When you first sign up for a blog on a site like
Blogger, there is a wide variety of options made available that allow
you to reach out to your readers. From customizable templates to
imbedded videos, audio and advertising, the new blogger seemingly has
the world at his or her fingertips. That warm and fuzzy feeling
eventually starts to wear off though as new ideas pop up that may not
be immediately covered by Blogger's built-in features.
Luckily, Blogger and essentially any other blogging platform allows its
writers to add any number of open source add-ons to their blogs for
enhanced features and interaction with readers.
AdSense
The single greatest thing you can do for your blog is turn it into a
profitable outlet for your daily writing. Google's very own AdSense
add-on is one of the easiest and most effective ways to do this. The
best part is that it is incredibly easy to add AdSense to your blog
through the interface provided by Google in Blogger.
All you need to do is sign up for an AdSense account using the same
login ID you currently use for Blogger. Go to the template page of
Blogger where you will find a visual layout of your site. Click on any
of the "Add a Page Element" links on the page and you will be asked how
big you would like your ads to be, how many to place, and what
background colors they will have. It is quick and easy and integrates
directly into your account.
Templates
The templates page is a great place to find and make a great deal of
changes to your blog, the best and most visible impressive add-on being
a new template. The code for your template can be located here, within
the Template tag of your blog settings. To change your template, all
you need to do is find a new one that you like and copy the code.
While Blogger comes with a couple dozens templates already installed,
there are thousands more options available almost anywhere you look on
the Internet. So, despite what Blogger may want your site to look like,
you can make almost any changes you want, assuming you can find someone
who has built a template to match your desired look.
Subscribe to Comments - by email
This simple add-on can be found within Blogger's own Buzz page, the
company blog that announces new changes and updates to their website
and services. To find it, look for it just below your list of blogs on
your dashboard.
This new add-on makes it easy for you to stay in the conversation loop
after you comment on a post. Blogger now gives you the opportunity to
receive an email every time someone comments on the same post. This
way, if you ask a question of the post author, you will get instant
notification of their response without having to check back on their
blog. To use this feature you will need to have a Google account which
will insure that someone else can't provide your email causing your to
receive email that you didn't request.
Amazon Widgets
Another great way to make a few dollars from your writing, Amazon
widgets allow you install links to products on Amazon that your readers
may be interested in buying. Sign up for a free Associates account with
Amazon and you can then install these widgets with your own Associate
ID number and get commission for any sales made through your site. It
is a great way to make relevant ads on your site linked to posts you
have written.
Bookmarking Buttons (Digg, Delicious, Facebook, etc)
These are almost required in today's age of social bookmarking and
networking. By default, the only way a reader can interact with you on
your blog is through the commenting feature. However, you can install
simple button links on your site to services like Digg and Delicious
where they can bookmark your posts and share them with millions of
other social bookmarkers. To add these buttons to your page, visit the
websites for Digg or Delicious and search for buttons and links after
signing up for a new account. They install easily within the code of
your template (which these sites will guide you through doing).
There are countless additions you can make to your Blogger blog through
widgets and third party applications. When someone has an idea, someone
else has probably already created an application to serve that idea.
The best way to find new widgets is to search Google for "Blogger
Widgets" or "Blogger addons" and search through the listings provided.
You can do wonders with your blog with the right resources.
Article Source:
http://www.articlesbase.com/sem-articles/
5-must-have-addons-for-a-blogger-blog-and-where-to-find-them-284142.html
About the Author
Learn
to blog with Google Blogger Tutorials. Over 100 videos
available on the Internet showing you where to find and how to add
thousands of add-ons including audio, video, slide shows, text, photos,
credit cards and more.
|
