Syndicating your MLM blog

This is the last entry I plan to be doing on 'How to Blog'.
My last two entries:

How to start your MLM blog

and

Pinging your MLM blog

have given you all the information to put your own blog together ... if you've gotten yours online then great! If not, use the above links to get yours online today, okay?

Today we'll put a few final touches on the template. I'll also be pointing you at some directions that a friend of mine has on her website which will allow you to syndicate your blog directly onto a website of your own. The same code that she shares can also be used to 'give away content' to other interested webmasters.

The first thing we're going to do is add symbols like the orange 'FEED' and 'My Yahoo' icons like you see on the bottom of the right hand menu of this page.

See 'em?

Those are what allow folks to add my blog to their My Yahoo pages and their RSS (newsfeed) readers. Don't have a newsreader? If you use the Firefox browser (which I highly recommend, btw) you actually have one built right in. Go to 'tools' and click 'Sage'. That'll open it up.

If you have another favorite browser and just want to add a feed reader ... do a Google Search for 'feed reader' and I'm sure you'll find about a bazillion choices.

Back to the point ...

Login to Blogger.com and open you blog's template tab. If you want to change the template this is the time to do it ~BEFORE YOU HAVE CUSTOMIZED IT~ 'cause after we add this stuff, if you change it later, you'll just have to add it again (ask me how I know ;-).

We're gonna tinker in the template code a little and customize it.

Go back to feedburner (we were there yesterday; open it in a new browser window), login and click on 'publicize' next to your blog's title.

There are a few nifty tools in this pop-up menu:

First, we're gonna grab the orange icon ... start the 'chicklet chooser'

• Pick the 'feed' icon that you like from the four choices on the top row.
• Copy the code that gets generated.

Next we're gonna paste that code into your template:

• Scroll down to the very bottom of your template then work your way up (not very far) until you see 'end sidebar'
  
• Paste the icon code from feedburner above that line.
• I usually hit enter a couple of times between code chunks so that I can tell where things begin and end (this does not affect the html). You can also make yourself notes that are in the same format as the 'end sidebar' line appears in your template ... these are just like sticking PostIt's and no one else can see them.

You should be able to 'Preview' your template and see where the icon appears in it now.

If all is well... go back to the 'chicklet chooser' and do the same process for the 'My Yahoo' icon. Paste the code above of below the code for the first icon ... which ever you prefer.

Preview it again to see whether it looks the way you want.

If it does, save your template and republish your blog to see your handiwork.

If you try this and it's all just beyond you ... I'll be happy to help you one on one ... my email is in my profile; just give a shout!

Now this last step about exhausts my expertise and actually, I'm going to point you to the capable hands of my friend Anna-Marie. Her website has directions for syndicating your blog onto your website called 'Setting up an RSS feed on your site' that worked for me ... hopefully it'll be what you need to get up and running too.

Well, that's all it takes ... you have everything needed to get your MLM blog (or any blog for that matter) online.

The only other ingredient needed is BAM .... brains and motivation.

How'd you like my Einstein quote, btw?

To your success!
Andrea

Network Marketing lies revealed ---> read the book for free!