Feb 16, 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.

Show Comments

476 Comments

Comments are closed.

Close Comments

Comments

  1. I am reporting back on the correlation between listing the number of followers and people who subscribe to my blog. I took down the number since they were inflated by Facebook and Twitter and I have seen a slight rise in my number of subscribers. Before I went off the grid with breast cancer last summer, I was getting between 10-20 followers a day through the You May Like feature. Now I get 8 on a good day. I’m not sure how that feature works and how to become one of the four blogs, but there are some bloggers who get 1-2 a day where others are cruising at that 15-20 pace. (You can check any blog’s number of followers from the Reader.) I can see where it reflects your activity on WordPress, but there has to be something else going on too.
    I did take down my Freshly Pressed category since it’s been almost 2 years since the last one. I cleaned up my site and I think it looks better. What do you think?

    Like

    1. Hi Susie, I will keep my fingers crossed for your recovery. My mother-in-law is dealing with that, and it has been very hard for all of us. I adore your home page…so much going on. I can see why you have so many followers. Thank you for sharing with us, Silent

      Like

      1. Thanks so much for your kind words and for stopping by!
        I am good to go as far at the breast cancer is concerned. I had two boobectomies last May and reconstruction at the end of August. I’ve officially been released into the wild. I went skiing and ice skating yesterday. I hope your grandmother is feeling better soon! Did she just have surgery?

        Like

      2. Nope! “You May Like” is right under the topics on the right hand side column of the Reader. 4 different bloggers names are listed along with follow buttons.

        Like

    1. Hi Maimoonda; It is so exciting to have a blog, isn’t it. I remember being on pins and needles when I finally asked people what they thought – I almost wish I hadn’t, lol.

      Anyway, please do not be discouraged about my thoughts. First, mnalkhande.wordpress.com does not seem to exist because, when I kick on it, I am invited to register it as my own. I have no idea what is going on with that. When I click on mine, I go straight to my blog.

      I wish I knew more about you. The ABOUT page is your chance to share hopes and fears. It is okay to talk about yourself. Please, let us see behind the curtain, please?

      The background is okay when there are other images or text to break it up. I wish it did not hurt my eyes, but, it seemed too bright for me, or something. Maybe it’s just me.

      If you are going to use your ARCHIVE page as your HOME page too, and that’s okay because most people do it that way, you might consider the MORE feature in each of the articles. That way, people don’t have to read all the way to the bottom of one article to get to the next one.

      Anyway, I am happy you blog, and have the courage to ask what others think. Keep writing, NO MATTER WHAT! Thank you, Silent

      Like

    2. You may want to add a follow button and maybe a photo would personalize it a bit! See if you can upload a new header since that is the standard. Have fun with it!

      Like

      2. If you go to my blog, http://susielindau.com you will see a header or banner that I uploaded. I change them about every 6 months or so. You can see if your theme will allow an uploaded banner by going to “appearance” and clicking on “header.” It will have an upload button and you can choose one from your own photos on your computer. 🙂

        Like

  3. Hi, my blog is on the lighter side of things. Fashionablebrowneyes was created to inspire people to share creative ideas on fashion, relationships and life. My career can be a little stressful at times and when I come home I need and outlet to just relax. I found that creating outfits relaxes me and brings me joy when people like my creations. Plus I like to uplift people. I know others feel the same way so this blog serves as a community of support. Follow me you are if you are interested!

    Like

    1. I am bookmarking your blog! I would like to “hear your voice” in some of the post (example: inspiration, where to wear the outfit, etc.). I may have overlooked it, but do you have an about page? Good luck!

      Like

      2. Yes, I did create an about page. This is my first time creating my own blog so I am still learning the ins and outs. I am excited about the possiblities!!! Thank you so much for your response and I look forward to blogging with you.

        Like

  5. Hey community! I do monthly podcasts on my blog centered on my views on society. I would love to get some more listeners out there! Check it out! sheespeaks.wordpress.com
    Cheers!

    Like

  6. I have a relatively new blog (only 6 posts) over at onezerozerozero.wordpress.com
    I’m trying to do creative writing as my head is full of stories but missed a lot of school and therefore English lessons due to ill health, so any constructive criticism on grammar, punctuation, structure of my writing, basically anything you would learn from an English teacher to improve my writing would be appreciated. Also check out my other not so new blog all about animals over at nikkiharvey.wordpress.com

    Like

    1. Hey! That “People are Cool” page is awesome!
      One thing- not sure about your background and layout. The random colours and that.. .Maybe that’s just me being a girl. Anyway, cool blog!

      Like

  10. I would love to hear everyone’s opinions, critiques, and suggestions on my poems. Also suggestions for topics. Any and all respectful feedback is welcome with open arms! 🙂

    Like

  12. Hello everyone. I’m very new to blogging, have only made 5 posts and like to get feedback on the layout i have, but specifically, with me not being able to have the archive widget work on my sidebar. Thank you all in advance for the help.

    Like

      1. I like the feel of your site! I didnt see a categories bar on the side but maybe that or a calendar of your posts would help with some navigation. Even if it is only 2 or 3 categories that could help later on when you have more posts for people to look through.

        Like

  13. I’m new at this. It’s a bit more difficult than I thought. I was a ready to write and when I started, I needed a title, what I’m about, what to post…my mind went blank, lol! I need help.

    Like

    2. Decide what you want to blog about; stick to a few categories that you enjoy and find easy to write. Then I would use those decisions to write your about page, and hopefully that will get you started! Hope this helps! 🙂

      Like

  14. Hi everyone just wanted to see if yawl would check out my blog any tips are appreciated mommyx4boys.wordpress.com anyone who likes zombie inspired stuff will probably like it as well

    Like

      1. Hi there,

        I’ve had a look around your site. It is well constructed, the instructions for your recipes and craft posts are very clear, and your step by step photos are well constructed. The little vignettes of your life are fun, and light hearted, too which is great for readability.

        I do agree with the PC guy, that your side bar is cluttered with a lot of badges. It is great that you have been featured in so many places, and have been recognised with blog awards, but it is really hard to understand what most of them are for – eg you have one for your own blog, but it doesn’t seem to be linked to an event or blog hop, so I query why you feel this is necessary? If you want to show the places where you have had a feature, perhaps you would consider having a separate page for this list, with links to the feature you appear in?

        I would also like to recommend that you increase the visibility of your search widget. When people come to my food blog, I know that they come back and search recipes, or use my recipe index to find them. I’ve made it easy by having a prominent search function, and a list of the recipes by name on a page, so they are easy to find and look through. You have many great projects, but I think that people may be put off finding them to try at home themselves, because they have to search through a lot of the site manually.

        I hope this is helpful, you have a lot of great ideas to share.

        Like

    2. Your site made me think of a post I wrote a long time ago. (http://pcguyiv.wordpress.com/2011/10/08/badges-we-dont-need-no-stinkin-badges/) I don’t mean to shamelessly self-promote, buit it fits so well. Also, you can take a look at my work and tell me what you think as well!

      Overall, your site looks great. I do genuinely think, however, that the truly useful information in the sidebar (the RSS feeds, Follow/Subscribe, Top Posts & Pages, Archives, Search, Community, Twitter, & Meta sections) gets lost among all the other possibly interesting, but far less useful badges. My personal suggestion would be to move most badges below the other information, (if not remove them altogether) with only the most recent or most personally significant one or two at the very top of the sidebar, thereby framing the information more relevant to site navigation and more significant to visitors, rather than disguising it by interspersing it among the badges.

      Regarding the post you linked to in the first place… Sounds delicious. Can’t wait to try it. If you do stop by my site, look for my mac and cheese recipe.

      Like

      1. Thank you for your input. I read your article and you make some great points. I will take your advice and move some of my info upward. This may sound horrible because I always hear people saying how important the RSS feeds are , but I honestly don’t know what they are there for. What do you do with it? Lol! I love your blog. Your content is very well written. I will navigate through it more this evening after my daughter has gone to sleep.

        Like

      2. RSS feeds do two things: First, they allow others (or even yourself) to put a live feed of your site into another site. Second, and more importantly, they are used by Live Bookmarks and RSS readers to deliver your content directly to your audience. It’s another form of following. Most browsers support live bookmarks, and some mail clients also act as news readers. You also have purpose-built applications such as FeedReader. The primary difference between RSS and following, though, is that as the blog author, you don’t necessarily know how many people are following by RSS feed.

        Like

  17. I have problems using the link function when writing a post. Before, I marked a word or a sentence hit the “link” button in the kitchen sink and a window opened where I could put the link in. (I use the visual mode and copy my content as plain text). All of a sudden this doesn’t work any longer and I cannot connect content to a link the way I used to. If anybody has an idea what to do about this, I’d appreciate your advice.

    Like

  18. I just started a blog and have no idea about this. Can you check it out and give me some positive feedback and/or suggestions. thenotsoperfectvegan.wordpress.com
    thanks

    Like

    1. Hello, welcome to blogging. I know for me making things public was quite daunting, and your introduction post is a great start. I have a few points that you might like to consider, which may help make things clearer to the reader.
      Firstly, you appear to have three sites, two for your business, and a more general one. Your gravatar also links to Living with Love. It looks as though you will be migrating the other business one here, is that right? The colour scheme you have chosen for the new site is much easier to read, so that’s a great layout. Are you intending the Not So Perfect Vegan to compliment the Living with Love, or is it going to be your personal site? Either way, as you link to your professional site from the Not So Perfect Vegan, it is probably a good idea to mention why you are maintaining them as two sites in your about page. In fact, one could be a blog page of the other. A lot of professional sites have a blog.
      Are you intending to share recipes, or just discuss situations when your veganism has cropped up? I think it’s fine to do both, or more, but again, you may want to set out roughly what sort of posts people can look forward to.
      Apart from that, I have found that imagery is important (this is especially true for food, fashion and craft bloggers). I like the posts that have a good accompanying photo, and my preference is that there is an image at the top of each post. Of course, that is a personal choice, but I would recommend that you have at least one large picture per post.
      Apart from that, good luck. I’m intrigued to read more about your experiences, and I also love that you have taken pressure off everyone else, by showing that everyone has temptation or situations when they are not so perfect – as your name makes clear.

      Like

    1. Wow, what an honest first post! It was heartfelt, and evoked memories in me of relationships past. You write very well.
      I think that you should have little trouble attracting readers soon. The best way to get that ball rolling is by finding a community. Start to look for blog posts with similar tags, find blogs you like for any reason, and reach out. Comment, join in conversations, contact them by email, it will start to happen.
      I wish you every success in your blog and in your aim of getting things together.

      Like

    1. I love it! I originally thought “52 miles per month” was some deep, emotional kinda name (which I still liked), then read your About page.. And I still love it! Kinda fits in with how you say you have changed as a writer and are creating goals for yourself. Good on ya 🙂

      Like

  23. Hello community! I wrote this post recently about race and diversity in Spain and how my experience living here has been influenced by the fact that I am black. So far the post has been a hit! Over 500 views in just 3 days which for me is huge!

    I would like some advice on how I can further promote this post. I’m thinking I would even like to pitch it to some other travel websites.

    Thoughts on this post or anything else about my fairly new blog would be appreciated!

    http://shedreamsoftravel.wordpress.com/2014/02/13/why-are-you-black-a-look-at-race-and-diversity-in-spain/

    Like

    2. This was great! I was especially interested because my sister, who is biracial, will be studying abroad in Spain soon and learning about Spaniards’ attitudes about race was very educational.

      Like

      1. Thank you! I’m glad you enjoyed the post. Your sister will have an amazing time in Spain I’m sure of it. She may run into an awkward situation here and there but overall Spaniards are really awesome 🙂

        Like

  25. Hey guys! Im only fairly new to blogging and would appreciate some feedback on my blog.
    Specifically should I be blogging more than twice a week? Is there benefit to blogging everyday? Is the content of my blog any good? Any suggestions on what I should blog about as I don’t really have a niche would be appreciated. And also the general does my blog look good is it easy enough to navigate and how does my about page sound?

    Thanks in advance for any of your advice!!

    Like

      1. Defeated by a header, how can something be so cute!
        Don’t worry about posting more than twice a week if it doesn’t work for you, I do but then again I tend to ramble and stick up a haiku or two if I’ve nothing else. Apparently I crave attention. Who knew?
        From what I’ve read your content seems good, variation and an interesting writing style. You’ve got a good ‘About Me’ page. I don’t think there really needs to be too much on it, just enough for a reader to go “oh you too!”.

        Like

      2. Haha I thought the header was pretty cute too 🙂 Glad you like it!!
        Thanks for your feedback its really helpful to know that your on the right track. Im thinking of maybe daily blogging once university starts for me. We’ll see how that goes 🙂
        Again thanks!!

        Like

  26. Hi! I’ve just started my blog and was wondering if anyone could give me any advice about the theme? Obviously it might be a bit difficult because there’s only one post but any criticism/help would be amazing 🙂 thank you!

    Like

    1. The theme looks good! Most people will suggest adding a follow button to the sidebar. A lot of WordPress’s standard widgets are actually pretty useful, so definitely check those out. You’ll also find that most people recommend having a pretty solid About page. It’s difficult to know what to say and omit about yourself, but it’s probably a good idea to come up with one sooner than later. You can always change it. Good luck with your blog!

      Like

  27. Hi there!

    I love reading and writing so I started a blog about books a few months ago. Would appreciate anyone having a look of you have an interest in books/fiction!

    http://thebookbrief.wordpress.com/

    Any people who have some knowledge on books blogs, any opinions would be appreciated? Do you thinks it’s too heavy with reviews and needs more lighter posts around the book theme?

    Thanks x

    Like

    1. My goodness, you read a lot!
      I agree with your idea about adding a few lighter posts here and there!
      Have you read Tash Aw’s “Five Star Billionaire”? I devoured it very quickly! Highly recommended! 🙂

      Like

  28. Cool Topic!
    Me and a friend have just started our blog and are new to this. We would really appreciate some help from you all, especially regarding our layout and style.
    Thanks in advance!

    Liked by 1 person