UPDATE: TheseReads is No More! Click HERE to learn why.
TheseReads is a wonderful new community that bloggers can use to grow their following & readership.
I am super excited about today’s post & I know many of you are too! I have been using & enjoying TheseReads since last fall & I can’t begin to express to you how much I love TheseReads! ps. do you see that this post already had 58 likes in 22 minutes?
I first shared my love for TheseReads with you a few months back in my post about How My Blog’s Page Views Grew Over 500% in One Month. I was surprised by the number of questions & feedback I received about this new community & soon after promised a post dedicated to the topic.
But as you know things got busy with the holidays, so I held off on writing & sharing this post until I knew we would all have time for it. Not that you need a lot of time or expertise to use TheseReads, which is one of the best parts!
TheseReads is simple & easy to use for anyone!
Over the last few months the developers have been fine tuning their new app & have even created a website! Which, BTW, you can get immediate access to through a special link that allows you to bypass the whole invitation process so that you can sign up & access the website immediately! How cool is that! (ps. You can find that link at the bottom of this page)
For months I have been emailing back & forth with one of the developers of TheseReads & I got the inside scoop, just for you! Well, & me too! Because truth be told I can’t get enough of TheseReads! Not only has it brought in a consistent number of views to my blog, but it’s a great way for me to keep up with some of my favorite websites & blogs!
Last fall, when my blog’s growth spirt began, I immediately started keeping a close eye on my Google Analytics to see where the views were coming from in order to help continue the growth. One of the patterns I saw was that I was getting a consistent number of views from TheseReads. I had no idea what it was, but I was intrigued.
I immediately started doing research, but the only thing I found was a website (that directed me to the app) & the app itself. I then started getting emails from JQ & discovered that TheseReads was (& is) a relatively new community that was still being developed & fine tuned. And I must admit, I really enjoyed using TheseReads when it first started off because I have had the opportunity to see it develop & grow over the last several months into what it is today!
So if you are new to TheseReads here are some fast FAQs (although you can find the official FAQs here) that I have learned over the last few months that can help bloggers who are new to TheseReads.
- TheseReads is a community where you can read, save, & share articles that you find on websites & blogs.
- It is an iPhone app & they are currently developing an Android version.
- TheseReads also has a website (for those without smartphones or iPhones) with all of the same great features!
- Anyone, blogger or non-blogger, can create a TheseReads account.
- If you are a blogger you can have your blog added to TheseReads by contacting them on their contact page. And if you want to know why it is important to have a personal account & a blog account, TheseReads has the perfect answer found here.
- Just like on any social media account it is important not to spam.
- Here is a direct link to their online Bookmarking Tool so you can save any article you like or want to read later directly from the web.
I highly recommend you check out the TheseReads FAQ’s page, they have lots of great tips & information.
One of the things that I really like about TheseReads is that it is an easy community to join, interact on, & it’s simple to gain followers. What’s even better is that it is a community that won’t let you get sucked into the whole Follow for Follow trap. And as you know well, I can’t stand when people message me “F4F” or “S4S.”
So if you want interactive followers who are actually interested in your content & what you are clipping than TheseReads is the perfect community for you!
My personal profile on TheseReads website.
So how do you get popular on TheseReads & get lot’s of new followers? I got the inside scoop from JQ:
Clip something interesting. You will end up in the trending section.
That is the main section where everyone discovers others to follow.
If others like what they see and give you likes and follows and clips your content, you will stay in the trending section for a while longer. If you are exhibiting spamming characteristics, you will disappear from the trending section.
If your content doesn’t interest other users and you don’t get likes or follows, you will disappear from the trending section.
The most popular users of TheseReads will clip content from others that they find interesting.
Think about it this way, if all you are doing is clipping content from your website, everyone can tell you are a spammer and no one is going to follow you or trust you.
However, if you are constantly clipping interesting content, users will follow you because they want to continue to see & read great content.
Pretty basic & completely logical (Spock would approve), but the results can be astounding! Since joining the community this fall my personal account has grown to 35,500 followers!
Now of course not everything I clip is seen by all 35,500 people, but it is a great platform for getting my content out there & easily accessible online!
Over the last month or two I have started to use TheseReads a lot more. I try to clip between 5-10 posts a day, from a variety of sites, before clipping one of my own. I clip throughout the day, every couple of hours, & in the evening I clip a post from my blog. I also share everything I clip on Twitter!
You can read articles in TheseReads using the Pretty or Web format.
I also got some great tips from JQ specifically for bloggers that I have already started implementing!
- If you are a publisher (bloggers, magazine editor, ect.), register an account on TheseReads and fill in your profile information in the settings section of the desktop website.
- Embed the TheseReads follow badge. That will allow us to verify the authenticity of your website. Being a TheseReads publisher has many benefits. We allocate certain slots in our newsletter, iOS app and website to TheseReads publishers and that is really one of the best ways you can gain exposure.
- Connect your Twitter account. When you connect your Twitter account, and one of your Twitter followers join TheseReads, they will automatically be able to find you.
- Clip frequently and clip stuff which you find interesting. Don’t just clip your own content. I cannot emphasize this enough. Basically we have a spam filter that detects the percentage of content that comes from a website. You will be automatically penalized if you just clip from your own website.
Speaking of which, I would love to have more resources to clip from through the TheseReads app! So if you have an account, or create an account after reading this post, please comment below with a link to your page so I can follow you & clip your posts!
And finally, I thought I would leave you with some hidden features JQ shared with me that many people don’t know about:
- Long press on the clip button in the iOS app. You will be able to privately save content.
- Use the add feature in the iOS app to upload images. We have done experiments and uploaded images have the best engagement & the most likes.
- The send feature. The single-handledly coolest feature in the app, in my opinion. With just a few taps, you can send an article to Twitter, Facebook, your friends and your email contacts at one go.
I whole heartedly agree with JQ about the send feature. I use it a lot throughout the day to share what I find on my Twitter page & I am finally beginning to see growth on Twitter because of TheseReads!
You can find more information about TheseReads on their FAQ’s page & you can bookmark articles you read online to your TheseReads account through their handy-dandy bookmarklet.
Don’t forget, you can find my blog’s TheseReads account by searching “Domestically Blissful” on TheseReads or clicking here! And you can follow my personal account by searching “Giustina” on TheseReads or clicking here!
Oh! And here is the special link to give you direct access to the TheseReads website!
Want to connect on a more personal level!? You can find me & Domestically Blissful on
Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Bloglovin, & Pinterest!
With love, G
In God we make our boast all day long,
& we will praise your name forever.
Psalms 44:8
More Confessions & Blogging Tips from Domestically Blissful
I’ve been using Thesereads for a couple months. The site/app seems down for me – is it working for You? Got any insight from JQ what’s happening?
Never mind – got this answer:
It was a decision taken by our investors and some owners and we have sold TheseReads to a Chinese consortium. We were offered quite a sum of money to sell our technology (not our user data) to a Chinese consortium of companies who were impressed by some of the backend technology that we had on hand. They are planning to introduce a similar platform in China.
Hey Kara!
Thanks for your comment! I had emailed them awhile back & hadn’t heard anything, but after reading this I decided to try again & I received a similar response. Super sad!
I have written a new blog post with these details & it should go live on my blog tomorrow.
Thank you so much for reaching out!
Hope you have a blissful week!
I CLICKED ON YOUR SPECIAL LINK, BUT IT IS NO LONGER AVAILABLE. iS THE SPECIAL LINK TO JOIN OVER? tHANKS!
Hey Jilleen!
Oh no!! I’m not sure, when I click on the link it takes me to my TR home page. You can try contacting them through their contact page, I’m sure they will help you & get you all set up! 🙂
Hope you have a blissful week!
I’m over the moon about finding thesereads a few days ago through this post! I just wanted to say thank you so much for sharing it! I’ve got an account now at http://www.thesereads.com/itshomenowkacie I’m excited to see how my blog’s traffic will benefit from this. It’s amazing how many followers you’ve gotten in such a short amount of time! 🙂
Hey Kacie!
I’m so happy you enjoyed my post & joined TheseReads! I am completely addicted to TheseReads & have found that it’s the best way to keep up with everyone’s newest blog posts! I have followed your account & look forward to clipping from it! And I look forward to seeing how TheseReads benefits your blog in your monthly traffic reports!
I hope you have a blissful week! 🙂
ps. I love all of the projects you are working on in your home! Have you shared any of them on Hometalk? I know there would be lots of people on Hometalk interested in all of the beautiful things you are doing! 🙂
Funny enough – clicked over to this post from thesereads 😉
Thanks so much for the insider tips – i’m http://www.thesereads.com/sugarspiceandglitter
Hey Jennifer!
Thanks for sharing! Someone was recently asking me if anyone had ever clicked over from TheseReads & commented on my blog & now I can say yes!
I have followed you & look forward to clipping more from you!
Hope you have a blissful week! 🙂
This was so helpful, thanks. I really wasn’t sure where to start but have now set up my account and applied for one for my blog. I’m at http://www.thesereads.com/catparrott Happy Clipping!
Hey Cat!
That’s great, I’m so happy you signed up! That’s the perfect way to start! I’m now following you too!
Hope you have a blissful week! 🙂
This post was very helpful! I just signed up and now I follow you! My link is http://thesereads.com/theorganizeddream if you wouldn’t mind checking me out and maybe follow along, too!
Kate
Hey Kate!
I’m so happy you enjoyed my post & decided to sign up! I’m now following you too!
Hope you have a blissful week! 🙂
This is a fantastic article! Thank you so much for sharing your insider knowledge! 🙂
Thanks! I’m so happy you enjoyed it!
I hope you have a blissful week! 🙂
Hi! Thanks for such a great post. I hadnt heard of thesereads before but now I have a profile. I am wondering how you had the option to sign up with your blogs facebook page because I didnt see that option when I signed up. Im wondering if there is a little trick to that.
Thanks!
Thanks Julie!
When I signed up I made sure I was signed into my blog’s Facebook page rather than my personal page. If you don’t want it to show your name you can contact them & I’m pretty sure they will change it for you. I hope that helps! 🙂
Have a blissful week! 🙂
Thank you so much for sharing! I just signed up with my personal facebook and followed you, however I had to email them about changing my name since i have a blog PAGE and not a blog profile on facebook. Hopefully they can fix it cause I don’t like my full name out there! haha Visiting from the peony project!
Hey Manda!
I’m so glad you liked my post & are excited about using TheseReads!! I think I remember reading on the Peony Project that you got the name worked out, is that right?
I hope you have a blissful week! 🙂
I had never heard of it, so thank you for sharing this. I was so impressed with what you wrote, I joined, (http://www.thesereads.com/beckywtml) and checked it out, and shared this post so others could join as well. Thank you again!!
Thanks for sharing Becky!
I am now following you on TheseReads!
Hope you have a blissful week! 🙂
Thanks for the info. I had not heard of TheseReads. I did follow your instructions and here is my account. http://www.thesereads.com/rbdgelaine . I don’t have an iPhone so until they get an android app the desktop version is all I have : (
Hey Elaine!
I’m so happy you enjoyed my post & joined TheseReads! TheseReads is still pretty new, but the developers have worked really hard & have made a lot of improvements just in the last few months. I’m sure it won’t be long before an android app is up & running! 🙂
Hope you have a blissful day! 🙂
I had never heard of TheseReads before, thank you so much for sharing! I just created my account. How did you change your name on there? I had to sign up using my Facebook page and so it’s pulling my personal email and my full name from my personal facebook page. I’m not sure if I like that.
Anyways, here’s my link:
http://www.thesereads.com/thelifeinbetween
So exciting to check this thing out!!
Hey Kimberly!
I’m so happy you joined TheseReads!
After receiving your comment I remembered that I signed up using my blog’s Facebook page. Thank you so much for your question! I just added this info to my post.
Oh & I think you sent me Tawni’s page, but I found your personal page & followed you on TheseReads!
Hope you have a blissful day! 🙂
Ha, I can’t believe I did that! How do I follow you? I’m still trying to figure this thing out. Also, they changed my page because it had some issues. this is my link now:
http://www.thesereads.com/sweetdiscord
Also, is there a way to see how well something you clipped is doing? (i.e. if it’s in the trending section because it’s getting likes and shares?)
Thanks so much! I’m so glad I found this 🙂
Hey Kimberly!
Here is a link to my personal page: http://www.thesereads.com/blissfulmiller & a link to my blog’s page: http://www.thesereads.com/domesticallyblissful
I don’t know of a specific way to see how well something you clipped is doing, but you could always contact TheseReads to find out. They have great customer service & are pretty quick to respond! 🙂
I hope you have a blissful week! 🙂
Thanks for sharing. I just joined. Still figuring out my way through it but here is my information. I am really excited about this.
http://www.thesereads.com/portlandgrace
Hey Simi!
I’m so happy you joined TheseReads!
I followed you & am looking forward to clipping your posts!
Hope you have a blissful day! 🙂
Hey Giustina! I have to say I did not know about TheseReads at all, like never heard of it. So I thank you for sharing your experience and letting us know how the whole thing works. I’m going to sign up right now & get to work on my profile. Always fun to discover new platforms. Thanks!
Hey Mariya!
Thanks for your kind comment!
I’m so happy I could share something new & helpful!
I hope you have a blissful week & enjoy TheseReads! 🙂
I just joined! Still browsing to see what’s up, but here I am: http://www.thesereads.com/thelifeinbetween
Thanks for all of this info!! If nothing else, I love a good reader app!
Yay! I’m so excited to be following you!
I love your “Doodling Through Luke” posts!
I look forward to clipping more from you! 🙂
TheseReads is great. I have a question – I am also a Publisher for them and while I do get a lot of clips and saves, it seems that even though I do get traffic from them, my traffic has not grown a lot on my blog. What could I be doing wrong or what do I need be doing more of to get that?
Hey Teresa!
I did a quick look at your personal TheseReads page & I would suggest clipping more often & from a wide variety of sites. Over the last month or two I have started to clip more & more regularly & now I try to clip 5-10 posts from a wide variety of sites before clipping 1 of my own. I clip throughout the day, every couple of hours, & in the evening I clip a post from my blog. I hope that helps!
Thanks for your question! I have added this info to my post now too! 🙂