Mar 2, 2014 / 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. I think your writing is very good. You keep the personal point of view throughout, and your posts are a good length for reading. One thing is that it’s a tad hard to read your posts because they tend to be in all one chunk. If you used a bit of spacing it might make them easier to scan. Hope this helps.

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  3. Hi all! I am new to the Community Pool, and relatively new to attempting to be a committed blogger. I am interested in general comments about my blog appearance and layout. Any suggestions to make it more engaging and welcoming. Not sure I love the color palette, but also haven’t found my way into any combos I like better than the default. I’d love your thoughts. http://transformingmommy.com/

    Liked by 1 person

    1. I like the layout, actually. It could be a little technical looking, but I think you use feature photos and the sidebar really well to keep your blog warm and welcoming. I think you have a great blend of post types as well. I think you’re on the right track! Hope this helps.

      Liked by 1 person

      1. Jenna, thanks so much for taking the time to check it out. I totally agree with you on the technical looking part. That’s exactly what’s bothering me about it.

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    1. I think you’re doing great! I love that your posts are free-form and don’t have to stick to any one concrete theme or category. (This also comforts me because I’m pretty new to blogging myself and mine doesn’t either 😉 ) your most recent post was so heartwarming, and I loved the “single as a pringle or taken as bacon.” haha 🙂 keep up the good work!!!

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      1. You’re too sweet. Thanks and I checked out your blog and they’re so good, keep writing! Can’t wait to read more of your post.

        I shall follow you. 🙂

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  6. Hello everyone! I’m three months into blogging and I love it, especially right now as I am writing about music more, which is my passion. Anyways, I’d love some more feedback on content, as well as try and find some other music students who would like to do some guest posts (more on that to come).

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    1. Okay, first of all, I love your stuff: the blend of great writing and illustrations is perfect. That said, when I landed on your site, my whole screen was one big band of plain turquoise, with a title that didn’t tell me anything about you or what your blog was about. Honestly, I could have been on any standard, generic blog. I literally had to scroll way down to see your wonderful content. I would love to see your content in a theme that spotlighted it, with a creative feel to match your great content. Hope this helps.

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      1. Hi Jenna thank you so much for your comment and I will take on board all that you have said. I’ve changed my theme well temporarily as I’m not sure I like it much lol If you have the time feel free to have a look. Thanks again.

        -Naomi.

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      2. Oh, yeah..this is DEFINITELY on the right track. If you had a catchy title/subtitle this could really work. The images are so eye-catching. It’s like a candy store…

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  10. Hi, I’d just like to know if anyone is interested in my content on my blog site I started on February 20, 2014, I don’t seem to be getting many bites. I am a Christian and my Heavenly Father is everything to me. I love sharing Him through poems, devotionals, and small short stories. I wondered why people aren’t responding??? I’d like some serious critiquing here, thanks. How can I improve my site? . http://godswordstous.wordpress.com

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    1. First of all, I think your content is really good. It’s readable, well-written, well balanced (between poems and longer pieces) and is overall great to read. I think your theme is good for the most part too (the font seems perfect for what you’re doing). I did notice that you don’t have easy ways to search through posts or read older ones. That makes it more like a daily newsletter than a blog I can peruse. Adding ‘recent posts’ or ‘archives’ can help keep readers on your site once you’re hooked. Other than that, I’d suggest identifying communities online that are your target audience and spend time posting comments and getting involved. That can drive traffic to your site. Good luck!

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    2. 1. Change your theme to a theme that doesn’t fight the focus of the eye. The background colours are making your readers struggle to concentrate (I referring to the greenish-blue).

      2. You have an awesome blog that’s why I hit the follow button… but I also noticed that you’ve not tagged your post (or is the theme hiding your tags?)

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    1. Hi thanx for the feedback. I’m not sure what you mean. if you click on the pics they become larger right. you mean that they should already be on that large scale instead of smaller right?I’m trying to learn I’m still new in this 🙂 🙂 ::)

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    1. I don’t know that your theme is really working for you the way you need it to. This doesn’t look like a “home page”, especially for a community-based blog like you’re working on. I’d look for something that has a more “newsy” or journalistic feel where you can put several photos or journalism pieces. That might make it feel more like a community, more welcoming and warm. Hope this helps.

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      1. Wow! Thanks Jenna. That was one of the things I did. I started using the current theme less than 24 hours ago because I’m A/B testing to see what works better for the community.

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    1. There’s an icon with two arrows forming a square on many WP blogs. You can click it to reblog: which means their post will show up (with appropriate attribution) as a post in YOUR blog. Make sense?

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  14. Onoldage.wordpress.com. I blog about getting old and wise. I’m better at writing than advertising, though- any tips on how to improve my titles and first few lines? (I need the daily task to be up there somewhere, even though the language if the task is terribly dull).

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    1. Rather than focusing your improvement on titles or hooks, I would advise you to focus your writing more. Your post covers a lot of relatable content, but I think you could break this post into a few different ones. I am new to blogging and I have found that keeping posts clean, focused, and relatively short is a challenge. I am a junior in college studying to be an English teacher, so I have to make A LOT of lesson plans. When we make a lesson plan, our professors make us state our very specific objective at the top. The objective has to be SMARRT – specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, timely. Everything in the remainder of the lesson plan has to have a clear connection to the aim and has to work to achieve the aim. If it doesn’t, we need to change it or get rid of it. When I write my blog posts, I find it very useful to use the same framework and decide on a SMART topic before I begin writing.

      In relation to your post, I can’t decide what your are trying to convey to your reader as the point that is most important to you. Are you trying to write a funny post about how much you don’t care for birthday festivities (cake, presents, etc.) or are you writing about how birthdays become less important as you grow older? Are you writing about the trivialness of designating a particular (birth)day to celebrate a person’s life? What is the main point you are trying to make with this article? Try picking a singular topic and then stick to it throughout your writing. It will make your writing more entertaining and sharper!

      The way I see it, you could make this one post into a few smaller blog posts that would be a lot sharper and cleaner. Another option would be to write them all in one blog post, but make sub-headings and re-arrange the order of your paragraphs. Group together the writing about different points in your post so that you don’t meander around multiple different ideas that are all sort of related. You could even format the post as a list for the different reasons you don’t like birthdays, and then link it all together in a meaningful paragraph at the very end! I hope this helps!!

      (Although it’s a bit contradictory to your post, happy birthday!)

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    1. Oh Violet…you’re one of my favorite “finds” on Community Pool. 🙂 So seriously talented. Your content is fabulous, well-balanced and well presented. If there was anything to improve, I’d say your theme is a little drab, especially the big black header space. Something more artistic that would maybe let you use a bit of color might work better. Otherwise, keep doing what you’re doing. It’s great!

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      2. Look at Shine On, Adelle, or even Chalkboard (which is cute, but might not fit your photos and such). There’s lots of free themes with color and a little style.

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  16. I’ve seen a dropoff on my travel blog site. Anyone willing to take a look and give me some feedback as to why that might possible be would be very much appreciated. In gratitude, I ‘d be happy to offer some feedback on your own site

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    1. Hi Ben! Your travels seem really cool! While trying to find differences from your older posts to your more recent posts, my small piece of advice is to consider modifying your post titles. When I saw your “Recent Posts” widget, the titles “A Day at the End of the World” and “Bangkok & the Power of $5” really jumped out at me. Those titles are short and attention grabbing. They entice me because I can tell that the content of those posts will be YOUR description of a personal experience that is completely unfamiliar, yet fascinating and intriguing for me. Your other post titles are also fun and clever, but they are long in comparison to the two I just listed. I think that “All Caribbean Islands Are Not Created Equal (Despite What the Beach Boys Imply)” is fun and it makes me laugh, but it would serve as a great hook sentence instead of a title. Maybe find a way to include something that makes it clear that you will be declaring your opinion based on your travel experience. (This is certainly not perfect, but for instance, “How the Beach Boys Lied to Me.”) Another option would be to give us a hint about something that made the islands “unequal.” The same advice goes for “New or Old, Delhi Has Plenty on the Menu” and “Film Location Fun & Folly.” In all honesty, I really love all of your titles and I think they’re all cleverly crafted, but while trying to find differences from your older posts to your recent posts that could have slowed down traffic, this was just one possibility I thought you could consider. Good luck!

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      1. Thanks Tess. Now that you mention it I can definitely see your point. Great tip!

        I took a look at your blog & enjoyed the candor of your posts. The writing is engaging & fresh. The only suggestion I’d make is perhaps choosing a more visually-pleasing theme. One that reflects a more sophisticated backdrop for your voice. Thanks again

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    2. Frankly, I’m having a hard time seeing what would cause a drop off. Your blog is extremely well done. It’s well-written, easy to scan, and you use photos very well. The only thing I can see is maybe the balance of your posts. Are you leaning too much toward one type of content and not giving users a mix? I might go back through your old posts and see which ones are the most popular; that might help you decide. Sorry I can’t be more help but I can’t see anything that jumps out at me.

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  17. Hi all. So I’m still a new blogger as I only started in January. I’m constantly learning new things (especially with reading other people’s questions/answers in the community pool!) and have been having loads of fun with it. But I think it’s about time I asked others if they had any advice at this point for where I’m at.

    So firstly, how am I doing so far? Any suggestions or ideas for a newbie? (click name for link, or if on mobile: http://deviatedperception.wordpress.com/)

    I also have a little side question… If writing a really long post, is it more preferred if it was broken up into multiple parts? Or does it really not matter, as long as the content is to the point and moves forward? I know people do it when they only feel like writing a bit every week or when they are doing a series but I have only ever written things as one, complete post. Reason I’m asking is one of my current drafts is really long and I’m not sure if I should break it up into two parts and just delay posting the 2nd part or if ultimately it doesn’t really matter.

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    1. Nix the side question… I was reading further into the community pool and the topic came up so I already have my answer on that one.

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  18. Heyo, So on All Those Reviews, I wrote a couple of reviews. This is my first time blogging and I tried two different ways of writing my reviews. Someone help. 🙂 I don’t know which is better and would love overall help on the review writing in any way.

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  22. I would just like someone to look at my site and give me an honest opinion and pointers. I’ve never had a blog, and don’t really know how to go about writing one, much less how to make it successful. I intend to expand a little on my original idea with some posts between projects about thoughts, or cool things that happen in my life throughout the week to help supplement my blog as well. If someone could take a look at my blog and tell me what I need to fix, that would be fantastic. 😀

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  23. Hello! I am a very new blogger and I would love any kind of feedback on my site! Things to work on, things to change, things you like, etc. I would love to gain more followers and more site traffic, so any advice is welcome! I read and replied to a few of the comments above and if you read them, you can see that I tried to provide really honest, useful feedback. I would love it if you could help me with the same kind of genuine feedback (although you don’t have to write as much as I did for other people above!)

    About Me

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      1. Thank you! I took a minute to check out your blog and the story about your mother is very sweet! I’m not very familiar with your theme, but if there is a way that you could display a button for your recent posts or archives, then I think that would really help the visual appeal of your site. As I was reading the story on your home page, I was wondering if your entire blog would be a a long story and it wasn’t until I got all the way to the bottom that I realized you had other posts and that not all of your posts are narrative-style stories. You should offer a way for your site visitors to access your other posts without having to scroll all the way down. Hope this is helpful!

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      2. Hey
        I added the archive to it, so surfing will be easy for all.
        The topmost is the recent one. Now u can see all the blog titles in the archives sorted month wise :).
        Hope it will help all.

        thanx for the great suggestion. Also added a new one just now Existential Bummer (inspired by Jason Silva)
        Do chk it out ! 🙂

        Cheers !!

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    2. Even though you just started your blog, with just what you have now between the pages and the pics I feel like I know you. You’re a natural writer and your sincerity gives the content such personality. It’s because of your openness that makes it interesting and intriguing to read. You just seem like an awesome person in general which drew me to want to follow you. 🙂

      Only thing I can suggest is maybe eventually pick a background and create an overall look to match that personality of your content. Your writing is what really matters so the look of everything is not as important and will come in time. I’m new too and I have been constantly reworking mine and it will probably always be a work in progress. But that’s the fun of it. So I’d say make it even more so visually inviting as you are. Otherwise, everything seems great to me!

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      1. Thank you so much for the awesome feedback and support!! I just worked on the background a bit. I’m still not 100% sure that I’m satisfied, but as you said about your blog, I’m sure mine will be a continual work in progress too!

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