Nov 23, 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?

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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).

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  1. Hello all! This is a post I put up when I first started a few months ago. I put it up because I needed to put it out there, but never really “advertised” or shared it to get attention to PUT IT OUT THERE because it is much different in tone than the rest of the site has become. The general tenor of my site is humor with a touch of sticky emotion and this is just pure, raw emotion. My request is twofold. 1) If you have a moment would appreciate a read and please leave direct comments about the piece on the post itself. 2) This is quite a departure from the rest of the work. I have more things of this tone, and some that fall in the middle, in my head. Does it dilute the site, make it stronger, or neither to change tone occasionally for something like this since it veers from the humor? Please leave those comments on this thread. Thanks so much!!

    30 Hours

    Liked by 1 person

  2. Hello all,

    Looking for feedback on my blog at livethehero.com, specifically when it comes to clarity of the intent behind the site. At the moment I’m looking for people to describe in a sentence or two what my blog is about, without prompting you at all about what I WANT it to be about…if that makes sense. I’m trying to determine if I’m conveying the mission of the blog effectively.

    All feedback is welcome! Thanks!

    Liked by 2 people

    1. First of all, looks like some really great stuff, I’ll have to check out the videos when I’m not at work.

      With that said, I’m only commenting on the text but it seems like what you want to do is this:

      Get people (esp. Men) out of their own heads and help them to start learning tactics that will help them lead a better life. You seem to want to redefine what a hero is, and help people become that.

      All in all, I’m really looking forward to your most recent video (seems to align pretty well with some of my own posts and future post ideas I’ve been cooking up) so a hearty “job well done” from me!

      Liked by 1 person

    3. Hi Anthony I’ve had look at your blog. Here is my one sentence description – a blog to provide support and encouragement to men, to challenge the stigma and stereotyping that men can experience and to give alternative outlook for men within society. I hope this helps. I really like concept of your blog and what you are trying to do. Men’s health and well being, in particular mental health is important but often over looked. Keep it up from Debra @ https://cultivatingtime.wordpress.com/

      Liked by 1 person

    1. Hi you’ve made a start, which is great. Can I suggest you do an ‘About’ page. It will give readers an idea what your blog is going to be about and tells people a bit about you.

      Liked by 1 person

    2. I agree with cultivatingtime’s comment. Another excellent piece of advice I got recently as a new blogger was to try to always add an accompanying image (where possible) and insert a “read more” line a sentence or two in. Happy blogging! Charlotte x

      Like

  6. Hey guys! I’m about a month into my blog now and am desperate for feedback on content and layout. I’ve started adding more blogs just about my life in general and want to make sure it doesn’t take away from my blog’s main purpose, which is following my journey of fulfilling my dreams of becoming a writer. Any help would be so greatly appreciated!! A follow would be awesome too!!

    Check it out! Thanks!
    http://7thtimesacharm.com/

    Liked by 2 people

    4. Hello! Thank you for sharing your blog with us! I followed it since I liked what I read so far (and am a writer as well!). Just a few thoughts/suggestions:
      -I didn’t read back to your first post, but I did read your latest post and your About page, and your About page doesn’t mention the meaning behind your blog name. Perhaps add it there?
      -I’m not sure if it’s my computer (a brand new Dell) or my browser (Chrome) or what, but the images in on your page won’t show on my computer, so I completely missed the spoiler alert on your latest post. Thankfully I’m not a Walking Dead fan, so I didn’t care about the spoiler, but perhaps check on the image format (and put *spoiler alert* in bold letters in the title of such posts?)

      I look forward to reading more!

      Charlotte x

      Liked by 1 person

      1. Thanks so much! Someone else suggested adding the meaning behind my blog name to my About page too, so I’m definitely taking care of that! I appreciate it! Also, did none of my images work? Or just the spoiler alert one?

        Liked by 1 person

      2. None of the images on your blog showed up — they were all replaced by that little icon that I think signifies a picture that can’t be shown for whatever reason. I haven’t noticed the issue on any other WordPress blogs, so I’m not sure what could be behind it. A mystery is afoot!

        Like

    1. I would recommend changing the color of your tagline – it’s hard to read the gray text on a black background. Making it white like your site name would make it easier to read!

      Also, just a head’s up that you have an error on your about page – “I am a young Christian who’s aim…”

      “who’s” is the contraction of “who is”. You want the possessive form “whose” there (I am a young Christian whose aim…)

      Liked by 1 person

      1. Thank you for your feedback! I will look into changing the colour – the theme has limited options so I will do my best. Thanks for noticing that grammar error – I will change it!
        Will check out your site now…

        Like

    3. I really love all of the photos on the main page! My only suggestion is to perhaps put the About link somewhere visible on the top of the main page, so that it is easier to navigate your blog. Happy blogging! Charlotte x

      Liked by 1 person

      2. I just checked our your blog and I noticed that your personality shows through a lot in your writing! It makes it so much more interesting to read and your post “Thanks, Dad” really cracked me up. 🙂

        Like

    4. First off I like the theme but for me, reading text in white on a background is difficult and it was hard to focus. I read your “To Believe is to Achieve” post and it was insightful and thorough. Quality blog 🙂 Just watch your length and be careful to not write excessively.

      Liked by 1 person

      1. Thank you so much for your feedback and kind words! I will have a look into what colour options are in the theme. Yes – I must be careful not to make the posts too long! Will check out yours now…

        Liked by 1 person

  10. Hi everyone!
    My blog is new-ish. Actually more than half a year old… But I just picked it back up in September and made some awesome progress in November.
    I made a challenge on my blog: https://piecemindblog.wordpress.com/2015/11/07/thanksgiving-november-challenge/
    And I started working on its design and posts.
    I love what I have so far and I hope you do too!! Please visit and comment on your favorite post so I can come check you out 🙂
    piecemindblog.wordpress.com

    Liked by 3 people

    1. Love your idea of the Thanksgiving November Challenge. Really pity I didn’t hear about it earlier, but I’ll be posting every week for the month of December for sure 🙂

      Like

  11. I write the sports blog https://soccertranslated.com, covering Mexican Fútbol in American English. The playoffs are about to start, which is usually a higher-traffic time for me, so I’d love some feedback on the layout. Is it easy to navigate? Are the posts easy to read? etc. Thanks!

    Like

    1. I love your blogs, could you do a blog about surstroming, it is a terrible fish and many people have thrown up because of it

      Like

    3. I love reading about experiences. That means I love your blog!

      I also like to write about my experiences and since I’m studying in a foreign country, I’ll be putting up a number of posts about the country I live in soooooon. Just have to find the time, lol!
      I’d appreciate your feedback on my most recent post titled International Cultural Day. Here’s the link: https://asyrafmutalib.wordpress.com/2015/11/23/international-cultural-day-at-psu/

      Thanks in advance!

      Liked by 1 person

  14. Hello Fellow Bloggers –
    I am also fairly new to blogging but I am really enjoying it. I’m particularly enjoying connecting with other bloggers, learning from others and finding out about other people’s lives.
    November been a really good month for me – I’m on a bit of a blog roll. I’m really keen to extend my network and meet new blog friends.
    Please check out my blog – https://cultivatingtime.wordpress.com/.
    All comments etc are really appreciated.
    I’m now going to work through everyone else’s comments here.
    Looking forward to finding new blogs to follow too.
    Thanks everyone
    from Debra @ https://cultivatingtime.wordpress.com/

    Liked by 1 person

      1. Thank you so much Charlotte. I am now following you too. I haven’t had the time to look at your blog in any detail yet but I promise I will soon.

        Like

    2. Read your post “The Quest for Happiness v Attitude Gratitude” and it’s scary how right you are. I love how you bold the parts that need to be emphasized, and the Winnie-the-Pooh picture is definitely the cutest! 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

    1. ive seen many of your poems, ive seen a couple of othere bloggers who do poetry, could you help them if you come by any of their sites? you are a very talented poet writer, I would recommend publishing them as a book

      Like

      1. absolutely! I try to visit the pages of everyone who visits mine, and I tend to click on anyone in these threads who says they do poetry. Share the love, you know?
        thanks for the good thoughts, what a compliment!

        Like

      1. Lovely thing to say! But we all have different styles and art inspires art – I read others’ poems constantly for inspiration. Thank you for reading, and may it inspire YOU! Keep the inspiration going!

        Liked by 1 person

    2. Your new theme is looking good!! I like how everything is easily found and accessible. The only thing that I would say is a tad bothersome is how the menu covers a third of the page (from my screen at least) when reading posts. I think it would nice to hide the menu while the readers are on actual posts and add side widgets(double check if your theme allows you the option though!). Hope this helps 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

    1. I have not played this game for a while, but wasn’t the traing of afterlife (pc download) some sort of tarot game? (demo is free to play)

      Like

  21. Hi, everyone. I’m Leona, and I just started a blog last week. In it I touch on subjects such as Mental Illness, Domestic violence, and varying other topics that have affected my life personally. There are MANY more people out there who have experienced these same things, and I am hoping that it might be helpful to know there is a place for them to go and connect with others. Now, this isn’t to say that the will be dedicated to serious topics. We all need a distraction, and a reason to laugh whenever we can, so I will post amusing stories, and much more. I encourage others to share whatever they need to get off their own chests.
    If we hold on together, we can make it out of the dark.
    Please, check it out. https://handsinthedarkblog.wordpress.com/

    Liked by 1 person

      3. lol Sorry about that, Sherry. Sometimes my fingers move faster than my brain. 🙂
        I offer a tiny, but REALLY happy face as apology ^_^

        Leona

        Like

    2. I thoroughly enjoyed reading your blog. I loved your post about Batman, being a fan of it myself. 🙂 (Might it be all right if at some point I posted a link to that on my blog? Let me know.) Your blog is a great thing, covering a very important subject. I look forward to seeing more content from you in the future! 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

      1. Thank you for taking the time to visit and comment. I am happy to hear that you enjoy the content that I am trying to deliver, and I am flattered that you would like to post a link to your own blog. I am more than fine with it.
        Thank you again!

        Like

  22. Hi all! I have just started my blog and it’s the sort of blog where I could do with requests on blog posts as its all about baking and with it coming up to Christmas I’d love to do some more themed baking but would like more followers and feedback first as I’ve only just set it up and I’m unsure whether to keep it going or not now:( please can some of you guys check it out? rachloux.wordpress.com I’d appreciate it so much!! 💛

    Like

      1. Welcome to WordPress! I certainly love the theme and color scheme of your blog, particularly the twinkle lights in the main photo. One quick suggestion is to add an About button that gives a little bio of yourself and says what your blog is all about. Also, the link above is faulty — I had to omit the wp-admin/ bit to get it to work.

        Happy blogging!
        Charlotte x
        https://girlygeekgirl.wordpress.com/

        Like

      3. You’re very welcome! I think for me the most helpful thing has been discovering other new blogs and just reading and thoughtfully commenting as much as possible. Look forward to reading more from you! x

        Like

    2. Hi
      I’ve left some comments on your blog for you.
      In my experience, I think you need to write more posts in order to attract followers. You also need to start following other people, make connections and build a network.
      The concept of your blog is nice. Maybe you should widen the concept though because it feels very niche.
      I hope this helps
      From Debra @ https://cultivatingtime.wordpress.com/

      Like

    2. The idea was cute but for me, it wasn’t interesting enough to keep my attention the entire way. There was too much dialogue and basically nothing happening. Since it’s a flash fiction, the beginning and intros should be skipped completely.

      Just my two cents!

      Liked by 1 person

  24. Hi everyone,
    I would like some advice with my site. I have a shop section in my menu and it is a direct link to ETSY. I would prefer to have my own shop as part of wordpress to stop so much linking and moving around for anyone interested in buying. Should I install the wordpress shopify; it is expensive?

    Like

    1. Hi Charlotte
      I’ve been looking at your blog. I love your sense of humour – some of your posts really make me smile. I started following you today. I’ve left some comments on your blog for you. I really like the post – Amateurism. Keep it up.

      Liked by 1 person

      1. Thank you thank you thank you for the kind and encouraging words! I’m glad my humor translates well on the Internet — that’s always a concern, making sure tone of voice carries over properly! I really enjoy reading your blog as well. I find it so inspirational and encouraging!

        Liked by 1 person

    1. I feel as though you attain an aesthetic focus in Paper Airplanes that is missing from Stop and Smell the Roses. You contrast the joy of togetherness against the pain of separation with good economy, which makes the poem bittersweet.

      That doesn’t mean you can’t practice both, though! Just two cents from a non writer. Hope it helps.

      Liked by 1 person

      2. More that all the content in Paper Airplanes was devoted entirely to that contrast between togetherness and separation. It’s one thing to feel happy being with someone, but when that happiness is undermined by the fear of their departure, it makes the primary emotion loneliness instead of joy. It’s the kind of bittersweet circumstance that real life is really filled with.

        The themes in Stop and Smell the Roses are interesting, but I feel they don’t coalesce into a single focus like the short poem. In the first two stanzas we have the forgetfulness that modern hustle and bustle brings, the existential uselessness of acquiring money we don’t need, and the fear of becoming too robot-like and machine-like in the modern age.

        That being said, I don’t think there’s a right or a wrong general approach to expressing yourself through poetry or that all poems have to be in service of a single theme. I just personally really liked that laser focus in the short poem. I guess my ultimate answer is that you should write both long and short poetry depending on how you are inspired in the moment!

        Liked by 1 person

      3. Oh I see now! I guess short poems tend to be more focused just because of that – they’re short. So yep, when I’m writing longer poems I tend to just write whatever “flows” or “feels right” and sometimes I might go off on a tangent and start writing about something else that’s not completely related. I do like the idea of my poems being focused though, so I’ll try to make my longer poems have a single theme too and see how that works out 🙂 Thank you so much for your feedback!!

        Liked by 1 person