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RSS/Blog It! Help for Uploaders

This help page is for Upload Your Own HTML users. If you use the block-by-block SiteBuilder, click here for the help to do that.

You're reading this help because you want to have a Blog It! page using your custom template design, rather than the default design. Follow the steps below for setting up your Blog It! page and your RSS box's appearance and behavior.

Naming Your Blog It! File

When you added a check to Do you plan on using an uploaded page?, a file name appeared just beneath that question. You must use that file name when saving your custom Blog It! page in your HTML editor.

Simply highlight the entire file name (ex., anguilla-blog.html) and copy it (Ctrl-C -- Command-C on a Mac). Then, when saving the file, paste (Ctrl-V -- Command-V on a Mac) the file name into the text box and press Enter/Return.

Go ahead and build that page now, adding the ***SITE-BLOG*** tag where you want the blog to appear on the page. Then upload and build the page with the Upload Your Own HTML module. If you're using the ***NAVBAR*** tag, remember to name the Blog It! button that will be added to your NavBar.

Once you've built the page, return to this help to continue with the RSS/Blog It! process.

Building a Custom Blog It! Page

To create your own Blog It! page, simply add the following tag into the HTML template for your site-blog page...

***SITE-BLOG***

The ***SITE-BLOG*** tag fills in the contents of your blog, automatically updating as your site changes or as you add bloglets.

Customize the Blog It! page as you like, adding your own introductory text and a ***NAVBAR*** tag (if you use that), along with anything else you wish. If you use a custom NavBar, and want the default RSS box, add ***RSSIT*** where you want the box to appear on the page.

If you want to create a completely custom RSS box, click here for details on how to do that.

Your Blog It! updates and bloglets will appear where you put your ***SITE-BLOG*** tag. The page will update automatically. There's nothing else to do unless you want to add bloglets.

NavBar RSS Box: Appearance

If you'll be using the ***NAVBAR*** tag to place the SBI!-built NavBar on your pages, follow the instructions below for setting the appearance of your RSS box, which will be included automatically with the NavBar.

If you'll be creating a custom NavBar, but using the ***RSSIT*** tag to add the SBI!-built RSS box on your pages, follow the instructions below for setting the appearance. The RSS box will appear wherever you place the ***RSSIT*** tag.

Using the ***NAVBAR*** or ***RSSIT*** Tag

You can display up to five buttons to help people subscribe to your RSS feed. This section allows you to choose...

• the background the buttons sit on
• your headline and its style
• whether you want a help icon or text link, and
• how many buttons you want to display.

For example...

Width of Your RSS Box

Your RSS box can be 90% of the width of your NavBar, centered. Or it can be the Full Width of your NavBar. If you plan to customize the headline (see below), and use a long headline, go for the Full Width option. This will give you the most room for your headline text.

Background for Your RSS Box

Select Transparent to have the background the same color as your left margin. (If your left margin isn't as wide as your NavBar buttons, the RSS box may sit "on top" of two different colors.) Select White to have a white background. Or select Choose Color. A color palette will appear. Click on the color you want to use. In all three cases, the background is surrounded by a thin black border.

Do You Want a Custom Headline?

The default headline for your RSS box is...

Subscribe To
This Site

It also has a text link question mark for the help. If you would like to edit that headline, change it completely, or change the help link, click Yes. The page will refresh, displaying these three options...

• Enter the text of your custom headline. Keep it short, as you don't have much room inside the RSS box. Or you can keep the default message, and add a different help link.
• Choose whether you want the headline bold. If you make it bold, you may have to shorten a new headline. Always preview before making your final decision.

• Select which question mark you want to show next to your headline...

  • A text link, without bold.
  • A text link, with bold.
  • A small image of a question mark.
  • A large image of a question mark.

Select the Optional RSS Buttons You Want

Add a check beside each button that you want to add to your RSS box, below the orange orange. Your options are...

• Add To Google which lets your visitors add your RSS feed to their Google home page or Google Reader.
• Add To My Yahoo! which lets visitors add your RSS feed to their My Yahoo! account.
• Add To My MSN which lets visitors add your RSS feed to their MY MSN account.
• Add To Bloglines which lets visitors add your RSS feed to their Bloglines account.

NavBar RSS Box: Behavior

If you're using the ***NAVBAR*** or ***RSSIT*** tag, the Behavior section lets you set how you want your RSS box to behave on your site. Your options here include...

• on which pages you want the RSS box to appear
• whether you want the box to appear above or below your NavBar
• what happens when someone clicks on the orange RSS button, and
• whether you want to use a FeedBurner feed instead of the SBI!-provided feed.

Your Feed URL

Once you've set up Blog It!, you'll see your feed URL here. It's provided for easy access if you want to create a FeedBurner feed.

On Which Pages Do You Want the RSS Box?

Blog It! will automatically add the orange RSS button () to the pages that you indicate. Your choices are...

• All pages (the default)
• Home Page Only
• Home and second tier pages
• None

Do you want the RSS box above or below your NavBar?

SBI! will add the RSS box either above your first NavBar button (and above your e-zine block, if you use one) or below the last NavBar button. Choose whichever option works best for your site.

Choose Neither if you do not want the buttons to appear on any of your Web pages.

Orange RSS Button Action When Clicked

(Left-)clicking on the orange RSS button delivers the URL of the RSS feed. Some newer browsers have built-in RSS readers, so clicking on the button will display the contents of the feed as a formatted web page.

For older browsers, which many users still have, visitors need to right-click (control-click on a Mac) this button so they can copy the URL of your feed and then paste it into an RSS reader. But many people do not know that they need to right-click on the button.

So we let you select what will happen if a visitor left-clicks on the link.

• URL -- This delivers the URL of the RSS feed file. Use this if a large majority of your visitors are RSS-savvy, or if most of them use RSS-ready browsers.

• Default New Window -- This opens a new window with a default RSS explanation.

  Most people still do not know what that orange RSS button is for. So this option adds a help link just to the left of your RSS box headline. This link goes to a page that provides background information and instructions. It's an important user-friendly feature.

  If your visitor right-clicks on the RSS button, that means he's savvy and will copy-and-paste the correct feed URL successfully. If the visitor left-clicks, however, an alert message intercepts and guides him through the correct process.

  Unless your target market is composed of sophisticated Web marketers or other tech-savvy people, select this option to introduce, explain and "sell" RSS-subscribing to your visitors.

  SBI! creates this explanation page for you, including clear instructions on how to subscribe.

• Custom New Window -- This opens a new window with your own personalized RSS explanation.

  Choose this option for the same reasons as choosing the default explanation. It all works the same way. The only difference here is that your personalized explanation page will open in a new browser window.

  Create that page using your HTML editor, following these Reminder instructions.

  1. Create the page. You probably only want to make minor modifications (ex., add a small logo and some text changes). If so... modify the wording and the source code of this sample default page according to what you want to say.
  2. Now, upload and build it. Test its URL in your browser.
  3. Then copy the full URL and paste it into the box that appears when you select Custom New Window. If you're using the ***NAVBAR*** or ***RSSIT*** tag, Blog It! will change the help link URL to your custom page URL. The RSS button then behaves as described above.

Use a FeedBurner Feed?

If you want to replace the SBI!-provided feed URL with one from FeedBurner, add a check to Yes. Another text box will appear. Type or paste in the URL that FeedBurner provides.

Once you finish the Blog It! building process by clicking on the Blog It! button at the bottom of the tool page, SBI! will change the URL discussed above (in Your Feed URL), and change the URL for each of the buttons in your RSS box. It will also change the code in the help file for custom RSS buttons, and in the RSS Box Code section of the Upload Your Own HTML module.

Using a FeedBurner Feed for Your RSS/Blog It! Feed discusses the steps to set up a FeedBurner feed, and why you might want to use one (including using AdSense for Feeds).

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Click here for background information on marketing your RSS feed.

Special Inserts ("Bloglets")

Here is where Blog It! goes "one blog step" beyond Site-Blogging. Use "Bloglets" to insert additional items into your RSS feed/blog without creating or modifying one of your content Web pages. A few examples...

• Make a brief comment about the news in your field, with or without an off-site link.
• If you have journalistic instincts and are fairly well placed, report the news.
• Make a time-sensitive announcement about a terrific new product related to your niche (including your affiliate link).
• Talk about a great new site in your area, one that complements yours and that your readers would enjoy.
• Insert any one of many possible mini-articles with monetization potential (ex., new villas with introductory pricing, surprise announcement of land available for sale).

This is closer to traditional blogging... shorter, time-sensitive/perishable, journalistic additions. You may not have the time or inclination for full, "dedicated blogging," but what about a "cut-down" version?

Bloglets are quick, easy, and monetizable. Who could ask for anything more? So how do you create them?

Use the Special Inserts feature, AKA "Bloglets."

Inserted items "jump" to the top of your site-blog through your RSS feed, just like new or modified Web pages.

They don't jump the queue if you edit them later. They rotate down the list until they disappear.

Tip

• A bloglet is time-sensitive. It cannot and should not replace your Web page content. So if you have something to say that takes more than a few paragraphs and is not time-sensitive, turn it into a Web page instead.

Why Use Special Inserts (Bloglets)?

Basically, bloglets give you terrific, simple, "mini-blog-ability." You're already feeding your site through RSS. Now you can "ad hoc" editorialize without creating a separate Web page.

For example, if the owner of anguilla-beaches.com just read some hot news about Anguilla, she could add it to her feed by inserting an item. If she found a new site she loves, she could tell folks about it.

It's a great way to increase your feed's perceived activity if you only create one Web page per week. And it provides you with the extra flexibility you need to add some running commentary and/or send folks to interesting spots outside of your own site.

Bloglets are the 80-20 feature that gives you superb personalization, customization and flexibility for your blog.

Another excellent use is to recycle your site's "greatest hits." Use a bloglet to bring back an oldie-but-goodie. Remember, most people never see your entire site, and they forget even if they do! So recycle your best efforts!

Of course, use bloglets for special one-of monetization opportunities that do not "deserve" a full Web page.

Tip

• There are all kinds of ways to use Special Inserts to add an extra dimension to your RSS feed. However...

  Your bloglets must be consistent with the positioning you developed (above) for your site-blog -- remember that C T P M rules! And that "C" must have a voice, a spin... a consistent position.

Adding Special Insert Items ("Bloglets")

The first step to adding a bloglet is to ensure that "Do you plan on using an uploaded page?" is checked at the top of the tool page.

If that box is not checked, the system will think that you're using the default Blog It! page and will require you to walk through several additional steps. It will also overwrite, and delete, your custom Blog It! page with the default version.

Next, click on the Add Item button. A small section will appear.

Enter the Title, URL (if you have one), and Description of your item.

Preview the bloglet (if desired).

Click on the RSS/Blog It! button to rebuild the Blog It! page with the new bloglet.

Editing Special Insert Items

You can edit any item that is still in the current RSS rotation. Just click the "edit" link and make your changes. This editing does not affect the RSS feed but does change the bloglet content on the Blog It! Web page.

Deleting Special Insert Items

Ditto for "delete." Bloglets basically delete themselves, as far as your visitors are concerned. They get pushed downward by newer Web pages and bloglets until...

1) They don't show on your site-blog page (according to how many items you have set to be shown).

2) They fall to #51, so are no longer in your RSS file. At that time, anyone who set his/her RSS reader to read 50 items (which is unusually high) would not see it either.

Tips

• Don't want a bloglet to disappear? Turn it into a Web page. That way the page stays on your site forever.
• If you want a bloglet to disappear from your Blog page and off the RSS file sooner than its normal expiration rotation, eliminate it by clicking on the "delete" link.
• Finished with a bloglet? If it's not visible anymore (#51 in your RSS feed), SBI! automatically deletes it.

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