Nov 9, 2015 / Community Pool

Community Pool

The place for advice, feedback, 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?

Did you just start blogging and you’re not sure how to get going? Has your blog been dormant for a while but you’d like to give it a jolt of life? Join our free Blogging 101 course (or any of our other offerings at Blogging U.).

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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    4. 2 years?
      Congrats to you!
      Your blog is cool, my advice is to add some more widgets and make it more lively. The most important thing is it should represent you no matter the look

      Liked by 3 people

    12. Love your writing style. Loved the article suicide and I comepletely agree with it.
      Its a neat setup you have there. crisp and clear. Its funny you completed 2 years and me 2 days 😛 Theres not much there to judge yet but any feedback and suggestions are welcome. 🙂

      Like

  2. Howdy!

    I’ve recently written about the importance of writing, and the awesomeness of language and words.

    I would be truly humbled if anyone took a read of it and it gave them some sort of boost to get them writing. That would be so lush!

    http://thisstuffisgolden.com/2015/11/09/why-the-magic-of-writing-will-never-die/

    Also – I am going to update the look of my blog, as it looks a bit moody. But if anyone has any other feedback on it that would be much appreciated.

    I’ll do yours if you do mine! 😉

    Thank you muchly.

    Liked by 12 people

    1. Gave you a like because your post was great, and your about page had me laughing. I don’t know if I would be so quick to change the look of your blog. What specifically were you thinking of changing?

      Liked by 3 people

      1. Just the colour scheme – it’s all a bit black and moody. Have had a few comments about lifting it up to reflect the tone of voice..?
        And thank you for the lush compliments!

        Like

      2. I don’t mind the black because I think it is balanced by the other color pattern, but your header shot does get a little lost with the black maybe. I just used the adjuster on the color bar until I found the color I liked (blue) and then tweaked it until I found the right shade of it. You might find it still works as a different shade of black. Otherwise I wouldn’t be too concerned 🙂

        Like

      5. I enjoyed your post – you seem to feel the same about words as I do! I particularly liked the exercise on changing the voice inside your head – it inspired me to utilise writing techniques more to change the feel of a piece. Thanks! I might suggest breaking up paragraphs a bit more – in this day and age we are always rushing so people tend to skim through large chunks of writing and miss the good bits.

        Really good!!

        🙂 Loony

        Like

    2. I replied directly on your blog, but for ease I said…

      As for the look of the blog, I like it, less is more and all that.

      As for the post. I like it, it was humorous for sure, although the poetry.. I very like like or get poetry.

      Liked by 3 people

    3. This is such a lovely, funny and beautiful post, which truly made me realise the power of words. I’ve followed you and am looking forward to reading more of your posts! (Also left a comment on your blog:))

      Graciellen xx

      Liked by 4 people

    9. Very nice! I majored in Writing, so I feel ya. Personally, I don’t mind the “moodiness” of your theme, but it does feel nice to update. Maybe a theme that’s similar but emphasizes your writing? Good luck!

      Like

    10. i LOVE “What are you? A Sheep?” and the blog post was great and i just generally think you have a good thing going – the blog is a little dark and i know with mine [dark purple] people have said that on some devices they can’t read it so that is worth thinking about but i would not change too much cos it’s really great for what it is..

      Keep on and thankx for sharing
      love brett fish

      Liked by 2 people

    11. Haha I love that you’ve said it’s moody and we have exactly the same colour scheme. I haven’t figured out how I want mine to look yet either, very hard. That being said I really like your writing style, your personality really shines through and I like it. You got a follow from me, any feedback for myself is greatly appreciated 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

      1. Ha so we do. Thank you for the lovely compliments! I would say that inserting the Read More thing when writing your posts is a good tool to use as you get more click-throughs that way, plus the home page looks a tad neater.
        Are you taking part in NaNoWriMo?

        Like

      3. You should! Even if you start late… Doesn’t mean you can’t write a load of awesomeness for the rest of the month. 🙂 I am currently 11k words behind schedule. Oops.

        Like

    12. Liked the article. I dont think its moody at all. It looks good actually ( but well if its time for a makeover and its time for a makeover!) but honestly I quite liked it.

      But then again Ive just started mine 2 days ago so im new to the game. Theres not much to go with but if you find the time any feedback or suggestions are welcome. heres my page http://www.urbanexpatgirl.com

      Liked by 1 person

  3. Good afternoon bloggers, Mark here! I’d firstly like to say a massive thank you to those that have given the time to provide feedback on my blog. My first novel is almost finished and the feedback on my front cover release has been fantastic so far! I need all the help and support I can get so if you would like to stop by and check out my work so far, it would be a pleasure as always to hear from you. Take care guys. Mark
    http://www.markdraycott.com

    Liked by 9 people

    3. Congrats! I know you haven’t finished it just yet but you’re almost there. The cover photo for your novel is great as well! I took a look at some other posts and I think you’re great. You have natural talent and I wish you all the luck in the world!

      Liked by 1 person

    4. Its a beautiful cover and the title is so interesting. It looks like a book I would pick at a glance. Great job there!

      Ive just started my blog 2 days ago and feel so stressed, I cant imagine you with your book almost releasing. Good luck! and hoping it tops the charts!

      If you do find the time you can chexk my blog. like I said its fairly new but any feedback or suggestions are welcome. here it is http://www.urbanexpatgirl.com

      Liked by 1 person

      1. Hey! Thanks for stopping by and for the great, positive feedback. If you can ‘follow’ then fantastic. I need as many people as I can. I’ve just had a look at your blog and it’s clean, informative and your posts are very positive which I am a big fan of. If you can, create a easy to navigate menu. So have a short but sweet ‘about’ page, ‘contact’ page. These will be the pages that get a lot of views. I believe you can also put page breaks in your post so instead of showing the full post, it gives people the option to click on ‘see more’. From what I’ve heard, people prefer that to have to scroll mountains of text to find what they are looking for. Lastly, ‘community pool’ is a great place to get your views up and keep posting! Thanks again and take care. Mark

        Liked by 1 person

      2. ‘Followed’! I’ll stay updated with your book! Thank you for all your constructive feedback. I’m gonna work on it all. 🙂 Yea this place is amazing the community pool! Ive got so much feedback and encouragement already.

        Liked by 1 person

    2. I like the way you started off writimg the review and how you point out “it brings everyone together” I love all forms of art for that.

      I’d like to know if you had any suggestions or feedback for me too. Ive just started 2 days ago, theres not much I know but knowing if im going on the right track or not helps. heres the page http://www.urbanexpatgirl.com

      Like

  5. Hey all! So I’m just a young self-published author, trying to get the word out concerning my novella series. Being a self-published author is super hard, especially when money is tight.
    I’m about to release the next book in my series, The Golden Lands, and I would love to see if anyone is interested in my story. If you’re not, that’s okay, but just give my series a shot. That’s all I ask.
    Please check out this post to see where I’m going with my story as of now: https://thegoldenlands.wordpress.com/2015/11/08/sorry-for-the-short-notice-volume-4-will-be-published-on-tuesday/

    Thanks for being awesome!
    Aul (Dominic)

    Liked by 9 people

  6. A little while ago I wrote a review of an album, I am looking to get some feedback in terms of the readability of the review (regardless of if you have heard of and/or like the artist/album).

    It has been a long time since I wrote a review and when I did them before it was on movies which I think is a whole different animal to reviewing an album.

    So does the review explain itself adequately, if you have never heard of this artist/album before does it give you a good idea of what to expect MORE IMPORTANTLY when you clicked on a link to listen to at least one track did the words of the review correlate with what you actually heard. Ie was my description accurate. I wanted to give more emphasis on how the tracks make me feel or what I visualise when I listen them, I thought that a valid way to do a music review.

    Is there anything missing that you would like to see?

    (for the record I think a review should be like a starter at a restaurant) not too big to spoil your main course (the main listening) but enough to whet the appetite).

    HYDROPONIC GARDEN | CARBON BASED LIFEFORMS

    Also I wrote a post which was a bit of a fun post on creating an album cover, sadly only I and one other participated, I would love to see others peoples creative efforts, this post is at…

    THIS ONE TIME, IN BAND CAMP

    Liked by 5 people

      1. well that will add some life to the post I am sure.

        I remember I did one a long time ago. it looked superb but I cannot find it anywhere.

        thanks for resubmitting

        Liked by 1 person

    1. I already follow your blog haha but I think your photos are absolutely spectacular! I love your header and theme as well, it all looks really clean and smooth and nice 🙂
      Graciellen x

      Liked by 1 person

    3. Followed. Clean theme. The pictures with the crystal clear reflections make me want to go there right now. Can’t wait to see more pop up in my reader.

      Liked by 2 people

    1. Try the daily prompts from word press. Or search the web for daily prompts. Write responses, even if they are short or bad. You don’t have publish, but often just writing something will get the juices flowing.

      I have found that following other bloggers that write about varied subjects and commenting on their posts will often lead to an idea for a new article on my own blog.

      Liked by 3 people

    2. I read articles in my blogging niche. I take notes in Evernote. When I need a topic, I pull out my Evernotes. I plan in advance on my editorial calendar.

      Like

    3. Looks great! Keep up the great work. Your content is captivating and your layout is clean and concise. As for getting over writer’s block–I usually go for walks. I happen to write at night and so whenever I get stuck, I just take a night walk. The cool air, the silence, and just looking at the sky really helps me. I don’t know if that will help you though haha. I wish you the best of luck my friend!

      Liked by 1 person

      1. That sounds like a cool way to get your mind clear! I do love walking, although perhaps I use it for different reasons.. Haha..

        Thank you for the complement! And beat of luck to you too!

        Liked by 2 people

    1. Hello!
      I’ve had a little look on your blog and I really like it! I love the way you can see all of your posts in kind of squares on the home page if that makes sense? I’m looking forward to reading more of your posts 🙂 Followed!

      Graciellen x

      Like

    1. Love the pictures!

      As to gaining followers: follow others and comment on their posts. Interesting comments often lead to others checking out your blog. Also, commenting on Community Pool posts – check out blogs, make comments, give suggestions- will often lead to those bloggers following your blog.

      Keep writing quality articles and they will follow.

      Liked by 4 people

    3. Hello!
      I loved going through your blog! It screams “adventure” haha. I’m glad to see you experience and explore much of our world. I encourage you to keep doing what you’re doing 🙂
      In terms of generating more publicity, I’d recommend perhaps linking your facebook, twitter, instagram, etc accounts to your blog. That way when viewers visit your blog, they can also see that you have other social medias and then vise versa. Your followers from other social media sites can follow your blog. Hope that helped! If not I’m sorry haha.

      Liked by 1 person

    4. An easy way to get the word out would be promoting in social media sites. I’ve had a lot of luck with Instagram. Especially since yours is action-packed, and Instagram might be nice! You can add hashtags to help new readers encounter your site. You can also add an Instagram widget to your side bar so that your followers can keep up with you!

      Liked by 1 person

      2. I don’t know if they work the same way. I see other bloggers use them as tags, but I haven’t seen a difference in views or visits from using them. That would be a great question to ask one of the people who run WP. Sorry I’m not more helpful!

        Liked by 1 person

  15. Surprisingly Non-Sarcastic Happy Monday everyone! For those who know me, you’re already wondering who spiked my coffee. (No one, I swear) I’m Leisel from Skill Up Skillet, a weekly updated geeky food blog. Saving my feedback request this week; I’m currently working on a drastic overhaul to a few pages that I’ll be happy to release next week.

    Today I’d just like to share with you my recipe for Mississippi Quantum Pie, as Fallout 4 is coming out tonight at midnight. There’s still time to bake! Really, I should know, I’m bringing a batch to GameStop later. >_>

    Recipe: http://skillupskillet.com/2015/11/05/fallout-4-mississippi-quantum-pies/

    Oh, I know. Anyone who knows anything about elevator pitches… link me your related blog post(s)! I need you!

    Liked by 7 people

  16. Hello lovely bloggers!

    I blog over at graciellen.wordpress.com and I would love some feedback on my blog 🙂

    I will be sure to return the offer!

    Lots of love,
    Graciellen xx

    Liked by 5 people

      1. Awh thank you ever so much! That’s so sweet of you 🙂 I had a look at your blog and have followed you, it’s so cute and quirky and nerdy haha! I’ve followed you by email as I couldn’t find a way to follow through WordPress, so I don’t know if you would want to include a WordPress follow button on there? Sorry if you do and I have just missed it haha! 🙂 xx

        Liked by 2 people

    3. Your comment is quite comical and witty haha. I felt compelled to take a look at your blog because of it and I’m glad I did! Your poems are very captivating and the visuals you use definitely bring depth into your posts. I love all your categories as well. Keep up the great work and I wish you the best of luck!

      Liked by 2 people

    2. I like your intro article. You definitely want to add an About page. Maybe use the intro article there for now. Many folks go straight to the about page when deciding whether to follow someone.

      Don’t put too many widgets on your front page. Keep it clean and easy for folks to navigate. Using custom menus is a good idea once you get lots of articles up.

      Good luck!

      Liked by 4 people

      1. Completely agree! I mean I’m just starting mine up and it’s been a little dead for a while but an About Page is a must, and trying to maintain a schedule is important as well! Whether that be a weekly or every three days kind of thing! 🙂

        creativeandchaos.wordpress.com

        Liked by 4 people

    5. So far so good!
      The only thing I’d suggest is if you made an About page. Eventually your “Introduction” post will fall deep into the ocean of posts that will come into the future and people won’t be able to see it. That’s why making an About page is so handy because it’ll always be accessible to your viewers. Also, this way, people can better understand what your blog is about and who you are as a person. I hope that helped. I wish you the best of luck 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

    6. As people have mentioned, About page for sure!
      I’d also suggest taking WordPress’ Blogging 101 course. In terms to getting your stats up, you gotta network and comment/like on other blogs.
      P.S. I love that purple colour on your blog!

      Liked by 1 person

    7. Looks good so far! Definitely agree with other comments: your About page is very important. We want to know all about the writer! Also, if you’re thinking about writing and posting regularly, establishing a schedule is helpful. Good luck and have fun!

      Liked by 1 person

  20. Just wrote a post about using google to find content for reluctant readers. Would love to hear comments, feedback, etc. “Nail Polish and Baseball bats: Googling for Content with your Students” “http://www.mindsparklearning.com/nail-polish-and-baseball-bats-googling-for-content-with-your-student/

    Liked by 5 people

      1. You mean my avatar or the link I put in here? Since I have the word press . Org (or . Com–I get them confused) at any rate, since I have the self-hosted website, it’s not quite the same as most people taking the class and writing stuff, so my avatar doesn’t go to my website. Does that make sense?

        Liked by 1 person

      2. Avatar is fine but it directs to homepage. The link to that post is not active, can you remove the quotes.
        For now you have to copy and paste the url instead of just clicking

        Liked by 1 person

  24. Hi everyone! Soundtrack Of A Photograph is about pairing music with my own photography. I have a new series of short blogs called ‘Photo Shuffle’ where I let my Ipod choose a song for me to write about. The newest one is about Street Art and the song ‘Clampdown’ by The Clash-

    Photo Shuffle-Clampdown

    Let me know what you think!

    Like

    1. I love the way you pair photography with music..! The combo is unbeatable indeed.. I’m a photography enthusiast myself, though the main theme of my blog isn’t photography.. But, I have a weekly feature on my blog called the Friday Flash, where I post pictures taken by me on various adventures of mine..! Do have a look if you can spare the time..! Once again, great blog 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

    2. Hey! Tbh I don’t particularly like the layout…the design but I see everyone else does. I love how you have a story with each of the songs and how easy it is to listen to them from your post. Good job!

      Like

  26. Hi Friends! April from The Honest Root, here! I write about sustainable living, giving back, promoting positivity in our lives.
    I’d love your feedback on
    – how my blog looks – the photography, the colors, the feel of the blog
    – the writing – is it engaging?
    – any thing you think I could do to help drive more traffic to my posts 🙂
    Thanks!!
    http://www.thehonestroot.com

    Liked by 4 people

    3. Hello April,
      I love your blog! The layout is very clean and elegant. I had no trouble navigating through your blog! I love all the social media links and the categories they were great. The contents itself were captivating as well. I encourage you to keep doing what you’re doing 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

    3. Wonderful pictures, especially for being an amateur. I also really liked your guide-style food post about the seafood in Barcelona.

      Liked by 1 person

    5. Hi, I am also a travel blogger so I was drawn to checking out your blog. Your blog has a good layout that’s easy to navigate. Great contents as well.
      I would like to add that the pictures in posts are a little not arranged or aligned properly- just to improve on organisation.

      Liked by 1 person

      1. Thank you so much for letting me know! For some odd reason all my pictures in my posts have been messed up so I’ve been trying to fix it.
        Could you please let me know which specific posts are are whacked up, greatly appreciated!!

        Like

      1. Thank you! It is a Philosophy blog through and through, with the occasional poetry. It’s just lately that I’ve been writing more of the latter. I’m very, very shy about it. If it weren’t for a more or less anonymous blog, I don’t think I’d even publish it! Thank you for dropping by!

        Liked by 1 person

    3. I really like you layout. It’s clean and dint have any problem going by. I actually really liked how it looked! I really liked your oldish kind of poetry too. Good job! 😉

      Liked by 1 person

      1. Thank you! I do try to make my blog as reader-friendly as possible, and so I made it as minimalistic but inviting as possible. I like your assessment of my poetry as “oldish”. I actually found it really funny! Thanks again!

        Liked by 1 person

      2. Your welcome! And that’s great! I don’t mean like offensive oldish I mean like Shakespearian kind? Haha you get it right ? Right? xD Your welcome! Hey! It d be great to have some feedback on my blog! How do you think It is? I write poetry too btw 😉 thanks! Cheers!

        Liked by 1 person

      3. No no, I wasn’t offended! It’s an incredible compliment if anything I write reminds you of Shakespeare. I can’t dare to believe it, but I deeply appreciate your generosity. Of course, I love Shakespeare and many other classic English poets, and it is impossible to not be influenced by them when making something of your own, isn’t it?

        Liked by 1 person

      4. Oh yes! That is so true! You are awfully modest xD But I do! I am sorry for the late reply my wordpress is acting really weird! I am inspired by them too! So which are your favourite poets?

        Liked by 1 person

    1. Making an instagram account that has a photo post a link to an article helped myself and co blogger! By having an instagram account you and follow a whole bunch of people and by default they will check out your instagram to see who you are and what you are about and if there is a link in your bio it increases the chances of individuals following through and checking out your blog!

      Liked by 2 people

    3. Okay, here are few suggestions from me:
      1. Create an About Me page and introduce yourself to the reader
      2. Categorize your posts, add tags to them also
      3. Use the More tag after a paragraph or two in your post
      4. Attach a picture, or pictures if you want to, in your posts. They enhance the beauty of a post

      Liked by 3 people

    4. I would suggest participating in Meet and Greets. Someone will likely post about a Meet and Greet that you follow. Don’t be afraid to jump in and leave your link. Make sure you read others’ too though.

      Liked by 1 person

    6. Look for communities of writers and bloggers that are similar to your blog’s theme. Also, Instagram. Yes. Another piece of advice, which I took from WordPress writers, is to edit your post’s slugs. This makes it easier for your site and posts to be accessed in a search.

      Liked by 1 person

      1. Getting your blog out there for others to see is tough, and what you have done in the community pool is great. I found my way to your blog. 🙂 From using tags, I have had a fair few bloggers find me through search engines. Wish you all the best! 🙂

        Like

    7. Hi,
      Your blog seems great. I think the only thing you would have to do to increase traffic on your blog is perhaps using more tags in your posts. Even linking other social media sites can also help besides Instagram. Maybe a Facebook page or even a twitter can help. I wish you the best of luck!

      Liked by 1 person

    5. I loved your blog! The pictures are great and I love all the categories. Your layout is very clean and I had no trouble navigating around. Definitely giving you a follow 🙂 I wish you the best of luck!

      Liked by 1 person