Mar 14, 2016 / Community Pool

Community Pool

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).

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  • 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!
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  • 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.
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  2. I just started my blog in January of this year. I am still finding my footing, but decided on mainly focusing on reviews and my writings, as the title of the blog is called “A Writer Named Charley”. Any tips on figuring out a schedule for posting? I’m in school, so I can’t post everyday or read for a review everyday either. Thank you!

    https://awriternamedcharley.wordpress.com

    Liked by 4 people

    1. I am studying at school right now and managing my blog. When I first created it I felt really stressed.. I didn’t want my audience to lose interest if I wasn’t posting everyday. I have to come realize that posting everyday does not matter! If you make a great post the lasting impact will be about a week, that will give a huge variety people to read and keep up with your posts! Sometimes when I post a lot I notice people get bombared and do not read all of the posts. I hope this helps. Always remember that school should come first 🙂
      Be sure to check out my blog and let me know what you think!
      http://www.theadventuresofpeterandzoe.com

      Liked by 3 people

    2. Charley, don’t feel pressured to do a post every day. Decide what schedule would work best for you. Could you do a short post of one of your writings each week? If so, pick the day of the week that would be best. If you get some free time, you could even create several posts and schedule them for future release. That’s what I do. http://gracelead.co

      Liked by 3 people

    3. Hi. Nice blog, great use of widgets (twitter, goodreads). Don’t worry about a schedule but it may help you to set some guidelines. I tend to do a movie news post once a week (latest trailers, castings, in memory of…etc) with the aim of fitting in two posts in between. Try to find a regular feature you could do- a read of the week (recommended review which you do) for example would be a good fit and could even promote comments. Then fit in your own writings in between. This keeps you working to a loose schedule with no real pressure. Most of all, enjoy what you write. Good luck

      Liked by 2 people

    3. When I visit a new blog the first place I go to is the About page. I wold add one if I’d be you. You don’t have to go into too much details, you can keep it very short. Just a quick info about what the blog is about. You can always adjust it as you go, if you feel like it’s not right anymore.

      Liked by 2 people

    1. I really like the imagery of your post. It’s particularly touching and this is coming from someone whom generally dislikes poetry (mostly due to an inability to comprehend the medium).

      would you perhaps be interested in taking a read of my blog? I’ve only been here a few days myself and would appreciate all the advice I can get!
      scratchesandscribbles.com

      Liked by 2 people

      1. Thankyousomuch, I just went through your site and I must say I just fell in love with your writtings I have followed you just can’t stop myself from doing that. Good luck for your future.

        Liked by 2 people

      2. Thank you very much! I’m glad you like it!!!! I’ve been feeling disheartened from a lack of feedback and you are exactly what I need!
        I’ll be sure to part of your blog too as it grows 🙂

        Liked by 2 people

    2. You display name made me smile!
      Nice Layout, My suggestion would be to make the “Menu” & “Search” icons visible but if you left it that way intentionally, that is good too!
      Happy Blogging 🙂

      Liked by 2 people

  5. Can someone help and give guidelines that how do we form links in the blog so that when one presses that particular word it can be redirected to to other piece of work..
    Your help will be appreciated by me..

    Liked by 3 people

    1. In the WordPress Editor — where you create or edit a blog piece — there is an icon above your text that looks like an 8. Highlight the text you want linked, click the icon, then type in or paste in the link URL.

      Liked by 3 people

    3. During drafting, highlight the particular word then find the icon that looks like a chain. It should be on the toolbar, right beside the numbered list icon and the quotation icon. After clicking the insert/edit link icon, it should be easy from there. Hope this helps!

      Liked by 2 people

    6. In your editor, select the word you want to link. Use the icon that looks like a chain. It’ll bring up a dialog that allows you to enter the web address for the item you want to link to and the text to be linked (should default to the word you selected). You can also check a box to open that link in a new window (recommended), and you may see a list of posts from your blog – click on one of those if that’s where you want to go, it’ll save you entering the web address (URL) manually.

      Liked by 2 people

    7. Although I usually don’t know a lot of technical stuff about WordPress, this one I can help you with. All you want to do is make sure you are in your post editor or creating a new post and highlight the word you want to use as the link with your cursor. Then you are going to want to press the insert/edit link button in the toolbar above the text box. It is on the top level of the toolbar, almost looks like part of a chain, and when you scroll over it the words “insert/edit link” pop up. Once you click on that you can copy and paste the URL into the box that says URL, press the add link button, and you are done.

      Liked by 2 people

  6. Hi all,

    I’ve recently (today) started a blog to sort of open myself up more. It’s very raw and just documents a journey into finding and defining myself. Cheesy, I know, but would love a few readers to pop in and have a look. Any feedback is always appreciated. Thanks in advance!

    Liked by 6 people

      1. Thank you takethebis! I read Lesbians – I think you make a very good point succinctly and articulately. And rhetorical questions are always good to draw in the reader. The Metro does my nut too. Whatever happened to “news”?

        Liked by 1 person

    1. I like your content! Really fun to read. I would break up my longer paragraphs with interesting quotes or pictures. That’s just me. xx

      Liked by 3 people

    1. super cute blog!! I mean that in only the nicest way 😀 I am a follower! Love the tea post. Nice use of widgets you can change the amount and rows of instagram pics your widget loads. They seem small and I wanted to see more!

      Liked by 3 people

    2. Being a student myself, your blog is very engaging & resonated with me a lot – especially the tea post as I am a stereotypical British tea fiend! Your writing voice is great and I feel your emotion in every line.

      Liked by 2 people

  12. Hi everyone! I just started my blog this February for my semester project. I’ll blog about my own experience of living in Austin as a Chinese student, including my own story, Chinese culture like cuisine, and culture differences from the perspective of Chinese students. The blog is like my own baby, dying for feedback! And here is my blog https://siqisite.wordpress.com/. Welcome to check out my blog 🙂 I would love to check out yours as well. Thank you guys!

    Liked by 6 people

    1. I think everyone needs an Ikea ‘how to’ manual. Diary style blogs are always really fun to read, and your situation is so unique – a Chinese student in Austin! Good luck with it. By the way, the first image (where you click left, pause, and right) does not work.

      Liked by 4 people

      1. Thanks! It’s really difficult to get people to comment on my postings… Every comment is precious to me 🙂 It’s strange that the slide show doesn’t work… Anyway, I reedited the images. Thanks again!

        Liked by 2 people

    2. To help increase your visibility on WordPress and with search engines, I would recommend categorizing your posts, so potential readers will find them more easily. What a great way to improve your English, to start blogging! I spent four years living in China and though I have done my fair share of translating, it’s always intimidating to put my own words (in Chinese) out there for native speakers to read. Good job.

      Liked by 3 people

      1. Thanks for your feedback! Yeah, sometimes it’s difficult to put my ideas into English… And it takes me more time to polish my wording before posting on the blog. But I know I’m making progress in writing every time I’m struggling with words. I’ll categorize my posts right away 🙂

        Liked by 2 people

    1. Nice idea for a blog. The exploration of literature and language will appeal to so many people. I think more pics/colour might make your page pop a bit more – but I suppose us newbies will be lacking in the formatting department for some time. Good luck!

      Liked by 3 people

  15. I’m blogging for the first time and am trying to figure out some things still. I haven’t added many pictures. I know I need to but where do most people get theirs? Do they take them themselves or upload them from somewhere else? Just wondering I only have like 3 or 4 posts so I’m still getting used to this.

    Liked by 3 people

    1. On my blog I use a mix of my own photos and photos and art of artists I celebrate. Make sure to always cite your sources for work that is not your own, including a link to their websites. It would be especially helpful to artists and photographers with WordPress blogs if you were to use their work on your site and provide the links to their pages to increase their online presence. You can always search categories on WordPress to find blogs with images that fit nicely to your content.

      Liked by 2 people

    1. Nice layout, my only suggestion would be – if interested and if your layout permits to move the “Categories” and Recent posts menu to the side, so it is easily accessible and kind of gives an overview of your posts.
      Happy Blogging 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

    1. hey recommendedforyoublog, are you interested in feedback about the site layout and colors and such, or constructive criticism of your writing itself? I like the white text over black background, but it seems like it might hurt my eyes after a little while causing me to lose interest, but it is very striking.
      In the last stanza;
      “I stay in the middle. Away from the highs, away from the lows. The middle is my mask. The middle is what I let people see me as. Slowly I bring myself up out of the lowness that I have put myself in, and I cover up the guilt that I have made myself feel. I put a mask on to cover all the emotions that I think that I am feeling, but are really just figments of my imagination.”
      I really like the juxtaposition of varying sentence lengths, maybe split the last part into two shorter sentences and end on the note that you began, to leave the reader with THE message you wanted to convey? good work!
      -Sam

      Liked by 2 people

    2. hey recommendedforyoublog, are you interested in feedback about the site layout and colors and such, or constructive criticism of your writing itself? I like the white text over black background, but it seems like it might hurt my eyes after a little while causing me to lose interest, but it is very striking.
      In the last stanza I really liked the juxtaposition of varying sentence lengths, maybe split the last part into two shorter sentences and end on the note that you began, to leave the reader with THE message you wanted to convey? good work!
      -Sam

      Liked by 2 people

    1. I love your blog title! And congrats on being smoke free for a year, that’s a great achievement.
      Your blog is so well organised and you write about pretty interesting topics (I don’t know much about homeschooling), it’s a nice read! 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

    2. Funny and random, your perspectives will be appreciated by your peers and cause reminiscing among those of us who remember the funny banter of teenage friends.

      Like

    1. Welcome to WP! I just checked out your blog. I really like the theme and color scheme you’ve chosen. I read through your most recent post and found it well written and entertaining. So it looks like you’ve got all the right ingredients for a great blog! I would say just try to find fellow blogs that you want to follow, and start clicking around from there. I personally found that the best way to get myself out there as a blogger is to read, following, and comment on others’ blogs.

      As for catchy headlines, I like to write my posts first, then look for a single phrase within the post that sounds intriguing.

      Hope this helps!

      Charlotte
      http://girlygeekgirl.com

      Like

    1. I think the length of your post is a good size, especially since you are reviewing 3 games. Also, breaking up the text with images and subheading definitely helped make reading your post easier. Great post!

      Liked by 2 people

  30. Hello all…greetings from Australia. I love this idea of sharing our blogs, seeking opinions and having feedback. I recently joined a group of bloggers who send out a random sentence which we have to finish. It’s amazing to see how varied our approaches are to the sentences but comforting to see how alike we are as humans…all feeling alone in our day to day issues when in reality we all face similar problems and emotions.
    Take a look at my blog. It is mostly about HOPE. I love feedback as my sad little post titled SHREDDED HOPE will tell you!
    Cheers and happy, rewarding, blogging. X
    Kimbawhite.wordpress.com

    Liked by 1 person

    1. I like your writing. I can see why your teachers encouraged you. Overall, your site’s appearance is pleasant. You might want to push the small amount of text next to your graphic so it goes underneath it with the remaining text. It looks odd scrunched up next to the graphic. http://gracelead.co

      Liked by 1 person

      1. Thanks paminatOR. I really struggle with the techno side. Even trying to get the ‘widgets’ in order is beyond me!

        Like