Feb 2, 2014 / 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. Great blog. the structure of the headquartes page is clever. Must think to adapt it. The texts I will read but it’ll take a bit. It’s not my mother tongue and I’m a bit tired at the moment.

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      1. No worries, I’m glad you’ve taken the time to visit the site and I know from experience that reading in a language second to you can be difficult.
        I’m currently trying to improve my French and learn Latin.

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    2. Your blog is beautiful – love the background and the easy navigation to the various pages. Nicely done. This story is a little outside my usual favorite genres but, that said, I think it is off to a good start and really hooks the reader. I will be back to see what’s next!

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  3. Good afternoon! I would appreciate if you were to critique my blog. I have used the community pool in the past, and the tips were very helpful.

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    1. I like the layout and look of your blog, and the use of media. the short post format also keeps it interesting and easy to read. However, the most recent post seems a little thrown together, with some typos and grammar mistakes, and is a little “jumpy” from one thing to the next. Didn’t really understand the point it was trying to make. Good luck! Hope this is helpful.

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    1. I like your content, you have a great point of view and the writing feels honest. The page itself gets a little “boring” to look at with so much type and little to break it up. You may want to try adding a few headers, colors or other tricks to your page to keep the reader’s attention, especially with long posts of this type. Keep up the good work!

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  9. I write on psychology, life, relationships and anything that catches my fancy (as they say) with a mix of photographs and quotes. Any feedbacks on my writing etc. is appreciated. Also, any theme recommendation?

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    1. I like your theme. 🙂 It’s clean and uncluttered and showcases your photos very well.

      The only thing I would suggest is adding an About Me page. Whenever I visit a new blog, the first thing I look for is the About page. I realize that not every blogger wants to share a ton about themselves, for example, I didn’t add a photo to my About page until relatively recently. But when reading blogs it’s nice to be able ‘to put a face to the words’.

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  12. Hello, I am new to the community here. My name is Katie and I will be trying to get to everyones page that has left a comment on here. I do have a favor, I posted a poem today titled “Universe” and I would love for you all to check it out and let me know what you think! My layout is lame, I just started this whole thing yesterday so keep that in mind please. I love the feeling of community here!

    http://willwrite4love.wordpress.com/

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    2. I think that you are off to a great start. I started in January and know it takes awhile to ramp up and discover the layout that suits you. That said, the clean look of your page is very appropriate for your poetry. It makes a nice showcase without too many distractions, so the reader can focus on your words. It is a lovely poem, too. I look forward to seeing more from you!

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      1. Thank you very much for the kind response. It is nice to hear that it gets easier on here. Me attempting to navigate throughout this website is a site to see in itself! lol

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  16. How do you get picked for Freshly Pressed? Oh, and I would appreciate any feedback on my blogs. 🙂

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    1. The title is good. “Love changes everything” is not so good because it is vague Something more descriptive like “Following love to a new country” might work better. Some expats don’t know the word expat…

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      1. Thank you bumblepuppies. I wasn’t sure about the tag line either. I will consider this suggestion because as you say expatriates sometimes don’t know the term “expat”. Thank you for looking at my site.

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  19. Hi there! I’m very new to wordpress and I’ve set up the account for a fashion brand I’m taking over the social media for. I’d love your hints and tips on what makes great posts on the subject, I was thinking of being more diverse than simply talking about the brand. I’d basically just love someone to give me an outline of how they, as an experienced wordpress blogger, would post and interest an audience! thanks! 🙂

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  21. I’ve been using WordPress for several years now and never thought about asking others to evaluate the site. And now I’m asking for input.
    Allow me to first say my site is overwhelmingly fiction and meant that way, but I post what ever triggers my fancy. At present I”ve been involved in the 365 Writing Prompts and the Daily Writing Prompt. They are different. I try to formulate the prompts into short fiction. My fear is that it wears on people.
    Appreciate any bone you toss my way.

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    1. I do the weekly challenges and stretch them to fit my blog concept. In my experience both as a reader and writer, people usually want something that takes the prompt in a unique direction. There’s nothing worse than a challenge that generates dozens of identical posts.

      After a while, people who aren’t in the mood for fiction will recognize your blog title and know not to click the link… just like those who want fiction will know they should visit.

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  23. I would appreciate any feedback or suggestions on my first ten posts. I am a rookie blogger, and know nothing about this, but I want to listen in and be heard on climate change, cycling to prevent it, fitness, health, commuting, bike safety, and most of all how to make genuine connections with other people through blogging. Thank you!

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  25. I have had my blog about 1 month and just gave it a “face-lift” with a new theme, colors, and some wiggling of the widgets. I’m climbing the learning curve here! I blog about writing children’s fiction, being a mom AND writer, and about raising readers. I plan to make a “Raising Readers” post a weekly feature. Can you take a look and give me feedback or ideas to improve upon what I have? Honest criticism is as welcome as compliments, maybe even more so! Thanks, all!!

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    1. I like the choice of theme; the little hearts on the side are a nice touch for a blog on your chosen topic.

      On the other hand, I’d be curious to know how often your posts will not have child-focused pictures. When I first arrived, the page didn’t read “children’s author” to me because there was nothing childlike to greet my eye- just a dark thumbnail at the bottom of my screen that is easily missed. And you don’t actually identify yourself as a ***children’s*** author in the header.

      So, the one thing I’d add is something prominent that screams “CHILDREN!” It might be an image or a color or something else entirely.

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    2. The facelift looks great! (Thought obviously I don’t know what it looked like before) My one tip/suggestion would be to maybe try and bring a little more focus to each post. Sometimes it seemed like you were trying to fit the whole day in, instead of just one topic.

      But what do I know about focus (very little ) 🙂

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      1. Thanks, Elizabeth. I really appreciate the feedback. I am trying to figure out how much content is enough. Or not enough. Or too much. Boy, there’s a lot to learn!

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    1. You do a damn good job of recapping the episode. As someone with a short attention span I’d vote for trimming it down a bit. If you could put a little more focus on the review I think the posts would be more powerful. But that’s just me.

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      1. Thank you so much. I tried to compare my review to an IGN review once and I noticed it was a lot short but glossed over some details. I added pictures and sometimes YouTube for short attention spans. Do those help at all?

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    1. Hi Sue, without knowing more about where you want the blog to go, it’s a bit hard to offer any advice.
      Are you talking about style and direction, or readers and connections?

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