Mar 21, 2015 / Community Pool

Community Pool

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.
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  2. I LOVE this idea!

    I’m new to blogging as well and find that as much as I enjoy the writing process and feel slightly elated when I hit the “publish” button, I wonder if anyone will really read it.

    My Purpose is to share what I am learning in this Jesus relationship I hold so dear to my heart in a real and unassuming way as well as to leave something tangible for my girls one day.

    I know I’m long winded (even here for crying out loud!), but would love advice for how to break posts into shorter pieces. There never seems a good place to break. I am open to all advice and insights. Here to learn from you!

    FIND ME AT: https://saturatedinseattle.wordpress.com/

    Thanks!
    Karyn

    Liked by 3 people

    1. Your goal of leaving something tangible for your girls is a good one. Yes, my dear, you are long-winded 🙂 Each of your posts is like a short story. You do write well. For those who might give up when seeing the length, you might put in some sub-headings. That can serve to give readers a sense that they are making progress. When possible, see if there is a way to turn your story into a series of shorter posts. You can tell us to stay tuned for part-2 and give us a teaser as to content. My site is on biblically-based leadership http://gracelead.co and is a blend of super short posts with a library of longer book summaries and tools.

      Liked by 1 person

      1. Thank you for the feedback. I know some of my weaknesses, being long-winded, being one of them! I am struggling to know how to break a completed piece into two or more pieces. I will wrestle with it until I figure it out! I like a good challenge anyway! I will check out your blog! It’s always nice to support and encourage those who openly share what Christ is laying on their hearts. I don’t believe any lesson or struggle we encounter is meant for us alone, but to share with others so that they may know God’s character all the more fully!
        Blessings to you!
        Karyn
        https://saturatedinseattle.wordpress.com/

        Like

    1. It’s just my personal opinion, but a dark background doesn’t exactly scream “yumm”… If I were you I’d go for a lighter colour, something that people would associate with a restaurant or kitchen. But other than that it’s great! The photos look very inviting 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

  7. Hi all, I would appreciate it if you can check out my last blog post about a very frightening situation that occurred to a family member of mine. I shared this so that it could help others 1. Be more safer. and 2. God forbid if something like this situation happened to someone else, they can get an idea of how to handle it, and what to do. Check it out, feedback isn’t a must, but much appreciated. Please no negative feedback as the victim may be reading it and I don’t want her to feel worse then she already does feel. http://www.thinklikekate.org

    Thanks for reading,

    Xoxo,
    Kate

    Liked by 4 people

    4. “QuoteMondays #3”: True. So…. Is that it? There are so many quotes of truth out there. You said; you’re not feeling that you.re getting the feedback results you’d like. Give us an example from your own experience, how this truth has played out. THAT, would be interesting.

      Like

    5. You have a lovely blog! I may be a bit biased (because we chose the same theme for our blog) but I really liked it! Maybe if you only showed a summary of your posts on your home page, then it would be clearer for people to see that they have to click on the post’s title to read the whole thing and comment and stuff.. Does that make any sense?

      Liked by 1 person

      1. Yes thank you for your reply it meant a lot! I know what you mean but I don’t really know how to do that haha but I will try my best! I’ll spend some time over the weekend trying to sort it out. I ‘ll be sure to check out your blog.

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    1. Your blog shows much promise. I agree that you are a good writer. You express yourself well. As you get more posts, I suggest that you copy the content from your Genesis post into an About page. That way, new visitors can easily see the purpose of your blog without scrolling through the many posts I know you will eventually have. http://gracelead.co

      Liked by 2 people

  16. Hi guys! I just started my blog and I keen for some feedback on my first post, that would be amazing. You can check it out here: https://kaleidoscopeofdreamsblog.wordpress.com/2016/03/21/crushes-makes-the-heart-fonder/.

    Also, here’s the link to my main blog page, I would love it if you could give me some advise on how I could make my blog more appealing to readers as a whole: https://kaleidoscopeofdreamsblog.wordpress.com

    Thanks in advance 🙂

    Liked by 2 people

      1. Thank you so much for the comment, I don’t even think I can express how much it means to me. I’ve tried adding tags but I haven’t worked on my “About” Page yet, do you really think it will make a difference? Also, what do you think about the content and the post itself, if you don’t mind me asking?

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      2. Well, it was only my observation, it is entirely up to you if you like to add the “About” page.
        Everybody’s interests and the content style they present is different, so enjoy the journey and have fun! 🙂

        Liked by 1 person

  17. Hey all! I wanted to ask you here in the community pool if you would stop by our blog. My fiance and I run it. We would really love some feed back and constructive criticism. The blog is about our family of four turning our house into a homestead. This will be our second year growing our own food and we’re really looking forward to it. So we can add lots of yummy home grown recipes as well as garden tips and tricks. I’ve already put up our homemade natural pesticide tutorial for anyone in need.
    Please go have a look and let me know what you think. Grab a recipe for the week while you’re there.

    Home

    Thanks in advance.

    Liked by 4 people

    2. I just visited your site! What a treat! I love the photos. They drew me immediately. I love the merchandise you sell as well as the recipes offered and reading of your learned experiences!
      The only constructive feedback I can offer is I wanted to know more about you and your Fiance. Have you thought about including an About Page? If you add one, I’d love to know how you came up with your name The Cross and Bully Market. It’s intriguing! I love it!

      Also, I could only see your list of blog posts once I clicked onto the store’s tab. My preference is to have them on the front page so people know you are not just a store front, but it is really personal preference, not a do or die thing! In short, I think your site is amazing. Its inviting and encouraging! Awesome Job!

      Blessings,
      Karyn
      https://saturatedinseattle.wordpress.com/

      Like

    2. I just visited your site. I was intrigued by your Blog’s name and hoped you would have an About Page so I could learn more about the one “talking” to me; the one pointing things out to me. I wanted to know a little of your story and what led you to the place to write what you write. I would recommend incorporating an About Page. Also, the font you’ve chosen for your headings is a little hard to read—it’s too fancy, in my opinion. If someone can’t read something with the first sweep of the eye, they may move on. And I wondered why your posts were in all bold script. Though your content was great, bc it was in all bold script, I felt a little uncomfortable. Your posts have a lot of deep content, which I am all about (I write on a similar theme). I longed to hear it move from “teaching” or “showing” to personal. I wanted a story to illustrate your valid points, how what you share impacted you personally. And one last thing, I would add a picture/logo of some sort to the top of your page. I think you are off to a good start for certain. Keep keeping on, as they say. I hope my feedback only helps you move forward in your endeavor to share your heart with the world!
      Blessings,
      Karyn
      https://saturatedinseattle.wordpress.com/

      Liked by 1 person

    1. I read it and can certainly relate! There are some spelling errors you might want to check. I won’t give you anxiety advice because your blog is your blog with your feelings – but I struggle with anxiety too. My blog revolves a lot around my anxiety. Check it out! I think you and I have a lot we can relate to!!

      Like

  24. hey friends
    i am Neha Kedia from India. i have started writing on the insistence of some friends and cousins. please visit my blog and give me a feedback. your constructive criticism will help me a lot.

    thanks a lot.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. I know you were asking for advice on promoting your blog. I don’t have a clue because I’m a newbie myself, but I wanted to say I love your blog! I like that it’s eclectic and relatable. I like your pictures and your posts. Your dog is adorable and your FitBit post I completely related to. I am following your blog and look forward to reading more!

      Like

      1. Oh my goodness, thank you so much! Your blog is awesome too! I am still a newbie and want to promote it as much as possible. Hopefully along the lines we can share tips. 🙂 Have a great day!

        Liked by 1 person

    2. are you on any social network sites? I have found that connecting my blog to Facebook, twitter and google+ have helped to bring in people to read my posts and comment on them. Also just talking to people here in the pool is enormously helpful. If you comment on their blogs they will stop by yours. I also think an about page, even if you wish to remain anonymous, is a great idea. people want to know something about the theme of the blog, like why are you writing? is there a focus or is it just for fun? and who are you? you don’t need to put in your personal information but it is nice to know you are from, say India and you are a young mother working at whatever. people tend to follow other bloggers that have some sort of connection to them and that provides the connection.

      Liked by 1 person

    1. You have a lovely blog. I would suggest adding an about me page. let your readers know who you are or why you are blogging. maybe a little bit about what the blog is focused on…obviously food, but what kind? and why? Are you connected on Facebook or google+ or twitter? connecting the blog to social sites gains many readers.

      Liked by 1 person

  28. Hey Zara I didn’t get to read your post re: anxiety, but I got a feel & I love it. Friends, my site is http://whatISagape.wordpress.com. Do you know ayurveda? Vata (over-exertion & movement) is associated with anxiety. Meditation is wonderful but challenging for vata. I always suggest learning the ocean-sounding breath. It’s something you can do throughout your day. My step-mother swears that since I taught her that her anxiety & anger continues to decrease. Check it out & let me know if this helps! Namaste’

    Liked by 4 people

    1. Hey! A fellow New Yorker! And we are close in age! Just looked through your blog. I like the content – I relate to quite a bit of it. I’m interested in learning more about Ayurveda so I found it interesting. I like the font, but sometimes some run on sentences prevent the flow when reading. Otherwise keep going! Would love to read more information and resources about what you do and why you do it (quote practitioners and professionals in the field, reference articles, stuff like that!)

      Like

  29. I just picked my blog back up with the intention of really following through in 2016. I wrote my first post and it got great feedback. Far better than I anticipated. But, it’s kind of a ho-hum subject. Do I strcitly continue down this topic path? Or sporadically share updates and write about other things….. I’m at a fork in the road. Thanks ❤

    Liked by 3 people

    1. When you’re adding a new post, on the left margin you should see a heading ‘Categories & Tags.’ There you can add categories to go with your post and tag your post, as well. (Just don’t go over 15, between categories and tags.)

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      1. just think about the things you post about…if it is food, you could make a category called “recipes” or “diet foods”……then anytime you post a new one just click on the category for it before publishing.

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