Mar 13, 2017 / Community Pool

Community Pool

Where bloggers come for friendly feedback and advice.

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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  7. Hey there!
    I wrote a post this week talking about dealing with anxiety and how to make your foundation strong during times of depression. I hope it encourages you and helps you if you are going through some tough times.

    Foundation Focus

    Let me know how i can always grow as a writer, and I’d love to check out your stuff too!

    Liked by 4 people

  10. I am off to Manchester City Women vs Chelsea Ladies next month and am wondering if WordPress offers a live text commentary section. The reason behind this is that I want to boost my blog’s traffic in a different way to usual and believe that live text commentary of the match would be a fresh way of doing this.

    I am in the press box so would like to do some live text reporting on the match for my blog. Can anyone confirm if WordPress has an live text commentary widget that I can utilise for the match?

    Liked by 1 person

  12. Hey Ya’ll!!! 🙂
    …
    I just started a music blog to promote my music and I was wondering if someone would like to check it out!!!
    …
    itstheorganizedchaos.wordpress.com 🙂
    …
    I love giving AND receiving feedback so… comment away!!!

    Liked by 2 people

  13. Hello Everyone 🙂
    I have published this article today about my recent travel experience to Rangamati. I have been doing Photography for some years now. But I am new to blogging. I would really appreciate, if you guys can help me out with your feedbacks about my writing and photography 🙂 Thanks 🙂

    http://wp.me/p8v9E3-1P

    Liked by 2 people

    1. Just for the appearance, you might want to add some color as well as some contrast so readers can read your header text with ease. Otherwise, keep up the habit of getting things written, and you’ll go far!
      Good luck!
      -Author S

      Liked by 1 person

      2. Of course! I’m glad I could help. Feel free to stop by and leave some feedback of your own if you’d like!
        -Author S

        Like

  15. Hi friends! I am looking for feedback on my blog, particularly this page that I created, where the idea is to explain the blog’s concept. I’m looking for some *critical* (please be constructive, I don’t need a pat on the back) feedback on how I can improve this. Specifically, do you think this concept is helpful to my readers? Do you think people are interested in it?

    Page link: https://lexirobertson.com/globalcompetence/

    PS: At the end of your comment, leave me a link to any of your posts that you would like feedback on! I will look yours over to return the favor 🙂

    -Lexi

    Liked by 3 people

    1. Is “global competence” what your blog is about? Or is it a side project per say.
      I was kinda confused by the idea and why I should care. That’s one thing I feel like you should answer on the page. Why should the random Joe Schmoe care?

      It is an interesting idea and with regards to the layout I think it is spot on. I like the idea of having your picture on the sidebar.

      Liked by 2 people

      2. Thank you! I will definitely incorporate the why you should care aspect into the page revision. Awesome insight, I appreciate it.

        Also, I checked out your blog. I think it’s awesome that you’re blogging about relevant content at such a young age. I think you could really use your content to leverage your real-world success. For example, if you’re interested in studying economics at a particular college (assuming you want to go to college), I would recommend looking into the professors and research happening in economics at each college. Most of this information can be found on college websites. If you find particularly interesting research, start writing about it. Not only will you educate yourself, but when it comes to the time that you want to be hired for economics, you will have a whole plethora of economics writing relevant to your career topic. I also recommend going to local universities around town where you live and interviewing economics professors there. Get the cutting edge insights on what’s happening in economics! Could be really cool.

        Liked by 2 people

      1. Thank you! You have a good blog, I think you should focus on writing posts with more content, though. Your post for Using Images is only a few sentences long and reader’s can’t really get a lot out of it. Good luck!

        Liked by 1 person

    3. Hi Lexi!

      I hadn’t heard of Global Competence until now and I feel I not only know what it is, but I can see the value of it. So good job on the explanation!

      I feel the following focus statement is a little vague. “I focus my blog on what I learn from people and companies who foster global competence in their own way.” I guess I’m unsure of what it means to say “in their own way”.

      Other than that you captured my interest and I will peek back to see what comes from this.

      My blog is about defeating depression through the use of personal development. It’s written from my own experience. https://mentalfitnesslifestyle.com/

      Liked by 1 person

      1. Thanks for the feedback!

        Alright, I’m going to give you some tough love (you asked for it).

        Your About Me section needs some serious love. You have literally one sentence there. If you want your readers to trust you, you have to be REAL, you have to be human to them. You have a great blog theme happening with Mental Fitness. You must have a great story behind that. Why are you writing this? To help others find mental fitness? To tell your personal struggles and have that enable others? Tell your story. I spent weeks working on my about me section and I’m still not completely happy with it (https://lexirobertson.com/about/). You should really think about personalizing your blog. Your readers are coming to your blog for you! Show them who you are.

        I think your big mission here should be to personalize your blog. On mine, I have a widget on the sidebar of my homepage so visitors can see my name and what I look like. From your blog, I have no idea what your name is, what your passion is, or why you do what you do. “Why you do what you do” should be ALL OVER your blog! That’s why I would want to read it. If I was struggling with mental fitness and found someone going through the same journey, could read their personal story, that would be a reason for me to become a reader. I go to your contact form and have no incentive to reach out to you because you don’t encourage me.

        I say *personalize* because, your concept is there, your good writing is there, you blog theme is very clear on what you’re trying to do. You have everything in your blog…except you!

        Good luck and keep up the great effort. I would love to hear any additional thought you have on my recent blog posts if you have a minute.

        Liked by 2 people

      2. Thank you so much for that feedback! You’re awesome! I’ve been learning as I go and I feel you just gave me whole new perspective I hadn’t even considered before. I will absolutely incorporate more about myself now that I know that will be of interest to readers.

        You rock Lexi!

        Liked by 1 person

    4. The definition and purpose work well, but the page would do better with examples to inspire or personal experience to get readers thinking. Otherwise, global competence is a lovely concept for the blog, and I wish you the best of luck.
      For the link to get feedback, I won’t send you to a specific post. I strive to improve my writing in any form, so I’ll let you pick. Feel free to leave comments and prompts if you’d like. I’m looking forward to hearing from you!
      -Author S

      Liked by 1 person

      1. Hey! Thanks for your feedback. You’re a great writer. My first comment would be to put a brief excerpt at the beginning or ending of your posts, especially for the continuing series posts. For example, on No Way Out, as a first time reader, I had no idea whether that was a one time story or part of a series. I would put your excerpt in Italics and say “This blog post is part of a series [hyperlink so users can then go to the series].” or if it’s an individual short story I would write “This is a short story I was inspired to write because [whatever]. For more short stories go here [hyperlink to more stories].”

        Also, you have way too many Navigation panels. It’s overwhelming. Maybe that’s my personal preference, but personally, I want to find your *best* writing right away. As a reader, I don’t want to have to dig. If I were you I would add a Category called “Best Writing” or “Best Art” or “My Favorites” (whatever you want) and then put a feed of all your highest rated writings or anything that best showcases your voice.

        On that note, then when I click on a category (like 6 words), there’s literally like 4 posts for me to look at. All those posts are numbered (like #1, #2, etc.). If you want people to read those, you should come up with creative names. The # system literally does nothing for me. I would group your writings into themes. For example, if you have the six word sections, make a “sad” theme and put all the sad 6 words into that one theme. That’s a lot better than #4 and helps me find what I’m looking for easier as a reader. Don’t make your readers go digging to find your writing! Show it to them.

        Also, you’ve got a lot of text on your page. You should see if you can add some pictures to your posts (like on a poem). Maybe you could add your art pieces to poems that go along with it. Would make a more interesting experience.

        Finally, you have a bunch of Navigation, Scribble the path, News, Ink Stories. As I mentioned before, you have a bunch of categories and then only a little content under each. I would say a good rule of thumb would be 10 pieces of content to make it worth a category. Unless you’re really trying to grow a category, but that’s an exception. See if you can combine categories. When you go simple, your reader will best understand who you are and what you’re mission is as a blogger.

        Okay, I hope that doesn’t come off as mean, because I definitely see potential in your blog! I personally think hearing “great job” over and over doesn’t lead to much improvement which is why I tried to make my comments constructive. Keep up your writing, you are very good!

        Liked by 1 person

      2. Thank you so much for putting time and effort into creating such in-depth feedback. In truth, categories and numbers are the way my brain works to organize things. The only reason I don’t direct more is because I don’t want to feel like readers are obligated to read one work over another. I want to improve on everything I have, so doing a little digging and finding something unexpected is worth while. This did confirm my suspicions about a possible updating with format though, so thank you. Perhaps if my bog had a different look, it’d be easier to build from there. I’ll experiment and see what I come up with as far as organization.
        Thank you so much!
        -Author S

        Liked by 1 person

  16. Good Day to you,

    Sometimes, one of our greatest limitations to discovering how creative we can be comes not from what we do not have but that which we choose to overlook in what we already do have; this really is the embodiment of my craft blog: WorkWithIt. WorkWithIt is about encouraging creativity which can be more so encouraged by greater contentment by working with what we have. It’s a place where nothing is perfect but where things are started. I would love to you to check it out: https://workwithitnow.wordpress.com/

    Have a wonderful day ~
    Bre

    Liked by 5 people

      1. Hello Pam ( I apologize if that is not your name, I just figured it was).

        Thank you for checking out my blog and commenting with your thoughts. While many of the things on my blog has been created with something in that drawer, I did not think how relevant it would have been to create something for that post. Thank you for the link by the way, I shall certainly check out your blog 🙂

        ~ Bre

        Liked by 1 person

    2. I love the message of embracing what you have, but I also believe in being able and willing to branch out into the unknown and getting inspiration from something new. However you can get on your creative side is worthwhile to look into. Art isn’t perfect, and that’s why it’s so universal. I wish you the best of luck with your blog!
      -Author S

      Like

    1. While I’m certainly a fan of getting into a healthier lifestyle, I’m wary of any product made to sound like a miracle worker. Perhaps you could post about the product in a way that gives both sides or doesn’t sound too much like an advertisement.
      I wish you luck with your blog and hope your health continues to improve!
      -Author S

      Liked by 1 person

      2. Okay, cool! I’m glad it helps. I wish you luck in finding other good products as well. Feel free to stop by if you’d like.
        -Author S

        Liked by 1 person

    2. While I agree with Author S, I would also like to say that I love how you build the post with general health at first and even end up in a comparison to an otherwise often used product. Other than that, you incorporate humor in your writing, which makes in fun and interesting to read your article.

      Liked by 2 people

  18. Evening all!
    If you fancy, check out my authors blog where I write about my writing, what I plan to publish this year (with any luck) and generally just about me.

    http://Www.jackprobynbooks.com
    And if you fancy giving me a follow I’ll be more than happy to follow you back 🙂 @jackprobynbooks

    Bom dia and all the best

    P.S – you don’t have to do any of those things, they’re just there for you if you want

    Liked by 4 people

    1. Hi, just read one of your blog posts. I really like that you’re offering advice to other writers. (I read your post about word counts). As a writer who is interested in writing novels, I found the content interesting, informative and also helpful. So thanks for that 🙂

      Your writing style is a whole lot different from mine ( I tend to stick to blogs that are more familiar in terms of tone), but that didn’t stop me from wanting to finish reading the full post which is great. To me that means you’re writing great content. So, I say, keep it up! And also, I’ll probably follow.

      Liked by 1 person

      1. Hey! Thanks for your feedback! It is greatly appreciated. I had a little read through your short story and found it very relevant – I wonder, is any based on personal experience!? haha

        Liked by 2 people

      3. I like the idea of taking it a step at a time. Personally, I don’t often adhere to strict word counts, but I keep ballpark numbers in mind. I tend to focus on what I want to happen in the piece and less about how many words I need.
        I wish you the best of luck with your novel and your blog!
        -Author S

        Like

    1. Your ideas were clear; however, the flow was impaired when you went from thoughts of elementary to high school, then back to middle school. I like your points. I think it’s difficult for parents and teachers to know what is best for each child. https://gracelead.co

      Like

  20. Hey fellow WP bloggers,

    I have created the support website for our iOS app Photo Tagger:
    http://phototaggerblog.wordpress.com

    The app will help to categorize your iPhone photos on the go into albums instead of sorting through them later.

    How do I disable the Leave a comment widget on the left side of the blog? I would like to have it on the bottom of the blog. Or is this part of the theme?

    I also appreciate feedback on the usability of this site as a support website. The app is currently going through the apply store review process and is only available as a pre-release.

    Thank you,
    Tessa

    Liked by 2 people

    1. hey) Just commented) really like your blog! I enjoyed that you made like a ‘thing’ called fashion quote of the day) Being a fashion lover myself, I loved you blog) The design is modern and nice, has it’s own feel to it, you know) it kinda looks like the app called Polyvore (you should check it out), and I love it. Basically, I love your blog, gotta follow))

      Home

      Liked by 4 people

  22. Hello everyone,

    I recently quit my job to start my own company, so I decided to write about what I learned from my job: https://thamara.blog/2017/03/10/lessons-from-my-first-job/

    I’m thinking about writing more pieces about my personal experiences. I would really appreciate any comments about how I can make these more interesting for readers. I always find it very challenging to talk about myself in an interesting way, if you know what I mean 🙂

    Thank you in advance!

    Thamara.

    Liked by 3 people

    1. You could try a few short tags such as “why blog.” When I choose tags, I try to imagine what words people are likely to use when they do a search. Your post was easy to read. You might want to reduce the amount of space between paragraphs just a little. https://gracelead.co

      Liked by 2 people

      1. thank you for the feedback, I’m glad i was easy to read. I added in that tag you suggested and will try to use those tips for the future.

        Liked by 1 person