Jul 25, 2016 / Community Pool

Community Pool

Have you just published a new post and are dying for some feedback? Are you redesigning your blog and could use some layout or design advice from your more seasoned peers?

The Community Pool is for peer feedback and advice. Looking for more specific information? Check out some of these resources:

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).

Looking for free, self-guided courses to help you get started with your blog (or revive a dormant one)? Check out our current offerings at Blogging U.

To help us make the Community Pool a productive space for discussion, here are some tips you might find useful:

  • 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!
  • 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.
  • If you haven’t looked at our Commenting Guidelines in a while, now might be a good time.
  • No running on the deck.

Are you a new blogger looking to share your very first post? We have a special forum for bloggers just like you in our weekly First Friday posts.

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    1. I thought this was amazing! One thing I would say to be even better is engage your audience more, maybe ask them a question at the end? Overall, loved it and gave it a like xo

      Liked by 1 person

    3. Hey, it’s from the heart, what is there to say? It is interesting that a serious, introspective blog post (a quick sweep of a couple of other posts show that this isn’t always the case) is on top of theme that looks like the lining for angel food cake, but now I’m just being picky. But hey, you don’t have to be so heavy on yourself as a ‘relatively’ new blogger – you’ve been on for most of 2016 thus far. Chin up, you’re more veteran than you think!

      Liked by 1 person

      2. You sure? If you’re trying to be more comforting to the reader, the pastels are a good idea. It’s not like you’re posting something that sounds like it came out of a Panic! At the Disco album or anything, no?

        Liked by 1 person

    1. Just checked it out — add some images! 🙂 They’ll add color to your posts and break up the text a little.

      Would you be willing to check out one of my posts? Click on my name and choose whichever one appeals to you most 🙂

      Like

      1. When i first wrote it, it was just suppose to be that post but now i feel like continuing it. So, yeah. I guess it is a “to be continued” story.

        Like

    1. Only issue I have is with your background colors. White words on a black background could be hard to read for people with vison issues. I’d recommend brightening up the colors if you so choose.

      Liked by 1 person

      1. I’ll have to look at options on color of print. No sense in having something that is hard to read. Thanks for the comment. I appreciate the feedback 😀

        Like

      1. Thank you. I’m working toward submitting a post apocalyptic story. I have never really attempted one before of more than a 100 words. So this is wetting my feet. ☺

        Like

  5. I’m logging off for a bit, but if you review my blog (www.natalieschriefer.wordpress.com) I’ll definitely review yours 🙂 Cheers, fellow swimmers!

    Liked by 2 people

  6. Hi all! I’ve just started blogging within the last month. I really don’t know what I’m doing, I love just to write. My biggest goal is to spread awareness about medical conditions and other things that don’t get a lot of attention. I’ve had two posts get lots of views when they were shared in the medical community on Twitter. But I like to write a lot so I post daily. Is that too much? I don’t really know how to make my site good, so is it appealing to readers? Let me know what you think!
    https://ribbonrx.com/

    Liked by 1 person

    1. “Too much”? It depends if you post as you feel or you post on a schedule. If you post as you feel, then it depends on your content. If you’re just posting one-line posts and/or just one link many times a day, it probably comes off as spamming (you should see what it does to a Reader feed – blargh). Since by ‘write a lot’ in your case actually means ‘writing substantially’, I don’t think your followers would feel negatively about an update from you.

      How to make it better – I don’t know, since I imagine you’re going to be posting quite a lot as you say you do, is there an easier way to access your other posts? What if someone may be interested in something that isn’t on your “Recent Posts” list. What about a popular tags list if there is such a thing? (I have no idea if there is – I’m rather new myself)

      https://scicasual.wordpress.com

      Like

    2. In my opinion, there is no such thing as “posting too much.” It’s your blog. You can post as much or as little as you’d like.Adding a tag to your posts may help get it spread around WP. Also, participating in Daily Prompts and Discover Challenges gets your name out too.

      Liked by 1 person

    3. I think it’s so cool that you don’t let anything hold you back from traveling. You rock! I think your blog will be an amazing resource for those who have dreams of traveling, but concerns about their mobility.
      Would you be willing to check out one of my posts? I would appreciate any feedback. Click on my name and choose whichever one appeals to you most. Try one of my travel posts (look at the “Travel Tales” page). Maybe you’ll get ideas about where you want to go next. Thanks, and keep traveling!

      Liked by 1 person

    2. Hey!
      What a great blog you have. I really enjoy your sense of humor and the new features you have are gold. Your blog is definitely unique. Your latest inspirational quote means so much to me. I’ve never seen a quote that so clearly articulates my purpose in life. Thank you, and I am now following you! Check out my blog about thankfulness, authentic living, and satire at: https://wondersinthewind.wordpress.com/

      Like

      1. Hi Michael, thanks for your very kind comments. I’m always interested to discover great blogs and especially those that explore life, psychology and the human condition.

        Liked by 1 person

  14. Hi everyone! Your local bookworm here!
    I just updated my “About Me” page. I’m hoping to get some feedback. Before it had a very business like feel to it so I hope now it’s a little more personal. There was a lot of changes. Please let me know what you think 🙂

    Who I Am

    Liked by 2 people

    3. Hey Elizabeth! I love book blogs because I am also a fellow book lover. And I totally get the difficulties that come with trying to write less professional-esque and a little more friendly. For me, part of the trouble is I get a little shy and self-conscious when I think about writing for an audience. So sometimes I just pretend to be only writing for me, or having a conversation with a close friend. I find my personality come out a little more and the words flow a little easier.

      My only suggestion is that your intro seems a little long, you could consider trimming it a little and adding links to some of your best posts to get your readers started.

      Best of luck to you.

      https://crystalperks.wordpress.com/

      Like

      1. Yes! I get a little nervous and then start writing as if it were an essay and not for fun. I become detached from my writing which makes me feel like “who’s gonna want to read that?” I love the idea of writing like it’s a conversation 🙂

        Thank you so much for your advice 🙂 I’m really glad you told me and now I can go back and make it better! I will definitely think about the links and probably add a few just like you said.
        Thanks again!!!

        Liked by 1 person

    1. What an original concept! I really like how you have pictures of Blue at all these cool travel spots. I like the look and feel of your blog — simple and elegant. One thing — have you considered adding a subtitle so that we know right away what this blog is about?
      Would you be willing to check out one of my posts? I would appreciate any feedback. My posts about travel are here: https://cheerupmimi.com/travel/ Thanks!

      Like

      1. Hey! Thanks for the suggestion Mimi! I’ve tried a subtitle but it really looked silly with the current design so I updated the description in the sidebar to (hopefully) make it clearer.

        I see you’ve traveled quite a bit but the only place I’ve seen that’s on your list is Beijing. I’m gonna have to check out your other posts to see where I could go next 🙂

        Like

    3. Petra! I love this! This is like the blog I want my blog to evolve into. I think the design is clean and ties well together. The only thing I would change is making all the images within your posts a tad bigger–but I’m also partially blind and study photos more than necessary. Seriously, so cute and clever. Keep it up!!

      https://crystalperks.wordpress.com/

      Like

      1. Hahaha, thanks Crystal! Actually you can (or should be able to) click on any of the photos in the posts and it takes you to the original so you can see better. Maybe in the future I’ll write it somewhere in the post or make it clear when you hover over the picture.

        Liked by 1 person

  17. Hi guys!

    If you’d like to read some good old personal blog combining lifestyle, inspiration and opinion posts, come discover my blog. If you leave some feedback, I’ll happily return the favor!

    By the way I’m taking a blogging break for the holidays so if there’s any topic you’d like me to cover when I’m back I’d be happy to work on it!

    Happy blogging! x

    welcome

    Liked by 1 person

  18. Any opinions, comments and other constructive criticism on agirlsvoyageblog.wordpress.com would be very much appreciated – thank you all!

    Liked by 1 person

  19. I’d like to share my weekly poem “Sister Morning Glory,” and invite anyone and everyone to read it. This poem has a deeper, darker feel to it, ad I think I found the perfect image to go with it. Please leave any likes/comments/feedback on the post page. I post a poem every week. If you like it, please follow for more. Thanks in advance for reading.
    Drew

    Sister Morning Glory

    Liked by 1 person

  23. Blog

    I have tried my hand at writing a long blabbing blog and I would love some feed back as to if maybe it was too random or scattered. I would also love if you were to maybe read a few other of my posts I have been experimenting with a few different writing ways and would love to know which way is more pleasing to read. warning I am still learning ho to write I am not the best.

    Liked by 1 person

  26. Hello everyone! I just posted a new poem about summer and would love to know what you all think of it. As always feel free to check out my other poems and crafting posts! Thanks!

    Like

    1. Hey, I know you put a disclaimer at the end but the post reads very much of “hey, take drugs, they’re great” while ignoring adverse side effects especially since there have been deaths attributed to LSD use recently, most famously musician Nick Cave’s son at the end of last year.

      I love the rest of your blog and have followed it for a while, I’m just not sure if this post is balanced enough or even what its purpose is if not to promote the use of a drug that it is illegal to possess in a lot of countries.

      Liked by 1 person

  28. Hi everyone! I’m a part time nomad who runs a travel blog; I just posted thoughts about leaving home, as I’m headed to university soon. It kinda explains the weird feeling of leaving a place you call home whilst identifying with being a traveler. Thoughts on that and my blog in general would be appreciated immensely; let me know your blogs so I can return the favor! Cheers xx

    https://www.unexpectedoccurrence.com

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Hello,
      I like your blog a lot. It’s cool to post your travel bucket list. I think you cover a lot of topics around travel, and your blog’s layout is very easy to navigate. I enjoyed your post about your visit in Amsterdam. I stay there for three weeks a while back and absolutely love it there! I think the feel of your blog does a good job of connecting your travels with your life, which is different than some other blogs that are purely about travel. Keep up the good work! Check out my blog about authentic living, thankfulness, and satire at: https://wondersinthewind.wordpress.com/

      Like

  29. Hey guys! I run a blog about being a Navy girlfriend so if you are in a long distance relationship, a military relationship or just want to give me any advice I’d love to talk!

    hisfirstmate.com

    Liked by 1 person

      2. I know this perhaps isn’t the most useful comment, but I 100% agree with paminat0r! From reading about you I think you’re probably speaking to people who are already believers, in which case I think the posts are well paced.

        Liked by 1 person