There are three basic ways to read blogs:

1. Opening blogs directly on the web.

This option is least efficient, because it requires you to manually open blogs to see if there’s anything new. On the upside, it does allow you to see the entire blog including the sidebar, which you miss if you’re using email or a Reader. If you only follow a handful of blogs, this option can work for you. However, if you want to keep up with more than that, you’ll probably want to set up a better system for blog reading.

2. Having blogs sent to your email.

Subscribing to email feeds of your favorite blogs is efficient because you get an email whenever there is new content. You won’t miss anything, and you never have to check to see if there’s anything new because it comes directly to your inbox. (If you’re seeing this in a Reader, click HERE to add yourself to my email list. The sign-up is at the top of the right sidebar.)

The downside of getting all your blogs via email is that it can be difficult to manage if you follow a large number. I recommend choosing your top 3 to 5 blogs to have delivered to your email, and add the rest to a Reader, which is the third way to read blogs:

3. Reading blogs in a “Reader” that you can access on your desktop, your phone or your tablet.

I’m absolutely devoted to my system of reading blogs in a Reader! Since I follow about 50 blogs plus my client blogs, it’s crucial for me to keep them organized. With a Reader, all your blogs are in one place, and you can organize them any way you like. (Mine are divided into Agents, Clients, Business, Publishing, Blogging, Christian, and Simple Living.)

The Reader is constantly updated with new content, and keeps track of which ones you’ve already read. It allows you to “star” and save important posts. One of the reasons I love using a Reader so much is that it syncs between my desktop, my phone and my iPad. Whenever I have a few extra minutes, whether I’m waiting in line at the DMV or sitting in the doctor’s office, I always have a device with me and can read a few blog posts.

A Reader also makes it easy to scroll through blog post titles and read the ones that interest you, delete the ones that don’t.

Many of us have been using Google Reader for years, but Google Reader is disappearing on July 1st, so now is the time to set up a different reader. I’m using Feedly, a terrific replacement for Google Reader. It’s easy to set up, and takes less than 5 minutes to transfer your blog feeds if you’re already using Google Reader.

Click HERE to learn how to transfer from Google Reader to Feedly.

If you’re reading my blog in Google Reader, click HERE to transfer to Feedly now, or click HERE to sign up to receive my email feed, or you’ll stop getting this blog July 1st!

How do YOU read blogs and keep them organized?
Click to comment HERE.

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