Apr 11, 2012 / Community Pool

Community Pool

The place for feedback, advice, and friendly blogging chatter.

Have you just published a new post and are dying for some feedback? Did you recently start your blog and could use some layout or design advice from your more seasoned peers?

The Community Pool is for peer feedback and advice. Looking for more specific information? Check out some of these resources:

Tap into the wisdom of The Daily Post blogging community and leave your question here in the comments. Others can then click through and offer input either on your site, or in the comments here (feel free to indicate which you’d prefer).

To help us make the Community Pool a productive space for discussion, here are some tips you might find useful:

  • While you’re not required to, we encourage everyone who requests feedback to also reply to at least one or two other bloggers who need some help. Spread the love!
  • The Community Pool comments section can get quite big — and starting duplicate threads doesn’t help. Thanks for not posting the same question more than once!
  • If you’re looking for quality feedback, be as specific as you can. Questions about a particular post tend to draw more comments than ones about entire blogs. Questions about specific design elements are more likely to be answered than ones asking for general layout advice.
  • We discourage leaving links without a more substantive message or question. These are often overlooked by other bloggers, and we frequently remove them to make the comment reading experience smoother.
  • Please keep all comments civil and constructive. The idea is to have fun — it’s a pool, after all!
  • To keep from losing your place in the comment thread while you visit others’ blogs, right-click on a link to open it in a new tab or window.
  • If you haven’t looked at our Commenting Guidelines in a while, now might be a good time.
  • No running on the deck.
Show Comments

1,329 Comments

Comments are closed.

Close Comments

Comments

      2. Nifty idea you’ve conceived. I’m just wondering how many of the visitors who say they will post on a Wednesday will do so without being reminded???

        We mean well, I really believe we do, in the moment. Then it passes, another piece of life interrupts, and movement elsewhere occurs.

        Would you consider revving up your initiative by sending reminders to everyone a day or two prior???

        I’ve visited other creative sites who can really benefit from a tip/trick like this….REMINDER!

        Like

      3. pingback, is an amazing thing! whenever I will post any tip & trick .. i will pingback to there blog! .. they will get a notification and bloggers from my side would land on there side…
        and your concern is right .. about reviewing!… well dear before I started this I planned to make is idea useful for others .. I have a folder where I am savin all tips and reviewing … 🙂 don’t worry I love my tips tricks section ..

        Liked by 1 person

    3. Hiya…I enjoyed reading your posts, but I found myself most drawn to your About page. I would have been most pleased to have left a comment there. I couldn’t find a way to do that.

      Bravo on your blog, and your quick influx of visitors/followers. What a wonderful thumbs up!!!

      Liked by 1 person

    1. I saw two blog posts today. I left a comment at one. Love the look of your blog. I felt comfortable being there, and feel you’re going to write lots more engaging posts for your visitors to enjoy!

      Liked by 1 person

    2. You’ve off to a great start. I love your Home page. What a nice Cityscape!

      I looked at your shop. Liked your cards and beautifully decorated bottles. I’ve not visited other sites with shops yet, so yours is my first. Nice first!

      I also read three posts. I scanned two, and read the first. Was it a true story??? Whichever it was…Write More Like It.

      Suggestions: Invite some of your friends, and maybe a safe weekend stranger or a dozen, to spin their yarns for you. oR just listen as people tell their tales. Then you embellish using wonderful sensory overlays.

      Always have a notebook handy for ideas, or use the recorder on your phone if ok with teller. A snap or two is icing on the cake.

      Just a mention.

      Liked by 1 person

      1. Awesome advice! Thank you. I will make sure I take a notepad with me along with my phone for voice recorder. The story is not one hundred percent true, but the clues in the story relate to real life experiences.

        Like

  6. Hello all – I’m three posts into a new blog and would love some feedback or comments on what you think etc. Also, keen to figure out how to encourage followers and really connect more with the community!! Thank you!!

    Liked by 2 people

    3. Hello, enjoyed your Boots piece, and I sympathise (if not empathise, my eyebrows aren’t quite as scrutinised as the other side of the gender gap, and besides, I can barely make it through the the gag inducing perfume trap at the front of most Boots; the wife now prefers I stay outside) with the endless frustration with the battle between pushy sales guppies and trying not to be rude (a battle I often fail at). Anyway, you have a follow from me. To get more followers, I would just keep on producing good content and comment on other people’s blogs. Have a good day. Love, Stevo

      Liked by 1 person

  7. This community pool idea is great! I’d love to give and receive feedback.

    I truly believe your blog is just a more refined version of yourself, but as with people in real life, there are always things to work on.

    Please take a peek! ❤ thetearoomsblog.wordpress.com

    Liked by 2 people

    1. I really like your theme and photos you use! Everything is laid out nicely and it easy to work your way round and read different posts. Also really craving cookies after reading your M&M cookie recipe!

      Have a brilliant day 🙂

      Like

    1. Hi! I just read your “Perils of Democracy” story and enjoyed it. I’m not sure you intended for this, but it actually made me laugh, especially imagining octopi taking over the world through democracy. I never really believed it, but that doesn’t mean I didn’t enjoy it 🙂 The writing was consistent and clear.

      On a personal level, I would prefer if clicking on one of your stories didn’t open a new tab or page and instead took you straight there – less windows to worry about that way. But otherwise, well done. You have one more follower 🙂

      Like

      1. Thank you; I’m glad you liked the story. It’s a bit of a weird one – the narration’s meant to be entertaining, but the subject’s rather depressing.

        You’re right about the links – I’ll start changing them. Thanks again.

        Liked by 1 person

  9. Hi all!

    I recently released a dance video post that I could use a bit of feedback on. In it I included a description, a teaser, and a link to follow to see the video in full.

    Unfortunately, there were very few clicks on the link to the full video, which I’m very proud of and hope to get people to see. My question is, is there a better way to entice viewers to follow the link? Is adding one more click to see the full video asking too much?

    https://corporalculture.wordpress.com/2016/04/07/video-souffle-provisoire/

    Thanks for any feedback you might have 🙂

    Lucas

    Liked by 5 people

    1. Hi Lucas. First, congratulations on producing your first dance film! What an achievement! I am not a dancer, so I can reply only as a busy reader who feels pulled on all sides by multiple responsibilities and knows the clock is ticking.

      Your introduction to the video made me want to see it. I wondered immediately why, since this was your project too, you didn’t simply give us the full video right there.

      Knowing this was a dance trailer, I was prepared for stunning music and lots of movement.

      The first thing I saw: an ad. I don’t really want to have to watch an ad just to see a 47-second teaser. If I had stumbled across your post, I probably would have clicked off at that point.

      The teaser is intriguing. Several elements in it made me wish I had more time to watch the full video. Indeed, that may be one good reason to bring the full video over to your post. Once in it, I probably wouldn’t have been able to click away.

      One more thing. One of the dancers seems to harm herself, scratching a superficial gash across her chest. This gives the impression the subject matter includes self-injury, something I personally haven’t the desire to see today, even though it’s an important subject and the dance may be equally important in telling the story.

      Another aspect of the trailer that made it easy to make the decision not to click through and spend the ten minutes is the hum. I realize that is a key component of the performance, but I didn’t want to listen to it for ten minutes.

      Those are the reasons I didn’t click through. I hope that helps.

      Congratulations to you and your dance/videographer partners on the completion of this project. I can imagine how much effort and time it took. If the teaser is an example of the entire production–and I’m sure it is–this is a beautiful piece.

      Liked by 3 people

      1. Thanks for the advice – I wasn’t sure that the ads played every time, although I guess they do. The reason that I didn’t post the whole thing was that I was trying to bring traffic to my friend’s website who really did the heavy lifting with the video to bring her the credit! I see that I should have shown the video first and had the link after in case people were more interested at that point.

        The video goes through many things in life, but it’s not really about self-injury 🙂 if you ever do have the time, I do recommend the video – it really is quite touching. If you ever find that 10 minutes, you can find the full video (no ads!) here: http://henritius.com/film.html

        Thanks again. It’s helpful advice and helps me get a sense of what you experience when you see it. Cheers!

        Liked by 1 person

    1. I get gym classes included in my gym memberships but still haven’t tried any, I just don’t know if I would like pressure of having someone guiding the exercise. I think from reading your post though that everyone is in the same boat so I should probably give it a go sometime, maybe haha! Have a great day!

      Liked by 1 person

    1. Was having a click through and it is easy to find and navigate through all your content. Although I don’t meal prep to quite the same extent, I always prepare my salad for work the next day so it is ready. Stops me ‘not having time’ and having to buy unhealthier options.

      Have a great day!

      Like

    2. Had a read of your latest post, I really likes it so will be having a look through the rest of your blog soon! I couldn’t find a like or follow button, that could just be me being dopey haha. I left a comment though 😊

      Liked by 1 person

      2. Yeah I’m new too so wasn’t sure if I missed it. If you go on my blog, at the end of the blog post it will have a ‘like’ button and there are a few different buttons to use to follow, mine appears at the end of the page and while you are scrolling up I think. Just makes it easier for people to interact with you!

        Liked by 1 person

      4. Course not, if I can remember haha! I think you need to choose to customise your theme and then it might be in widgets? There is quite a lot of good stuff in there that you can add to your blog and im sure the follow/like stuff was in there!

        Like

    1. Hey, just read your post. I like its pacing, the change of tone through the revelation as to what love is, and I think this is a great line: ‘When fights over music are drama enough’. Good stuff.

      Like

    1. I read some of your posts (even though it is unclear whether you wanted me to) and the one about missing your mom while sick in a hostel, well, it just needed to be said. Maybe your mom was misunderstood because she had so many deep feelings but no way to let them out. Please keep letting them out.

      Liked by 1 person

  19. I could really use some input into an element of my blog with which I am not at all happy. One focus of my blog is my travels (5 or 6 months/year), so I have included a Where Am I Now page.

    Where am I now?

    I don’t like how it’s working out. I would prefer to have it operate as a separate blog page, rather than as a static page with a growing list of places I’ve been.

    I could just include these updates as blog posts and use a Where Am I Now category, but can’t help thinking there’s a better way. I like having a specific menu tab for it. Ultimately, an interactive map with pins for locations would be fantastic.

    Any and all advice/suggestions welcome.

    Excuse me for any delays in replying; we will be making our way home from Spain to Canada over the next few days and time and wifi will likely be limited.

    Thank you, in advance!
    Leah

    Liked by 4 people

  20. Not much of a wordy blog that I have but I intended to make a blog that is much more like a gallery type. I just started here and hoping that people could see the places I have visited

    It’s worth the view!

    visit: pittorescoblog.wordpress.com

    Liked by 3 people

    1. Your pictures are incredible, I’ve only been recently getting back into photography but I’ve followed you for some good inspiration! Keep the photos coming! 🙂

      Like

    2. There’s not a lot on your blog yet but I’m looking forward to seeing more. Perhaps a little more information about yourself in the about page woudl be useful but as one photographer to another I hope you continue.

      Like

  22. Hi all,

    I would love to get some constructive feedback on my WordPress site for online journaling. GoodnightJournal.com is a free online journal website where you can write private or personal journals and interact with other authors.

    – Would you use the site if you want to write a journal?
    – Why or why not?

    https://www.goodnightjournal.com/

    Thank you 🙂

    Liked by 4 people

  23. Hello everyone!

    I have a lot of coursework these days – thanks to college. However, I am trying to regularly post in order to keep writing, and for the sole love for words. I would love to hear some constructive feedback on my most recent posts, your time would mean a lot to me.

    https://ascintillaofthoughts.wordpress.com

    Thank you, and keep writing!

    Liked by 5 people

  25. Good evening fellow bloggers!! My name is Mark and with the valuable help of WordPress, I have just launched my debut thriller, A Hole in Serenity. My novel is available worldwide and WordPress has provided me with the platform to share this amazing journey over the past 14 months! If you have the time, please do stop by and say hello. It would be great to hear from you and your support would be very much appreciated! I look forward to hearing from you soon. Mark
    http://www.markdraycott.com

    Liked by 3 people

  29. Let me say it out loud.. We are all looking for comments, suggestions and more importantly follows from like minded and interesting bloggers.
    So, here are some rules,
    1. If someone comments on your post, show some courtesy and take the effort to reply back or check out their posts.
    2. If someone follows you then please return the good will, blogging is a platform to interact, that means, you have to follow other people too, in order to interact with them. It is not a one way road.
    3. Do not ‘like’ comments in the community pool, check out the blogger’s site and ‘like’ a post, this is more encouraging and useful.

    I assure you that if you follow me, I will surely try to get to know the blogger and try to engage in a positive way. If I follow you, then, I also expect you to follow me or interact with me positively, if not, then I will unfollow you, not out of spite or childishness, but simply because, I want to ‘interact’ with people. I want to listen to people, who are willing to listen to me.

    Having said, this, I invite all fellow bloggers to check out my blog, it has my views on life, love and my creative creations poetry, paintings and food.
    I am a feminist, who believes strongly in living a positive life, being environmentally conscious and that being proud of your own crazy self is the sure way to peace of mind.https://themerrygoroundblog.wordpress.com/

    Liked by 3 people

    1. Well said! dear .. I personally like to comment all the posts, but whenever I visit a blog I like that in community pool .. You all points are valid and right 🙂
      I really loved your blog and I am already following you:D

      Thanks for being part of my community ❤

      Liked by 1 person

    2. While your rules are well intentioned, not everyone follows each other in kind because they aren’t always as you said like minded. I know I have people that I follow that don’t follow me. I’m by no means offended. Just as I have followers who I don’t follow in return. Often it’s because their views don’t mesh with mine and I already read a lot of contrary opinions and would rather not spend time reading more than necessary. I do agree about the likeing a blog post than a comment post.

      Like

      1. I totally agree and I follow bloggers who do not follow me too, but I am specifically talking about new bloggers who have similar interests and views, who are looking for support and to expand their base,
        Many of us cannot afford the luxury of time and have to keep the blogging activities only for a limited time, in such a case, if your reader is loaded with posts from people who do not follow you, you are just contributing to the blogging community and not getting enough inputs in return. I have thousands of amazing blogs to follow but not enough time to read comment and like all, I would rather read and be inspired by blogs that take an effort to interact with me and help me out with comments and suggestions.
        As I said earlier interaction is the key, and even if your views are not similar, there is no harm in interacting with others of a different opinion, it can enrich our understanding and opinion on the subject matter, might give us a whole new view point.

        Liked by 1 person

    3. I agree that you should make the effort to check out people’s blogs if they have made the effort to like or comment on yours. However, I wouldn’t follow a blog just because someone has followed mine and I don’t expect people to follow me just because I follow them. I will only follow blogs I like and enjoy reading, otherwise what is the point? I will check out your blog and if I want to read more I will follow it and I always interact with people I follow or follow me.

      Liked by 1 person

      1. That is exactly the point, people do not even take the time to visit someone’s blog and interact with someone, who is following them. To follow or not to follow is everybody’s own choice, but, sometimes people think, they are doing their followers a favour and don’t realise the kindness the followers are showing them by following them and listening to their words. My problem is that people are willing to talk but not listen, and they forget that blogging is primarily a platform to interact.
        I completely agree to what you say, my post was a specific response to the common complaints some of friends had. They would take time and trouble to read someone’s post and comment on it and follow the bloggers who write about similar things and who share similar viewpoints, but they would not get any suggestion or encouragement, in return, even after repeated requests

        Liked by 1 person

      2. Ah yes I see the problem. I’ve been quite lucky so far in the sense that most people who follow my blog have a similar blog for me to follow and we interact quite a lot in the comments. I would be annoyed if I was in a similar position to your friend so I totally see where you are coming from 😊

        Liked by 1 person

      3. Thank you, I usually add my link to my comments stating ‘ if you “like” what you read, please do follow’ , I do not believe in forcing people to follow one another or I that following is a reciprocal game but sometimes, it seems unfair when people consider themselves so superior, that they cannot be bothered to interact with other mere mortals. I am not talking about immensely popular people who get hundreds of comments and follows that returning the kindness would be an impractical, if not impossible feat. I am talking about other budding and struggling bloggers. Anyways, thank you for the kindness and the support. Have a lovely day and good luck with your efforts. 🙂

        Liked by 1 person

    4. Thanks for your thoughts!

      I’d like to suggest that people keep rules, guidelines, etc. to their own blogs, where they have full control over the modes of interaction.

      Here at the Community Pool, the guidelines are specified each week, and we closely enforce our call for civility and mutual respect. While we encourage and promote interaction and conversation, we also discourage blind or automatic reciprocity, which is sometimes meaningless as a form of dialogue.

      Like

  30. Today was the first day of the poetry guest posts at Writing and Works. Each day until the end of April, a new poet will post their views of the importance of poetry, inspiration and what poetry means to them.
    First up was the lovely Mukthi Raja who helped inspire the whole idea:
    https://caroljforrester.wordpress.com/2016/04/11/guest-post-mukthi-raja/

    There’s still space for other poets so if you’re interested, or know someone who is, please check out the site, share the guest posts and send me an email if you’d like to contribute.
    caroljforrester@hotmail.com

    Liked by 3 people