Added the Followers Gadget to my Blog

Friends are Flowers in the Garden of Life 

The Followers gadget in Blogger allows you to develop a fan base for your blog by getting people who regularly read the blog a place to show their support.  I just added the Followers gadget to my new blog. I don’t have any followers yet, but am hopeful that as people become familiar with my blog they will become Followers. 

To me, gaining Followers is a lovely gift of friendship, because it shows that people are reading and appreciating my blog even if they aren’t writing comments.  Users who follow a blog are telling the world that this blog has value and they are a fan.  Eventually, I hope to have many Followers who help my blog become more popular and allow my readers to stay up to date with my most recent posts.

How to Add the Followers Gadget in Blogger

Adding the Followers Gadget in Blogger is really easy. It took me about 20 minutes of searching around and figuring out Blogger options, because I am a pretty new user and wasn't sure how to add Gadgets,   Once I figured it out, I wrote myself a 9 step guide so I would remember how to do it easily.


Honestly, it isn't even really nine steps, most of it is to remind me of where links are located.  Because I have Fibromyalgia, I am constantly fighting brain fogginess and memory difficulties, so I choose to do things like making this little guide to help myself remember how to do something. This helps me remove any frustration about trying to remember how to do something I once knew how to do and ends up saving me a lot of time too.


By following my simple guide, I am able to add gadgets in just a few minutes and you should be able to add them quickly and easily also!  This guide will probably be most helpful to people new to Blogger or people like myself who need refreshers occasionally on how to add gadgets.

1.     When you first log into your blogger home page, you will see a list of your blogs.  I currently only have one blog.

Image 1: List of Your Blogs on Blogger Home Page

2.     Each of the listed blogs has a menu to the right of it that has the options of Create New Post,View Post List, More Options, and View Blog .This is a simple menu that looks like this:

Image 2: Menu in Home Screen 

3.     Then if you click the area for “More Options,” you will see the following menu.  Click Layout.

Image 3: More Options Menu Obtained by Clicking More Options Arrow Beside your Blog

4.     In the layout section, you will see places to add gadgets. The number of columns available is determined by the template you have selected to use.  In order to add a new gadget, you simply click add Gadget in the location where you would like a gadget added. If you don’t like the location, once it is added, you can simply drag and drop it to another available location in the layout section.

Image 4: Layout Section-Will have places to click on "Add Gadget"

5.     When you click Add Gadget, a window will open with different gadgets to choose from. Currently, the Followers Gadget can be found under the Basics Section (Basics section can be found on left hand navigation menu). Click the plus sign (+) next to the gadget name.

Image 5: Blogger Gadgets  Available

6.     When you click the plus sign, any customizable options for the gadget will appear.  I recommend clicking the box for use template default styles so that your Followers box fits nicely design wise into your blog.

Image 6: Followers Configuration Screen- Don't miss the check box for use  template default styles!

7.     Then click save and the new gadget will appear on your layout page.

Image 7: Newly Added Gadget "Followers" Shows on Layout Screen

8.     You may click on preview if you wish to make sure the Gadget is located exactly where you had in mind.  Just be sure to click on save arrangement before you leave the layout section.

Image 8: Layout Menu in top right hand corner

9.     Congratulations! You now have the Followers Gadget installed on your Blogger Blog.

Image 9: Followers Gadget (will look like your  template -not necessarily this color)

Helpful Hints:

1.     Be careful adding Gadgets. This is the process used to add any of the gadgets available. Just be careful not to add so many gadgets that your Blog becomes too slow or too confusing for your readers.

2.     Spread the Word. Tell all your friends and family so you can quickly grow a fan base. When someone becomes a follower, their profile picture will show up in the Followers section. 

3.     Place the Gadget Well.  Be sure to place your Followers gadget near the top of a sidebar, so that people will notice it. 

4.     Blog About It.  Write a blog post about your new addition (Followers Gadget) to your Blog.  Many people have started ignoring sidebar items, so by adding the fact that you have just added the Followers widget should improve the likelihood that your readers will see that you have this and will become a Followers

5.     Blocking. I don’t intend to block anyone as my blog is public, but sometimes you may come across a Follower who you really don’t want to be in your Followers Gadget.  Blocking the person will remove their image, but if your blog is public, they can still subscribe to the blog, read it, and comment on it.  As a result, although the blocking feature is available, I personally don’t see the point of it and don’t intend to use it, but you should know exists in case you run across some reason to actually use it.  The only reason I can imagine using it is if the profile picture someone had is offensive or inappropriate, then I would block it.  Can you think of any other reasons to use the Followers Gadget Blocking Feature?