Jan 9, 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 think your blog’s got a really clean, simple layout that works well and I like your style of writing. Really nice that only the post itself pops up when I click through too. Happy writing!

      Liked by 1 person

    2. likewise – I also really like your blog’s layout and very open style of writing! it helps me if I plan out a month or two in advance the topics I’d like to write about – and if they coincide with any holidays, I try to incorporate them as well. For example, my site (www.airadventures.blog) aims to promote conservation efforts – so I’m starting to plan what I might post for Earth Day. That said, my page is also pretty new (a couple of weeks old..!) so I also welcome any feedback you might have!

      Liked by 1 person

      1. Hi, thank you for such a lovely comment 🙂 I just realised how inaccessible my follow button is 😦 It appears on the bottom corner of the page when you are logged out of your account (unhelpful I know). Looking at possibly changing the theme to fix this glitch.

        Liked by 1 person

      2. There is absolutely 0 pressure to actually follow me, but I have now updated the theme of my blog. If you click the little sidebar menu (the three line box thing in the top right corner) scroll all the way down you will find a follow button down the bottom 🙂

        Liked by 1 person

  2. Hello all, I’ve recently started blogging, and would love to have some feedback, and make friends worldwide! I’d be more than happy to return the favor 🙂 Thanks in advance and see you there!

    Liked by 2 people

  3. Hi all!! I have had my lifestyle/personal style blog for about a year at this point, but have only truly started posting more consistently within the past few months. I’m still trying to workout a few kinks and could really appreciate some pointers or healthy criticism. Please check my blog out and let me know what you think:

    http://www.thecurlyanomaly.com ❤

    Liked by 3 people

  4. Hi all!

    I just published my latest blog post as of a few minutes ago and I would greatly appreciate any comments or feedback. It’s about the thought process that inspired my latest painting, which is a graffiti-esque piece in a bar in Birmingham (England).

    As an artist, I always benefit from knowing whether or not my work may affect, provoke or inspire others, and any insights others may get that I’ve missed. So I’d love to know!

    I will also surely check out your blog in return.

    Why do I paint stars?

    Warmest of wishes

    Nina Nazir (Sun Ra Rainz)

    Liked by 4 people

      1. Thank you Leena, that’s lovely to hear. I try and write as true as possible. I will certainly check out your work too 🙂

        Like

      2. Hi Leena,

        By the way I would love to check out your page but I can’t seem to get onto it. When I click on your name, it just shows up as a Gravatar page with no other way to check out your page. Not sure if I’m missing something? Perhaps you could copy a link for me in your reply?

        Thanks

        Nina

        Like

    3. I love both your paintings and your description of the ‘why’ behind them. I definitely found myself wanting to see more of your work – and also maybe in future posts you can highlight other artists who have inspired you..? I also welcome any and all feedback you might have: http://www.airadventures.blog

      Like

      1. Thank you Rhallum, that’s lovely to know. I don’t always explain my work but I felt the need to this time because I’m kind of fixated on the current theme. I will certainly talk about artists that have inspired me in the future, there are definitely a bunch that have left their imprint on me, thank you for highlighting that as a possible future blog post. I will certainly check out your blog too 🙂

        Like

  5. Hey there!
    I wrote a blog about how to make your faith intentional and enter into the presence of the Lord. If you are interested in learning more, I’d love for you to check it out.
    I always write from my heart,

    Seeking His Presence

    Thanks for checking it out! Let me know what you think if you like it!

    Liked by 1 person

  6. hello everyone!
    I am an artist and I use my blog to share my art with everyone. Although it does not have a lot of paintings up yet. I will post daily.
    Thank you!
    link: theleenamathur.wordpress.com.
    Please visit!

    Like

    2. Hi,

      I am by no means an expert but I do have a few tips that have worked for me so far!
      1. Setting up Instagram and mainly Twitter accounts to promote your work.
      2. Ordering a cheap set of business cards with your website address then sneakily leaving them in cafés, library books, etc. Very fun!
      3. Linking posts to top trends on twitter #worldanimalday etc
      4. Reblogging pages to tie in with new trends. Last year’s autumn post this autumn
      5. Communicating with other bloggers here and on their own blogs. People tend to follow the comments of those that they agree with.

      Hope that helps somehow!

      Liked by 1 person

    1. I think that it perfect. I actually like the ‘abrupt’ ending because it ends with a strong personal philosophy. My About page is very slim in comparison…maybe it’s you who should be giving me advice!

      Liked by 1 person

    2. I don’t think it ends abruptly at all. It makes its point and then allows the reader to move on. Brilliant. I really like your about you page. Actually, I like the whole site. It is clean, easy to read, visually it is beautiful. I recently changed my site to be more colorful and in looking at your site I am rethinking that choice.

      Liked by 1 person

      1. Thank you for your feedback! I still have little details to add on the page (I blog somewhere else and sell prints with online shops) but I may let the ending that way… 🙂 Colours aren’t bad either, I depends on your taste! I really love the title of your blog by the way! 🙂 x

        Like

    1. I do like the post. The subject and the research put into the post is wonderful and very detailed. I resonates with me and I would assume the rest of your audience. My only constructive criticism would be the use of fonts. There is a lot going on in the post and I found myself jumping to the next bolded point. Having said that, for todays readers who like to skim it makes is very easy to do so but still capture the relevant information.

      Liked by 1 person

  13. Hello there!
    I am late because I hadn’t written any post this year — but now I have! It’s a boring blog about exciting new things but most of all, it is an effort to write normally again. I realize that talking about personal things, even the very simple ones, has become impossible-level-hard for me. With this new year, I’m trying to ‘try’.

    It’s just me being me. 🙂 And all of that written above is a secret, okay?

    P.S. Last Monday I had fun finding a few blogs from here and I think this a great way to start doing what I once did. To engage and connect and find and love.

    Happy reading!
    Maria

    Liked by 2 people

  15. Hi everyone,

    I am a book blogger experimenting with a few ideas to get beyond the standard book review. Here is my latest post about the writing of Margaret Atwood:
    https://thebookchief.org/2017/01/11/the-masterful-writing-of-margaret-atwood/

    I really did enjoy writing it but is there an interest out there for this kind of article? Should I have mentioned more about the actual plot of the book?

    Please let me know, any feedback much appreciated.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. I am so glad I found your blogs. Any thing about books is a win for me. I think the review is great. It is interesting that you didn’t get into the correlation between today’s society and world Atwood created. There is a lot of that out there right now (I am guilty as well.) This was about the words and the creation of thought provoking images. It is so smart and I can’t wait to dive into your blog.

      Liked by 1 person

  20. Hello to anyone all – especially anyone who has turned 40 or has their 40th birthday coming up! My blog is about my personal journey as I attempt to complete a 40 tasks before my 40th birthday. I’d love feedback on whether my layout is easy to navigate through, as I’m new to blogging. I’d also love to connect with others around my age group (30s or 40s), especially those who’s blogs apply to women, mothers and wives. Have a great Wednesday! http://www.40by40bucketlist.wordpress.com

    Like

    1. Hi there! I´m not 30 or 40 but I do like your blog 🙂 It´s so great that you created a bucket list of what you want to accomplish. I think your design is very simple so it is easy to navigate – i have tried that by looking at some of post.. You´re doing a great job!

      Like

    2. “Not-a-crisis” – how refreshing! Your writing is superb! I had a broad, almost painful smile at the end.

      Liked by 1 person

    2. Your photos are awesome! Mostly, I like your blog name haha. My name is Kortnee not Courtney, so I understand your pain! Following along with you and looking forward to your San Fran pics!

      Liked by 1 person

  22. Hello…is it too late to jump in? Is the water still warm? (Nobody peed in it, right?!)

    I’d love some feedback on my latest post, if anyone has the time. Specifically, I’d like to know if my punctuation is close to accurate. It’s a stupid request, I know; but as I age, whew! I’m forgetting the rules.

    https://generationxishere.wordpress.com/2017/01/11/dear-gilbert-lessons-from-1936/

    I’ll paddle around and check out your blogs, too.

    Thanks for the dip! ♡

    Liked by 3 people

      1. Thank you for your input! I agree about my fortune. I’m so glad my grandparents were the “save everything” type. ♡

        Like

    2. I enjoyed reading the story of your day. I would recommend that you add some snappy subheadings to help your readers follow along. Sometimes a long narrative with nothing breaking it up will cause someone to decide not to keep reading.

      Like

    1. For me, it looks good. Because you used a dark gray instead of black, it was easier on my eyes. My vision is impaired, but I was able to read it with no straining. The overall look is uncluttered and the little spash of color gives it personality. https://gracelead.co

      Like