Jan 12, 2015 / Community Pool

Community Pool

The place for advice, feedback, and friendly blogging chatter.

Have you just published a new post and are dying for some feedback? Did you recently start your blog and could use some layout or design advice from your more seasoned peers?

Tap into the wisdom of The Daily Post blogging community and leave your question here in the comments. Others can then click through and offer input either on your site, or in the comments here (feel free to indicate which you’d prefer).

To help us make the Community Pool a productive space for discussion, here are some tips you might find useful:

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.

  • While you’re not required to, we encourage everyone who requests feedback to also reply to at least one or two other bloggers who need some help. Spread the love!
  • The Community Pool comments section can get quite big — and starting duplicate threads doesn’t help. Thanks for not posting the same question more than once!
  • If you’re looking for quality feedback, be as specific as you can. Questions about a particular post tend to draw more comments than ones about entire blogs. Questions about specific design elements are more likely to be answered than ones asking for general layout advice.
  • We discourage leaving links without a more substantive message or question. These are often overlooked by other bloggers, and we frequently remove them to make the comment reading experience smoother.
  • Please keep all comments civil and constructive. The idea is to have fun — it’s a pool, after all!
  • 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 Brian Cantoni.

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  2. Hi, I’m a newbie to the blogging world. I was wondering if you could take a few moments to check out my blog, scan some of my posts, and leave some constructive criticism? Thanks!
    betterthroughlove.wordpress.com

    Like

    2. Hi Kelsi,

      Quick suggestion would be to maybe display the first couple paragraphs of each post on the blog feed. It’s a lot to display on one page and takes a long time to scroll to the bottom.

      Best of luck,
      Aidan

      Liked by 1 person

      1. Thanks Aidan,
        I’ve been wondering about that as well… how do I make it so my entire post doesn’t fit on one page, but is a link you can click on to read the rest?
        Thanks!

        Like

    1. Hi Olivia,

      I think I’m qualified to comment as I work for a digital marketing company that helps companies drive more traffic to their website through things like blogging. Few quick suggestions – 2-3 posts per week is the sweet spot (between 250-750 words). Make sure your blogs are keyword rich and related to your target audience (consider the terms they’d be typing into google). Ensure it’s synced to the major social networks.

      I could go into more detail but there is a lot more detail in other places – just google ‘inbound marketing’.

      Aidan

      Liked by 1 person

    1. Wow. Incredible read. Genuine, honest and excellently written. As a single 32 year old I can relate to some of what you say 365 – you’re a very talented writer, and have a new follower!

      Like

    2. Don’t stop writing – or, if you do, know that you’ve brought something of truth and beauty into the world. I don’t know how you managed to distil 32 years into such a balanced, open essay, but I’m glad you did. The internet is such a treasure trove of humanity and you’ve placed a jewel right on the top.

      All good luck with your writing and with the adventure of life.

      Elaine

      Liked by 1 person

    1. I love your blog title! makes it obvious what you’re writing about but is a bit different!

      Your review on Boyhood was interesting, against consensus at the moment. I was on the fence about seeing it and your review changed my mind, i think i’ll give it a miss!

      Your theme etc. is all really nice, it looks like a really professional website!

      you get my follow!

      Liked by 1 person

      1. Wow, thank you so much for your kind words. I actually changed my writing style over the past year because I think I was getting too personal, and that gave me a lot of anxiety. Still trying to find a nice balance.

        Liked by 1 person

    1. I visited your page and left some comments.

      Great start. the only problem is the title doesn’t format well for me, the last 3 letters are on the line below. it says

      Booksandmusicaremyesc
      ape

      maybe you could put spaces in the words to make it format better?

      Like

    1. Hi Crysta,

      I like the look, feel and theme of your site. Looks very professional. You haven’t added any blog posts yet so can’t judge but the front page and bio all look good.

      Best of luck!
      Aidan

      Like

    1. Hi Bhanupamu. NIce post. I would suggest filling out the About You section because it gives me a better idea of who wrote it and what experience you’re bringing to the post. Nice work!

      Liked by 1 person

  14. Hey everyone. I have just started writing blogs,in order to make awareness regarding some of the most important issues of nowadays. I would like to know what the rest of people think about those topics.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Hi Mohini. I would suggest using a different theme to make it look more presentable.

      It’s admirable that you are tackling such important themes but you might want to break the text into distinct paragraphs which will make it a little easier to read. And perhaps add an image to catch the eye. Good luck!

      Liked by 2 people

  15. Hey everybody – I am generally very reluctant to comment on political issues on my blog. But, as I’m sure most of you feel the same way, last weeks events shook me to the core. I could not stop thinking about how these issues change the way we view each other and the world. So, I ended up writing down my response to attacks like the one on the Charlie Hebdo headquarters – I would be very interested in hearing how you cope with this type of mindless violence and shock. Also how you feel about this post, if you’d like to comment on that. I appreciate your responses and look forward to reading them.
    Here’s the link to the post ‘for our world’s sake’ https://lincathlione.wordpress.com/2015/01/14/for-our-worlds-sake/
    Thank you in advance 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

  17. I’ve just begun blogging recently and haven’t a clue how to reach out in the community. My blog is a somewhat sarcastic mommy-themed, are there similar groups or blogs I should follow for ideas/advice?

    Liked by 2 people

    1. Howdy!
      Read the blog you were requesting feedback on. I think you make a good point.

      When talking about “themes” in WordPress. Generally that word is for the choice of theme used by the blogger. i.e. The Syntax Theme, used by yourself. Each piece of writing becomes a post.

      For this viewer, I found the blog very stark. If that was the look searched for? It was achieved.

      Your header, is your name; Charlotte E. Wilde. Perhaps that’s your real name, or a play on Oscar Wilde? All black and white. which is fine. My take is you’re starting to limit the audience. Especially readers who are new to the blog. For when you open each post … boom it’s all text.

      I’m not a fan of widgets in the side bar. Again, empty of content other than your text. WordPress has tools that are fairly easy to use, to bring in visual stimulation. In some ways I can relate to the presentation. Yet, there is little stimulation, outside of the text. I read over a few of your posts.

      Personally I dislike to see profane language used. Either in the body or the header. It turns me off. I kinda’ figure that we should be able to find other words, to convey the emotion?

      Do not get me wrong. I can use swear words with the best, but writing for all the world to see? Some people see little wrong with that? Hey that’s okay! Yet honey catches more flies than vinegar. I can see you’re also using the vulgarities in context. Judging from the writing skills you display, for me they’re unnecessary and a turnoff.

      Sorry for such a long and windy reply. Good luck with it all and keep writing. Cheers, Jamie.

      Liked by 1 person

      1. Thank you so much for your input! I shall certainly consider how to make the blog more visually interesting. In a sense I do appreciate the starkness of the interface chosen; I feel the words should stand alone. However, I’m not opposed to the idea of making things more appealing– I’ll have to explore some options on that front.

        As for the profanity, in many ways I agree. Most of the writing I do is purely academic and thus entirely restrictive so I look[ed] at this as an outlet for things I feel to be censored in other areas, perhaps. As to it being lazy, I’m inclined to agree. I’ll consider this input as I write my next post, certainly.
        Thank you for taking the time to write such a thorough critique!

        Liked by 1 person

    2. I probably should not say, “you’re welcome”? When the reply was likely painful? However, “You’re welcome”!

      I can see you are someone who enjoys writing. Yet, blogging is a bit different, because of the medium. At least, for myself it is. I

      ‘m sure my blog is not for everyone and that I’m making mistakes. That’s to be expected. Yes, I can see that words are very important to you.

      Yet what I’m trying to point out. Is that the audience is likely to be smaller. For those who prefer this style? If you are comfortable with that? Then that’s what is probably important? I’m not saying that you have to present either a circus or fill the page up with scribbles.

      It was you Charlotte, who requested the feedback. You likely deserve better than the feedback given? As I said. You have some great ideas and writing skill. I’m now following your blog. Because I’m interested enough to see more.

      I write for myself and feel flattered when others say, they like it too. Doing this Blogging 101 has bought me into contact with many wonderful other bloggers, like yourself. When it’s over, I’m hoping to keep up the workload.

      Cheers, Jamie.

      Like

      1. Not at all! I am incredibly appreciative of any comments and most especially one as well considered and thought out as yours. It’s made me realize I’m not entirely sure what I’m doing here (blogging, I mean) and that this is something that merits some reflection.
        In any case, thank you for the follow. I hope I do not disappoint. Though I’ll be the first to admit that my thoughts and opinions lean towards the bizarre and that I am probably an acquired taste (at best).
        I suppose that at the end of the day I am, like you, really only writing for myself. That said, I admit I have some hope that this might be a venue where I will find some like-minded people.
        Once again thank you sincerely for your comments and advice, Jamie, I truly appreciate the input and the time you took to give it!

        Liked by 2 people

  24. Yes! I love wordpress but find it really annoying at the moment becuase I don’t know how to change the font? I am guessing it is very easy, however I prefer time writing at the moment and getting it all up to date. Any advise would be appreciated!

    Like

  28. Please have a peep at my blog, I’m self hosting, haven’t a clue how to drive traffic to my site, there are only a couple of posts there now and I’m working on my about page. But I’d love any feedback or advice on how I can continue to develop an insightful, lifestyle oriented, mindful, motivational, humorous space to share my personal journey as a way of connecting and helping others find their greatness.

    http://www.sarahlovesafad.com/

    Like

  29. Hi dear bloggers 🙂 I’m a newbie and currently struggling with how to best showcase the photos on my posts. I’m on mix folio theme at the moment, my blog is at rossitten.wordpress.com. Would love to hear your advice!

    Liked by 1 person