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.

Show Comments

779 Comments

Comments are closed.

Close Comments

Comments

    1. What is it about endings in particular that you struggle with?
      In general, endings should have some kind of resolution to the main problem of the story. Obviously, this isn’t a rule that’s set in stone, but if you’re struggling to come up with ending it might help to think of them in this way.

      Liked by 1 person

      1. Thank you for visiting and for the feedback. It honestly means a lot to me. I checked out your blog and it seems that you write some really intriguing stories and I’m definitely gonna read a few in a while.

        Liked by 1 person

    1. Love your words! Outreach is so very important during this time of year! Sometimes I take for granted the many blessings in my life and that I won’t be alone over the holiday season.

      Liked by 3 people

  7. Hey my Fellow Bloggers!!
    How’ve you all been??
    I hope awesome…
    So below I’m sharing two of my blog links do visit them and don’t forget to share your reviews with me..😉😉
    Suggestion and Criticism is always here..!!

    https://kammy1431.wordpress.com/2016/12/11/this-i-owe-to-my-friends-part-ii/
    A special belated Thanksgiving non-poetic ODE to FRIENDS👬👫
    #CheersToFriendship 🍻🍻

    https://kammy1431.wordpress.com/2016/08/13/my-story/
    Here you go with my first post as a story not poem…😀😀
    Read it and do tell me about your review…😊😊

    Liked by 4 people

  11. Hi there I’ve just started blogging . I’ve written a novel and posted the first two chapters and a series of extracts. I would love some feed back and comments, its an historical fiction with some science and fact mixed in.
    Thanks
    Jack

    Liked by 4 people

    1. Nice to meet ya. Your post caught my eye because I’m also a writer who’s finishing up a first novel 😉 Mine has a touch of politic and historical fiction.

      Heading over to your blog now to check out your story!

      Liked by 1 person

    2. Hi there! I was interested to see how a novel posted on wordpress would look, well done on that. Your blog is laid out well.

      To get more people to read you might want to add more tags than just novel, try writing, fiction, historical, etc., more people will find you that way.

      My other thought is if you have new followers, they are going to be scrolling forever to get to the beginning so you might want a widget that will allow them to go to the beginning. Good luck to you!

      Liked by 2 people

      1. Thanks for your comment, I’m sorry but can you tell me what a widget is please. I have been adding tags when I post excerpts although ‘novel’ is the only one that shows on the blog!

        Thanks again
        JWL

        Liked by 3 people

  13. Hi I actually just started a blog roughly 2 weeks ago. I don’t know much about blogging or blogs. Not sure if my layout is good or what types of things I could add or even how to use the layout. I write about being a mom. The real truths. The struggles raising 2 kids and balancing a relationship/social life, etc. I would love any feedback. Thanks!!! https://mammadoodlebean.wordpress.com

    Liked by 4 people

    1. Honestly, you are doing well for someone who just began, and it is visible that within a short period of consistency, you will take the blogging sphere by storm. Having said that, there are obviously some efforts you will have to put in, like finding the time to update your About page, Contact me page and widgets menu.

      Liked by 2 people

      1. Thank you and thanks so much for taking the time to read my blog!!! It’s hard but I’m trying. I’ll def update my about page, contact and widgets menu!!! Thanks again!!!

        Liked by 2 people

      1. Thank you!!! Being a mom is so challenging. It has its fun times and days you want to just scream and jump off a bridge!!! Thank you for taking the time to read my blog!! Much apprecaited!!! No matter how old they get its still crazy and an adventure!!!

        Liked by 2 people

    1. That WAS an interesting read. Although I wholeheartedly disagree with you on many levels, it’s our duty as Americans to vote for who we think is the best possible person for this country and its future; you clearly did that, and I can’t fault you for that.

      Like

  15. I’ve Only Seen In Books

    I just posted a piece of poetry that I really hope people would see the two meanings that this poem is trying to say using symbolism. Please offer any suggestions/criticisms on my symbolism, poetry, or any of my other blog posts!

    Thank you in advance!

    Liked by 3 people

    1. You came to a great place! I really enjoy posting some of my favorites to the community pool to get some insight from other bloggers. I also tweet my latest post. If you can somehow wrap your post around a hashtag that is currently trending it can help drive more traffic to your post. I strongly suggest if you have any other social media sites to also post your blog there in your bio and also when you post a new piece. Try to find other bloggers like yourself to create a network where you can share ideas and discuss with them your experiences.

      Disclaimer: I wrote this comment before I got a chance to check out your blog, which I will be doing after I post this.
      I am getting into running myself and ran my second 5k ever this past October. I’d like to push myself and run a 10k next year. Do you have any suggestions for me?

      Liked by 1 person

      1. Great thanks for taking the time. I do currently share my blog posts on my social media outlets. I’ve thought about tagging hashtags but it’s always finding which hashtags to link to my posts. As far as running is concerned I started by running my first marathon before I actually did a 5K. The 10K distance is a tricky one however if you build distance by running a slower pace you should be just fine come race day. I would try to increase the amount of miles you’re doing on a weekly basis by 1 to 2 miles. Depending on when you are running your 10K I would say by halfway through try to run a 5K at a faster pace than you would your 10k. The best thing to remember is keep a good tempo while not overdoing your pace.

        Liked by 1 person

  19. Hi all,
    just after some general comments about my blog. What I can improve etc. please.

    Thanks in advance 🙂 wayover50.com

    Liked by 4 people

  24. I’d like to invite everyone to stop by and enjoy a poem I wrote about my cat, “Scampers.” The image is a photograph I took while she slept. If you like poetry, photography, and cats, please stop by and check out out the piece. If you like it, please click the “like” on the post page, and be sure to follow along as I post several times a week on various topics. Comments and feedback are always welcome, and I ask you to leave them on the post page as well. Feel free to browse through my other pieces while you’re here. Thanks in advance for reading.
    Drew

    Scampers

    Liked by 5 people

    1. Just commented! Nice work. I’ve left feedback on the pieces themselves 🙂

      Would you please check out my blog as well? Click on my name and choose whichever post appeals to you most!

      Liked by 1 person

  25. Hey!

    I have just begun my blog site and I wanted to know if it looks appealing as it is now. If everything seems to work and you like the concept, please let me know. I’ll blog mostly about books, but it can always branch out to other things. If there’s any concern or questions, I’m ready to answer and become involved with the blogging community!

    https://tizzymatic.wordpress.com

    Thank you for the help!

    Liked by 3 people

    1. Welcome to WordPress! I like the basketball image that you chose — it looks nice, but it’s hard to see the words “TizzyMatic” and “About Me,” because they’re also grey! Maybe change the color.

      Also, consider adding a header to that front page, maybe the site title or a welcome banner or something 🙂 Good luck!

      Would you please check out my blog as well? Click on my name and choose whichever post appeals to you most!

      Liked by 1 person

      1. Thank you for your response. I am trying to find the right color still – it’s frustrating lol. I’ll take your suggestion about the site title or welcome banner.
        I’m now following your channel! It’s interesting to me, since I always question things.

        Liked by 1 person

      2. I remember how obnoxious it was to change colors– it should be somewhere in the themes/customize area. Good luck!!

        And I’ve followed you back. I look forward to seeing some of your work! 🙂

        Liked by 1 person

    1. Nice work! My only suggestion is maybe to add an image to go with your words. Images break up the text and add a little color. Everything else is great!

      Would you please check out my blog as well? Click on my name and choose whichever post appeals to you most!

      Liked by 1 person

    1. Just stopped by. Nice work! My suggestion: do you use tags? Tags help new readers find your blog, and categories organize your posts within your blog. Without tags, it’s harder for new people to find your work! You can add a few like “generation” or “meaningful living,” for example.

      Would you please check out my blog as well? Click on my name and choose whichever post appeals to you most!

      Liked by 1 person