Feb 29, 2016 / Community Pool

Community Pool

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

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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    4. help, this subject is closed, my problbem will not get answered; i can’t upload emotes onto my blog any more, i don’t understand how to fix this; i am not a techie, i’m an old lady, please help!! no one will connect with this, its all closed!!! p[lease, in instructions, what do i do, simply said?? thank you.

      Liked by 2 people

    3. I really liked your posts – especially about 16 year olds not being allowed to vote. I have followed your blog. One thing I would maybe suggest is to try to add in some more arguments which are evidence-based rather than just anecdotal/your opinion. I agree with your opinion, but I just think it would make the arguments stronger if you also had some quotes or statistics in there.

      Liked by 4 people

      1. Thanks for the feedback, I agree with what you are saying and I am doing a bit more research into my next post. I think with these two I got a bit carried away with my opinion and forgot the evidence. Sorry about that, it will improve as I wrote more ( or that’s what I’m told!).

        Liked by 2 people

      2. Hey, don’t apologise buddy! 🙂 I really liked the posts. You will get better as you write more! I have only been going for a month and I can tell my writing has massively improved. I compare my two political posts – David Cameron Insists Muslim Women Must Learn English (https://ramblingofanarcissist.wordpress.com/2016/02/06/david-cameron-insists-muslim-women-must-learn-english/) and Jeremy Hunt Imposes Contract on Junior Doctors Without Their Consent (https://ramblingofanarcissist.wordpress.com/2016/02/14/jeremy-hunt-imposes-new-contract-on-junior-doctors-without-their-consent/). Written within two weeks of each other but the Jeremy Hunt one is FAR bettet (imo). I’m learning too 🙂

        Liked by 4 people

    4. The first thing I noticed was your tagline…’The News According to Me’…hilarious! I laughed at that (in a good way).

      I must admit that I didn’t read your posts because I’m not into politics that much. I don’t like my own country’s government, so I don’t think I would enjoy reading about anothers’.

      You blog looks good overall, and I gave you that ‘cheeky’ like because of your brilliant tagline.

      🙂

      Liked by 4 people

  3. YOUR support would mean the world to me! Hi, my name is Mark. I am weeks away from the very daunting task of releasing my debut psychological thriller to the world. I need as much support as I can get so please do stop by and check out my blog if you can. Each and every follower has a huge part to play in its success. After all, where would writers be without their readers? Take care and thank you. I will hopefully hear from you soon. Mark
    http://www.markdraycott.com

    Liked by 9 people

      1. Hi there! Thanks for stopping by. Your support means a lot. Hey, I’m only across the Pennines so understand life in the north! I’ll check out your blog. Take care and thanks again. Mark

        Liked by 3 people

    4. I gave you a like and am following you because I can’t wait to see your blurb on your new novel! I enjoy the thriller-type genre of fictional novels, so yours sounds right up my alley. I look forward to seeing what your novel is about.

      Best Wishes 🙂

      Liked by 3 people

      1. Hi Melissa! Thank you for stopping by and for following! Your support means a lot. It’s been some journey so I can’t wait to get it out there! Thanks again, Mark.

        Liked by 2 people

      2. You’re very welcome and I will!! I’m also currently writing what I hope to be a book eventually, it just depends on how the story turns out!!

        Liked by 3 people

      3. That’s great to hear! I like the way you say that it depends how the story turns out. Writing is not necessarily about the planning but more about the ability to let the imagination change that plan. I am definitely what they call a ‘pantster’. I will only plan so far ahead making sure I allow my story to change along the way if it wants to. Good luck! Mark

        Liked by 2 people

      1. Sorry to let you down with my lack of Bake Off appearances! 😉 Glad you enjoyed the post, it seems to have brought back a lot of memories for people.

        Liked by 2 people

    1. I just sent a message in the chat area.

      I’m on my mobile so I can’t give an overall opinion but keeping the live chat before categories and recent posts would be better, in my opinion. Categories and recent posts are usually viewed only after the speacial additions, it’s kind of better that way.

      Liked by 4 people

    1. I really enjoyed it! It’s a great reminder that change isn’t always a bad thing, and if we embrace it and take that leap of faith, we may just discover something great!

      Liked by 5 people

    1. I read this on your blog a few days ago, It is amazing, I think I commented on it on your bog, not soppy or melodramatic at all, very real and beautiful. She is a lucky woman to be loved like this! nice job. Michelle

      Liked by 4 people

    1. I like that you’re so real and open in your post. So, I’m guessing that your blog is sort of like an online journal where you can express yourself and vent your feelings?

      Liked by 3 people

      1. Just keep writing, don’t stop because you are not happy with your style or what you have to say… just keep writing and you will always find something of value in everything you write and start with that. I am interested to follow your work… Namaste, Michelle

        Liked by 4 people

    2. Hi Fai,
      I really enjoyed going through your blog. Your layout is very pretty and elegant. What really drew me in though was your writing. Your writing has a very personal and introspective feel. Which is something I can definitely appreciate. As a fellow writer, I’m going to give you a follow 🙂 It would be awesome if you could take a look at my blog as well! Thanks in advance!

      Liked by 3 people

    3. I checked out your site because well I am looking at people’s sites to see what they look like and things they write about. Yours was really cool. I just started mine a week ago. I have no idea what I’m doing I’m just kind of playing around with it. Your blog is something I envisioned for mine. I just want to write. I am following you for that purpose not because I’m a creepy WordPress stalker.

      Liked by 3 people

      4. I love your layout! I haven’t seen one like it before. I like that you can scroll through the posts and pictures. I read “Mythwater” and it was really good. I especially liked the final line, “brimming breaking sanguine surface tension.” Beautifully written.

        Liked by 2 people

    2. Hello! I love your blog! I took a look around and read a few of your poems and it’s great! I encourage you to keep writing 🙂 One thing I’d suggest though is if you could make an about page. That way, people can better understand your work and connect with you more personally.

      I wanted to give you a follow, but I couldn’t find the follow button. Perhaps if you could comment back, I can then follow you that way?

      Liked by 3 people

      1. hey! i did just notice that the follow button is hard to find with this theme, oops :0 but thank you so much for reading!!!

        i have an about page drafted, coming soon! thank you so much for everything 😀

        Liked by 3 people

  15. I have been blogging awhile and sometimes I feel like what I write is worth reading. Not always to be honest, but I think some of it is good. I would love some feedback. My blog is entitled Barely Right of Center and I right about my faith, politics, and leadership mostly and sometimes just random things that come to me. Please take a look and comment on what you see.
    Thanks!
    http://kevindeisher.com/2016/02/29/leap-of-faith/

    Liked by 6 people

  19. Hey guys! I write about everything from abuse to feminism to living with chronic pain. I know it’s a wide array of subjects but above all else I write about my life and this is what I know. I would LOVE any feedback or advice (even on my more personal posts) so if anyone can offer any it would be MUCH APPRECIATED!!

    MisfitSpirit.wordpress.com

    Liked by 5 people

  20. Hey! I’d love some feedback on my newest post about how I find J.K. Rowling inspiring. My goal was to make it not only inspire people to follow their dreams, but to be entertaining and funny. I’d love to know if you thought my post did these things. Let me know what you think! 🙂

    J.K. Rowling Inspiration

    Liked by 4 people

  21. Hi everyone,
    I’ve just posted my latest ‘writing update’ post and I would greatly appreciate some feedback. If you’re a writer, aspiring author, or you just enjoy reading these kind of progress posts, please check it out. Let me know your thoughts in the comments if you want. Feedback is an essential part of blogging and I am always grateful to receive it.

    https://infinitedaydreamer.wordpress.com/2016/02/22/writing-update-progress-and-regret/

    Thank you 🙂

    Liked by 6 people

  22. Ever looked at a photograph and had a piece of music come to your head? Something that seemed to fit the mood, the weather, or the season of the photo? That is what my blog, Soundtrack Of A Photograph tries to do, through my own photos and the music that I love. Have a look here. Suggestions and comments always welcome!

    Photo Shuffle-The County Fair

    Liked by 5 people

    1. Right away I am more attracted to your post here because you give a clear picture of what you do with your blog. It would be overwhelming to check out all of these ‘community pool’ posts, so I generally skip over the ones that don’t introduce the content of the blogs. As a musician and music fan, I like your idea.

      Liked by 4 people

      1. your dishes always look so very good. I have a question. How does one “reduce” white wine into a sauce/ I have heard the term before but have no clue just what it means. Suze

        Liked by 3 people

  24. Hey everyone, I’ve recently begun hosting a creative writing challenge called Three Line Tales. We’ve already become a supportive community but the more, the merrier, right? If you’re looking for inspiration and like writing micro fiction and/or micro poetry, come and have a look: https://sonyca.wordpress.com/2016/02/25/three-line-tales-week-four/.

    If you’d rather wait for the next one, new prompts go live on Thursdays just after midnight GMT – follow #3LineTales in the Reader if you don’t want to miss it.

    Cheers,
    Sonya

    Liked by 3 people

  25. Hi everyone I’ve been blogging on and off for a while now for school but am looking at continuing blogging once I am done. This is an educational blog I have created for myself. If I could have some feedback on the designs, posts and what to include for an e-portfolio from experienced bloggers, that would be phenomenal! Thank you so much for the help!

    https://breasblog1.wordpress.com/

    Liked by 3 people

    1. As one photographer to another I think you already know the answer I’m going to say? Black & White is always better 🙂 The absence of colour, especially in particular image’s bring’s out much more feeling’s from the photograph. I’ve always found colour more a distraction than a useful tool in photography.
      That being said I like the colour images of yours too.

      Liked by 3 people

    2. As an amateur photographer, I must say that your work is inspiring. Sometimes I get a feeling to give up on it but blogs like yours definitely help me to want to continue. So thank you. I will be giving you a follow!

      As for your question, I personally like both. I believe some of your shots were meant to be black and white, but some were meant for color. Like for example the pictures of the waves and ocean you took looks best with color because it brings out the vibrant beauty of it. While the sand one and the debris of a tree looks very good in black and white because it provokes a specific mood that is fitting to the image.

      Liked by 4 people

      1. Hi John. Thank you for your feedback and kind remarks. And remember, if you look at your photos and feel like they don’t measure up, consider that for all the great photos you see the photographer probably has a lot of not so great ones he or she didn’t show you.

        Liked by 3 people

    2. Hello! Your blog is absolutely awesome, I liked it so much that I’m now following it. Your writing is fantastic and the pictures are great. Great job!

      Liked by 3 people

    3. Love it.
      Your layout is just stunning. It definitely suits the theme of your blog. I personally love traveling and so I just had to give you a follow. I’m still quite an amateur with the whole traveling thing but it’s something I want to definitely do for the rest of my life. If you could take a look at my blog as well, that would be super appreciated!

      I look forward to seeing more of your work 🙂 Cheers!

      Liked by 2 people

      1. Hey there!! thank you so much 🙂 I checked out your blog too. Its really cool I love the theme 🙂 I’m soo new to the blogosphere – only started 2-3 weeks ago. Im glad I found your blog!

        Liked by 3 people

  28. hey gang,
    I am currently on my third day as a blogger. I am a high school math teacher who is working on a PhD in psychology. I have started a blog that combines Jungian Dream Work and teaching high school math. My first blog was about who I am and the second is about some experimental teaching. I am planning on doing one on some deeper psychological stuff. Could someone take a look and maybe tell me a good direction to take on this, like more psychological, more teaching philosophy or more practical, etc. Thanks in advance.

    Liked by 3 people

  29. Hey everybody,

    I recently posted on my blog I really do appreciate everybody who commented and liked my other posts. God Bless you all!!! I will continue to write what God brings to my heart. You all Stay Blessed & Stay Encouraged 🙌🏽🙏🏽💃🏽!!!

    https://spiritualbluejay.wordpress.com

    P.S. I’m looking forward to reading you all’s posts on your blog as well 😃!!!

    Liked by 2 people

    2. Your blog is very beautiful and inviting and your posts are thought provoking. The only thing I suggest you change is your statement regarding people making comments. I’d suggest you take off No Need To Fill Out The Information Below/ and then say something that welcomes comments.

      Liked by 3 people

  30. Hi, just started this blog – wondered if anyone has any feedback on layout? Or tips on how to keep readers interested in other blogposts?

    My most successful blogpost was about sexism in science, I’d love to have some feedback. 🙂

    Liked by 3 people

    2. Hello @essentialvitaminsea . I like your blog. Try looking for a layout that fits best for your pictures. Go to themes and click free themes and choose from there or just type colors, pictures, menu bars, and backgrounds. Whatever fits you will fits your readers. Pictures are a big one and a colorful background to get the readers attention lol. Oh and one more thing try making your posts shorter on the front page so when they click on it they can see the full post. Remember this is your blog you can do what you can to it.

      Hope this helps.

      Happy Blogging!!!

      https://spiritualbluejay.wordpress.com

      Liked by 2 people