How to Make Blogspot Subscription-Based

Restrict blog access to a select group of friends with Blogger's Permissions feature.

Publishing a blog is a way to share your thoughts with the world, but sometimes you want to give only certain friends or contacts access to your posts. Blogspot – or Blogger – allows you to make your blog private so that only approved subscribers can access the site. To make a subscription-only blog, use the Permissions feature in Blogger's Settings. Once you’ve changed this setting you can invite specific contacts to view the blog.

Instructions

1. Sign in to Blogger.

2. Click the “Settings” link below the title of the blog that you want to make subscription-based.

3. Click the “Permissions” tab in the Settings menu at the top of the page.

4. Click either the “Only These Readers” or “Blog Authors” radio button in the Blog Readers section. If you choose Blog Authors, only the people to whom you have assigned author status will be able to access the blog. If you select the Only These Readers option, only the users that you invite to join the blog will be able to access it.

5. Click the blue “Add Readers” button to invite a subscriber. Type the email address of the invitee into the input box. Alternatively, click the blue “Choose From Contacts” link to select users from your contacts list. Click each name, and then click the “Done” button to send an invite.

Tips & Warnings

• Invited subscribers must have Google Accounts so that they can sign in to your blog. Blogger automatically grants permission to all users with a matching Google Account email address. If an invited contact doesn’t have a Google Account, Blogger automatically emails an invitation, asking her to sign up for an account. Blogger permits only free subscription-based blogs; you can't charge a subscription fee on Blogger.

References

• Google: How Do I Control Who Can View My Blog?

Resources

• Google: Blogger Help