Dec 12, 2016 / Community Pool

Community Pool

The place for feedback, advice, and blogging camaraderie.

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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  2. Hi, I am new to blogging and this is my first effort, 7 posts so far. I am trying to describe my journey with prostate cancer. Please!!! I am not looking for sympathy, I feel fine and I have lived a good life. I am trying to keep my blog light hearted while also offering support to other who may be in the same boat. Any constructive comments about my blog are welcome. Thank you. (https://psatozero.wordpress.com)

    Liked by 7 people

    1. Phew, that’s all very sobering stuff. You tell it in a very “matter of fact” style and it’s very readable. I’m looking forward to reading more.👍
      As a suggestion, you have a couple of wiget examples that show on your page, is there any way that you can remove or tidy them? It’d look a lot better if you could.

      Liked by 3 people

    3. As a voracious reader, I think this a fantastic blog haha! You cover a wide variety of genres and give a good amount of detail without overwhelming and/or spoiling anything! On your About page, I would think about listing your favourite books or favourite authors- as a reader, I like to know reviewers’ general tastes!

      Liked by 4 people

  6. Hello everyone, I recently started my blog around two months ago and it is particularly geared towards sporting events and personal opinions.
    1) I would like to be able to better engage the audience, but at the same time, give them an indication of the type of sports fan and person I am. Any way of helping me out?
    2) Possibly a better way to layout or display my website?

    Thank you in advance 🙂

    According to Dimmerstotle

    Liked by 4 people

    1. The best way to help your audience get to know you is to just write posts in a way that uniquely offers readers your voice. And don’t just TELL people you like this team or that team, SHOW them through your content. Talk about sports in a way that feels natural and good to you. You can engage readers by asking them questions and asking them for their thoughts/opinions about the themes and topics of your posts.

      You could also include an About page or a quick blurb in your sidebar that briefly explains your blog and its purpose.

      Liked by 2 people

      1. Oh I never thought about doing that (regarding the layout of my blog). I’ll also try to use more discussion type methods… never thought to do that. Thank you very much Sarah! Appreciate your insight/input :).

        Liked by 2 people

  12. Hello everyone! I’ve been blogging about my weight loss journey (and struggles) for a couple of months now. I would appreciate any input I could get. Thanks! victorlosesit.wordpress.com

    Liked by 6 people

    1. I like your Things We Love section it has so many options I haven’t seen or for example listened to in the Music Category. Pretty interesting and you got a new follower in me!

      Liked by 3 people

  14. Hey everyone!
    I’ve been pretty busy lately so I haven’t blogged in a while but I recently made a post last night. It’s a short story that I’ve written and would love some feedback on it as well as feedback on my blog in general. My blog consists of photography, travels, and my fictional writing! Thanks in advance and I’m definitely willing to return the favor 🙂

    https://pebblestonesteps.wordpress.com/2016/12/12/the-boy-and-a-wolf-part-two/

    Liked by 6 people

    1. Your reviews are well reasoned. The only thing I might suggest is the index is a little sparse right now. I would suggest just listing the books you have reviewed thus far. You can still keep them alphabetical, but the big letters running down the page with a lot of gaps (for now) contradicted your lengthy reviews. Just a thought!

      Liked by 3 people

  18. Hola everyone! Started blogging a couple of months ago about my move to Cuenca, Ecuador from New York City where I´d lived all my life. Anyways, take a read and let me know what you all think, findmeinsanfrancisco.wordpress.com. I would really appreciate any thoughts, ideas, comments. Thanks and much love and luck!

    Liked by 5 people

  21. Good morning everyone! I’m a new blogger here on wordpress, and have just begun writing about, well… writing! Feel free to check out my posts, and leave comments if you enjoy them! My first one is a list of prompts for you all. Have an awesome rest of the day 🙂

    Liked by 5 people

  23. Hi friends,
    I have just started “Guest Post” on my blog…https://atrangizindagieksafar.wordpress.com , interested bloggers may Pl follow the links and leave a msg on my blogs.

    You have something to share with the world….?
    Share it here at atrangizindagieksafar on the Guest post, “Be my Guest Aboard!” at https://atrangizindagieksafar.wordpress.com/2016/11/26/inviting-guests-aboard/
    Send your material here (ranjeetanathghai@gmail.com) with your text, a photo related to the text, a photo with you and a short description of you or of your blog and the very next weekend you will be online on atrangizindagieksafar!

    Liked by 2 people

  24. Hello everyone!!!

    I haven’t been too active with my blog as I have been focusing on my book. Launch date will be Jan 18 or 19.

    It is good to be back writing here again !!!

    I would love any feedback on my newest post. I am trying out something new here by reviewing some seriously interesting attire for the outdoor adventurer!!!

    https://justagirlandabike.com/2016/12/12/the-perfect-christmas-gift-for-the-outdoor-diva/

    Peace !!!

    🙂

    Liked by 2 people

    1. I wandered around your blog dropping in on various posts and loved them all, maybe it’s because I’m a “mountain” sort of person myself! You certainly articulate your thoughts very well and I enjoyed your writing.

      Liked by 1 person

  25. Hi – I’ve been blogging about my life with severe depression/anxiety and trying to manage it with monthly ketamine infusions while working as a psych professor. Not surprisingly the blog tends to be on the serious/depressing side, but lately I’ve been trying to add some lighter-hearted posts too. Here are some of those:
    https://sayingwhatgoesunsaid.com/2016/11/21/unsent-replies-to-student-emails/
    https://sayingwhatgoesunsaid.com/2016/08/27/focus-on-doing-things-not-on-whether-you-feel-or-look-confident-doing-them/

    Liked by 5 people

  26. Hey everyone!
    I’m looking for some help on the design and fluid movement of my site and another blogger. I am blogging about any and everything. however it’ll mostly consists of books and their reviews. The other blogger is writing poetry as well as book reviews. The first blog on my site will be on Divergent as the other blogger’s will be a riddle on her blog name. Please help if you can.
    https://tizzymatic.wordpress.com
    https://colorswithoutgreen.wordpress.com

    Thank you!

    Liked by 3 people

  29. Hi everyone!
    My name is Sarah, and I am a pediatric Nurse who loves all adventures, trying new things, and sometimes that includes solo travel. Check out my blog post on my travels in Zion National Park.
    While I feel comfortable with my writing, I would love ideas on how to increase my following and get more people to comment. Should I join more blog groups? How do I even find blog groups?

    Thank you for your help 🙂

    https://halfheardstories.com/2016/11/25/hikes-zion-national-park/

    Liked by 8 people

    1. Content wise, I loved your blog post and the photos. For some reason I couldn’t get WordPress to allow me to follow of even put a “like” on it! I’ll try again, promise!!!!
      On the other point, I’d love to know how to get more followers myself!😂😂

      Liked by 2 people

    2. I love your tagline! Fun to read 🙂

      Your photos are beautiful & you have a voice that’s easy to read and friendly. If I can critique just one thing, have you considered a different background? The bright pink can be very distracting from the blog and might deter some people from reading on because it’s not that pleasing to the eye. Maybe a different background that can let your content shine through?

      Hope that helps!
      -Jade 🙂

      Liked by 3 people

      1. Thank you for taking the time to look and respond! Great advice, I’m interested in getting my boyfriend to make me a logo/background 🙂 I’ll change it to something more relaxed in the meantime. Thanks again, Jade!

        Liked by 1 person

    3. Hey Sarah! I like your blog! And the most important thing for gaining traffic is write what you are good at and feel upto and you feel comfortable with your writing so that’s a plus. Another is that, you should interact as much as you can with other bloggers, and I’m saying this from my experience that I have had till now! That’s what I can advise you for now. Happy Blogging!

      Liked by 1 person

    4. Really like your blog – just followed you! As for blogging groups, I’ve become part of quite a few blog boards on Facebook and that really seems to be helping generate traffic. It’s also a great support group and a way to get any questions you may have answered!

      Liked by 1 person

      2. Blogging Newbs on Facebook is probably the best one we’ve found so far. It’s a closed group, but you can request to join. Blog + Biz BFFs on Facebook is another group. That one you have to be on her emailing list from her blog (Melyssa Griffin melyssagriffin.com) to join. She’s had remarkable success and the community she’s put together is great and very large. Lots of ideas and support there. Maybe we’ll see you there!

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