Happy advertising - Susan.
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