Jan 2, 2017 / Community Pool

Community Pool

The place for feedback, advice, and conversations about blogging.

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. I’d like to invite everyone to stop by and check out a poetry piece from a few months ago, “Could Be Alien.” I was surprised by the reception, and this turned out to be one of my most popular poems of 2016. The image is a perfect match and I think that had a lot to do with the success. If you like the poem, please click the “like” button on the post page. Comments and feedback are always welcome, and please leave them in the comments section of the post page as well. If you like what you see, feel free to browse around, and follow along so you don’t miss anything as I post several times a week. Thanks in advance.
    Drew

    Could Be Alien

    Liked by 1 person

    1. It’s a good poem for someone looking for inspiration. The imagery is wonderful, and the picture is a perfect match! Keep up the good work! Perhaps you can write a story or another poem to extend or work off of this one.
      -Author S

      Liked by 1 person

  2. This is my first community pool comment! My blog exists to encourage others in their faith in Jesus Christ; to encourage joy in the Bible and to show how awesome the Old Testament is! I’m currently doing a 12-week study on Ecclesiastes, one chapter a week! Let me know what ideas you have about the look of my site and if I need more pics or other pages. https://wordpress.com/read/feeds/56979398/posts/1282214576 Thank you and I look forward to checking out your blogs!

    Liked by 3 people

    1. Love hearing about other blogs aiming to encourage people in their faith! I read through your about page, it’d be awesome to write some blog posts on parenting and marriage and what that looks like as a Godly woman. (Because 20-year-old newly married women love to hear other women’s stories who have MUCH more experience.) Excited to see what you have to write about Ecclesiastes in these upcoming weeks!
      -Allie https://thewifeofalumberjack.wordpress.com/

      Liked by 2 people

      1. Hello Allie! I love your site. Following you too! I love your ideas about blog posts. God laid an Ecc. study on my heart so that’s taking up most of my effort but to do special features on how the points in this book speak to those areas, would be a great idea. Thank you! And thanks for joining me in this study! The book is so great.

        Like

    1. Your site is well-organized. I enjoyed the content I’ve read so far. Your writing flows well and is easy to read. It would be nice to see an occasional graphic or clip art to break things up visually. My site is about biblically-based leadership. https://gracelead.co

      Liked by 1 person

    1. This is simple and excellent advice for new bloggers and seasoned veterans alike. Keep it consistent, organized, and pleasant. I’d love to get some feedback on my blog if you wouldn’t mind.
      Happy blogging!
      -Author S

      Liked by 2 people

  6. Welcome 2017!

    This is my 1st blog, 1st post so I would really appreciate some feedback (please be gentle). I’m not sure what I want to do with it yet (if anything), so I thought I’d just jump on in with some new year vigour and vim…..

    I hope I’ve managed to post the link correctly, eeeep!

    Liked by 1 person

      1. Good luck with your resolutions! There’s nothing wrong with having a few cliches in the list. Losing weight and getting more organized are always good ones to make, especially if you’re in dire need.
        I’d say you could turn your blog or at least part of it into a sort of progress tracker. Keep track of your path to accomplishing your goals and branch out. Maybe you’ll find something new to strive for.
        Good luck and happy blogging!
        -Author S

        Liked by 1 person

    1. Hi Deidra! I think the home page is really engaging and like the grid layout. Great concept for the blog, too! We like simple living over at the Nostalgia Diaries, too. 🙂

      Like

    2. Though I enjoyed reading your post, I have a small recommendation. I would suggest changing the header of your website. I personally dislike it, as it takes up nearly a third of the screen and does not seem to be closable.
      Maybe get a theme in which scrolling down on the page lets the header disappear?

      Other than that small issue, I like your website. 😀

      Liked by 2 people

  15. This is awesome. I totally agree with you in that money isn’t wasted if it encourages you to spend time with family and friends. I’m thinking I’ll follow your example and definitely do more game nights!

    Liked by 1 person

    1. I really enjoyed the format of this post, and how I learned a lot about your in it. I also think your logo is really beautiful, and the layout of your blog really highlights your writing and photos. Your baking looks delicious! 🙂

      Like

    2. That was a great post. Your website looks amazing and is easy to navigate. I like how you present information in a simple, reader-friendly way. I look forward to seeing more from your website in the future.

      Like

  18. Hi, Ever’body!

    Pobre Tomat here after a major hi-atus!

    New Post–https://bellsandwhissles.wordpress.com/2017/01/03/come-hell-r-high-water-3/

    Hope all of you are well and newly inspired! Ready set GO!

    @belleswhissles
    bellsandwhissles.wordpress.com

    Liked by 2 people

    1. I enjoyed reading your most recent post ‘What I Wish I Would Have Known At 18.’ The writing on your website is of good quality.
      By the way, I would recommend fixing the tab on your page labelled ‘Welcome to Dylan Westwood’ as at the time of writing this comment, it leads to a page of unused text widgets.

      Liked by 2 people

  22. Hi – maybe a huge ask, but only for people who are interested. I am relatively new to blogging, and started my newest blog: https://writeaboutquotes.wordpress.com with the goal to at least write something every day this year. My other blog: https://inmyaspergersworld.wordpress.com was started as part of a writing course, and is my journey with my son who has Asperger’s Syndrome. I have big dreams of making a career out of writing and editing, and would love feedback on my work – any sort. I just want to get my writing out there.
    Thank you,
    Kellie

    Liked by 5 people

    2. Writing about quotes is a great idea for a blog – it’s a strong theme and should give you plenty of fuel for generating ideas. Good luck with it!

      Liked by 1 person

  23. I used to blog frequently elsewhere have moved to WordPress. Looking to make some connections and learn about others! I’m a mama of 4 year old twins and cancer survivor!

    kaylashaddix.wordpress.com

    Liked by 4 people

    1. You have an excellent website, however, I would recommend putting your posts through a spell checker before uploading, as I noticed a few small typos, such as ‘yer’ instead of year and ‘aI’ instead of I. Other than that, great writing.

      Liked by 1 person

  26. Yes I have just started my blog yesterday. I have wanted to do this for a very long time but was very afraid. I would really like some feedback on my writing as well as tips for proof reading and punctuation’s. I know I tend to use the word and a lot. I may need to take a writing course. My blog is called a daily dose wisdom things that I’ve learned over the years. missmanublog.wordpress.com

    Liked by 2 people

    1. After reading your ‘Being Able to Take Advice’ post, I have a few suggestions:
      -Add an image or two to your posts.
      -Try to make shorter paragraphs. Rather than 8-10 sentences per paragraph, try to aim for 3-6 sentences.
      -Your website’s front page still has a few placeholder posts. You may want to delete those and replace them with your own posts. (By placeholder posts, I mean the ones on the front page of your website labelled Blog Post Title.)
      Overall, I enjoyed reading your writing and I am now following your website. I hope to see more posts from you in the future, and I will be sure to read them. Good luck with the future of your website!

      Liked by 1 person

    2. You might want to try a free editing app such as hemingwayapp.com . One thing that would help is to break up your long run-on sentences. For example, here’s one way to break up one of them. “We have been friends for a very long time. We experienced this even in our teenage years. Many times, I was on the other side of the issue. She would try to tell me something for my own good, but I had my mind made up that I was going to do what I wanted to do regardless of what anyone had to say about it. I didn’t even care.” Regarding your content, you might enjoy the book Crucial Conversations. I have a summary of it on the Book Summaries page of my site: https://gracelead.co

      Liked by 1 person