CONNECTING MADE EASY

I am no techie guru. Luckily, I have a dear friend who helps me with this wide world of web wonder (thanks Steve!) Today I'd like to share a simple and useful tip: make it easy for people to get to your blog. Use a link.

A couple fellow bloggers have emailed me and asked how I put the link under my comments. The one that a reader can click on and be whisked away, easy-peasy, to my blog. I figured if a couple of you are wondering, maybe more of you would like this knowledge. Me being the considerate gal that I am, I will happily share it with all of you.

Here's the beauty in sharing this tip. Many might start using it. They will leave comments with a handy-dandy link included. Others will read these comments, click on their link, and be taken directly to their blog. Without having to visit their profile page, scroll through to find their blog title, sort out which one they really use--because many of you have multiple blogs, and THEN click on the link to be taken there.

Let's face it, most of us are writers and we are very busy. Family, friends, jobs, cleaning, cooking, and whatever else life throws at us. ANY time savers are a great help. Especially when it's already mission impossible to follow and comment on all the blog posts. This is a simple habit to get into, but this one habit will make it easier for others to connect with you. And isn't that what we all love about blogging? Connecting with each other?

Here's what I do. I keep my code in a Word doc on my desktop. When I'm ready to read and comment on blogs I do a simple CTRL C (copy) and keep my link code armed and ready. I read posts. When I want to comment, I type in what I have to say then hit CTRL V (paste) at the end of it. Voila! Easy. Peasy.

Somewhere in my past couple weeks of using this system, I have racked up many more "Supporters." (I don't like the term Followers. Leaves a bad taste in my mouth.) That must mean some of you have clicked on my link. I bet you clicked on it because it was easy. Right there where you could find it without even trying.

Many times I've received a comment from a new person who I want to go check out. I would LOVE if everyone had a link to their blog with their comment, but sadly, I rarely see one. I have to hunt them down the long and painful way. Let's all stop making it so hard to meet each other. Use a link.

Here's how easy it is. Open a blank Word doc (or notepad or Works or whatever)

Copy and paste the text below.
a href="http://karenamandahooper.blogspot.com">My Blog

Now, add a < at the beginning. Directly before the first a.
Next, add a > at the end. Directly after the a at the end.

Since you don't want to direct everyone to MY blog (though you can if you really want to) we need to make this custom fit for you.

Remove http://karenamandahooper.blogspot.com
Make sure to leave the set of quotation marks.

Inside of those quotation marks put YOUR blog address.
If you want it to always go to your main page just use the general address. You can also paste a detailed address in that space if you want your link to direct others to one specific post. Just open the post you want to link to then copy and paste from the address bar. You'll see the detailed web address.

Now the fun part. See where it says >My Blog<

That is where you get to write whatever you want your link to say. You can use "My Blog". Or "Click here to enter my world" or whatever you choose. Go crazy. The possibilities are endless.

Just remove My Blog from the code, but make sure to leave the symbols (see I don't even know their official name) and type in whatever you want your link to say.

In this case, the above code will appear like this: My Blog

Ta-da! You are done. Now save the doc with your personalized code to your desktop so its handy and easy to get to. Remember to paste it at the end of each comment you leave. It will make it so much easier for people to find you and get to your blog.

Hope that made sense. I'm not an experienced How To kind of person. If you have a problem, or question, leave a comment and I will answer.

**Update: A few of you have had tiny issues and it's always something simple, so I'm going to use Natalie's altered code as an example. Here is what your final code should look like. (BUT REMOVE THE SPACES BETWEEN SYMBOLS--I have to insert them or it would show up as a link) Make sure all quote marks, symbols, brackets, etc are still in tact.

< href="http://nataliebahm.blogspot.com">Check Out My Awesome Blog!< / a >

Final result:
Check Out My Awesome Blog!