I can help you. You need something called a "diverter." I got mine from a company called rain2o.com. It's made of downspout material, comes in different sizes and colors, it's aluminum, and looks really good. Go to their site and you'll see what I mean. What are you going to do with your rain barrel? Is it to fill a watering can or fee a soaker hose or what? You should get it up in the air 6" or more. You could put it on bricks. That's what I did. Weighs a ton when filled.

Here is a link that might be useful: where i got my diverter

You can use a rain chain. If it hangs over the opening to the barrel, it doesn't need to actually connect.

Lorna