Jun 22, 2014 / Community Pool

Community Pool

The Community Pool is for those of you looking for feedback, 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.

TIP: 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.

  • 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. If you simply leave a link to your blog, it’s likely to be overlooked.
  • 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.
  • No running on the deck.

Photo by t_a_i_s.

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  1. The biggest question I have, is what do you think is the easiest way to get followers to your blog? Beside the same old post often and join link ups? Any advice is greatly appreciated. Thanks

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    2. Effectively tagging your post here on WordPress can go a long way to gaining more readers 🙂

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    3. I think the way you’re going to get followers is writing about something that will draw an audience to you. Reaching out to other bloggers and being involved while also using social media to your advantage will help. Linking other bloggers posts to yours and having them do the same with yours will increase your readership along with whoever the other blogger is.

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    6. Awesome. Do Americans use the term “grown-ass” a lot, because it’s extraordinary.
      And your blog has beautiful graphics and stuff by the way! Well gel! (Super jealous in English slang)

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  3. Top o’ the mornin’ to ya all! Just thought I’d mix up my greeting bit. (I don’t really know where I was going with that) So! here is my question:

    I added a widget to my sidebar of links to my favorite songs at the moment. I’d like to know if you find it useful and if it works for my blog. I just thought it would be something nice to have for my visitors so I added it. But is it something that you would use? Would you click the links to listen to a song or two?

    I’d love to hear what you think, and happy blogging 🙂

    http://seangreenblogging.wordpress.com

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    1. I would, but I’m a serious music junkie. If your blog was of interest, I’d also be interested in all things related to you as a writer.

      It wasn’t immediately apparent where the player was to me; I was looking for the old school kind 🙂

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    1. I think you’ve accomplished your clean, uncomplicated look. Everything is easy to spot with large block letters and separated with different color boxes. I like the color scheme as well, it’s easy on the eyes.

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    2. First, your blog is very user friendly! Of course the first thing I look for it the About which I found very easily. I’m a stick for simplicity. Also, I really enjoyed your writing and decided to follow!

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      1. Thank you on the ‘user friendly’ label. That’s critical, as I’m ramping up exposure via other mediums. And, glad for the follow. I appreciate you taking the time to drop by and provide a fresh look.

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    3. I liked your posts and widgets 🙂 I would have liked a brighter colour in your background though? But that’s just me, because I saw the word sunflower in your title, hehe. Overall I really liked everything, easy to navigate 🙂 awesome job 😀

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      1. Thank you!.I prevaricated on color vs more subdued – I recently left a more colorful theme because it no longer seemed to flow well, and was a little distracting. I have the option to add color variants (for more $$), and may play with that as time goes on. Thank you for taking the time to have a look and report back!

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      3. Nice layout, and the title of the page is what makes it easy to get in there and look at individual posts. I love your graphic at the top. And the poem to your Mom, well, as a Mom, you know… 🙂

        Well done.

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    1. Hey… I just visited your blog and my first impression was awesome. I love the design of your blog. It’s easy and pleasing. You have a wide range of content, and I think you’re doing a good job. Keep writing. 🙂

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    2. I really like the layout and the way everything is organized. It’s visually pleasing and fun!

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    1. This was a really interesting post – it seems like a lot of work needs to go on to aid Indian citizens, but it can’t be easy in a country so big! What else do you plan to post?

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      1. Hello, yes it indeed is a real big problem for the Government of India, also it’s an embarrassment for the general public to do nothing but take help from these agents. I mostly write with the perspective of ‘communication’. What about you?

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      2. That sounds interesting, I look forward to reading your next posts! I am writing about British society, and how it can become more equal.

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      3. That’s nice to know from your end. In a complicated country like India where we have almost 25+ languages and huge population, it becomes very important for the government to reach out to people using effective communication, but that, sadly is not happening.

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  9. WORDPRESS: Please delete my earlier comment. I’m unable to edit it or delete myself, and the links are wrong. I keep getting notes letting me know but I can’t fix it and I have a lot going on with the World Cup to have to deal with it. I regret making my comment; I just wanted people to know that the feedback can be put to good effect.

    Please know that I used to be a major feedback-giver until you changed the format. It’s impossible. Links are difficult if not impossible to add, even for those who know HTML. You can’t see all the comments. If I answer someone’s question or go to their site, I get dumped back at the top of a 500 comment thread and have to scroll back and fine where I was to add my reply. That may be why there are mostly questions and not answers.

    I learned my lesson today. I won’t be coming back.

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    1. Aw don’t worry about it, Jenna. People can still click on your name if they find the wrong site! WordPress should really consider an edit button though…
      PS love your blog 🙂

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    2. Hi Jenna,
      I replied to your comment upthread. Again, sorry for any inconvenience caused by our new design. We appreciate your feedback and, as I mentioned above, are already working toward fixing some of the issues you mention, like being directed to the top of the thread instead of the comment you just left.

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  11. Hello everyone!!

    I am here to request you all to kindly give some feedback on the contents of my blog and what more do you think I should include. Also, I am thinking of putting in a Guest Post section. What do you think about that?

    Feel free to let me know whatever feedback you have on my blog or here itself.

    Thank you

    https://turn2pagelife.wordpress.com/

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    1. I like the look of your blog but feel that everything is too far apart. It takes a lot of scrolling to go all the way to the bottom of your side-bar. I also think that a section for guest posts is a good idea. I’m not sure what you would want them to write about but I guess you would put that in the section as a description. If you do decide to have some guest posters, I would be happy to give it a try if you’ll have me, my photography work I’ll link here for you see: http://tiny.cc/vgbvhx

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      1. Thank you so much for your response. I’ll definitely take your feedback into consideration and try to change the look of my blog to make it more viewer friendly. Also, I’m really glad that you volunteered to write for my blog, and I shall let you know once I finalize things. 🙂

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    2. Hey guys read my blog telelawalxo.wordpress.com have interesting post on sex, black culture, youth culture, religion. I keep it short and sweet with a twist.

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  16. Yesterday I posted about redefining what it is to be a man. I am ready to inspired and be inspired! My target is men because as my recent post says it is time for us to step up and be men. Other than that, I aim to motivate through empathy and positive writing. I haven’t yet tried poetry but I think that is next. If anyone has experience with writing poetry, I could definitely use some help.

    http://mykulmitch.wordpress.com/

    Liked by 1 person

    1. It’s a great post: I totally agree with what you said; if every man treated a girl the same way he would want his sister to be treated, we wouldn’t have this problem. I would’ve loved it if you made it longer with a few more examples. On a side note, the font makes it really hard to read unless you brighten the screen to the max.

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  18. i have been bolgging since 9 months damn and i don’t have a good traffic of comments and likes….i want people to take a look at what i am writing…
    well i have many posts, and i would really like a feedback on them…. check out….

    oh come on i cant paste my links one by one.. you can simply take a look at my blog.. you can find it at…
    http://aimanpeer.wordpress.com/

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    1. The color scheme.
      The color scheme.
      The color scheme.

      Colored text on a black background wreaks havoc on people’s ability to read what you write. With some colors, it’s ouch, ouch, and ouch. It’s also hard to read your blog title and tagline.

      Fix the colors and you should get more engagement.

      (In spite of that, the number of likes and comments on your recent posts seems to be above average.)

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    1. I think what you are doing now is interesting. I recommend that you update your about page with at least the info from your first introduction post so that people don’t have to scroll to the bottom to find out about you 🙂 I think you can write series posts whenever you want. Write whatever feels right to you. I look forward to seeing more from you 🙂

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      1. wow, thanks a lot. 😀 I also find your blog interesting, I’ve briefly read your posts and you have some crazy ideas, I’d like to hear more from you too.

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      2. Thanks, I’ll take the crazy ideas as a compliment 🙂 It seems that the reasons that we made our blogs are similar, maybe we can do some collaborative work in the future.

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  20. Hey guys! I’m writing a humorous blog about my college experience and my love life fails. If anyone would be so kind as to offer up some constructive criticism or tell me what they think of the layout. I like my theme well enough but I want to change it. May I get some advice?

    http://collegelady17.wordpress.com/

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Tips:

      1- The tagline is way too long. Make it short and catchy.

      2- Your background image took a long time to load and the interesting parts of it are blocked by your text box. Pick something with a smaller file size and base your selection on what will look good as that small sliver on the side.

      Otherwise, so far so good.

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  21. Hello Oliver. I like the reason your writing the blog, It’s something I can get behind and watch. I have some recommendations however. I think your theme is a little distracting because it pushes your content off to the right. A more centralized theme is what I like to see. I also think that as long as your posting is regular, then you can post whenever your want. I try to make a post every day and if not then every other day but that is what works for me. I look forward to seeing more from you 🙂 Good Luck!

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      1. I think that would be fine, but I would also make sure that you define that it is on the same day, maybe somewhere in the title, or in the first paragraph mention that this is the 3 post for the day. It seems like you want to do a journal style blog if your posting several times a day. Mentioning where you are in the day is what I would do.

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  23. Hi — I’m new to WordPress and still getting used to the community here, which is kind of amazing. I know I’m supposed to be specific but I’m going through a fairly recent break up and so I’ve just been writing about that, and I wanted to put my blog out there in case anyone was interested or had similar experiences.

    withhopeatlast.wordpress.com

    Liked by 1 person

    1. HI. Though I cannot relate to your content, I find your posts interesting. I look forward to more of your posts.

      A suggestion on your template though: I feel that the template you use is more suited for photoblog-ish. If you like the theme, maybe you can select a feature photo for every post. It will make your front page look more colourful.

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      1. Thanks, Jill! That’s a good idea, I’ve actually been wondering the same thing about my theme, so I’ll definitely take your suggestion.

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  24. Hi guys, this is one of my posts stylishafairs.wordpress.com/2014/06/14/my-new-loves/ Can you please tell me what you think? (Leave a comment in the blog please). Thanks.

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  25. Hi! Here’s my second travelling post. It’s about skiing in France! First one is about the biggest lowland fortress in Europe. I hope you’ll like them 🙂

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  26. I’ve been posting to my mostly unknown blog for a few years now, but I rarely get any feedback from people other than my mom or girlfriend who say, “oh honey, it’s so great!”

    I’d really love to hear comments and critiques from unbiased readers and possibly some ideas on how to expand my readership (if you think it’s worth reading).

    http://jamesistrying.com

    I really appreciate this post, and the opportunity to connect to the blogging community. Thank you to all involved!

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Hi James. Critical feedback coming your way. Brace yourself!…

      Nothing wrong with your content at all. Personally, I would change the theme that you are using because it doesn’t do you any favours. It is just a wall of text, and the grey on the sides isn’t very attractive. I would also suggest throwing in a couple of widgets, perhaps an email follow option and some sharing options on social media channels. It would be nice if you had a ‘Best Of’ articles section, or most popularly clicked links. I didn’t feel compelled to dig through a lot of your articles. Perhaps they could be categorised better.

      Anyway, that’s my two cents. Best of luck.

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      1. Thank you, Aidan!

        I appreciate your ideas (and your respectful tone). My original thought with the blog was “simple is better” but I’m thinking that you’re totally right. It’s a boring, grey mass of letters. I somehow never noticed…I’m really glad you pointed it out!

        Thank you very much for taking the time to read and respond. I’ll definitely be taking this advice.

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  27. Hello Bloggers,
    I currently host three different blogs. One is a general blog and I take writing classes where I write all my prompts. It is kind of “the thoughts of me” blog sort of.
    http://www.raphsodibreece.wordpress.com
    My second blog I just opened. I was inspired when I had a particular prompt that turned into a short story. So I put it on another blog and that is where my short stories and outlines go,
    http://www.dragonladyraphsodi.com
    My last blog is my biggest blog, it is a music that is currently fixing to stat and easter egg hunt. It is geared toward music fans but any tips of making this go smoothly would be awesome.
    http://www.breakdownthesound.com

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  28. Hi people!
    I have started writing a new blog, and I am not sure how it is. I am just writing so simply. I would love to have some comments from you!
    purkechania.wordpress.com
    Thanks,
    Z

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  29. This is my very first blog post. I guess I am just looking for advice as to if this is something people would like to read about, and if not, what should I change? Thanks!

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      1. I have two brothers with autism, and I have done a lot of research on it. So while I cannot completely relate, I can definitely understand. Thank you!

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