Oct 20, 2013 / Community Pool

Community Pool

Community Pool

The Community Pool is for those of you looking for input, whether on post ideas, writing, blog design and layout, or anything else. If you have a post, page, or idea you want to bounce off someone, leave a comment. Your fellow bloggers can then click through and offer input either on your site, or in the comments here (feel free to indicate which you’d prefer).

Read on for the ground rules and to leave a comment . . .

  • You’ll get the best feedback if you can be as specific as possible about what you’d like people to respond to or where you’re struggling.
  • Please keep all comments civil and constructive. We’re here to help and support one another, not to beat anyone down.
  • If you haven’t looked at our Commenting Guidelines in a while, now might be a good time.
  • 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.
  • No running on the deck.

Photo by t_a_i_s.

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  1. http://thesisterseternal.wordpress.com/

    I would like feedback on two things regarding the posts I have so far. The first is in regards to design. Should I use more photos in my posts? If so, does anyone have any recommendations for sites I can use for photos. These images have to be okay for commercial use (only because my blog is for a book that I’m going to sell. The photos will not be used in the book).
    Secondly, I would like to know if the content that I have so far is interesting for my readers. I have just been wondering if the content would be more interesting if there were more eye catching elements to it. Thank you so much in advance and I will be giving feedback on the posts below as well. Feel free to comment here or on my blog 🙂

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    1. As another senior and non-tech dinosaur the only thing I would suggest is perhaps to have a photograph or illustration at the start of your post. It sort of anchors it.

      I enjoyed the view of life in your area and I enjoy the way you tell it. The doggy meetings, the loo in the road…life in a condo – something totally new to me….

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  9. hello, everyone. I would really appreciate some feedback on the blog i started a while ago. its just my outlet of what i consider the creative side of me. lol thanks a mill.

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    1. Just checked it out…i like…have you be any chance ventured into Africa yet? I dont know if you want some like advice or something; like for me im a very visual person, i just think if your choice of colors could be a little less contrasting. I just think the combination is just a little harsh, other than that…me likey.

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    2. id say a dark blue, and then make your text white. and i think on the categories part on the left remove the red and blue and just keep the black text. i think its all the red thats a bit much.

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    2. hey Sarah, great start – thankx for sharing – i would suggest writing a short summary of that blog post and sticking it on your About page so that any time someone stops by your blog they can see what it’s about – but try to keep that down to two to three short paragraphs – you have an interesting style so i think people will want to read what you write – love the idea of both the scales and wish you all the best – don’t ever apologise in your blog though [phrases like ‘are you bored yet?’ suggest to people that they should be bored – assume your blog is interesting and sell it as that – people will choose to be there if they are so don’t give them reason to believe you aren’t even buying what you are writing] – in terms of widgets you can take a look at my blog and see which one’s i find helpful – generally links to other blogs you like [because that often helps gain you traffic especially if those people add your blog at some stage], something that makes it easy for people to subscribe so you can build up followers, i also have a recent highlight posts widget so people can instantly get access to five other posts which means they are more likely to see something interesting that catches their eye…

      in terms of your general posting it looks good but you may want to use bold or italics or add in a graphic or a heading to break up the reader’s reading and make it more interesting – usually online readers have a shorter attention span and so you have to keep them interested – punchy first line that grabs their attention in the form of a strong statement “you won’t believe what i saw yesterday’ [what, what did you see? keep reading] or “have you ever wondered what the meaning of life us?” [i have, i have, please tell me – keep reading]

      hope that helps a little
      keep on and all the best with both scales
      love brett fish

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      1. Thanks so much! I appreciate your thoughtful and genuine response! You have very helpful tips and I am excited to make some improvements with your suggestions

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    3. Sarah I thought it was a great first post! I agree with Bretty Fish, you should take advantage of your about page. But the post itself was great, I enjoyed it. 🙂

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  13. it has been so refreshing to extend some invitations recently on the blog and see people really respond – the first was an invitation to stop rushing [http://brettfish.wordpress.com/2013/10/09/anyone-up-for-doing-a-non-rush-ing-experiment-with-me] with the feedback shared over here [http://brettfish.wordpress.com/2013/10/19/been-still-and-known] and now i have just invited a bunch of people to join me in a week of gratitude – anyone else want in? http://brettfish.wordpress.com/2013/10/17/anyone-up-for-doing-a-log-of-gratitude-experiment-with-me

    love your feedback and also your involvement
    keep on
    love brett fish

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    1. First of all, I agree, sometimes the sidebars can be distracting and I like the layout you have. As for information at the end of a blog, there are two things that help, 1, engaging content – makes people want to read on, and 2, don’t have too many posts per page – people of the Internet age have notoriously short attention spans.

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    2. I agree too. I think with a blog that is mostly images the sidebar will take away attention from what’s happening. I do think that if you are going to have something at the bottom of the page though then the bottom of the page needs to be visible fairly quickly otherwise by the time people have finished absorbing all of your beautiful images they won’t be looking for anything else.

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    3. Hi Irene
      Perhaps a good place to start as a first post might be to post about why you want to blog. What is it that has driven you here in the first place? What sort of feelings did you have when you were registering the blog as your own?

      There are also lots of blogs that encourage you to write. follow the daily prompt or three words or any one of the many other great blogs that give you ideas for writing. I’m looking forward to reading your virgin post.

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  19. I’ve been blogging more since I last asked for feedback, so I’d love for you guys to take a look and let me know what you think!

    Thanks!
    jillianmartin.wordpress.com

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    1. Posting regularly, aiming to post original content or with unique point of view. My advice would be to try to stand out from all the other fashion bloggers out there…Oh, and shaving your head! 😉

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  22. Hello from the Ketchums. We have been living full-time on the road since April of 2011. A couple of months ago we decided to start a blog. We write about all sorts of things. If you would like to check us out, we would love to know ya. Who knows we might be in your neck of the woods sometime. Thanks canuketchum

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  27. I love cats😻😻😻😻😻😻😻😻😻😻😻😻😻😻😻😻😻😻😻😻😻😻😻😻😻😻😻😻😻😻😻😻😻😻😻😻😻😻😻😻😻😻😻😻😻😻😻😻😻😻😻😻😻😻😻😻

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    1. You write really well Linda. You’re a deep but also clear thinker. I suggest you add some images to make the blogs more visually interesting. You are dong everything right, good titles, open ended questions at the end. Are you using social media as well, asking questions and linking to your blog?

      Is the minimalist page also deliberate? I get the impression it is and you want to focus on your words, but I’d look at adding something more visual, just my opinion.

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