Sep 28, 2015 / Community Pool

Community Pool

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

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!
  • 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. This seems really useful, especially since I’ve thought about trying my hand at guest blogging but never really known where to start.
      It does seem to be quite a niche topic however, that might have been why it hasn’t gone as far as you were hoping.

      Liked by 1 person

  4. Hey everyone! I’m a college blogger from Atlanta. This past summer, I worked in China for 4 weeks, and I tried to encapsulate my experience in my most recent post. I would love some feedback on the points. Did the article resonate with you? Do you have any advice that would help me improve my writing? Thanks a lot, Catherine

    China trip reflection

    Liked by 2 people

    2. I used this theme once. It’s a good one! You may add widgets to your site to enhance the beauty of it and add few direct links like your social sites, recent posts, popular tags, people following you etc.

      Like

  7. Hello bloggers!
    The contents of my blog for the most part is my musings, writing, and the places I travel to. It hasn’t been long since I’ve had this blog and would love some feedback. Any advice for anything about my blog in general would be very appreciated. Whether it’s about the layout, the categories, the pictures that I took, or even the contents of the post itself. Thank you guys!
    https://pebblestonesteps.wordpress.com
    I’m also more than happy to do the same for any of you guys 🙂 Cheers!

    Liked by 3 people

    1. your photos are very eyecatching and your theme is beautiful and inviting. In just clicking around your site, I can see that your writings are honest and personal, and that always seems to strike a chord with readers. Wishing you happy blogging!

      Liked by 2 people

    4. Hi! Love your blog – the theme and colour choice really match you style. I love how you can always engage your audience and generate some conversation in every post! Photographs are great – love the style (also followed you on Instagram haha)
      Had a look on your about page and I feel like we have similar views on life haha stop and smell the roses!
      Keep doing what you do man and do great things!

      Liked by 1 person

      1. I really love your blog as well. The idea and concept of it definitely caught my attention. Probably because I sort of have that same idea and interest. But either way, I loved it. Your pictures are also amazing! (Especially your instagram feed haha)
        If you wouldn’t mind, I’d love to get to more of the hows and the whys of your blog/idea/journey 🙂
        Keep doing what you’re doing as well! They’re great!

        Like

      2. Yeah definitely! I love your photos too! Do you study photography? I’m trying to learn new skills by myself since I don’t study it hahaha
        Yeah would love to chat about it but sadly, there is no messaging feature on WordPress 😦
        Guess you’ll see me in your comment section haha 🙂

        Liked by 1 person

      3. I don’t study photography haha. I also just learn by myself like you. I’m actually trying to buy a better camera pretty soon so I can really dive into photography a bit more. Especially when I travel.
        And yeah, sadly there is no messaging feature on WordPress ): If you go onto my blog, I can a “Contact” category on my menu bar. You can message me on there!

        Like

  9. Hi everyone! I just finished taking the Blogging 201 course and feeling inspired. So much so that I started a new feature on my blog last week. I call it Photo Shuffle and the idea (like the rest of my blog) is pairing up a photo with a song. What makes Photo Shuffle different is I put my Ipod on random and let it pick a song for me to find a photo for. I love the randomness of the concept as opposed to my longer more theme based blogs. You can find the most recent one right here-

    Photo Shuffle-Edge Of The World

    Liked by 3 people

    1. Well, It’s always good to have a regular schedule for your posts. This way you can make your presence felt over the time. And time to post depends upon from which part of the world you are getting more views! Insights at wordpress can help a load to identify this. I generally post around 6:00 PM IST

      Liked by 2 people

    2. Hi I looked at your article, great read. Timely for me as I’m running the NY marathon in a month. I am plagued with all that you spoke about in your article. Thank you, I have followed you

      Liked by 2 people

  13. Hello Everyone! I have started the Screen Free Challenge and its been posted on the Daily Post events page. Yaay! Its about spending a few hours every week away from your screens and blogging about it. Please do participate 🙂 Here is the link for it and here is also my recent post of a person who does coloring to destress.
    https://wordpress.com/dailypost/dp_event/screen-free-challenge/
    https://jansdoodlesv2.wordpress.com/2015/09/27/hear-hear-about-adult-coloring/

    Liked by 2 people

  18. Good morning all! I have been thinking lately about rewriting some of my old posts. My skills have improved and I’d like to revisit old topics to see if I can do a better job. I wonder, what would be the best way to go about this? Should I just edit the old piece or create a new post with the edited version? Should I leave the old one up or delete it? I know the answer probably comes down to personal preference but I did want to hear from other bloggers what they have done. Thank you in advance for your input 🙂

    http://zenandpi.com/

    Liked by 3 people

      1. Hm, interesting idea. A new post and a link to the old one, I may try that for some of them. The thing is I’m not sure about a different angle for all of them. It’s like drawing something you really wanted to draw but before you could draw well. I still want to create “this thing” but now I can do it better. I just don’t know if I should thrown out the old one?

        Like

      3. I’ve only been blogging for a little over a year and a half, so not that old. I agree with you though, I want to keep the old writing to look back on but I thought maybe there was a “blogging best-practice” rule for this sort of thing.

        Like

      4. Not as far as I know. Some of the stuff I published three years ago is awful, some of it not so much but anyway. I’d suggest you do what feels most natural to you. It’s your site after all, you’re the one who takes the credit for what is on there.

        Like

      5. I am starting to think all bloggers feel this way about their old posts. Maybe it is just part of the process. I think what feels best is to rewrite the post but leave a note at the bottom letting readers know it is a rewrite and leave a link to the original. This way my long time readers will understand what is going on when they see a duplicate. I do know that other bloggers have purged these old posts in order to repost them for fresh eyes. This just doesn’t feel authentic to me. I want my readers to take the good with the bad, and the ugly 🙂

        Liked by 1 person

      6. That seems like a good way of doing it and I think so many bloggers feel that way because we’re all improving all the while. That is what time and practice does, it helps us find our voices a little more clearly.

        Liked by 1 person

      7. Thats right! It seems silly I never thought of this before. Of course I would get better and be a bit embarassed by my initial efforts. New bloggers ought to be warned about this! 🙂

        Like

  19. Please check my blog and tell me if there is anything wrong in the format or if the you find anything hard to find. Also please like and share and anything else that you would like to do on my site.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. I’d suggest maybe developing your menu bar and having links that readers can click on to take them straight to the different categories such as book reviews and the like.
      I love your title by the way.
      Condensing your home page may also be beneficial. Showing only part of the post or choosing a theme that shows posts in a grid form will give your readers a better overall view of what you have to offer and make them more likely to click on some of the older posts.
      Other than that you just need to keep posting and interacting with other bloggers. Perhaps guest post on some food or book blogs.

      Liked by 1 person

    2. For the most part, I think your blog is nice. Easy to look at, and the visuals bring depth to your posts. The only thing I would suggest is perhaps developing a list of categories. That way viewers can easily navigate through your blog. I think you’re doing great though. Keep it up!

      Like

    3. The first thing that came to my head was: how do I navigate? There’s not much there for menus and the expanded content isn’t easy to go through to the next article, especially on a phone.
      The good news is that you have the imbalance that everybody else wants: great content, confusing format. I think 90 percent of writers would love for that tobe their biggest concern.

      Liked by 1 person

    3. The concept of your blog is nice. The visuals bring a depth into your posts. I think the only thing is perhaps it feels like there’s just a lot going on. It feels busy to my eyes. Maybe if you organized your blog to make it look more neat would help viewers navigate through it better. Other than that though, you’re doing great! Best of luck to you 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

      1. That is new, I appreciate it.
        Thank you for your advice. I have already divided my blog by different categories and added pages for fictions.

        I don’t know how to make feeds for each category. I’ll look further into it.

        Liked by 1 person

    4. Looks like a great blog! I noticed a post calling for guest bloggers. It was posted a while ago, but if you are still looking, I may be interested.
      Let me know and I’ll email you!

      Liked by 2 people

  22. Hello,

    I’ve been running a music blog for about 3 years now. It has come a long way, and I should have posted in here a long time ago, but I am always curious what other people think.

    Any feedback is appreciated! Here is a link to our most recent post!

    http://goo.gl/euPGyR

    Thanks

    Liked by 2 people

    2. I love it! Immediately fell in love. I wish I could find a follow button ):
      I also love music and the simplicity and structure of your blog caught my attention. The content of your posts are great too. Keep up the great work!

      Liked by 1 person

      1. Yea I could try to make abetter follow button on the page somewhere, I figure people want to follow on social media more so I spend more time focused on that, thanks for the feedback!

        Liked by 1 person

      2. Well the layout seems good. You may try out few other color schemes. Apart from that you can hide picture from your twitter feeds as they are the same as of your blog. So they are consuming unwanted space! In footer you have repeated “Follow via email” widget. You may either change it in sidebar or footer and insert other widget. I would advice to have a ‘gravatar profile’ widget in sidebar in place of ‘follow blog via email’ wherein you may display your profile pic too. Thanks and god bless

        Liked by 1 person

    5. I don’t know why people keep asking for the link; you can get to it by clicking on the user’s name unless otherwise specified. I like how it looks, but you do have some duplicate widgets. For example, your Tags are listed both on the right and in the footer. You also have Twitter and YouTube follow options in the right as well as at the top; I would recommend keeping the top follow buttons only for these.
      Great look. I don’t exactly speak German but I followed anyway. It’s easy enough to get a general feel of the post, and for the rest there’s Google translate and a friend who’s fluent in the language.

      Liked by 1 person

  24. Hello my fellow bloggers! I’d love some feedback on my ongoing series The Adventures of Ratha James (a swashbuckling female pirate story) and any other feedback you’d care to give! Thank you so much 😀
    The link to my blog itself is here: https://moonstonemaiden.wordpress.com/
    And the link to the latest installment of the Ratha James series is here: https://moonstonemaiden.wordpress.com/2015/09/27/the-adventures-of-ratha-james-part-twelve/

    Liked by 3 people

    1. I’ve only read the first instalment, so I can’t judge the whole series but anyway:

      I really like the premise, it was interesting and the character had merit. I was rather disappointed that it was as short of it was, I didn’t feel I had any chance to get involved with the story before the chapter had finished.
      While your description of England was rather amusing, I don’t think it actually added anything to the story at that moment in time.
      There also seems to be more focus on description, [which is lovely I’ll admit] than actual story development. It doesn’t seem to quite balance out.
      Also you sort of missed out a massive chunk of the English population who would most likely be awake during most daylight hours in the 18th? 17th? century. Farmers.
      Don’t get me wrong, you have my attention with this story, it just seems a little rough at the moment.

      Like

      2. Thanks for taking the time to read and comment! Length wise, the posts are purposely short (though they do get a little longer here and there), they’re not chapters or anything, just smaller segments so that readers aren’t forced to read one post for ten or fifteen minutes. And thank you for your compliments concerning my descriptions, though as for historical accuracy (farmers), this opening is supposed to be very tongue and cheek, very playful. This is just a very small teaser to a very large story. If you continue reading the segments I hope you’ll get more of my character and story development. Again, thanks so much for taking the time! 😀

        Like

      3. If tongue and cheek is what you wanted to go for then that’s fine. I think you could stand to be more adventurous with length though, especially for a first segment.
        I often find that most of the feedback I get on my short stories is that the readers want a greater depth to the storytelling. Especially on Headquarters which is a similar project to your own.

        Liked by 2 people

    2. I enjoyed your blog. Your writing is great and I encourage you to keep writing 🙂 Your latest installment is awesome and would love to see more. As a fellow writer, I give you the thumbs up to keep going 🙂 Best of luck to you!

      Liked by 1 person

    1. Love the blog and timely too! I will be running in the marathon on November 1st. Assuming I can still walk, I will enjoy some of the places that you have highlighted. I will share with our group too!

      Liked by 1 person

      1. Thank you. I don’t think I will be in the sidelines to cheer you on unfortunately, but I’ll cheer you on in spirit . I think I will be at WordCamp NYC. But good luck to you, I hope you place high. Yes it is very dependent on if you can walk.

        Liked by 1 person

    2. I loved it! I wish there was some follow button ):
      Your pictures are great and your posts even greater 🙂 I can definitely see the culture of New York at the same time, observe your thoughts and opinions. Definitely keep doing what you’re doing. If you could check out my blog as well would be appreciated. Any feedback is welcome 🙂 Cheers!

      Like

      7. I looked at your blog and I like it . It’s very clean and the writing is good. You seem to have a lot of interaction and you answer comments, which is very important. Not sure if you have anymore social media besides Instagram, but if you do please add. Overall good job and I like your “about” page very much.

        Liked by 1 person

      8. Thank you. This comment was very informative. It helps me know what I can improve on or what I’m already doing that is good.
        Yeah, I try to answer every comment as possible because more than expressing myself here on WordPress, my goal is also to build a community.
        As of right now, I only have an Instagram. I do have Facebook but it’s more for personal use. Perhaps eventually, if I build a bigger audience, I’ll make a different Facebook account. But for now, just Instagram and WordPress. Anyways, thank you! You are so kind 🙂

        Liked by 1 person

      9. You’re welcome . Anytime.And thanks for following me on Instagram. My suggestion is when you have the time , you could try a blogging course that WordPress gives. I love them, they’ve help me build my confidence and stretch my writing into different genres. There’s no pressure to finish and I meet great people, like you.

        Liked by 1 person

    1. Hi Cherylsmit. I love the way you write your travel blogs, which is different than most people do. You are writing them more as a story than as ‘travel tips.’ It looks good and I can’t really think of any feedback to provide at this time. Definitely going to follow you now though!

      Liked by 2 people

    2. Hey there, I’ll double what Robert said.
      I like the storytelling and stream of consciousness style.
      A story is much better to read than just a photo album of the same pictures that every traveler takes in Paris/Buenos Aires/Wherever.
      Have fun and keep going!

      Liked by 2 people

    3. I really liked it. I enjoyed your writing style. As a fellow traveler, all I can say is keep traveling! I think you’re doing great and would encourage you to keep up the great work. Cheers 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

    4. I just checked out your post, and I love the way you talk about your experience almost like a piece of fiction. I feel like I’m reading a snippet in a book (which I love). It immediately draws me in and makes me feel like part of the adventure.

      Liked by 1 person

  28. I’m looking for people to participate in my writing challenge. The point of it is just to take a moment out of our busy lives to write.
    This week’s prompt is if everything except you froze in time for an hour. What would you do?

    Liked by 2 people

  29. Came across a few comments asking for some feedback but didn’t has a link to their blog!
    Well, all those bloggers who wants some feedback on their blogs, kindly put a link of their blog as well. Else, no one will be able to get access to your blog.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. For most who don’t include a link to their blog, try clicking their username. About 90% of the time it will lead to their active blog, unless they specify a different address. For example, If I click your name, “R ‘I’ P”, it takes me to https://straightthroughheart.wordpress.com/.

      I still add a link to my blog because apparently some people just can’t be bothered.

      Like

    1. Less pink. It is literally like being hit in the face with pink. Apologies if that sounds harsh, I just really wasn’t expecting it when I clicked to take a look.
      Always focus on making your site easy to read and that doesn’t just mean the writing itself, but paragraphing, blog design and site layout as well.
      By the dates on your blog you’re fairly new so don’t worry about traffic too much right now, it takes a while to build. Work on creating content and interacting with other blogs. Write, read and comment. Eventually you will build a bigger following, but it will be slow.
      An about page is always useful as well.

      Liked by 2 people

      2. From what I’ve read, your content is very interesting (I read the first post…the one about Obi Wan). It’s very well written and kept me interested until the end. I think the overall look of the site could be improved. Adding a blog title and maybe a dropdown bar to help with navigation will help a lot. You could also add a sidebar with topic categories, or most used tags, or post categorized by date to make finding older posts easier for readers.
        Good luck with the blog (and online dating)! 🙂

        Like