Not seeing my photos?
If you see an empty white box with a blue question mark where my photos should be, you’re not alone. Subscribers to Digging who read my emails on an iPhone, iPad, or other Apple product may be able to see my text but not my photos.
No photos? Why???
This problem is ongoing, and it’s driving me bonkers! After all, I work hard to deliver good photos with every blog post, and I want every reader who’s interested enough to subscribe to be able to enjoy them. Apparently a compatibility issue between my website and my subscription service is to blame.
Of course, anyone can visit Digging directly at its URL (penick.net) to see each blog post as I intended it to look. But I offer a subscription service too, which delivers every new post I write directly to subscribers’ inboxes. Easy and convenient for readers! Or it should be.
The behind-the-scenes struggle
I pay a monthly fee to followit to provide a subscription service to my readers. I’m frustrated that they haven’t been able to resolve the problem for my subscribers who use iPhones and iPads. I use an iPhone myself and can’t see my own photos when I read my subscription emails on my phone. But I can see the images just fine on my PC desktop computer.
Despite this major problem with my subscription service, I haven’t found another easy, affordable option. Each week I receive one or two emails from subscribers who are puzzled or frustrated that they can’t see my photos, and I’ve been replying individually. But for any other iPhone users wondering what’s the deal with my images, I want to explain here, in a blog post. And I want to apologize for the inconvenience to you. I don’t take it lightly — at all — that your Digging emails may be missing half their content.
How to see my photos
As I continue to search for a solution, I hope you’ll stick with me. Please use the emails from Digging as a notification that a new post is up, and simply click through to visit my site directly. You’ll see everything there — photos and text — exactly as I intended it to look.
I’m also adding the following postscript to my emails:
[Read this post on DIGGING for best formatting, especially if the photos aren’t loading.]
Simply click on the postscript to go directly to Digging, where you can read — and view my photos — to your heart’s content! Update: You can also click on the title of the blog post in the subscription email, and it’ll take you straight to my blog and to that particular post. Even easier!
Thank you to all my readers and subscribers! You are the reason I do what I do.
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Digging Deeper
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All material © 2024 by Pam Penick for Digging. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited.
I am sorry to learn of this issue, how frustrating for you! FWIW (not much I am sure) I just went to my own followit email notification and can see my blog photos on my iphone, but then I use the Blogger platform. I hope you’re able to resolve the issue soon!
Thanks, Loree. I think it’s a problem specific to my blog and how my photos are hosted. I don’t really understand the nitty-gritty of the issue. But when I’m paying a not insignificant sum each month to have my blog posts delivered to my subscribers, this ongoing glitch is super frustrating to me. And to those readers!
I wish there were more options for bloggers like us who aren’t running businesses or making income off our blogs and need an affordable subscription service. I miss Feedburner! As you know, I wasn’t happy using followit’s free service — not with the content of the ads they were tacking onto the end of my posts. Using their paid service solved that problem, but now I have this.
I always read your blog on my iPad, and I’ve never had a problem. I can see it on my phone but that makes the photos too small to suit me so I’ll look at it on the iPad instead.
Paula, thank you for letting me know that. After hearing from a number of people about it, I assumed that everyone on an iPhone or iPad was having this problem. I’m relieved that’s not the case, as frustrating as it is that anyone is having trouble reading my emails.
Thanks for explaining. It was only a curiosity for me, though, as I have a smaller iPhone (SE) by choice, so never try to see much on it, either in email or browser. I had noticed that sometime in the receint past I quit being able to see the photos on the iPhone (definitely could see them in the past, but don’t remember when it changed for me.) Much prefer the bigger screen of my ancient desktop PC.
Bigger screens are better for most gardening content, aren’t they? Gotta see those pics!
Remains mystifying why my free Followit (for my own blog) is ad free to my view at least.
That is odd. Maybe being in S. Africa, your subscription service is slightly different?
Pam, I thought it was only me that was having this problem so thanks for clarifying! My iPhone won’t show the photos so I just go to my MacBook to read your posts. I’m not tech-savvy at all so thought it was something I was doing wrong!
Good luck straightening it out!
Thanks, Melody. It’s a frustration, but thanks for sticking with me! 🙂
Hi Pam, yes I thought this was just my problem. Thanks for clarifying. Is it possible to put the blog link at the top of the email? That would save a little time having to scroll to the bottom.
Thanks!
P.S.: Pictures show up fine on my android phone email!
I don’t see a way to do that. BUT, simply click on the title of the blog post in the email, and it’ll take you straight to my blog and to that particular post. Even easier!