Blogging consistently is so important, especially for those of us that blog for our businesses.  Keeping up with others’ blogs is also important, because it keeps us connected to those in our community and niche.  I make it a daily practice to read, comment, and share as many blogs as I possibly can, because I genuinely enjoy it.  I really enjoy learning new things, reading someone else’s take on a particular subject, and being able to support them in doing so.  This is why, today,  I’m sharing my secret for how I keep up with and read the many blogs I follow daily.

How I Keep Up With & Read Over 200+ Blogs A Day | BlissandFaith.com

The Secret

My big secret: Feedly!  Yes, Feedly is what I use to keep up with and read over 200 blogs a day, if not more.  In my humble opinion, I don’t think there is any better RSS feed reader out there, speaking for both the desktop and mobile versions.  While I do occasionally use Bloglovin’, its layout, organization, and efficiency pales in comparison to that of Feedly.  With Feedly, I can browse through articles and posts in no time, as well as share via social media right within my browser or the app on my phone.  Its clean, minimalist design keeps the focus on the content and it integrates easily with Google, which make signing in and out of it a breeze.

The Bells & Whistles

For starters, Feedly has a nifty browser extension that works across all of the major browsers.  Whether you fancy using Safari, Chrome, or FireFox, installing the extension makes accessing Feedly quick and convenient.

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Another great thing about Feedly is that you can completely customize your user experience directly in the Preferences.  You can choose exactly how you want content presented, down to the link color, font, and text size.  Its integrated with a sleuth of social media sharing services, in which you can choose up to 6 to display directly in your article toolbar.  Feedly also allows you to save your favorite articles, and the best thing is that you can back them up using Dropbox with Feedly’s Pro service.

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Feedly even let’s you select a color scheme for your reader, with over 20+ themes to choose from.  Its one more thing that allows you to personalize and make your Feedly reader your own.

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I could spend an entire post talking all about the cool features of Feedly, but this post is about me sharing with you how it allows me to read, share, and connect to so many blogs a day.

My Method

I make checking Feedly part of my morning blogging/social media routine.  This means that after I check my email, hop over to my blog to make sure my scheduled post went up, pin it, and check my stats, that the next thing I do is check…you guess it, my Feedly.  I usually do everything from my phone, which allows me to focus on my work once I pull out my laptop.  When it comes to Feedly, I scroll through all of the posts that are in my reader via my phone, save the ones I want to read in full once I get to my desktop, and mark all others read.

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The great thing is that I can see all of the headlines and click to see either the excerpt or full version of the article right on my phone.  I can pin and tweet articles right from the mobile version, as well as saving (or bookmarking) them to reference later.  I can go directly to those saved articles and reread or click through to the to comment or read other posts from the blog.  Using this method allows me to quickly access new content in a much more organized fashion than having 10+ tabs open in my browser at a given time.

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The less tabs I have open, the more organized I am, allowing me to be strategic in starting my work for the day.  Also, as you all know the less programs and such you have running on your system the more power it preserves.  This allows your computer to run better and faster, and lesses the likelihood for freezes or it running slowly.  The last thing you want to do is have your computer freeze in the middle of writing a post or doing a project and having to restart it or shut it down.

The Reciprocation Effect

If you find yourself overwhelmed at the idea of keeping up and visiting many blogs a day efficiently, using Feedly might just be the answer.  Reciprocation builds community, so if you’re not stopping over to visit, share, and comment on other’s blogs than you can’t expect for people to do the same for yours.  One way to build readership is to comment on other’s blogs, because you’re not only communicating with the blog owner, but everyone else who visits.  I receive a good portion of my referral traffic from blogs I comment on, and many times its long after I’ve commented.  The thing is that when you comment, for the most part, it will always be there.  No matter when someone stops by, there is always a chance they will see your comment and click through to learn more about you.  Of course not all site owners have comments enabled or the ability to leave a link behind, but at the very least you’re communicating with them.


The key and secret to my method working is that Feedly fosters organization, which is so essential to me as a business owner and blogger.  My time is very limited, especially when it comes to balancing it between working on my blog, business, and being a full-time WAHM.  It doesn’t leave much time for me to do a lot of recreational things online like checking social media and scrolling through a litany of blogs several times a day.  Using Feedly allows me to keep up with the blogs I follow a few times a day, and with the features it has I can keep everything saved right in it.  I don’t have to worry about bookmarking a post in my browser and not being able to find later.  I can’t tell you how many times I’d done that prior to using Feedly and not being able to ever find that post again, because it gets lost in the shuffle of my other 100+ bookmarks.

I think one of the things that adds to my success and efficiency as a blogger is using a service like Feedly.  Being a good blogger is about more than just posting several times a week, its about building and contributing to a community.  As I always say, you have to give to receive, and anything that enables me to help and give more, is beyond okay in my book.  I’m able to achieve all of these things with just the basic, free version of Feedly, but they do offer a pro version.  Its integrated with even more services to help you be more organized and efficient with keeping up with your favorite blogs.  You can find out more information, including pricing, about the Pro version of Feedly here.

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How do you keep up with the blogs you follow? – Do you have any tried and true practices and services for doing so?

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Tenns Reid

I'm Tenns, the blogger, graphic designer, and business + content creation strategists behind Bliss & Faith. This is my little corner of the web that I've dedicated to helping fellow bloggers and creatives reach their goals. I'm so glad you dropped by and hope that you that you find valuable resources here to help you achieve your dreams!

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34 Comments

  1. I absolutely loved this. It has been seriously stressing me out that I haven’t been able to comment on a regular basis on all the blogs I love to visit…yours included. I’ll definitely have to look into getting Feedly and seeing if it works for me. By the way, when you mentioned sharing the posts that we love, you meant through twitter, pinterest, facebook, and so forth right? Or did you mean by talking about them on our blog?

    1. Thanks so much! It can be stressing at times trying to keep up with it all, but just taking it one day at a time is all you can do. Yep, I meant sharing posts via social media when I was talking about sharing them. Most bloggers appreciate when you share their posts on your blog too, so you could do that as well if you ever decided to do a roundup post. Sharing via social media tends to be the fastest and easiest way to share though. 🙂

  2. One of my favorite activities every day is to read new blogs!!!! I love meeting NEW people and reading about other’s lives and accomplishments and creativity and… FOOD! 😉

    1. Its one of my favorite activities as well! I have to admit that I think of all the blogs that I follow, I’m following more food blogs than any others, lol! 🙂

  3. Yes! This is exactly what I needed- I’ve been racking my brain as to how I can efficiently keep up with blogs. Downloading the feedly app now. Thanks, Tenns!

    1. So glad you found the post helpful Sophia! You’re very welcome! Feedly’s one of my favorite resources, I just know you’ll get so much out of it! :-0

  4. Hi Tenns, found your blog @Play Party Pin and I must say what a great resource this article is. Boy I struggle keeping up with clicking on blogs in my email to visit and comment, this sounds like I hit the jackpot to help.

    I would love for you to stop by and share this article with my readers
    Have a great weekend!
    Karren

    Oh My Heartsie Girl
    #FridayFeaturesParty

    1. Thanks so much for stopping by Karen! So glad you found the post helpful. It can be hard keeping up with so many blogs, but Feedly really helps big time!

  5. Thank you so much. I have tried to use feedly and have been unsuccessful. This is a great resource to trying and master it! I am very excited to put this into practice!

    1. You’re very welcome Kelly! Feedly does take some getting used to, but once you get it set up to work for you, you will love it! Thanks so much for stopping by and I hope you’ll end up loving Feedly as much as I do! 🙂

  6. You’re amazing! I can’t even get to 50 a day. I use Bloglovin but it certainly has its issues. Sometimes it pulls from a feed all at once and you get a backup of blog posts to read from ages ago! I hate that.

    1. Thanks so much Tamara! I will say that I don’t always get around to commenting on more than a few blogs a day. You’re a rockstar when it come to the comments. Bloglovin is really glitchy a lot of the times and I get frustrated with it, unless I;m on mobile and its a little better. Feedly is more user-friendly and the layout is so much better!

  7. Currently using bloglovin and I sign up for those blogs I really want to read daily by email so they come right into my inbox. Especially reminders about link up parties, etc. This was a good tip, will have to learn more about it.

    1. Getting posts delivered via inbox is really smart! I used to be subscribed to a few blogs via email and it was really nice. I definitely enjoy getting newsletters in my inbox so that I can stay up to date. I use Bloglovin occasionally, but prefer the interface of Feedly much more. Thanks so much for stopping by!

  8. I will have to check out Feedly. I’ve heard of it but didn’t know exactly what it was. It’s hard to break old habits and I’ve been with Bloglovin for years. Thanks for letting us in on your secret 🙂

    1. You’re so right, old habits die hard! However, when there’s a better solution out there I’m all for it. I use Bloglovin too, but the userability of Feedly is just so much better! You should definitely give it a go. 🙂

    1. Yeah, blog hops can be very time consuming, but my Feedly helps me keep up with them too! I’d miss out on many of the one’s I participate in without it. Thanks so much for stopping by!

  9. Mary,

    This is excellent! Question? Would you be open to me sharing the first few paragraphs on my blog with the “to continue reading, click here”. That’s how much I like this post!

    Respectfully, Susan

    1. Hi Susan! I’m so glad you like the post so much! I absolutely wouldn’t mind you posting a sentence or two in your own words, sharing with your readers about the post and then back linking to it. Thanks so much for stopping by! 🙂

  10. Thanks for the great info and tips, will have to look into feedly. I keep visiting and commenting on other blogs and hoping to build up my readers…though it seems to be taking a long time. Stopping by from #TurnItUpTuesdays

    1. You’re very welcome Karen! It can take a long time to visit and comment, but using Feedly helps me to do it a little more efficiency than without. Thanks so much for stopping by!

  11. I will have to give Feedly a try. I haven’t completely jumped on the Bloglovin’ bandwagon, perhaps Feedly is what I’ve been missing.
    Thanks for sharing, I always learn something here. 🙂
    XOXO

    1. Its definitely worth giving a try! Sometimes I just can’t deal with Bloglovin’s glitchiness, so Feedly is a much better solution. Plus, it beats the days of having my inbox full of blog posts and trying to sort through all of my bookmarks to find a blog. So glad you stopped by and found the post helpful! 🙂

  12. Okay, you sold me! 🙂 I had used Feedly right after Google Reader bit the dust, however I wasn’t a huge fan. I liked it alright, but there was just something that I missed about Google Reader (probably that it wasn’t GReader, right?!) Anyway, after awhile I went to Bloglovin’, but I have to be honest, I add blogs there but I rarely if ever read any of them on Bloglovin’. I flip through the email they send me every morning, and click through to certain blogs, but it doesn’t set me up for success bc I only get a snapshot in the email.

    The fact that you can manage to keep up with 200+ blogs, tells me Feedly my be my key. This was a great post!!!

  13. Thank you so much for sharing this gem with us! I completely agree with you. Organization is a huge thing for me. The more I can organize those daily routines into more efficient methods, the better! I can’t wait to explore Feebly and check out its features.

  14. That’s interesting, thanks for sharing. I’m newer to blogging and often feel a little overwhelmed trying to keep up with all the lovely writers who I enjoy reading. Looks like something my non-techy self might even be able to install. 🙂 Thanks so much. ~ Blessings ~

  15. Wow, Susan, that was an amazingly informative post. I learned so much in the little time it took me to read it! Thanks for organizing your thoughts and sharing it in such a useful way. Blessings on your weekend!

  16. Feedly ~ I like it already and haven’t even tried it. You may have answered some of my questions, Tenns, and will certainly help me focus on organization. Love your blog and the post. Visiting today via #DancewithJesus (Susan B. Mead). Thank you!

  17. 200! WOW!

    I like Bloglovin’ … works for me … when I have a few minutes I jump on and run around and visit. You’re so right … blogging’s all about community, support, encouragement.

    After 7 years, I’m still lovin’ it!

    Good to meet you today!

  18. Thanks so much, Tenns, for sharing this super helpful info!
    I jumped over to feedly straightaway! While I haven’t mastered how to do it most efficiently for me, it is a relief (in my mailbox atleast) to get the blogs lal in one place, quickly accessible without opening and clicking emails…A for time saving! and A for connection!
    Love to you from Holland, and thanks, looking forward to reading more from you,
    Jasmine

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