May 11, 2015 / Community Pool

Community Pool

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

Photo by <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/63057306@N04/5734415538">Beachfront Solutions</a> <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/">(CC BY-SA 2.0)</a>

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! We tend to delete duplicate comments asking for feedback on the same post.
  • 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!
  • When leaving comments, please remember not to add your blog’s url as your signature. It’s kinda spammy: after all, your handle links directly to your blog.
  • 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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      1. Thank you! It used to be a “psychedelic” pattern and all colors of the rainbow for the background, red for the menus.. I appreciate you taking some time to look at my blog! Checking out yours right now!

        Liked by 1 person

    1. Very nice points you make. The paragraphs and design worked well in my opinion. The flow was natural which I gather was what you were going for

      Like

    1. I think your writing is beautiful and moving. As a new reader, I would like to see you experiment with your theme. Stay strong.

      Liked by 1 person

    2. Some very powerful sentiments. Makes one reflect. I think your message will resonate with those who suffer as you do, which is a kindness that will make things better for your readers

      Liked by 1 person

    3. Hi there, thank you for sharing. I left a comment on your blog. You are very brave to share your experience. I grew up with a schizophrenic parent, so I get where you´re coming from. Stay strong!

      Liked by 1 person

  5. Hi,
    I am Janice. I offer blogging advice to bloggers! At my site you will find tips to engage your readers, improve your content, and increase your traffic. Here is the link to my About page, so you can read about my blog and me. http://wp.me/P5jxvv-1
    I am looking to grow my readership, so check out my blog. There is even a free incentive for signing up! Scroll down to “Free, Private Cheat Sheet.”
    Thanks!
    Janice

    Liked by 4 people

    1. I love how you joined the Avengers with Biblical principles. Great post. Another picture would be great though 🙂

      Like

    1. I really do love the new theme:) I think it’s much more welcoming! But then again I enjoyed your writing before as well:))

      Like

    2. Hi, Benedict, The blog looks great. Very elegant, clean, and inviting. Short post titles and link names suit the minimalist motif (I am taking a lesson from that!). Following now and looking forward to digging and in and doing some reading very soon.

      Regards,
      Brian

      Liked by 1 person

      1. Thanks for taking a look Brian, really do appreciate it! Really loved the look of your blog as well, and just from glancing through it looks like there’s loads of interesting content there as well, some of the music stuff I just had no idea about. Have followed, and look forward to reading more!
        Ben

        Liked by 1 person

    2. I love the concept of the post, and the way you express them, however I think it is longer than it should be. You repeated the same point quite a few times, where you could have given examples, or links.

      Keep writing 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

  9. Greetings. I have been blogging now for almost 2 years and recently freshened up my site (new color scheme, fonts, streamlined menus). Especially seeking feedback on the look & feel, navigation, ease of use, and overall impression, though feedback on writing style and specific content would also be welcome.

    The concept is to present instrumental and experimental music in a way that is appealing and accessible even to those not deeply into those genres and to encourage & support independent artists and DIY labels.

    https://stationarytravels.wordpress.com/

    Kind regards,
    Brian

    Liked by 2 people

      1. Thanks, Ben. Fair point. I have struggled with finding the right balance between being concise and thorough. I think that is something I will really be focusing on this year. Really appreciate the feedback! Cheers.

        Like

  10. Good morning all (USA Time), The day after Mother’s Day. For all you Moms, I hope it was a great and joyous day. I posted several pieces yesterday…one quite ambitous for me. I would love your feedback. Thanks to anyone who visits at https://adman4u.wordpress.com
    Hope one of them passes muster….lol
    Enjoy your day.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Wow, I really like your style and post- I will definitely have a look onto the other articles you wrote… Awesome 😉
      Yours, Mary

      Liked by 1 person

      2. I am quite happy about finding your page- It is one of those you stumble upon when you aren’t expecting anything and find out, that page and article was, what you were searching for… I’ll keep following!
        Yours, mary

        Like

  15. Hey there from Germany,
    I am having my blog for 1,5 years and freshed up my design yesterday, a new theme, a slightly different style of editing… Maybe you like it.
    I would be glad for any kind of comment on how the new design feels while navigating, how you like my style of photographing and what you feel in general about my page…
    Thanks, Mary

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Take heart. Your writing seems genuine and heartfelt. Takes time to find your audience. Keep true to yourself and your message, continue engaging others of like mind, and eventually you’ll find greater satisfaction in your efforts

      Like

    2. I came over! I love it 🙂 I think it takes time to grow an audience in the fangirl world, my little
      Blog is doing okay at the moment but I know it will take time to grow a larger readership. Just stick to what you’re doing, make sure to categorise and tag your posts and you’ll see an increase over time, I’m sure 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

      1. Well, thank you so much! And thanks for the feedback, as well! It really means a lot.
        I think the toughest part is coming up with something people will be interested in reading

        Liked by 1 person

      2. You’re welcome.
        I think the best thing you can do as a blogger, is write about the stuff that you enjoy writing about. You don’t have to please everyone, as long as you’re writing about what you’re passionate about, like minded people will follow you and join your blogging journey 🙂 it just takes a lot of time

        Like

      3. You know, that sounds like a good idea! Thanks for the advice! I think that’s where I was going wrong. I’ve been stuck on trying to come up with some things I’m not too familiar with (ex: Manga) to attract a wider audience

        Liked by 1 person

      4. You don’t have to try and appeal to a huge audience, you’ll find followers who enjoy what you enjoy as you go along 🙂
        The thing is, fandom posts aren’t hugely popular here on WordPress, most fandom stuff happens over on tumblr so it will take time to grow an audience here just because of that, there are bloggers here who do write fandom, but there’s a smaller portion of us who do in comparison to beauty/travel/parenting blogs.
        Maybe, if you wanted, you could explore the fandom tags you use, or even just the word fandom, you might find fandom based bloggers to follow who might even check out your blog and see that your blogging about similar things. That’s what I do for both my fangirl and parenting blog. I found, getting out there and finding new blogs for yourself, commenting and engaging with others is a great way to grow your readership and build a little personal community 🙂

        Liked by 1 person

    1. Hy Artesia,
      I’ve visited your blog and find it so very interesting. I’ve been a management and HR consultant for about 25 years and have some similar interests to yours. Please, feel free to visit Girls Just Like Us.
      Have a nice week,
      Manuela

      Liked by 1 person

    3. Hey Artesia!
      I think the content is great and varied in your blog, loved that you have a menu next to your name to find topics right away! The only thing I didn’t find that appealing is the small font, but that is merely personal I guess. For example, I find posts like the ones in the Community Pool easier to engage with.
      Great work 🙂

      Liked by 2 people

    1. I really enjoyed looking at all the example pictures you post on your blog. The first images and small paragraphs kept me engaged, even if I’m not redecorating. I was having a bit of trouble understanding portuguese but had the general idea until I saw the english translation down there. Have you tried translating right after every paragraph? I don’t know if your blog is mostly for portuguese speakers or you have a varied public, it would depend on that. Anyways.. good work!

      Like

      1. Now that I kept reading some of your other posts I see how it goes, never mind about the translation, it works great just as it is.

        Like

  22. Hello, reading, writing and sci-fi peoples, if you’re sitting there right now thinking, ‘boy do I ever wish I was reading a post by a lazy awkward girl complaining that other people are better writers than her!’ then do I ever have the post for you! Check out: https://racheliliffe.wordpress.com/2015/05/09/starbound-and-the-three-body-problem-problem/ (and the rest of my blog, if you feel like it)

    It even has one of my artistic masterpieces [read: doodles] at the end 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

    1. I like the conversational tone, sense of humor and I enjoy sci-fi too! I confess I got a little lost…I use my fair share of references, but I was confused by the shout out to Vikings, since it’s T.V and historical fic, not sci fi. The post was talking about lots of different things and could probably be 3 different posts. Or I’m too tired. Anyways- it did make me want to check out Three Body Problem 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

    1. I really enjoy the theme on your blog and that you actually give a score to your reviews. Short, simple, and great taste in music. Keep it going!

      Like

  25. Hello fellow bloggers:)
    My blog follows topics about fashion, cooking, movies…and my endless love for writing:)
    I would love to know what you think:)

    this is me

    Thank you!

    Like

    1. Hey Julia,
      The main image was a shock for me, it really is a red page!!! haha. The content is good. I feel like I’m just having a conversation by reading your posts. Love how you talk about many topics, like baking, fashion, personal things and also how you ask questions on some posts. I would ask one or two questions instead of a set of them so people engage with you and are able to answer easily. Aside from that, I liked it!! 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

  26. Hola, hello, hi and namaste, all!

    I’ve been quietly writing for a bit now but only recently decided to share some of my stuff on http://www.randomrantsruminationsramblings.wordpress.com

    My posts are on topics as varied as my interests. I’d love for you guys to do a quick run thru of have your comments. And i hope some of you will some of them interesting.

    Really appreciate it, so thanks in advance. And I promise to spend some of my time browsing whatever catches my fancy and commenting, too!

    Thanks and bless y’all!

    Liked by 1 person

    1. I really like your theme, I haven’t seen that one before. Layout is nice and clean, and writing is well done. Don’t stay away for so long;)

      Liked by 1 person

    1. The openings to the posts are engaging as is the writing style. There are good lines, like ‘topographical variety is good for the soul’. I found the sidebars of the page a bit busy visually, but I really like your blog and am curious to check out your book.

      Like

  29. Hello fellow bloggers and inhabitants of this earth ☺I would really appreciate it if you checked out my blog and posts https://everything and all things real.wordpress.com/
    Thanks
    Melanin Lover
    Xx

    Like