Mar 16, 2015 / Community Pool

Community Pool

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

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.

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Photo by Brian Cantoni.

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    1. Hey there! So, you are about to get site advice from a three-month-old blogging noob, so take it for what it is. 1) graphics, graphics, graphics. Give the reading eye a break by givingthe picture-looking eye something to do. 2) many of your posts are about you and conclude with you as the sole focus. You have followers and comments, so people like your thoughts. If you coud shift the attention of the posts to your readers, where you start talking about you, but by the end you are talking about them and their potential interests, that might garner even more interest. Its a thoughtful and genuine site. Great job!

      Liked by 10 people

      2. ch4rl13sm1th, thank you for the compliment. I perused through your site and structurally, I found it to be pleasantly minimalistic, which in many ways matches the kinds of posts you have made. Content-wise, you catch me off guard. You must understand, I’m an old, fuddy-duddy conservative evangelical and ‘polyfidelitous’ isn’t even on my radar! lol Nonetheless, you write so plainly, but not unskillfully and I am often told that people far rather read straight, plain honesty to the often wordy rants I am famous for. So, a change? Consider some color. Keep it subdued, but a little color, either in link color or even the whitewashed background might be nice. Just stay honest and you’ll be fine!

        Liked by 2 people

      4. Hello, for a self professed blogging noob you do give good structured advice. I’m pretty new to this thing myself, and my blogs are mainly fiction so I don’t know if you can help, but any advice you can give would be very appreciated!

        Liked by 1 person

      5. Hello Blue,

        Spent some time on your site. You have a lot of literary style, infused with attitude. I got the sense that if someone were reading your stuff out loud, they’d need to be sitting in a lonely bar with a few lonely people casually listening. As for structure, you have no About link. Would love to see one there; even if not so much about you, but as to your site, its direction or theme. The cover photo is intriguing; I am not sure I would use it (maybe something darker) and yet, I sense there is a personal significance to it, and so maybe it should stay. BIG IDEA: Give us something that tells us what you want to say on this blog. There are some pieces that are bona fide prose and others that are daily narrative stuff. I am sure they all belong together under the same roof, but tell us what the house looks like, then. Thanks bro! Love the style.

        Liked by 2 people

      6. Thanks for that, it’s all really good advice. I’m still getting to grips with how to change my pages but I’ll focus on it a little bit more this week! The photo is personal but perhaps your right and it doesn’t have a place as the focus point of the blog I’ll think about it as I revamp my page! Again thanks for all the advice, maybe you should add a blog guru spot to your own page 😁

        Liked by 2 people

    2. Hi! I really like your blog, the posts are interesting and it’s visually clear, although I will agree with Robert about adding some graphics to your writing. Also, perhaps you could add more categories for easier navigation or plugins with your ‘best of’? Keep up the good work :)!

      Liked by 4 people

    3. Hey! It’s great and simple, not overwhelmed by stuff. I agree, some graphics or pics (really, just 1 or 2) thrown into the posts would be good. I think I have the opposite problem, maybe too many pics 🙂 Great blog!

      Liked by 2 people

    4. you are an exceptionally good writer, and i enjoyed the couple posts i had time to read. while i personally love your simplicity, i do agree with the others who mentioned adding a pic or two here or there will draw a larger audience. but: don’t give up on what you obviously excel at and are good at. the written word is a noble master. if you want to grab the eye without use of images, you might want to try messing with your font styles and typography. keep up the good work!

      Liked by 3 people

    5. Hi there – agree with S below that pictures will help break up all the writing, even if just a heading picture per piece or something that relates to what you’re writing halfway through – love the title of your blog and the general look… and love that post on insecurity – really great at suggesting, hinting at something and then make us wait til half way down to figure out what it is – great story weaving – definitely a blog people will be interested in when they find it.

      All the best and thankx for sharing
      love brett fish

      Like

    7. Your posts are easy to read and thoughtful! I like the 10 lessons. I think your blog layout is easy to navigate as well. Only thing I would suggest is maybe emphasizing the use of lighter colors…I read that it helps readers stay engaged because they are used to white backgrounds? Not that your background or use of colors are jarring in any way. I also wrote something like your 10 lessons in this post :
      https://itsdollydarling.wordpress.com/2015/01/09/friday-dolly-isms-and-other-musings/
      Let me know what you think 🙂
      -Dolly

      Like

    8. I like the title. The theme is clean and easy to read, and comment and navigate. I haven’t taken time to read much content, but I see you have comments rolling in, which is especially gratifying and says you’re doing something that encourages others to connect!

      Like

    9. your writing is authentic and personal and that is what pulls at the soul of other readers…keep being you. agree some pics would be lovely..and give the eye some “rest”. this blogging thing is such a blend of crazy and good ,right !!?? would love some thoughts on my site !! anyone ??!

      Like

  2. Hi guys! Check out my posts if you will. I will look at your blog in return. Hope you binge (of sorts) on reading my blog posts!

    Sex is getting dangerous

    Gosh, Sex is getting really dangerous these days with new strains of syphilis and HIV’s

    My rhymes

    My poetic/lyrical first verse of how I came to being and to America:Part 1

    The poetic/rhyming/lyrical genius brings you the prequel to “Somedays”

    When I look into the mirror: Retelling of my story

    Liked by 2 people

    1. Beautiful post!! “The Boy That Jumped” was so moving. I just finished commenting on it. I’ve looked at a few other posts of yours and just had to follow. I love you’re writing style. If you have time, I’d love for you to check out my blog as well.

      Liked by 4 people

    2. This indeed is a beautiful post, Bianca, so you asking for an advice confuses me :). I enjoyed its emotionality and the format of a letter – in its entirety, it feels like a strong, complete, finished piece.

      I too would like some feedback, my blog’s address and questions are amongst others’ in this conversation thread :).

      Like

    3. This was a very honest and moving post. Thank you for sharing. I took a look at some of your other posts and I love how you are very open and share your thoughts and experiences with others. I would like to post some poetry on my blog but I’m afraid of someone stealing my work, so I appreciated reading that blog post that you wrote about plagiarism.

      Liked by 2 people

    4. Great content! My only suggestion would be to add an image if you can as it really helps when your post is shared on facebook etc (and I shared “My body is mine). I often use photos with a creative commons license in Flickr (you can filter search results by their license). Keep up your wonderful work.

      Liked by 1 person

    6. Hello I read the boy who jumped and I thought it was beautiful, really on topic as well as mental health in young men is coming to the foreground in the gender equality debate! I also read your post on blog thieves which frankly had never occurred to me! I don’t think my work is worth stealing yet though haha! If you get a moment I would appreciate feed back on my latest bit Reaped thanks!

      Like

    7. I love your writing style, it’s very unique! Keep up the good work! Also, if you wanted to check out my blog as well, feel free! I am very new to this, so I hope that you will forgive the lack of great content…I’m slowly working on it!

      Liked by 1 person

    1. Hey Michelle! I love your post and I followed! I fully agree with what you said! I think feminism is just about fighting for equality and if a woman wants to do housework then let her! Plus someone has to do it! Feminism should be more freeing. Women should be able to do what they want without being so harshly judged!

      Liked by 1 person

    3. I really love the layout of your blog. You chose a great theme! Your header is brilliant and you’ve found a great tagline to support your title. The About page and widget are informative. You’ve chosen to have your posts in the Archive drop down so they’re all together and easy to find. It’s a good-looking blog to me.

      Liked by 1 person

    4. I love you latest post! The graphics a very well placed it aids in the development of your post. The actual post is wonderful, I love how you clarify what likes are ok versus what is antifeminist!

      It’s so wonderful to see how everyone collaborates and takes the time to checkout other people blogs. You are all doing a great job!

      Take some time to check out my blog and leave some comments!
      http://www.brainyjournal.com/

      Thank you!!

      Liked by 1 person

      1. Hi Yeisel, I had a look at your blog and the posts in there so far are informative. There are a lot of things you could elaborate on in some of your posts like the one on ‘how to keep your resolution this year’, maybe you could talk about some of the things in new posts. I’d love to see exactly how you stay organised, day by day.

        Like

    1. Hi there, love that you’re enthusiastic about the pool. Please don’t “splash” the audience with multiple requests to view the same content. Thanks in advance!

      Like

      2. Any post with three links or more (like your first one) gets held in moderation so that we can be sure it’s not a spammer inundating us with ads and such. (Just so you know for the future.) All the best for your blog!

        Like

    1. You raise some good questions! I write and usually when I read it back it sounds kind of like a poem. I would never say I’m good at it and I would never really call myself a poet. It’s kind of just a fun thing I do! I think with writing a poem you have to be calm and to not focus too much on it being good. Just write! 🙂
      I took a look at your poem and I do think you have talent! 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

      1. Thank you so, so much Bianca! You have no idea how happy that makes me. Blogging has certainly made me realise that dropping all personal inhibitors and letting the writing speak for itself is the only way you can get any work done in the first place!

        Like

    2. Wow, tough questions! While I enjoyed your post – and I find the way you link ideas rather poetic – thinking about writing poetry doesn’t have too much to do with writing it, imho :). Especially nowadays, poetry simply enables us to play around packing ideas and experiences more freely… I ended up doing it as a ‘muscle warm up’ for novel writing but am fully enjoying everything it offers. If you would like to explore the format to see how it makes you feel, I highly recommend Writing 201: Poetry course here on WordPress.

      Great blog you have btw!

      Liked by 1 person

      1. Thank you very much! I had joined the Poetry course in February but did not get time to work on any of the assignments. Writing poetry as a “warm up” for writing fiction is a great idea! I suppose it will help in identifying the core of the situation and characters better. Thanks again!

        Liked by 1 person

      2. Is there a topic you couldn’t write coherently about – because it’s too vague, emotional, scattered (perhaps in memory), delicate? If something comes to mind, maybe you could try another poem, you might surprise yourself ;).

        Liked by 1 person

      3. I did try to write something keeping women’s day in mind but, it just wasn’t coming out right. I might go back and work on it again but writing semi-humorous things is still what I’m best at. I will definitely try to surprise myself though! Thanks again!

        Liked by 1 person

    3. This is an awesome post! I struggle with this as well. I feel like I write good poems, but only when the inspiration hits me. And it only hits once in a blue moon. The thought of sitting down and forcing myself to write anything, whether it be a blog post, a poem, or a book, creeps me out.

      Liked by 1 person

      1. I’m glad I’m not alone in feeling this! I certainly “force” myself in all the prose writing I do. Inspiration isn’t dependable when you have deadlines to meet! But, with poetry, I make absolutely no effort at all. It amazes me how people can simply sit down and do it. Thank you for reading!

        Liked by 1 person

    2. Hi,
      I really like the way your blog looks and your writing style is easy to read. Loving the pink background colour it’s so pretty! I followed your blog because I have enjoyed reading some of your posts. I look forward to reading future blog posts. 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

      1. Thanks very much! I used to (and still occasionally do) write news related comment pieces, but I’ve been trying to get more in touch with my creative side recently. Thrilled that you liked it and thanks for checking it out 🙂

        Ben

        Liked by 1 person

      2. The pleasure is mine as I love stumbling upon good writing, and tag searches are only useful to an extent there ;). Expression has many faces and it’s great that you’re getting to hang out with your creative muse as well…
        Jelena

        Like

  11. Good morning,fellow blogheads. The name of my site is Herman’s Neutics. Consider it a schmushing together of light humor and Christian thinking. I am only three months old and I have a few followers and traffic still sits at less than fifty a day. I guess what I am looking for is advice on site layout and structure, with specific focus on encouraging loyal followers. Otherwise, how can I be expected to take over the world?
    http://hermansneutics.com
    I appreciate your time and thanks

    Liked by 1 person

    1. I like the look of your blog. You chose the same theme as I did but you’ve customised it a lot more. I like your Header design and I think the blog title is good – but I’m a vicar so I know what hermeneutics means. My blog is only 6 months old, so I’m not the one to advise you on how best to take over the world. Good luck with that!

      Liked by 2 people

      2. Oh, thanks for telling me. I’ll have a look at it and see if I put the wrong link there – I’m still not very good at the technical side of blogging!

        Like

  13. Hi guys, it’s been a while since I posted on the Community Pool, but I find myself stuck between a rock and a hard place right now!
    I’d love some feedback regarding my latest post ‘MA or no MA, that is the question…’ (see below), obviously you’re welcome to flick through my older posts too.
    Thank you in advance, and of course I’ll like/comment/help in return!

    https://ashleylianne.wordpress.com/2015/03/16/ma-or-no-ma-that-is-the-question/

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Hi,
      I enjoyed reading your most recent post and I thought it was really well written. I’m currently applying to university to study English Language with creative writing. However, I previously wanted to study psychology and was shocked by how expensive a doctorate would be. Good luck with your decision 🙂

      Like

      1. Hey, thank you so much!
        The beauty of studying English Language is that there are plenty of cognitive modules/areas to keep your interest in psychology alive. University is expensive at all levels sadly, the trick is to find doctorates that pay YOU (if they even exist anymore…)
        Good luck to you too, and thank you for reading!

        Liked by 1 person

  14. Hey everyone!
    Im looking for some feedback on my blog 🙂 I have been on a hiatus but added a new page highlighting my ‘journey’ via photography and testing it out as my static page, but I really want to start adding and working on new content. Any suggestions? Comments? Thank you 🙂
    http://anapinthesun.com/

    Liked by 3 people

    2. Your blog is really cool! I’m looking forward for more photos on the Journey page. And right now I’m reading the posts under Miscellaneous. But I noticed that they’re all about feminism so it could be a good idea to put up a page all about feminism.

      Like

    1. Hi,
      I’ve just looked at your blog and I love the layout and theme it looks great. I think the idea of Guiness cupcakes is really creative for St Patrick’s day. I’ve also had a look at some of your other recipes and I can’t wait to try them out as I do love to bake. 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

    1. A great, intriguing name and a lovely post; the message comes across for sure :).

      That said, if I were you I’d consider tightening up the very beginning and the end because they weren’t quite as gripping as the heart – your personal reflection on the ‘damn dishes’. For my personal taste, you could have ended with the paragraph that ends with “Doing my dishes I practice the Dharma.” as the post feels complete there.

      The rest is good too and offering insights into your own reasoning is frequent in journal writing – but at most I’d use it for another post because in this combo it feels like it waters the (amazing) rest. Just my 2 cents :).

      Liked by 1 person

      1. Thank you so much both of you for taking the time to read and respond :). I am developing my ability to gauge how much to post at a time. I do have a tendency to go on a bit :). Working on using my blog more frequently to play with ideas and put them out to the world.

        Thanks again 🙂

        Liked by 1 person

      2. Rather than thinking about the length itself, to me it felt complete sooner than it was – but some other posts will naturally go on and on and on ;). We’re all learning when enough is enough, really :).

        Like

  17. Hi all,

    I’ve started my blog few months ago and would love some feedback on a couple of things. I post (my own) short poetry and prose about once a week and have been wondering whether my theme/background/menus/overall feel serve the content well… Thoughts, suggestions? 🙂

    https://jelenakovacevic.wordpress.com/

    Thanks a lot & happy blogging – I am looking forward to connecting!

    Like

    1. I like your powerful and attractive images very much – they make a lovely series, but they do make it rather tempting to flick from one picture to the next without reading the poetry and prose.

      On my blog, I deliberately don’t add images when I want to see if people are actually reading the content or not. This may be a strange thing to do and I know it’s not the usual advice. Of course fewer people are interested if there are no pictures, but I value the ones that do read and comment all the more.

      Your blog styling is minimal, but I found the menus fine. I always find a tag cloud useful when I visit a new blog, but I can see that it would really affect the look of the page.

      Liked by 1 person

      1. I meant to say – I like the minimal styling of your blog and found it easy to navigate. That didn’t quite come over. And I loved your comment:

        …so much about being alive can’t be put into words, even if some of us are fated to keep playing with them.

        Liked by 1 person

      2. Thank you so much for your kind and detailed feedback, susurrus! Regarding images, you tackle a great personal dilemma of mine because I do experiment with not including them on other platforms… I am very visual so I like how they separate the posts but also always find visuals secondary to the prose – on anyone’s blog ;). I might play with leaving them out at times… And yes, in a minimalist’s case even the tiniest changes require serious consideration because their impact can be huge.

        Liked by 1 person

  19. Hi all,

    Just today, I added a new post. It is written as a tribute to my favourite author who sadly passed this last week, Sir Terry Pratchett. I would very much appreciate feedback and thoughts on this piece in the comments on the post: https://blogsareforlife.wordpress.com/2015/03/16/so-long-terry-and-thanks-for-the-stories/

    I am also looking to add a further tribute post featuring some of his best quotes – either personal or from his Discworld books. Feel free to add any in the comments, with a reference to the book it came from!

    All feedback is welcome! 🙂

    Like

    3. It’s a a great snapshot. I probably would have liked it to be a bit longer and to develop the idea a bit more particular around the post’s title. It might be worth thinking about why you want a blog rather than just use facebook. The post reminded me a bit of things I see on facebook which is probably why I was looking for a bit more.
      You certainly write well and it was engaging.

      Liked by 1 person

  23. Hi guys!
    Feedback on my writing would be great. I’m very focused on my writing over the look and style of my blog (although any thoughts on that would be good too!)
    Any advice is appreciated !!

    Liked by 2 people

  24. Hey everyone 🙂 I just started my blog about 2 weeks ago about my journey with Mental Health. I would love you guys to check it out and give me feedback. This is my first time doing anything like Blogging so I need some criticism. I’d love to check out your blog in return! I’m spending my day exploring the blogging world today 🙂

    My blog is at: http://www.chipperchelseakay.wordpress.com

    Also, I was wondering about the awards and badges that some people have. How do you get involved in that. I love the idea of having the awards and encouraging people to continue to do what they do on here.

    Stay Chipper Friends!

    Liked by 4 people

    3. Hi Chipper Chelsea!
      I visited your blog and absolutely loved it. I am extremely new to blogging as well so I can relate to all this new stuff.

      But first things first, I love the color scheme and layout. Its a serious thing to write about your life and what you are going through but the positivity shines through so much. I also love the graphics you have in each post.

      I am now following and can’t wait to see what else you will post!

      Liked by 1 person

      1. Hi Familiar Fragments! Thank you so much for visiting my blog and giving me feedback! I checked out your blog and couldn’t believe your blog about “POTS” that you may or may no have 😉 I have been diagnosed with POTS as well. Lots of salt, water, and cardio rehab for me. I had to stop the rehab for now but was shocked to see you talk about your POTS. Again Thank you so much for visiting and really looking at everything! And for the follow! I’m still enjoying going through your posts!

        Like

  25. Hello fellow bloggers

    I really need some advice on how to get comments/feed backs on my blog posts and also how to make my web page more attractive and professional

    globechangers.wordpress.com

    Like

    1. You’re writing on a serious and important subject. I’d suggest searching for people writing content on similar subjects and commenting on posts that resonate with you – people will usually reply and often go on to take a look at your site.

      And if you ask a question in your post, people will often feel more able to comment.

      It’s worth re-looking at your About page – those pages tend to get a lot of views – and double checking the size of your header image. I think your theme is suggesting 700px wide and 144px high.

      Liked by 2 people

    2. Yeah I think the best way to get comments is to alway be reading and commenting on other people’s blogs. That way you build a community of engaged readers who will be more inclined to comment on your blog, rather than simply passing through 🙂

      Ben

      Liked by 2 people

    3. The easiest way to have a good looking blog is by choosing a theme that you liked from other blog. Scroll to the end of the page you will find
      “Create a free website or blog at WordPress.com. | The (name of the) Theme”
      Go to your dashboard -> themes, search for that theme.
      Take your time to learn about widgets and customizing your blog

      Liked by 1 person

    4. Hi
      I think one of the most important things is to write good content on a regular basis and to be clear about why you are blogging.
      There was a long gap between your two latest posts so you are less likely to build readership.
      In terms of looks, I wonder if it would help to include an image with posts when you can as this helps when someone shares it on facebook and other social media).
      I also agree it is important to have a look at your About Me page.
      I’d encourage you to do Blogging 101 and/or Blogging 201 through WordPress’ Blogging U).
      All the best with your blog.

      Like

    1. Hi Becky!
      I enjoyed going about your blog! The flu post was hilarious and I can totally relate. The only thing I would suggest is that under your culture tab, some posts mix fashion and music, or fashion and culture. Maybe you can make your posts centered on one topic like fashion and finds. And then have your lovely quotes with your books and such? But you’re doing a great job! Only a suggestion :). Feel free to check out mine as well!

      https://itsdollydarling.wordpress.com

      -Dolly

      Liked by 1 person

      1. Hello Dolly! (such a lovely name!)
        Thank you very much for looking at my blog and following it! I’m so glad you enjoyed the flu post 🙂 Thank you very very much for your suggestions, your feedback is really helpful. I’ll check out your blog right away, thanks again for stopping by! x

        Liked by 1 person

      3. Thank you so much! (I am very sorry but your blog is not currently loading, so I will check it out as soon as I can!)

        Like

    2. What a great name for a blog and brilliant tagline too. It’s a good-looking blog with a clear layout and the titles to your posts seem well chosen and helpful for choosing what to read. You seem to have a wide range of themes and interests. Not sure what else I could suggest you include.

      Liked by 1 person

  28. Hi there! My blog’s been going just over 6 months now. As my profile makes clear, it’s a bit of an eclectic mix of my work as a vicar, my love of books and travel, various issues that I feel are important, and a few random posts thrown into the mix as well. It’s all me and I’ve loved writing each post, but my question is: Does the blog need a bit more focus, or is it ok to be the muddle of thoughts my head really is?
    Here’s a link to the latest post: http://wp.me/p4dTKj-nl

    Liked by 2 people

    2. Hi – it doesn’t read as a muddle. It reads as a generosity of spirit. I thought your blog had a real imprint of personality about it.

      Personally, I’d think that the interests and thoughts of any single human being are focus enough. I’m thinking of Montaigne. If you have followers who only like your Bible posts, then they’ll only read those, but I don’t think they’ll desert you if you write a post about books or travel.

      I’d guess, when you meet up with friends, your conversation ranges far and wide. Your blog reads like a meeting with a friend. Your congregation are lucky to have you!

      Best wishes
      Elaine

      Like

      1. Hi there. Thanks for taking the time to comment and for a really helpful and informative comment too. It’s good to know how the variety comes across to someone who doesn’t know me. I’ll stick with my mix and post however I feel inspired. Thanks again.

        Liked by 1 person

  29. I would really enjoy if people would read my blog and leave some feedback!! My writings are to inspire anybody that may be going through something I’ve went through, lending help and understanding in a simple/creative way. THANKS 🙂 I will definitely return the favor.

    Liked by 2 people

    1. Hello,
      your posts are really uplifting! I like that you talk about God throughout. Have you thought of supplementing your posts with verse or psalms? I feel like you would know some great ones and it would add to the overall substance of each post :). Please check my blog out as well!

      https://itsdollydarling.wordpress.com

      Like

    2. I have failed to see your bio/about.me page do you have that?
      Your content is good although i would advice you to write more about your personal experience with God so that we can be inspired by relating real life experiences.

      Liked by 1 person

      1. I just recently started posting “officially” maybe about a week ago. I definitely will update my bio section when I get a chance. Thanks for the creative feedback…wonderful suggestion! I understand your views.

        Liked by 1 person

    1. Hello!
      Nice blog.
      I think it is too early to worry about the look, you can change the theme and layout until you find the perfect one.
      Good luck!

      Like