Jun 15, 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.
Show Comments

592 Comments

Comments are closed.

Close Comments

Comments

  1. I’m looking for feedback on my newly created blog. The birthing of my blog, The Unstoppable Optimist, was optimistically slow. But it’s out there now! I look forward to your response. Thank you.

    Like

  2. hey,
    i got back into blogging recently after two years of inactivity. I used to be just the little girl talking about her day however, having grown up a bit i am interested in making my blog more professional with a general multi category purpose. still writing about my life but in photos and food. I know there are some aesthetic changes to make but i’m working on those. what i really would appreciate would be some feedback on my latest posts.
    thanks a lot
    http://www.midiwombatz.wordpress.com

    Like

    1. I enjoyed your last post, but geez. Huge bricks of text that were hard to wade through. You may want to consider breaking that up into easier to read chunks. Some occasional relevant imagery wouldn’t hurt.
      Do you have an About page? If so, I can’t find it.

      Liked by 1 person

  5. Hello Everyone! I am so excited about getting my blog going again, I just posted on yesterday and wanted to start with something simple. Any form of comment/critique is welcomed, I want to grown as a blogger/writer. My blog centers around Lifestyle/Spiritual Content, any and all suggestions are welcomed. Thank You all, be blessed!

    Like

      2. You have a great blog there! Especially the latest on how to wind up at night and greet the morning.

        A suggestion if I may~ Perhaps you could include an archive so readers can refer back to some of the old posts 🙂

        Like

    2. Sounds similar in a few ways to my situation, but we make it work, don’t we?
      I don’t know if I like the theme, though. It’s a pain to navigate and find the posts I’d like to see more about. Occasionally a paragraph may run a little long, and some imagery couldn’t hurt. Really, though, it’s the layout that’s really getting me.

      Liked by 1 person

  9. Hey guys! I’m trying to find some other bloggers that do lifestyle type blogs to collaborate with. Would anyone be interested? If you’re not sure what I mean please feel free to look at my blog to see if you’d be willing to collaborate on posts like mine. I’d be really grateful to expand my blogger network!

    Thank you guys for checking it out. I’d love to get some joint posts out.

    https://collegelady17.wordpress.com/2015/06/16/perspective-my-boxes-are-open/

    Like

  10. Hi there, I would love to get some feedback on my blog I have been writing for the past 12 months. My goal is to transition from a “family and friends” blog to one that other travellers or bloggers are interested in. Thanks in advance.

    Like

  11. Hi blogsters!

    I’m gaining traction (and courage) as a new writer, and I’d love feedback on my blog. Though in its beginning stages, its mission is to share natural health advice, reviews on all kinds of books, and thoughts on keeping positivity and mindfulness in life.

    I’d love comments, opinions and thoughts! Can’t wait to check out some of your blogs as well. Thank you!

    https://bookiegoddess.wordpress.com/

    Liked by 1 person

    1. I’ve gotta hand it to you: You hit the ground running with a particular theme in mind and went with it. No crawling, walking, or stutter-stops. Everything fits together nicely.

      Liked by 1 person

  15. Just published “How To: DIY Zombie Apocalypse”, really excited what kind of cool stuff the community can make with this info. Holla back!

    Like

    2. Usually I click on your blog, stare, read through everything semi-intrigued, semi-wondering if I should be on drugs while reading. Probably blink a few times. Then mentally pat you on the head a few times and walk away with a bemused smile.

      I don’t know what the heck you are, but take my follow. You’ve earned it at this point.

      I still have no idea.

      Liked by 1 person

    1. I’m not terribly sure what to make of it. Probably that’s XAV’s fault up there. A series of narratives? Not bad. If you do nothing else this week, try posting up an About page, maybe look into putting in a widget or three.

      Liked by 1 person

  17. Hi all,

    We’re canny keen for some feedback on our blog – we’re a new business and whilst we appreciate what we blog about can be a little dull for some. It means a lot to us and the guys out there that need such advice/information to run their commercial premises safely!

    Advice, feedback and friendly conversation all welcome and most importantly if at least one person finds what we have to say useful we all get a gold star on our wall chart 🙂

    Many thanks,
    BHW
    (https://bighandworks.wordpress.com/)

    Like

    1. I think I understand what you’re getting at and I’m sure it’s useful to your audience, but I would recommend putting up some sort of About page.

      Like

  18. Hi everyone,
    My blog is about 6 months old. I am not that tech-savvy so I found the set up and overall creation of my blog pretty difficult. I’d LOVE some feedback about how it appears to users, how user-friendly and easy it is to navigate and whether the current ‘look’ of my blog is the right fit.
    THANK YOU!

    http://www.cancercans.com

    Like

    1. For all your hard work, it looks fantastic. Maybe a little more about you in your About page? You’re totally more than your statistics.

      Probably this is dumb, but I love your blog title. Am I allowed to say that? I said it. >_>

      Your photos with your head scarf/dressing/knit thing are funny. Do a ninja mask!

      Liked by 1 person

      1. Thanks so much. I really like the notion of being more than my stats. I hadn’t thought about that, but it’s so true. Actually I feel a bit sad that I’ve only thought of myself in those parameters.
        Thank you!

        Liked by 1 person

    1. You’re welcome to sell an ebook you wrote, or other products you’ve made, on your free WordPress.com blog. The WordPress.com Business plan (http://store.wordpress.com/plans/business/) has some business-specific features that you might enjoy, like eCommerce integration, but in case that’s more than you need at the moment you’re welcome to use something like a PayPal button (https://wordpress.com/support/paypal/) to sell things you’ve created.

      One way you could go about creating a store-like flow without the Business plan is the following:
      1. Create a PayPal button as described in the link above.
      2. List your available books — and any other relevant information — on a public page on your blog. Direct interested buyers to the PayPal button you’ve created.
      3. Upload the ebook files to a password-protected page. (For information on accepted file types, go here: https://wordpress.com/support/accepted-filetypes/. To learn about creating password-protected pages, go here: https://wordpress.com/support/pages/page-visibility/)
      4. Once you receive the money, share the password with the buyer. You could ask buyers in advance to send their contact info via a contact form (information on creating those is here: https://wordpress.com/support/contact-form/

      This may sound like a lot of steps, but is actually quite quick to set up. If you see that you’re dealing with a high volume of sales you could always consider the Business plan, of course, but this way you get to test the waters for free without committing to any features you might not actually need.

      Liked by 1 person

  22. Hello! Would love if you could take a peek at my blog and let me know your opinion on the layout and topics. Its a blog about all things women: parenting, recipes, sex & relationships, fashion, etc. Thanks!

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Frugal Fab,
      As per your request today I visited your blog and commented on your post, 100 followers, there is one very important suggestion, if you don’t mind, you don’t have moderation on comment?????because, it is very much essential, so, please, change the setting of your comment and keep it in moderation mode, so, whenever, any reader comment on your post, without your approval, it cannot publish.

      Liked by 1 person

  27. I recently wrote this, but I’m left with the nagging feeling that there’s something I could improve on it. Too long? Too many memories? Unnecessary bullet list? Does it seem like I really did just write it in case I ever get Alzheimers? (you’ll understand when you read it.) Thank you for your advice 🙂

    Soundtrack of my Life

    Liked by 1 person

    1. I love music too. And totally agree that Pentatonix is amazing. I mostly skim read your post because it was incredibly long though. I was never bored by what I read and your individual writing “voice” came through really clearly.

      I think my only suggestion is to break it up into several posts for easier reading. As is, it feels kind of like I’m shoving a handful of fries in my mouth all at once instead of eating one fry at a time. Potato chips work in my odd metaphor too I suppose. Thank you for sharing your memories!

      Liked by 1 person

    2. Man that is a ton of links. It was hard for me to read for an extended length of time due to paragraph length; perhaps break them up a little? It was nice to have some embedded YouTube videos, too.

      Liked by 1 person

    1. I enjoyed your “ramblings”.The “Bad Blood” post was my favorite. Such disloyalty! Tsk, Tsk 😛

      Also, I totally agree with you on modesty.

      Liked by 1 person

    2. I enjoyed your writing style. Most of my issues with the site has to do with the design of it. It’s very stark. A few suggestions:

      Flesh out your About page. Why beauty, brains, and bon bons?
      While your content is excellent, consider Read More tags to improve the flow of posts – the reader may not be interested in every single article you write.
      Have you considered adding some imagery?
      Maybe play with the theme or consider adding a background if possible. It’s all very white.

      Hope this helps!

      Liked by 1 person

      1. Thank you Leisel. I will definitely work on my theme. I’m working on my about page. I just can’t seem to get it to where I want it yet. What do you mean by read more tags?

        Like

    1. I enjoyed your writing style. Most of my issues with the site has to do with the design of it. It’s very stark. A few suggestions:

      Flesh out your About page. Why beauty, brains, and bon bons?
      While your content is excellent, consider Read More tags to improve the flow of posts – the reader may not be interested in every single article you write.
      Have you considered adding some imagery?
      Maybe play with the theme or consider adding a background if possible. It’s all very white.

      Hope this helps!

      Liked by 1 person

      1. Wow, WTH? For some reason the comment intended for the above blog assigned itself to you. Sorry about that. So, so sorry.

        Let’s try again:

        Simplistic, but wonderful. I was a little frustrated with having to keep Google Translate up in another tab, but you write beautifully. I don’t know if others would have the same patience to do that as me.

        Like

  30. Hi everyone,

    I recently started a new blog about marketing and advertising. I just graduated with a marketing degree and I like the topic.There are many advertisements and campaigns that are incredibly clever, funny (in good and bad ways!), and even emotionally moving so I have big plans for the blog.

    Tonight’s post was more informational/educational, so I had the idea of making it and future posts like it more interesting by making an infographic instead of pure text. I made the first one tonight (my first ever!) and I was hoping I could solicit some feedback.

    I’m really curious about what works and what doesn’t and whether the infographic made the post less boring to people who are not marketers or marketing students. Thanks for the time, I really appreciate it.

    Like