How to add an email subscription function to Blogger (Blogspot)

One of the features I have appreciated on WordPress is the email subscription “widget.” This function allows readers to subscribe to my blog and receive new posts via email.

My book review blog, which has been hosted on Blogger since 2010, didn’t have an email subscription option, but as I was thinking about how important this was, I decided it was time to figure out how to add it.

I figured it out but also discovered that setting up an email subscription field in Blogger takes a little more work to set up than it did in WordPress. If you use Blogger, though, and do not already have this setup, it may be worth the effort. Allowing your visitors to subscribe to your blog keeps them engaged without having to come back and visit your page every day to see if anything new has been posted.

Blogger’s version of a widget is called a “gadget.” Blogger provides instructions on how to set up an email subscription gadget here; however, I will walk you through the steps and what I learned when I set this up on my blog this week.

From within your Blogger account, click Layout in the lefthand menu. Then click Add a Gadget. When the Add a Gadget pop up window appears, select HTML/JavaScript.

The Blogger instructions provide a code that you can copy and paste into the “Content” box of the new gadget you are setting up. Do not enter anything into the Title box.