Okay, so I'm sure that most everyone has heard that Google Reader will closing as of July 1st. If you haven't heard- I'm sorry!

Seriously though, don't panic. Your blog won't disappear. Your followers won't disappear. Your list of blogs that you read now -might- disappear if you use Google Reader but we all have plenty of time to switch to a new reader and truthfully, it's not as big of a hassle as it sounds.




If you follow blogs through Blogger Dashboard

I use my blogger dashboard to follow blogs and to read them. There are a few wordpress blogs that I subscribe to via email too so my big freak out moment was "Will all of the blogs on my list disappear? If so, will I disappear on my reader's lists?"

I found a really helpful answer on the blogger help forum:

"The reading list on your dashboard is based on the feed of the blogs you are reading and their feeds are not going away. If you have items in your reading list on the dashboard that are only there because you added them through GReader and they are not Blogger blogs, they might be removed from the list when GReader goes away but any Blogger blog that is on your Reading List because you used the "following" gadget on another blog to start following it, should remain intact. GFC is already a basically discontinued product, and the removal of GReader will not affect its status.- Mishka"

So if you clicked "follow" on a bunch of blogs, your blogs will still be on your dashboard after July 1st.


If You Follow Blogs Through Google Reader

If you do use Google Reader to keep up to date on your favorite blog reads, no big deal, just pick a new reader. There's a bazillion different readers to choose from. Here are just a few:

Bloglovin' (with a sweet  tutorial for switching your GReader to bloglovin from LilaLoa )
Feedly ( here's the how-to for switching over from the Feedly blog )
The Old Reader
Flip Board
Pulse 
Hello Cotton (for the lady bloggers)
Encouragement for Blog Authors

If you're worried about the close of Google Reader hurting your blog, there's no time like the present to offer other ways for readers to subscribe to your blog! Add a button so it's easy to subscribe to your RSS feed, twitter, facebook page, pinterest account, hello cotton account and so on. Also use Blogger's new "Subscribe via email" widget in your sidebar for those readers who don't want to set up another account. 
See my previous post on how to line up your social network buttons on your blog and how to add social network buttons for a single button

Post links to your newest blog posts on your social networks so no one misses out on a post and your traffic keeps moving. Offering several ways for readers to connect makes life easy for everyone!  With that in mind, you guys can follow me in a million different ways too!

 facebook             twitter               pinterest               bloglovin           hello cotton          feedburner


 If you already have a non-Google Reader way to follow blogs that you love, please share in the comments!

Learn everything I know about blogging and DIY blog design with my ecourse Bloggerific: A Guide to a Beautiful, Successful Blog