Mar 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).

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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  1. Could someone tell me how I can customize some of the wording on my blog, i.e., changing “comments” to “join the conversation” and so on? I’ve tried all I could to no avail. Thanks!
    shahshankedredemption.worpress.com

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    1. shah, if you mean change the comment prompt from ‘leave a reply’ to ‘join the conversation’ you can do that in the settings menu > select the discussion tab and scroll to the bottom. hope this helps some.

      cheers – i.m.

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      1. Thank you I.M. That’s very kind of you. Unfortunately, it didn’t work. This is what I get:
        Theme Default Menu
        Most themes display a menu of top-level pages by default. To change this, use the menu dropdown above. Going to drop down, doesn’t help any either. Could it be that I need to upgrade my Theme? By the way, I also wanted to know if I could add a widget to my blog to keep track of people who might quote me on internet. Any suggestions?

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      2. i’m afraid i can’t help much, my knowledge is limited. i don’t have any upgrades on my blog so i can’t offer any advice there. and i don’t know about a widget like that.

        the only thing i can say about the menu feature is that it’s separate from the comments section. so if you want to change the comment prompt (the standard is: leave a reply) to something else like: join the conversation that’s possible by going to settings>discussion>then scrolling to the bottom of the page. sorry if this is repetitive but i wasn’t sure if i was clear last time.

        hope you find the answers to your questions soon. good luck.

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    1. Hi, I am now following your blog. I think it will be inspirational to people in the same situation. You writing is honest and relatable. You certainly have your hands full so I wouldn’t worry about the quantity of posts, rather the quality. 🙂

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    1. I must say, your proficiency in the language is astounding. your photos also complement your writing which makes readers easy to follow! I really enjoyed your piece, as I relished “Jane Eyre” a lot myself. your description, coupled with a little historical reference is really superb! keep up the good work 🙂

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  4. Hi all!

    I have three types of posts on my blog – Articles, Poems, and Stories. I am adding links to one post of each type.

    I’m looking for feedback as to which category of posts I need to work most on, and which category you felt most intrigued to read.

    Article: https://ramblingsofabitsgian.wordpress.com/2015/01/26/as-the-years-go-by/#more-64
    Poem: https://ramblingsofabitsgian.wordpress.com/2015/02/25/locked-doors/#more-106
    Story: https://ramblingsofabitsgian.wordpress.com/2015/02/14/theyre-all-against-me/#more-101

    Do leave your feedback. Thank you for your time!

    Liked by 1 person

  6. Hey everyone! I blog about all sorts of things – my perspective on life, world events and issues, and events in my life. I am currently taking Blogging101 and will have a new post up tonight about that!

    I would appreciate some feedback on my overall blog as well as my posts: http://www.sherinaspeaks.wordpress.com

    I am more than happy to return the favour!!

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    1. hey Sherina! your personal voice really strikes out in your writing which makes it engaging. I particularly liked your latest post – it was very emotional and the photos were also on point! keep up the good work!! 🙂

      ps, cld u kindly give feedback on my latest poem on my blog? it’ll mean so much to me. thank you 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

    1. hi! your poetry is really amazing. I cld write an essay about it hahaha. pls keep on doing the stuff you do best! 🙂 and if u cld, kindly drop over my blog? thank you!

      Like

  10. Hi pool-goers,

    This Janey-come-lately would like to get your opinions on her changed-yesterday 2015 theme from 2010 theme. If not good, can someone suggest a better suiting theme? She would also like to know whether posting articles in addition to her novel is a good thing or confusing readers?

    Thanks pool-goers!

    ellesadventureinchina.wordpress.com

    Will reciprocate.

    Like

    1. I think it’s the right length for an about page. Just enough. Not too long, not just a bland “my name is…” page

      You seem to analyse random occurrences in the society/culture like I do most of the time. I would love to know what you think about some of the topics I doodle about. 🙂

      Ella.

      Like

  14. Hi all, just posted a photo challenge – the third in a row. Nobody contributed yet, in any of the three. Now I wonder: Are the challenges too hard to understand (I am not a native speaker)? Or are they too hard to do? Your thoughts will be much appreciated! Thanks in advance.

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  16. The fabletters is a blog written by two Canadian students, Sherina and Ceanray. It is a collection of letters about issues that we find important, and our unique perspective on those issues as teenagers. We would appreciate any feedback, and would also love to read your blogs! 🙂 http://www.thefabletters.wordpress.com

    Liked by 1 person

  17. Hello, everyone!

    My blog is called “Sarcasm & Sentiments” and I think like most people on here, I would really love it if you guys could check out my blog and give me some feedback…and follow if you should feel so inclined (pretty please?). I would really appreciate it 🙂 I’m a new blogger so I only have around 8 posts so far, but I would appreciate whatever feedback you can give me. I would also love to check out your blog as well. Thank you all!

    https://sarcasmandsentiments.wordpress.com/

    Liked by 1 person

  18. Greetings! Feel free to visit my little bit of the ether and read my random musings, the latest of which is about Jon Stewart and wrestling.

    Also, can anyone recommend a visually interesting theme that goes well with text posts? I’m getting somewhat bored with what I have.

    https://findingaid.wordpress.com/

    Like

  21. Hi guys,
    My blog is http://www.anoceanofdisarray.wordpress.com
    It’s sort of a mish-mash of different topics and posts. I don’t think I’m a lifestyle blogger and am definitely not a beauty/fashion blog. I’m trying to figure out my “niche”, what sets me apart from everyone else. I would love for people to look at my blog, give a bit of advice and feedback on what you think and what I should improve on?
    Thanks a lot 🙂
    Kate

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Hi there!
      Finding out the niche is tough! I still don’t really know what I’m doing after a couple of years.

      I had a look of your blog and I may not be the target audience/demographics but I still can relate (esp to the open letter to ex-friend).

      The only thing I got hung up on is the tag line – I’m not so sure about it (Its just my opinion).

      By the way, how are you finding Bloglovin’? as I tried it out but I’m unsure about its effectiveness to bring readers. Love to know your thoughts on that.

      Ella

      Like

      1. Thanks so much for checking it out! Yeah to be honest the tag line was just something I kind of messed around with and settled with even for a little while, I don’t want to come across as someone who hates herself! I’m still getting used to Bloglovin, I don’t know how it’s supposed to increase the audience or whatnot, but my friend is an experienced blogger so I’ll need to investigate a little more with her. I’ll let you know!

        Liked by 1 person

  22. I recently started a new fiction series on my blog. Here’s the link to the introduction, but there’s three more chapters after that, so far. The bottom of each chapter contains links to both the next and the previous chapter.
    https://willowtreeriver.wordpress.com/2015/02/10/introduction/
    There’s also a tie-in series that’s linked to at the end of the introduction.
    Basically, I want some feedback on this story. I’m not used to writing in the third person, especially from multiple viewpoints as I do with this story. Any thoughts, ideas, comments, or criticism are most appreciated.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. As a fellow sophomore, this witty, timely post goes to show that you are certainly more than just “average”
      Great mix of personal anecdotes, with useful advice. The kind of thing I would want to show my younger sister before she heads off to college…
      Keep it up!

      Liked by 1 person

    3. Have you read Susan Cain’s “Quiet” its about introverts. I have yet to find time to read it but I thought perhaps her Tedtalk on the same thing would be of interest to you: http://www.ted.com/talks/susan_cain_the_power_of_introverts?language=en

      You have quiet a lot of people liking your posts and leaving comments in the short time that this blog have existed, so undoubtedly people can relate to your posts! I did and have followed after reading – so keep up the good work!

      Ella

      Like

      1. Thank you so much for showing me that video. I watched the whole thing and it made me tear up at the end. I’ll definitely check out the book too because I think her thoughts on introversion are so important.

        Thanks for the follow and the kind words 🙂 I’ve been checking out your blog too and your drawings are just ridiculous. And I’m in love with your blog name too.

        Liked by 1 person

      2. Ridiculous? How so – in a good way I hope!?

        I’m glad you enjoyed the video. I quiet like TedTalk – particularly ones about how people interact with each other / society stuff. I’m keen to get the book too! but I have a fair few to go haha.

        You are really the first person to say that you like my blog name! I’m very glad that you like it!

        I’m more than happy to keep in touch and recommend you some other stuff too 🙂

        Liked by 1 person