Oct 31, 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? 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 and guidelines 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, as well as for not starting numerous threads in a single Pool.
  • 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. Also note that including multiple links in your comment might automatically put it in the moderation queue, which will delay its publication.
  • 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. Yesterday I posted a brand new book tag that I have created, there’s lots and lots out there but I went for something that I hoped was original looking into what are favourite book genre is. It won’t be for everyone but if anyone’s a reader who checks this post out you may like it and even want to give it a go: https://thetattooedbookgeek.wordpress.com/2016/10/30/the-this-is-my-genre-tell-me-yours-book-tag/

    Liked by 8 people

  2. Here’s why you don’t need a Halloween costume this year…

    You Don’t Need to Wear a Scary Costume to Be Monstrous This Halloween (You Are Monstrous the Way You Are)

    My latest post is not new, but an old favorite of many of my readers and quite appropriate for Halloween. I believe some posts can be timeless, and old bloggers who have been around for a few years can treat newer readers with insightful bits and pieces from an archive that otherwise they would not be able to easily discover.

    So, how about you check my latest post while I check yours?

    Liked by 8 people

    1. Just stopped by. Fabulous article, and congrats on getting Freshly Pressed! I normally try to leave suggestions for bloggers, but you don’t seem to need any, so I’ll share an anecdote instead: a friend of mine raises chickens for eggs, and when she goes on vacation, I take care of them. Spending time with them as animals — as pets — always makes it difficult to eat chicken again when I’m done chicken-sitting. It’s not something we think of on a daily basis – the treatment of chickens and their fate as our food – but it’s hard to ignore when faced with that. Reading your post reminded me of this, though I haven’t chicken-sat recently.

      Would you be willing to look at one of my posts? Click my name and choose whichever appeals to you most 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

    3. It’s strange, but I agree with Isobel, I kept thinking, “Why am I reading this?” but I kept reading. Maybe it was the sensation that I was getting a glimpse of another person’s self-talk that kept me going. Or, maybe it was the comfort of knowing that my life is not the only dull one out there 🙂 https://gracelead.co

      Liked by 1 person

    1. Just stopped by! Nice content, good use of images. My suggestion: use fewer tags and categories. You can use 15 total before WordPress blocks your post from Reader and new readers can’t see your posts 😦 Looks like this post has 17 total. Maybe omit “Wordpress” and “wonderful”?

      Would you be willing to look at one of my posts? Click my name and choose whichever appeals to you most 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

    1. Just commented. Congrats, and nice content! 🙂 My suggestion: maybe include another image at the beginning of the post to break up the text a bit more. It can be a picture of you, a map of the area you ran, or a stock image with a quote or image of a runner (or whatever suits your fancy). Blogging is a very visual medium, and images draw the reader’s eye in!

      Would you be willing to look at one of my posts? Click my name and choose whichever appeals to you most 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

      1. Thank you, and thanks for the tip too – it’s something that’s in the works. The issue is I don’t have a camera in Germany and I’ve ordered one to my English address, so I’ll get it in December haha. I trawled around your blog a little bit and to be honest you write in a way I could only dream of. My only criticism is one I’d have for most blogs which lies in my desire to have everything ordered perfectly. If you could find a way of making your “pick a topic, any topic” link more obvious/more attractive I think it’d be better.

        Liked by 1 person

      2. Aww, thanks for the kind words!

        Hmm, not a bad idea. Perhaps I’ll play around my theme a bit and see what I can do. I like the idea of it “popping out” more.

        If you go to a site like Flickr, you can search a keyword and filter the results by “creative commons.” Many of these images are free to use as long as you give the poster credit on your blog (like in an image caption). Might solve the problem until you have your real camera? 🙂

        Like

    1. I checked out your review of Shadow Divers because I read the book sometime ago. You have presented a fair and balanced review with enough information to entice a new reader without spoiling the narrative of the book.

      Well done,
      Ω

      Liked by 2 people

    1. Just commented! Nice story. I liked the crucial role played by the pub sign — you didn’t emphasize it too much and it worked beautifully. Awesome! My suggestion: try to filter out “to be” verbs. (is, am, are, etc.) These are weak verbs and don’t lend any power to your writing. Compare the following sentences:

      “Suddenly there’s a click and a long, razor-sharp blade flicks out”

      versus the one without “is” — “He flicks out a long, razor-sharp blade with a click.” OR even “He flicks out a long, razor-sharp blade.” These versions are stronger but very nearly say the exact same thing!

      Would you be willing to look at one of my posts? Click my name and choose whichever appeals to you most🙂

      Like

      1. Hi Natalie, I replied to your comment on my blog. Thank you for that! Regarding your comment, on a flick knife you press a button and the blade flicks out. No one actually flicks it out. So I prefer my original sentence! But interesting point anyway.
        Yes, I’ll have a look at your blog later tonight. Thanks again for the feedback.

        Like

  10. Hey Everyone!!
    I’ve have been blogging for quite a few months and it’s been a great experience so far. I’d really love it if you’d take a look at my blog and give a feedback!!
    Thanks!!
    Have a wonderful day!!
    Happy Blogging!!

    Liked by 3 people

    1. Thought-provoking stuff.

      What I would suggest apart from kind of making yourself visible by posting in places like the Pool (which is a good start) but also visiting other people’s blogs, which not only could you do in the Pool but also by diving into similar blogs. Search for them by their tags, like what you use. If you find them, they’ll find you, and so may others who find their blogs too. You never know who’s reading, and who’s listening.

      https://scicasual.wordpress.com

      Liked by 6 people

    3. If you have social media sites like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, and Google + for example try posting your newest blogs on these platforms. I find Twitter to be a great way to get new traffic. Try searching for a trending hashtag and try to connect the tag with your post. Also, post a link to your wordpress in your bio sections on social media.
      Happy blogging!

      Liked by 4 people

    4. You can use up to 15 tags and categories total — maybe add a few more tags, perhaps like “meaningful living” or “self-awareness” or “psychology”. Tags help new readers find your posts!

      Would you be willing to look at one of my posts? Click my name and choose whichever appeals to you most🙂

      Liked by 1 person

    5. I agree with Jonny on both counts. Your post is thought-provoking and one good way to gain traffic is by visiting other people’s blogs and leaving likes or comments. There’s a book that might be helpful to you. It’s called Boundaries. I have a summary of it on the Book Summaries page of my site: https://gracelead.co The summary should give you enough information to decided if you want to read the book.

      Like

    2. Just commented. Nice content, and good use of tags. Have you thought about adding another image to your posts? In your long distance relationship post, another image will help break up the text more and draw the reader’s eye in. Blogging is a very visual medium, after all!

      Would you be willing to look at one of my posts? Click my name and choose whichever appeals to you most🙂

      Liked by 2 people

  21. Hello everyone- Happy Halloween! Over the last few weeks I’ve been thinking on how I can update/streamline my blog. Does anyone have any recommendations on which categories to keep on the top menu and which to remove? Should I put some on the side widget? I am thinking of an “About Town” area to capitalise on my name, but am still unsure. As always, I’m happy to hear any feedback!! Thanks in advance!
    https://anhistorianabouttown.wordpress.com

    Liked by 7 people

    1. I see no need to alter the top menu at all. It shows your diversity having multiple topics to appeal to someone landing on your page for the first time. I prefer the side widgets to be a tag cloud, social media links, top posts, recent comments, etc. The “About Town” area does make sense however if you can get that in there.

      Liked by 2 people

  22. Today I’ve published this post about the recent Panorama documentary, which exposed child labour in factories used by big names like ASOS and M&S. Actually I wrote more about that in last weeks port. This week’s post is more of a development from that. It’s about how I have tried to find a positive in all of this… (p.s. I am not saying that child labour can be a positive thing, I promise you!) Just have a read perhaps and you’ll see what I’m trying to say.

    https://sandeepbeepblogs.wordpress.com/2016/10/31/let-this-encourage-you-to-help-others/

    Liked by 9 people

  23. Hey all, I’m new to this sorta thing so hit me up with suggestions. I suffer from anxiety, and was told to write about my experiences, the small things I fret over.

    Take a look, would be great to get some critique. anxietee.wordpress.com

    Liked by 6 people

    1. Just commented. Nice content! Good use of tags. My suggestion: consider adding images! They’ll break up the text and add a little bit of color to your posts. Blogging is a very visual medium. You don’t have to put pictures of yourself, either — you can use quotes or other images! 🙂

      Would you be willing to look at one of my posts? Click my name and choose whichever appeals to you most🙂

      Liked by 1 person

    2. I enjoyed your post. I’m pale all over and it’s always a surprise to doctors that my bloodwork shows no anemia. I do put a light dusting of powder on my face before going out to protect it from the sun. My family, friends, and associates have gotten used to my paleness. https://gracelead.co

      Like

    2. I read your post about checking the Spam folder. I check mine once a week. Nealy everything is what I consider real spam. In a year’s time, there have only been a couple that took out of the spam folder. This may depend on the type of blog a person has. I have my site set to notify me when I get comments so I can check them. https://gracelead.co

      Liked by 1 person

    1. There’s no harm in writing what comes straight to your mind. An honest thought reaches to many. I suggest you can try some variations once in a while, such as I had been writing quite randomly, anything that pleased me and now I started to write about health!
      So as long as the ideas strike, please do write! There are always people here who love to read what you have written 😊 and do visit my blog if you get the time or need some inspiration…

      Liked by 3 people