DON'T PANIC

One of my blogging buddies (and you know who you are my little pig boy) expressed great anxiety that Google Blogger will close down his blog.  Like many, if not all, of us he has put much effort and time into learning Blogger and getting his blog up and running.  He created a significant number of scheduled posts and did not want to lose all of his work.

If you are in the same situation, don't panic!  All you need to do is create a back-up of your blog posts, past and future.  Like any other important file, you should always have a back-up.  It takes 5 seconds and here's how to do it:

1. Log into your Blogger blog
   
2. From the Dashboard click "Settings"
   
3. On the "Basics" tab, the very first item is "Blog Tools"
   
4. Click "Export Blog" (you will lose nothing from your blog...panic not!)
   
5. You will get a downloaded file ending in ".xml"
   
6. That .xml file is your blog postings, past and future
   

Should you wish to open another blog, just input this .xml file.  It's that simple.

Be aware that the .xml file will not include your header or footer (if customized) nor will it include your widgets.  Since Blogger allows the blog owner to enter the locked blog, you can copy and paste your header, footer and most of your widgets within 10 minutes.  The biggest amount of time is spend in notifying your fellow linked bloggers of your new URL.