May 25, 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.
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  1. Hey,

    I have been blogging for a couple of years now and have enjoyed it…I am however at that stage that i feel i need to spice up my blog abit…give it some fresh look in terms of design and content…I will appreciate if you will kindly visit and give me some feedback….have a look at the design as well as enjoy some content (I recently just finished up a 10 week series titled walk me down the aisle where i shared my story leading up to my wedding) and let me know of suggestions to give a better blog… my blog is https://zealthinks.wordpress.com/

    Thanks in advance.

    Liked by 1 person

  2. Hi everyone!
    I started blogging a week ago and I’m in desperate need for some feedback;)!
    I hope you can give me some tips and valuable advice.
    You can visit my blog here

    Liked by 5 people

    1. I do not believe that you just started! That is a stellar blog for someone who is a week old. I think that you should experiment with your theme more, I feel the header clashes with the title? Maybe that is just me. I love the content however, and will be waiting for your next post!

      Liked by 1 person

    2. I like the idea of your blog, as no doubt many people will find book reviews not only worthwhile, but a chance to find books they might want to check out themselves. I personally find the header a bit distracting, however. The name of your blog gets lost amid all the book covers. You already have it at the top of the page, so you don’t really need it twice. What I would do is eliminate the script across the header and make the “Alicia’s World of Pages” at the top bigger, and maybe shrink the header some. People will still be able to make out the covers, but it won’t feel like it’s taking over the entire screen.

      Liked by 2 people

  3. Hi bloggers,

    I’ve heard a lot about the community pool and I’m really excited to dip my toe into the water! And I’m a little nervous. So please forgive me if I don’t quite have this down.

    I’d love to get some feedback on my newest post about quick writing resources.

    http://writeowls.com/

    Any and all feedback is greatly appreciated. Thanks!

    Liked by 2 people

  4. I’ve been thinking about changing the theme of my blog, but I’m not sure if I should. I rather like the one I’ve got now, but I don’t half wonder if it hasn’t maybe gotten a little stale. I don’t have a paid account, so I’m limited with what I can do, but still. Work with what you’ve got! Let me know what you think — https://designersophisticate.wordpress.com

    Liked by 2 people

    2. Moderation is something I could definitely use more of in my life. I think you do a good job of covering the topics that we all have difficulty managing. The content on your site is great. I didn’t really get the focus, though, until I went your “About” page. It might help if you included a permanent widget on your home page with a little blurb about living a life of moderation in each of your focus areas. I’m looking forward to seeing where you take this project.

      Liked by 1 person

  6. Really useful blog! Good to know that others are in the same boat as me, as I’ve just started a blog but not getting to post as often as I’d like. What can I do to increase my readership until I can post more often when life is a bit less hectic?!
    If anyone wants to cast an eye over my blog, it’s
    https://pixelgreat.wordpress.com/

    Liked by 2 people

  7. Greetings, fellow literature aficionados, today I come bearing a dire warning for my fellow (fiction) writers, and it is this:

    BEWARE THE IDES OF MARCH!

    j/k. But for those of you who do also enjoy classical civilisation, you may appreciate my real warning to my fellow writers here:

    The Knowledge of Socrates: A Warning

    (It even has an illustration 😉

    Liked by 2 people

    1. I really enjoyed your post. My main suggestion would be to move the cartoon to the top. It might just be a quirk of my browser, but I didn’t see the cartoon until the bottom of the post, which was confusing because you referenced it at the top of the post. Thanks.

      Liked by 1 person

    2. So, are you a number or a free person, Rachel? Seriously, you have some clever and clearly written prose, here. I’m guessing you speak British English given your spelling of civilization (my American spell checker would have a conniption fit over it). Please check out my blog, too. I write about science fiction, using it to illustrate biblical principles.

      Liked by 1 person

      2. Am I a number or a free man? My answer: HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!
        But, number or person, I am British, and it is one of my missions in life to continue to use an ‘s’ in place of a ‘z’ no matter how many red squiggly lines I am subjected to!
        Thank you very much for your interest, I’ll be sure to check out your blog!

        Like

  8. I pretty basic when it comes to designing my blog. I have a lifestyle blog and I want to add menu options so you can go directly to sections for ex. style, cooking, diy, home decor. I am having a hard to time choosing a template especially since I am very fond of current theme. Does anyone have any ideas or advice?

    Liked by 2 people

  10. Hi, I just started blogging. I’ve only generated 600 views in the last 3 weeks. Does anyone know anything about Google Adsense or about advertising on your site in general? What if a local restaurant wanted to advertise on my site. How would I go about doing that? Any good books out there on beginning blogging? Thanks in advance!

    Liked by 1 person

    1. 600 views in 3 weeks for a new blog is actually good! There are a lot of blogging courses for new bloggers on WordPress that can help you build your audience and improve your blog. The courses often come up on the Daily Post.

      Like

    2. To have ads on your site, you’d need to move your blog to a self-hosted installation running WordPress.org. We do have a program called WordAds that you can apply for. We split ad revenue with the site owner.

      Here’s more information on WordAds.

      Here’s more information on going self-hosted.

      Like

      2. Check out the document on going self-hosted to learn the differences between WordPress.com and WordPress.org.

        On WordPress.com (this platform) we don’t allow users to place their own ads on their sites, except for members of the WordAds program.

        As the owner of your domain, you can move it to another host if you wish to run ads on your site.

        Like

    1. This is a good and clear request. It’s a strong hook, but I would make a small but strong change.

      Turn

      She looked at him tiredly and began to talk but he interrupted. “Are you sleeping with him because you can’t pay your rent?”

      into

      She looked at him tiredly and began to talk but he interrupted, “Are you sleeping with him because you can’t pay your rent?”

      I think this helps hold the readers attention better. The period at the end of the first clause makes the reader pause too much. Using the comma makes it all one thought and is much more compelling.

      I’m not writing fiction. Instead I use science fiction to illustrate biblical principles. I would love to hear what you think of them. https://arielklay.wordpress.com/

      Like

      1. Thanks for looking into this. I use commas right before all my dialogue; I just happened to miss this one, even though I read it about 20 times.

        Your blog is definitely intriguing! I’m not a Christian and not religious so I tried my best. I chose X-Men (what I’m most familiar with) and it makes sense: working together for the greater good, working with irritating brothers and sisters, etc. Your writing is great, especially since you have a solution/model. I think it’s very smart and fun that you’re using sci-fi to show that biblical principles are abundant.
        I would like to point out something to you, maybe I’m wrong. In your last paragraph, you wrote, “…spending time in His Word and prayer.” Is it supposed to be “on His Word and prayer” and not “in”?

        Liked by 1 person

      2. Well, the phrase “in His Word and prayer” is very “Christianese.” I think the idea of using “in” instead of “on” implies being immersed in God’s Word and in God’s presence when spending time “in prayer.” It makes me think of water baptism because baptism actually means to dunk or immerse. When one is baptized, it is said you are baptized into Christ. Actually, I’m so used to the phrase I never thought about it, so I appreciate the opportunity to explore the issue.

        Like

      3. That’s what I thought too, but to me, that concept of being “in” His Word didn’t make sense, so I had to say something. Maybe you should update it and make a note of it.

        Like

    1. Hi Ivan, good questions! Your desire to communicate clearly with your reader is commendable. Unfortunately, your sentence structure isn’t always clear. Try reading the classics like Dickens, Steinbeck, Hemmingway to see how the masters got their message across.

      Like

      2. Oh, for simple communication like e-mail and Community Pool correspondence, punctuation like the use of commas and periods are not as important. However, they are vital in your posts in order to make your writing as clear as possible.

        Like

  15. Hello, I generally write book reviews on my blog and I would really welcome any criticism whether it be on my writing, the layout etc. Please feel free to offer me some advice and I will try and do the same for anyone looking for advice on their own blog.

    Liked by 2 people

  16. Hello!
    I’ve been blogging for five months now, and I’ve enjoyed the journey so far. Today, I address the subject of viral internet memes, and the burden of the lovelorn: the friend zone. Now before you roll your eyes, or chuckle, do check it out! I’d love your feedback. How can I improve? I’d love to hear from you!

    Liked by 1 person

    1. interesting blog, I like how you tell a story to bring people in. Also I’m always in the friendzone but that was a good point that you have to express your feelings to the girl. Thats where I struggle.

      Liked by 2 people

    1. Hey. Interesting post with some great photography. Your blog homepage looks sparse at the moment because of the theme but it’ll look great once you’ve posted more. I would advise making your in post photos larger to do them justice because they are really good. 🙂

      Like

      1. thanks very much 🙂 I’ve made the photos bigger and will add more posts when I get the time! thanks for having a look!

        Like

    2. I really love your photographs. I agree with the other comment that the homepage needs a little more on it, but overall I’m really impressed with your photography. Maybe including a post or an about section where you include what type of camera you use and stuff like that would help make the front page look fuller.

      Like

      1. thats a really good idea! thanks very much for having a look and the feedback 🙂

        Like

    1. I thought your post was good, and I liked your references in it. My only piece of advice for you would be to break up your paragraphs with an extra space so they’re easier to read. The content is great as is the writing style, but the way the post was structured made it look a bit like one very long paragraph even though it wasn’t.

      Liked by 1 person

  23. I would love some tips and tricks about my blog, maybe even some ideas on what to post or what people would like to read. I feel like my blog is merely a shell of what it could be.

    Liked by 3 people

    1. I like the idea behind your blog:) For me personally the writing is too small and the background is distracting…but like I’ve said, that is my personal opinion:)
      I’ve read a few of your post and I enjoy your writing style:)
      As for what else you could write about, I think that comes down to you, what are you passionate about, what do you love, what makes you happy…as long as you are yourself, you readers will enjoy following you!
      Good luck:)

      Liked by 2 people

    2. Hi Ailish – I’m with Julia on writing about whatever interests you. It’s a lot like planting a garden – some plants will thrive and some won’t. But it’s your garden, so you can fill it with ferns or thistles, if they please your eye. That’s the fun of the whole thing. Enjoy yourself!

      Julia has a good point about the size of the text too. If you can change it, I’d try, and see if you like it as a more generous thing. It’s a bit hard on the eyes at the moment. Because the text is constricted, it makes the blog feel a bit constricted. I’m reading on a laptop, and it’s tiny. Have you checked how it looks on a mobile?

      I enjoyed reading your post on Kenopsia. A link to John Koenig’s site http://www.dictionaryofobscuresorrows.com or his youtube channel would have kept readers with you – I found myself heading off into the internet to find the word kenopsia and once I was down a different internet rabbithole, I was led further and further away from you.

      All good luck with your blog – keep sowing seeds and enjoy the flowers 🙂
      Elaine

      Liked by 1 person

  25. Hey I would love to hear from other bloggers as to what they think of my new blog. I am hoping to empower those suffering with Fibromyalgia by sharing my experiences and advice. I will of course head over to your blog to repay the compliment.

    traceymarinelli.com

    I also have a creative writing blog but its the Fibro Fantastic one that I am really keen to get the feedback on.

    Thanks
    Tracey

    Liked by 2 people

    1. Your blog looks really good, it’s easy to navigate and having a menu and categories helps a lot in finding your previous posts easier:) As content…you are a talented writer, all I can say is keep writing:) I would love to see the pictures that soon will be published:)))

      Liked by 1 person

    1. I’ve really enjoyed reading your posts…love that you’ve published pictures alone side your writing…which is really good, by the way:) You are on the right track so keep writing!

      Liked by 1 person

  28. Hey guys!!

    So I mostly post poetry on my blog but this week I wrote two simple short stories about friendship. I tried to add in a bit of irony to it. Since my short story writing skills aren’t as developed as my poetry writing ones, I would love some good feedback on those two short stories. Specifically, anything about the writing style and if you could recognise the irony in them.

    Here are the links:

    The Tale Of Two Fangirls

    The Tale Of Two Fangirls: Awkward? Never!

    Thanks in advance!
    Have a nice day y’all. 🙂

    Liked by 2 people

  29. Hello bloggers:)
    Take a journey with me into my red world:)
    I would appreciate any feedback about layout, look and content!
    I want to grow and develop my blog and I need your help to do it!
    Thank you so much for any minute you take and visit

    this is me

    Liked by 3 people

  30. Hello everyone.

    It had been over a month on wordpress and on community pool. It has been a remarkable journey. People have liked me and my work, corrected and chided as well so that I could be a better blogger and a photographer. Hope you’ll enjoy my work.

    http://wp.me/60y6a

    Liked by 2 people