Yesterday I posted about the benefits of using a reader to collect, organize, and sort content from your favorite blogs. I promised in that post to write a brief “how to” for how to set up a reader account. So, here it is.

(Note: If you are reading this in a reader, just keep scrolling to the next message… see you next time! Oh, and thanks for subscribing!)

First, I use and really like Google Reader. Here is how to set up a new Google reader account:

(This will be easiest if you open a new window where you can read this and then another window with this post in it, where you can click on the link I am about to give you.)

Either type in your browser: http://reader.google.com or click here.

Next, simply fill out the required fields. Note: You can enter ANY email address, it does not have to be a gmail address.

After you agree to the terms of service an email will be sent to the email address that you used. So, sign into your email account, open the email that is sent to you and click on the link that verifies your account.

A window will then pop up that tells you that your email address has been verified. When that happens, you will have access in the original window you were in (the one that you initially entered your email address and password) to your new reader account. Congratulations! You have now have a reader! (If you closed the window that you entered your original information in, simply go to http://reader.google.com and enter your email address and password, that will log you in to your reader.

Now the final step is to subscribe to the blogs that you want to track in your reader. You can do this two different ways:

Method 1: There is a button in the middle of the screen, a bit toward the bottom that says “Get Started by Adding Subscriptions,” click on that button. Here you will have the option to add feed bundles. These are things like news services, etc. Of course you can try any of these out that you want, just remember that all of these will send out several posts a day, so if you do not check your reader often, you will be overwhelmed with content when you do sign in. I don’t recommend this for people who are new to readers. Instead of doing that you can simply enter whatever you want in the “search and browse” box. Just enter keywords that interest you and options for blogs to subscribe to will come up.

Here is an example: type in the box “deeply committed” the first result should be this blog. The web address is listed at the bottom. Verify that it is the correct blog. The address should be: https://deeplycommitted.wordpress.com/feed/ Simply click the subscribe button, and voila! You have subscribed to a blog in your reader account. Now, all you have to do is check your reader and when I have posted new content, it will automatically show up within a few minutes in your reader.

The genius of readers is that it brings the blogs you love to you, instead of you having to visit each blog or site that you like.

The second method is that you can click on the “add subscription” button on the left hand column of the page. A box will open and you can again enter key words to search for blogs. Again, a great place to start would be to enter “deeply committed” and subscribe to my blog!

Check back tomorrow for a few other blogs I would recommend subscribing to. (If you followed this tutorial, when you sign in to your reader tomorrow, the post will come to you!)