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Blogging Guide > Specials > A beginner's guide to... > A beginner's guide to Feedburner
If you're already signed in when you visit the Feedburner home page, click on the My Feeds link in the top-left hand corner.
Burning a feed
Below is a screenshot of the My Feeds screen that I see when I log in.
We'll come back to this in a moment. Go to your site and grab the URL of the feed. If you're not sure how to do this, the following screenshot might help - you need to click on the orange feed icon:
For more information, refer to my RSS guide. Once you've clicked on the feed icon, the address bar will change to show the address of your feed. Here's mine:
Click once in the address bar and the feed address should be highlighted. Now press CTRL+C to copy the address. Go back to My Feeds, and click in the "Burn a feed right this instant" box. Press CTRL+V to paste the feed address.
Click on the Next button.
Now click Activate Feed and your feed will be activated.
You will also need to update your blogging or website software so that when someone clicks the feed icon, they will see the Feedburner feed. This is very important because if people subscribe using the "regular" URL (such as the feeds.php?name=articles URL for my site) those subscribers will NOT be counted by Feedburner.
Back on the My Feeds page, there is a tiny grey feed icon to the left of your feed. Click on this and you'll be able to view your Feedburner feed. Copy the address and paste this into the appropriate location in your blogging or website software. For instance, in Majestic, go to AdminCP - General Settings - and look for this option:
Save the changes and go back to your site. Clicking the feed icon in your browser should now take you to the Feedburner feed. It's very important to check that this works correctly!
The three options I currently use are BrowserFriendly, FeedFlare, and Convert Format Burner. Which settings to use largely depends on what type of site you run and which system you use. Below are some of the options I recommend.
You need to make the decision for yourself. I think there is nothing wrong with showing your subscriber count regardless of what it is, providing you are happy to share it.
Regular readers might have noticed that I'm a stats fanatic. I love stats! I'm also very happy to share what my stats really are - I have nothing to hide.
Notice how most of the bars are quite close together... then there's that one really short bar, 5 spots from the right-hand side.
Unless you're dealing in huge numbers of subscribers, it's unusual for subscribers to decrease (or increase) so suddenly. Last time I saw this issue, it was caused by Google Reader subscribers not being counted for one day. As you can see, the stats returned to normal the day after, so I don't think it's much to worry about. I'd be much more concerned if my stats dropped sharply and didn't recover.
A beginner's guide to Feedburner
< A beginner's guide to Technorati | A beginner's guide to... | A beginner's guide to FTP >
Feedburner is a site that provides various tools for your RSS feed. If you are new to RSS feeds, then you might want to try reading some of my previous posts:Getting started
As with most sites, you'll need to sign up and log in before you can do anything. Go to www.feedburner.com and click on the Register link. Fill in the fields, then click Sign In.If you're already signed in when you visit the Feedburner home page, click on the My Feeds link in the top-left hand corner.
Burning a feed
Below is a screenshot of the My Feeds screen that I see when I log in.We'll come back to this in a moment. Go to your site and grab the URL of the feed. If you're not sure how to do this, the following screenshot might help - you need to click on the orange feed icon:
For more information, refer to my RSS guide. Once you've clicked on the feed icon, the address bar will change to show the address of your feed. Here's mine:
Click once in the address bar and the feed address should be highlighted. Now press CTRL+C to copy the address. Go back to My Feeds, and click in the "Burn a feed right this instant" box. Press CTRL+V to paste the feed address.
Click on the Next button.
Now click Activate Feed and your feed will be activated.
You will also need to update your blogging or website software so that when someone clicks the feed icon, they will see the Feedburner feed. This is very important because if people subscribe using the "regular" URL (such as the feeds.php?name=articles URL for my site) those subscribers will NOT be counted by Feedburner.
Back on the My Feeds page, there is a tiny grey feed icon to the left of your feed. Click on this and you'll be able to view your Feedburner feed. Copy the address and paste this into the appropriate location in your blogging or website software. For instance, in Majestic, go to AdminCP - General Settings - and look for this option:
Save the changes and go back to your site. Clicking the feed icon in your browser should now take you to the Feedburner feed. It's very important to check that this works correctly!
Settings overview
On the My Feeds screen, click on the title of your feed and you'll be able to modify some of its settings. Click on the Optimize tab.The three options I currently use are BrowserFriendly, FeedFlare, and Convert Format Burner. Which settings to use largely depends on what type of site you run and which system you use. Below are some of the options I recommend.
BrowserFriendly
This makes your feed look a lot nicer. It adds buttons to your feed so your readers can subscribe using a variety of options. You can also add a personal message to appear at the top of your feed.FeedFlare
Adds useful links to the bottom of your feed items, mostly related to social bookmarking sites such as del.icio.us and StumbleUpon. These allow subscribers to share the posts they like easily. Don't use too many links though - choose a few. I personally use "Email This", "Save to del.icio.us", and "Stumble It!".Convert Format
This one is necessary for Majestic at least for the time being. Choose the RSS 2.0 option and click Save. Majestic does not use RSS 2.0 yet and some sites require it, but Feedburner allows you to convert the feed easily.Publicize options
Click on the Publicize tab as there are a few more options you should try.Email Subscriptions
Some readers prefer to subscribe by email. Turn this option on to ensure you aren't turning people away. This page also shows you the email addresses of anyone who subscribes by email, something you can't see with regular subscribers.PingShot
This keeps certain sites apprised of any updates to your site. Be careful though - some blogging and website systems will do this for you, and it's not a good idea to notify sites via Feedburner if your system already does it.FeedCount
This is where you get the code so you can display your subscriber count on your site. There is some debate as to when you should show this information. I've shown it since day 1 - i.e. zero subscribers - and it's currently fluctuating around 100ish. Some people suggest that you shouldn't show your subscriber count until you have 100, 200, 500 or even 1000 subscribers.You need to make the decision for yourself. I think there is nothing wrong with showing your subscriber count regardless of what it is, providing you are happy to share it.
Stats
The Analyze tab shows you how many subscribers you've had over the last 30 days. You can also see how many subscribers you've had since you started using Feedburner. Just change the "Show stats for" drop down list to "All time".Regular readers might have noticed that I'm a stats fanatic. I love stats! I'm also very happy to share what my stats really are - I have nothing to hide.
A common problem
One thing you should know is that from time to time, Feedburner has a stats glitch. You might have seen a couple of sharp drops in the above graph - but let's take a closer look.Notice how most of the bars are quite close together... then there's that one really short bar, 5 spots from the right-hand side.
Unless you're dealing in huge numbers of subscribers, it's unusual for subscribers to decrease (or increase) so suddenly. Last time I saw this issue, it was caused by Google Reader subscribers not being counted for one day. As you can see, the stats returned to normal the day after, so I don't think it's much to worry about. I'd be much more concerned if my stats dropped sharply and didn't recover.
In summary
Feedburner has a good range of services and some nice stats. I'd strongly recommend using them for your feed if you don't already!Related Content
Comments on A beginner's guide to Feedburner
Ben
Thank for this article. There are so many options in FeedBurner that it is hard for a beginner like myself to pick a reasonable set of options.
Your article certainly has given me a head start in that respect.
You've done a good job with these posts. I'm going to read the Technorati one over my weekend. What else have you got up your sleeve?
Did you ever have a look at Ning.com? I like the groups and features available for the groups. Maybe that's not in your topic focus but it seems to be an up and coming network for chit chat and linking to other bloggers with the same interests. Take a look at the City Skip group. I can send you a link if you email me. Don't have it handy atm.
Vincent - thanks for the extra tips.
Mark, glad to help - and welcome to my site.
Laura - thanks. I just posted an FTP guide to add to the collection. Might as well do a few while I'm in the mood! I haven't checked out Ning - heard of it, but not used it. I will have to look at it when I get a chance.
Thanks for the comments. :)
For the WordPress people, the default feed URL is at
http://www.yourblog.com/feed/
Replace "yourblog" with your actual site address (the "www" part might be optional, depending on how you set your site's default).
I agree with using the minimum for FeedFlares. Use those options where you are already a participant. Say if you're a StumbleUpon user, then it makes sense to have a "Stumble It!" option.
If, like Ben, you cater to an audience who might be, uh, technically challenged, an email subscription option might be useful. People already know how to use emails. RSS is something new...
And yes, Ben, you are a stats fanatic... at least your stats grow and fluctuate enough for you to analyse...
Edited: May 14, 2008 23:28