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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  3. Hi guys! “Self Stance” is my brand new blog. It’s all about lifestyle, fashion, tips, sport, photography, cinema, music, etc! It embraces a little bit of everything. I would love to receive some feedback and also follow similar. Come take a look, please: https://joanateodoro.wordpress.com/

    Liked by 2 people

    1. I would suggest adding photos to the individual blog posts..for example the post on the Disney dances could have benefitted from a pic of one of the disney characters. you can find photos and pictures to use on the google images site…most are free to use, just attribute the photos to google and all is good. Be sure you tag your posts with appropriate search terms…like for the Disney dance one…use the tag Disney in the add tags slot of the editor. You could also use terms such as “dance instructions” or “cartoons or dance moves and they would work well in a search. hope this helps. you, of course, don’t have to do any of this…hope it helps. your writing by the way is just fine as it is. http://www.suziland.net

      Liked by 1 person

    1. Use categories to sort your posts. Tag your content better. Use 8-12 tags so that people can find you online, e.g. Ney York Giants, American Football, Eli Manning, Sports etc.

      Liked by 1 person

    1. I was an Inbound Marketing Consultant in my last job. Re length of posts – 250-750 is the sweet spot. It doesn’t need to be ‘War and Peace’. Most importantly though, it needs to be optimised with the right key words in the right places to find its target audience and rank highly on search engines. Research which keywords your target audience is looking for.

      If you’re interested, I wrote about this in a series of articles here – http://aidanjreid.com/2015/01/19/how-to-get-more-followers-in-practice-part-1-of-3/

      Liked by 2 people

  10. Hey everyone
    I do studies on Christian apologetics and I started a blog last month, with the hope to sustain my readers’ attention by capturing moments within the concept of God. Please review my site deiprofundus.wordpress.com and kindly offer corrections and suggestions; I’m hoping to apply them. Thanks family, I appreciate.

    Liked by 2 people

    1. I enjoyed your post, “Lostness, the Maze.” I hadn’t heard of Myles Monroe, but thoroughly enjoyed the quote. My site is a combo blog/website for biblically-based leadership. On it, I have a page of downloads for book summaries that you might enjoy. http://gracelead.co

      Liked by 2 people

  11. Hi..trying my hand at blogging..require honest comments pls…a free hug for everyone who helps!! 24andhappy.wordpress.com

    Liked by 3 people

    1. check out your blog site..your 24 post is on the front page four times. This could be due to the theme you have chosen, or it could be a glitch somewhere. try playing around with different themes (most are free to download) and see if it makes the extra posts disappear. Happy blogging and don’t let all those crying people get you down. http://www.suziland.net

      Liked by 1 person

      2. Sure, I am happy to be of service –
        Tags – https://wordpress.com/support/posts/tags/
        Basically – Under Publish, click on “Blog Posts” and all the published posts will show up on the right.
        Click on the post you want to tag and that post will open in edit mode, Now click on the left where it says “Categories and Tags”.
        Within the box labeled tags, type in whatever word you like and hit enter, You can add any number of words, just hit enter after each word. Once complete, be sure to click on and “Update” 🙂

        For updating the About page – Same as before now, you will click on the “Pages”.
        You can either add another page which will appear under your Menu on the site or on the rightside, click on “About” page and start typing in the content section and be sure to “update” once complete.

        Thank you for letting me share and Happy Blogging 🙂

        Liked by 1 person

      3. Sure, I am happy to be of service –
        Tags – https://wordpress.com/support/posts/tags/
        Basically – Under Publish, click on “Blog Posts” and all the published posts will show up on the right.
        Click on the post you want to tag and that post will open in edit mode, Now click on the left where it says “Categories and Tags”.
        Within the box labeled tags, type in whatever word you like and hit enter, You can add any number of words, just hit enter after each word. Once complete, be sure to click on and “Update” 🙂

        For updating the About page – Same as before now, you will click on the “Pages”.
        You can either add another page which will appear under your Menu on the site or on the rightside, click on “About” page and start typing in the content section and be sure to “update” once complete.
        Here is the article on updating pages –

        Liked by 1 person

    1. You write about some very deep things that most people (at least in American culture) want to sweep under the rug. No one wants to hear about the Satan inside of them or the spiritual battle which is the root of all of the outward horrors we see in the world. But we must acknowledge the spiritual realm if we really want to make any ‘progress.’ Good work.

      Liked by 2 people

  14. Hi there, I’m new to blogging and started my blog in January. I’d love it if you could please have a look and let me know what your thoughts are:
    whatudidntknow.wordpress.com
    Thanks!

    Liked by 2 people

    1. Hi 🙂 I think you have some great and well-written posts, and I like the design of your site. However, I got a bit confused as to what the blog is really about. It seems too broad – chemo, healthy recipes, and buying a house doesn’t go together for everyone so I would suggest that you narrow it down to a more focused topic. E.g. healthy recipes (with a more sustainable twist, perhaps?). And then you could always start another blog about being close to someone with cancer, or whatever else you’d like to write about. All the best!

      Liked by 1 person

      1. Hi there, many thanks for reading and for your feedback. I appreciate where you’re coming from. I’ve debated about this for a while and have read other bloggers opinions on this. It seems like there are many people for it and others against. So for now, I’ve decided not make my blog a niche blog 😉

        Liked by 1 person

  16. Hello friend.. i started my blog yesterday and posted on it also, And sent link to my friends on their gmail. But we are not so much tech savy, no body could read my post other than me. well by some miracle, my one friend replied to it, but how other can do so?:)
    if any body interested in reading my essays than it is-

    FORTUNE FAVOR THE BOLD

    don’t forget to answer my query.. Thanks in advance.. cheers..

    Liked by 2 people

    1. it very well could be that your friends are using a phone, tablet or some device other than a computer to see the blog. I am on a pc and can see it fine. I checked with an iphone and cannot see anywhere to post a comment.

      Liked by 2 people

  17. I’m a single mom in my early twenties, and an aspiring comedy writer. I’m trying my hand at entering the blogging community and it could get interesting. Looking to connect with other writers, parents, students, lovers of breakfast foods, etc.

    Liked by 3 people

  19. Hi all. I’ve just started writing in the hope of making sense of some recent changes in my life. Looking for catharsis through self exploration. Yes, it’s indulgent, but hey, it’s a blog!
    I have a specific question; on my most recent post I imbedded an YouTube clip of a song. I’ve no doubt that the song is important to the post, but I’m concerned that the big, eff off screen shot might destroy the aesthetic. I don’t want it to distract from the content. Any suggestions?

    Liked by 2 people

    2. Since you put the clip at the end, I didn’t find it distracting or that it ruined the look of your post. One thing that did occur to me is that you could shorten the introductory piece about the car. The back story of how you got the car doesn’t seem necessary to your story. You could delete all but the first sentence in the first paragraph and add that sentence to your second paragraph. The way the beach story unfolded and how you reacted to it was excellent. http://gracelead.co

      Liked by 1 person

      1. Thanks for the input. I think you’re right about the first paragraph when the post is viewed independently (which I asked you to do) but perhaps makes more sense when absorbing the context of the blog as a whole. In my first post I spoke about my recent marriage breakdown, so this is likely to be a recurring theme. It’s not my intention to post standalone vignettes. But your point is well taken. As an independent piece of writing the back story is superfluous. Thank you.

        Liked by 2 people

    3. I agree with Paminat0r, in that since the clip is at the end of the piece, it does not distract from the content. The story was a good portrait of a beach day and I like your use of coloring details (Buddhists, fish and chips, etc.)

      Liked by 2 people

  21. Hello everyone,
    I have just started my blog 2nd Star to the Write and would really appreciate some feedback on my posts! I’m also looking for new subjects to talk about so any advice on that would also be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

    Liked by 3 people

    1. I enjoyed your post “You Look Fabulous Today.” Compliments do make me feel awkward. My latest strategy is to say, “I’m glad you think so.” Somehow that conveys thanks without agreeing with their assessment, which, as you said can appear that I think I deserved the compliment 🙂 Someday, I may graduate to being able to just say, “Thanks.” http://gracelead.co BTW, your “secondstartothewrite” moniker makes me smile.

      Liked by 1 person

    2. I love it! You’re an excellent – and very funny – writer and I’m already looking forward to reading more from you.
      I don’t really know if you need advice but just in case you haven’t thought about it: Remember to stay (somewhat) focused, at least in the beginning (until you have a good and stable amount of followers). If you write about too many different subjects, it all becomes a blur and no-one will remember a thing in the end. Also, creating a facebook page and sharing posts there as well as linking through twitter is a pretty good way to get more readers.
      Personally, I hope that your focus will stay within the realm of ’21st century female’ as I think we are in desperate need of more bloggers who are critical of the general discourse, stereotypes and (mis)representations! I wish you all the best and am excited to see what you come up with 🙂

      Liked by 2 people

  22. Hello, I was actually trying to find the answer to this yesterday. Apparently, there is an option under the Site Settings -> Discussion -> “Users must be registered and logged in to comment”. Have a look if this is unchecked or not. Might be worth a try?

    Liked by 2 people

  23. Hi everyone, just started my blog analysing Arsenal matches. I currently work in sports broadcasting and creative content but some followers wouldn’t go a miss! Please feel free to follow my blog and I will follow yours 🙂

    Liked by 3 people

    1. Followed! I liked the look of your site, make sure you take some time to update the “about” and “contact” page as they can give a reader a human interest in your writing. Kieran, QPR fan! 😁

      Liked by 1 person

    2. Not a football fan, well not in the way I was as a youngster, and certainly not a Gooner, but I really like the look of your blog. It’s slick and professional looking, the minimalism make’s it nice and uncluttered and the image’s are high quality. One thing I will say though is the about page has sample text showing “this an example of a post…etc etc” and the contact page is just blank.

      Liked by 1 person

  24. Hey guys whatsup!!! I desperately need some feedback for my blogpost found here— http://medicalbong.com/how-to-make-a-bong-out-of-a-bottle/

    Again, not the whole website, just that post. I’d like to know what you guys think of the header image, too low quality? and the general post layout as well as if the information is good!

    THANK YOU VERY MUCH

    since this already has so many comments, you can email me at scottmcroft@gmail.com or reply to this comment if you want!

    Liked by 2 people

    1. I honestly don’t know why you don’t have a bazillion followers. your recipes are great, i really like that plan with the sticky notes. are you tagging your posts? can you post the blog to social media, like fb or twitter? your blog is clean looking, the pics are good. maybe just comment in the pool on other people’s blogs and they will start checking out your site and following along. that’s what i am going to do. http://www.suziland.net

      Liked by 1 person

    2. I think you have some very good things going for your blog – especially the recipe section! However, unlike Suze, I don’t find the pics very appetizing. Try editing them more, playing with contrast and saturation in particular. Also, since your recipes are great, I think you should give them more space on the home page so that it becomes clear that you’re not only giving tips on how to plan the menu but also how to cook it 😉 Finally, I agree that you should try getting followers by sharing to facebook etc. and commenting on other blogs. Best of luck!

      Liked by 1 person

      1. Thanks, huskmingnu
        I agree that the pics aren’t great. I don’t even know how to play with saturation. Shoot, I don’t even know what that is! Can you steer me toward a simple site that explains it?
        How would you suggest giving the recipes more space on the home page?
        Any suggestions are much appreciated.

        Liked by 1 person

    3. You should vamp up your photos/ include more!! (:

      I just browsed your sight really quickly. My favorite part was your recipe section but I really think much like a menu at a restaurant or a commercial on TV really nice images of the food would get people’s appetites going and really up your game!

      If you were able to provide each recipe with a cover image of some sort you could hyperlink those images to your posts and you could also use those images to create pins on Pinterest!! That would totally draw in a slew of followers…people are always looking for new recipes to try on Pinterest.

      good luck! (;

      Liked by 2 people

    4. I really liked your blog. Loved your recipes and your blog was easy to navigate through. I really liked the idea of your meal planner and using sticky notes to move meals around to suit. I’m new to this so not sure if i’ll be much help, but getting out there and reading and commenting on other blogs may help get traffic to yours.

      Liked by 2 people

  28. Hey!
    Recently just started a blog and I’m trying to incorporate all of the things I like to do but not put my whole life out there!

    So far, book reviews seem to take up my blog, is that something that interests many people? Eventually, I will post about my travels and interesting places that I go to, but reading is a big part of who I am.

    I ramble, but any feedback is appreciated!

    Thank you.

    Liked by 2 people

    2. Hey Norelle (assuming thats your name aha). I for one enjoy reading book reviews, I have read yours and while they do seem a bit short they are straight to the point, which could be taken as good or bad, idk. It would be a great idea to keep up the book reviews, but that is just coming from one human. Also, do you only read e-books? Just curious.

      Liked by 2 people

      1. Thank you for your reply! Norelle is my name haha. It’s funny that you mentioned the length, because I always cut them back thinking they are too long – but I will keep them up. Sometimes I read actual books, but I am guilty of being a techie and read mostly on my iPad. Thank you again for your feedback, much appreciated.

        Liked by 1 person

    1. I’d suggesting building up your portfolio – offering to write articles for local newspapers. That probably wouldn’t pay very well but at least will bring you the connections you need to start a career with freelance work.

      Liked by 2 people

  30. Good morning from Australia 🙂
    I’m very much new to this blogging business and I decided to write a sort story series to garner interest. There’s four parts out right now and the story is called Asymmetry.

    I first showed it to my sister and she told me it was the worst thing she’s ever read from me 😦
    That was pretty disheartening and since I’ve received no other comments I was hoping on some other feedback
    Thank you!
    http://scratchesandscribbles.com

    Liked by 3 people