Feb 2, 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).

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Photo by Brian Cantoni.

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  4. I would really love some feedback on the flow of my blog. My posts are about more serious topics but I hope it’s still pleasant to read!

    I’d really love some tips on the tone and range of topics.

    If you give me some advice I’d happily check your blog out as well! Thanks!

    Liked by 3 people

    1. Thought you did a great job. The pics were well-done and pertinent. The information was thorough and, well, informative. And your own take on things is what would separate this post from a generic travel brochure. As a fellow travel blogger, having that ‘distinction’ is key. Well done

      Liked by 1 person

    1. I found the grammar a little off-putting, and some of the vulgarity seemed unnecessary, but if you were going for a witty take on a mundane experience (for women at least) then I think you accomplished your goal.

      Like

      1. Hey, thanks for the feedback. Yeah, that’s what I was going for, situational comedy. I intended it to be vulgar, but hopefully it’s not outright repugnant. I agree, I need to work on my writing skills. Thanks!

        Liked by 1 person

    1. Hi Ben – the design would certainly tempt people to pick up or pick out the book. I can imagine people buying it for friends who are about to go travelling, or off for a gap year etc. Your synopsis is light and breezy, so it jives with the cover and it reassures readers that your book will be fun to read.

      Good job, I’d say. All good luck with it.

      Best wishes
      Elaine

      Liked by 1 person

  11. Hi everyone! I just started my blog, Let Her Eat Cake. I blog about weight loss and (perhaps more importantly) recovering from disordered eating. The idea behind my blog (and the name) is that you can lose weight without having to deprive yourself of your favorite foods–and for my mental health, it’s been working wonders.

    http://lethereatcakeblog.wordpress.com/

    I’m still messing around with the layout right now (I’m not used to WordPress at all!) so I’d love some feedback on the content of the posts so far. 🙂 Thanks!

    Liked by 4 people

    1. Hey there,
      I like your style of clothing but I’d alter the angle of that pictures- picturing from above may things look a bit awkward (this pictures are fine- don’t worry but it would improve things a lot). Try to let the pictures be taken from eye level- even when there might be parts which are outside the pictures but the whole thing might look a bit more professional. Try to include detail shots as well- like the jacket on its own (I can’t really see the pattern from that far)…
      Wonderful first post- I’ll follow to see what comes next…
      Yours, Mary

      Liked by 3 people

      1. You’ll definitely need to fill out that “About” page to give people an idea of what you are trying to accomplish with your blog. As you start adding content, consider tagging each post and adding it to one or more categories (that you define, of course). This will help keep it organized. I’m going to follow your blog because I’m interested in what you have coming!

        One of my favorite blog resources is http://www.byregina.com she has great ideas for beginning bloggers on how to set things up and also how to start getting traffic to your site.

        If you have a chance, check out our blog as well, we’d love any comments & relevant feedback! http://www.diyjustcuz.com

        Liked by 1 person

  13. I am a beautiful busty blonde who will do anything for a follower. If you want me to make a man/woman/trans/duck/dragon/inanimate object out of you, head on over to straightwhitemale.wordpress.com. You know what to do.

    XOXO

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Unanle to fault the layout. Very easy on the eye, which greatly facilitates reading, as my own blog is, I now realise looking yours, sadly lacking. The central thrust of your post – that there exists some homogenous group of cancer sufferers – that a media concoction to render complex narratives easier to understand, is both worrying and disingenuous.

      Liked by 1 person

      1. That’s interesting you would come up with that since one of the main points in bold was that cancer is not just one disease and therefore neither are cancer patients and survivors. Also that it is never claimed the media creates these lies, and is even admitted that many of us perpetuate some of these myths and generalizations. It’s as if you skimmed the post to come up with your comments, rather than read it.

        Like

      2. You know, my mother read this and pointed out that I may have completely misread the comment. That it can be read as that person thought HIS blog was sadly lacking, and that the it wasn’t the thrust of my post, but the media portrayal (although again, I don’t believe it is entirely a media creation) of cancer sufferers is what is horrible and disingenuous. Hard to tell, though. Hope I didn’t misread the intent. If that is the case, then I apologize.

        Like

    1. Hi! Love the theme, I use the same one myself 🙂 I like the idea of giving people outside the city insight into the life there. Particularly like the ranked list with recommendations as to what to do and where to go 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

      1. Thank you Benedict. I just took a quick look at your blog. In addition to using the best theme in the world, you have a varied set of topics within. I could not find a bio though and I usually look to read about the blogger first to get a deeper understanding of and context to their work.

        Like

    1. Few people write about the travails of being a parent. Your post about the family group combined humour with a sense of resigned cynicism. Good work

      Like

    2. As a nanny I get to walk away from any chaos at the end of the day, but I can certainly relate to some of the kid stories in your posts. Your style of writing is funny and pointed and I really enjoy the image in the header, well done!

      Liked by 1 person

    3. Could that header be any more hilarious? Your posts are whimsical yet realistic, I like it a lot. I will definitely be following – I need a little humor every now and again!

      If you have a chance, check out our blog as well 🙂 http://www.diyjustcuz.com (definitely will want to look if you plan on redecorating that shed of yours…)

      Liked by 1 person

  17. Hi, I’m probably too late to comment on here anyway but still, I need to get more feedback. I created my blog about a week ago after being insisted upon it by one of my friends. It’s a poetry and short stories blog in both English and Spanish (one of the reasons I created this blog was to get my writings in Spanish out there). I’m also tryiing to link each of my poems/stories to a particular picture. My goal is to make readers choose a poem on my blog by its illustration alone, thus starting a different way to literally see poetry.
    The things is, I don’t really know if it’s working. I’ve got about 20 followers and get about 5 likes per post, but I don’t really know if I’m doing it right. I’d greatly appreciate your feedback!

    https://trimmedwords.wordpress.com/

    Cheers!

    PS. Only about half of the pictures are by me; I’m planning on it being 100% of them in the future, though

    Liked by 2 people

      1. Hey, thank you! I really appreciate your words on that short story. It was actually written as a school assignment but I ended up liking it quite a bit, so I edited it later on to meet not my teacher’s but my own standards. Again, thank you (:
        I absolutely loved (and was overly moved) by your post on your first dead body. Something I’d never thought about but that made it even more haunting after reading your post.
        Also, you’ve got the most perfect name for a writer, I’m officially jealous, ha. Cheers!

        Liked by 1 person

      2. Haha, unfortunately I can’t take credit for my name, just one of the lucky ones! Thanks for having a look at my stuff, always means a lot to me to have people read it. I look forward to reading more of your stuff, particularly the Spanish, I thought it was all great and I miss Spanish literature! 🙂

        Like

    4. Hi – I enjoyed reading your work. I especially liked Corazón coimero – even though I didn’t know the word ‘coimero’ before I started! You made its meaning – or its feeling – clear in the poem. There’s a great music to your words. You seem to carry that music with you in both English and Spanish.

      As far as followers and likes and all the rest of it goes, if you keep writing as you do, and if luck is on your side, people will find you. Even without luck, having 20 people asking to read your writing, on a regular basis, after just a week, is something to be very proud of.

      Good luck with your blog and with your writing
      All best wishes
      Elaine

      Liked by 1 person

      1. Wow, thank you! I always struggle with my poems’ rhythm, to be honest, can’t seem to find it easily (or at least, that’s how it always feels to me). So to hear that is very heart-warming.
        As of “coimero”, it was the fact that I didn’t know the meaning of that word in the beginning and had to search for it on the dictionary –after finding it on “La Tregua” by Mario Benedetti– which got me to write that poem. Such a good word, really.
        Thank you again!

        Liked by 2 people

      2. I think it’s the struggle of most poets – words can feel unruly when you’re focused in so closely on each and every one. Sometimes its hard to draw back and hear the music of the orchestra of words as they work together in a poem.

        To me, there is music in your poetry. Keep going and keep lining up those words. 🙂

        Liked by 1 person

  18. Hallo everyone,

    I have just published a post on how proliferation of SMEs can save the world economy. If this is something that you find remotely interesting, please have a look over here:
    https://paddastoel.wordpress.com/2015/02/02/common-sense-economics-how-owner-managed-entities-can-combat-inflation/

    I have also added a new post to my Blogging for Business series:
    https://paddastoel.wordpress.com/2015/02/01/blogging-for-business-organically-building-your-audience/
    It contains preliminary results for some of my various white-hat experiments, some hints at my future plans and some tips for interpreting your statistics.

    I would love to hear from you!

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Someone I know is also a musician with bi-polar, so I’ll pass this on. To write with such honesty about depression and the random things that can trigger it can be both cathartic for you and illuminating to read.

      Liked by 1 person

      1. Thank you. Yes, I used to hold back or hide behind my disease and this blog is more therapeutic than anything, so I am extremely extremely honest in my posts.

        Like

  20. Hello fellow bloggers, I just wondered if anyone would mind checking out my blog and the latest post that’s on there, which contains my most recent artwork.

    My blog is art orientated, both my own artwork and some of more established artists whose work I enjoy and feel the need to share.

    I’m also open to any feedback and discussion and I’m also willing to have a look at anyone else’s blogs, thanks for your time it’s appreciated.

    https://artofinsanityjg.wordpress.com/

    Liked by 2 people

    2. This is a really nice makeup blog! I’d suggest maybe having a link / menu bar with categories you define, I find the scrolling a bit too much with the large text. Other than that, I think you’re well on your way, just keep adding more and more content.

      I think you might be interested in our blog as well – http://www.diyjustcuz.com if you have a chance, we’d love any feedback you have!

      Liked by 1 person

    2. I love the way you formatted the post – so unique and fun to read! If you wanted to challenge yourself you could try doing your drawings straight onto your computer (I’m sure there are tons of free drawing websites available, or microsoft paint even) and this way you could have actual computer text accompanying them right on the picture; but I think what you’re doing is great!! Keep writing 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

  23. Please feel free to comment on the content of my post. It alternates every week so one will be about me – dealing with severe brain injury / depression – and the next about wider themes. Looking at other peoples blogs I’m aware that my layout is a bit too off-putting and needs to change. Suggestions as to themes much appreciated!

    http://advancedmisanthopy.com

    Liked by 1 person

    1. I don’t think the layout is off-putting. Everything is clear, easy to read, etc. It is very *plain*, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but something as simple as adding a header image or a background color – so everything isn’t black and white – could go a long way.

      My other comment is that although you have a link to an About page, it is the default “This is an example of an About page” text. I would either change it to an actual About page or delete the link to it from your header.

      Liked by 1 person

    1. Some bits of your blog look fine, especially the photographs, but others kind of annoy me.
      You might be better with a theme that allows your menu choices to display along the top bar. You shouldn’t have to tell me to click the menu to find the meat of the blog.
      I am also don’t find centered text comfortable to read.
      I am also guessing that you have never been to Venice. Reading the food section you don’t mention any Venetian dishes but talk quite a lot about pizza a Neapolitan/Roman dish.
      You also have a few grammatical errors like using there when you should use their.
      I see that you guys are middle school students, so maybe get your tutor to go over it with you.
      Oh and I’m not so sure about swimming in St Mark’s square when it is flooded.
      I hope that I don’t sound to critical blogging is a learning process, partly finding out what works for your readers, and quite possibly a 60 year old Scotsmen are not your target audience, but also finding out what works for you.
      Good luck with your efforts

      Liked by 1 person

    2. Hi – the photos on your blog – not the food ones, but the rest – are lovely and very well-placed. (The food ones are clear but they only show the kind of food you’d find served up for breakfast in an American hotel or in a pretty bad restaurant for tourists. If you dig a bit deeper on the internet, you should be able to find more typical Venetian/Veneto food, like this http://bit.ly/1Kn1U1X)

      I agree with the Scotsman – your blog doesn’t read as if you’ve ever been to Venice yourself. For your BPA competition, what are the criteria? You do well with your links to various companies – they’re well placed within the text. So it would work as a marketing blog. But if your brief is a travel blog, then you might want to think about sounding less generalized and focusing in on something a foreign tourist might find truly useful – maybe a map with a recommended walk around the city. Or details of little tucked away shops with unusual artisan crafts. You don’t need to visit the city yourself, but I think you need to do a bit more research. It’s all there on the internet and you could write a post that gathers together useful information.

      Good luck with the competition. What is BPA? Here in the UK it stands for British Pig Association. I’m guessing that it means something else wherever you are. 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

    1. My housemate says the same thin! It’s as though there’s a conspiracy of silence, one which can only be eroded by unflinchingly honest and candid posts like this.

      A no-holds barred account of the many ups and downs of motherhood is ideal.

      And easy on the eye!

      Like

    1. I can honestly say this is the most informative knee-injury specific blog I’ve ever read. At least you have a good sense of humor to go along with your swollen discolored knee 😉

      Liked by 1 person