Jul 3, 2017 / Community Pool

Community Pool

Where bloggers come together to give each other 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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    1. I love how cynical your post is. But, it does make good points. I like how you vary the size and style of the text to break up your writing as the post is quite long, but interesting enough to keep you going!

      Liked by 3 people

      1. Thank you! I like writing long posts when it permits but always concern that someone will be put off or get bored reading. Glad it held your interest. And thank you very much again for your feedback.

        All the best
        James

        Liked by 1 person

    2. Awesome forgiveness post. I am also new here too. I appreciate you taking the time to write such meaningful posts! Keep it up.

      Liked by 1 person

  5. I’d like to invite everyone to come by and check out my poem of the week, “Young Johnny (Off to War).” It’s about a young Confederate soldier and his experience during the Civil War. A short poem, and I think I found the perfect image to accompany it. Comments and feedback are always welcome, and please leave them in the comments section of the post page, and click the like button on the post page. 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

    Young Johnny (Off to War)

    Liked by 3 people

      1. Yeah it totally helped to feel strong and finally say what I’ve decided is right.will be expecting your views and advice in future posts too.Thank you😊

        Liked by 3 people

  10. Hi fellow bloggers. I write an offbeat tennis blog. My latest post compares the night before Wimbledon to Christmas Eve…just to give you an example of what to expect. If you like this, there is more where this came from! Consider following, if you like!

    Wimbledon Eve

    Liked by 4 people

  11. Hey everyone, happy Monday.

    I have just found my way onto the community pool after setting up my blog a few weeks ago (too late for the weekly First Friday post!).
    So I decided to set up a travel photography blog to share some pics and insights with you all. I’ve not been getting any hits through the reader, but I think I may have figured out that I was over using tags, so have rectified that. But realise it also takes time and effort.
    A new post went up today about a trip to Austria, let me know your thoughts! I’m still working my way around things.

    https://shootfromthetrip.com/2017/07/03/gentle-hikes-and-mirrored-lakes/

    Liked by 6 people

    1. I wandered into your blog from the Community Pool. Lovely pictures and stunning scenery. I like your conversational, light hearted, personable writing style. Looking forward to seeing more.

      Liked by 1 person

  15. Hello, I just launched my website on the 1st, and have had lots of nice comments (privately) from friends and family, but looking for a little feedback from other bloggers! I currently have 4 posts in addition to my pages…I’d be grateful for any feedback! Thanks! http://lovingthewoundedchild.com/

    Liked by 4 people

    1. Looks like a wonderful and valuable website! I’m just wishing I could follow you through the WordPress Reader and not through email. Regardless, may the Lord bless you richly in your endeavors to help this special group of people!

      Liked by 1 person

      1. Thank-you!! How do I go about making that possible? I’ve just been teaching myself and learning from others as I go!

        Liked by 1 person

      2. Oh dear, I don’t know! Fairly new at this myself. Someone more tech-savvy than I will have to answer. Perhaps it has something to do with how your site was originally set up. Anybody else know the answer?

        Liked by 1 person

    1. I really really liked this! I especially liked the flow of the writing and how you gave examples from both our current lives and the bible. Great writing, it gave me something cool to think about 🙂

      Liked by 2 people

  18. Hello friends!
    I recently uploaded a post to my author-writing blog about loving/hating YA. If that’s not your cup of tea, we can also dive into why self-publishing may not be the path for everyone or how to stay strong during literary rejections! Likes, follows, and comments are appreciated and often returned!

    Latest post on YA here! https://morganabsaddlesonblog.wordpress.com/2017/06/28/5-reasons-to-love-ya-and-5-reasons-to-hate-it/

    Liked by 2 people

    1. Nice post! May I suggest that you go back in and edit your points so that it’s easier to tell which ones are the reasons to love YA and which are the reasons to hate YA. For example: Reason #1 to Love YA: Young Adult Books Transition, Reason #1 to Hate to YA: Young Adult Books Hold Back, Reason #2 to Love: … etc.

      Liked by 2 people

  19. Hi everyone! I’d like to invite you for a walk around my blog 🙂 The most recent post was about why it’s important to forgive and let go (& how we can do it) – https://yourbeautifuljourney.wordpress.com/2017/07/02/letting-go/. Another one from last week is about how to be great (because we all want to, in some way) – https://yourbeautifuljourney.wordpress.com/2017/06/28/be-great-be-kind/.

    Thank you so much in advance for your visit ❤ And feel free to share your own thoughts on the topics!

    Liked by 3 people

    1. I thought this post was so inspiring. To forgive is something easier said than done. Great job!
      I’d love for you to check out my blog as well if you have the time. I am new to blogging and id love to hear any feedback.
      youngishmama.com

      Liked by 2 people

      1. Thank you! I enjoyed reading your blog, too. Your writing style is simple and engaging, and you certainly have an eye for beautiful design. Keep up the good work! 🙂

        Liked by 1 person

    1. I really like this, and as someone who’s very deep into the introvert scale I totally related to it!
      A tip I can share for creating lists though is to bold each of the subheadings so that you break up the block of text and catch your readers eye. It’s not always necessary so I suggest you play around with it before you commit to it but it’s a useful tool that could help you in the future.
      I really liked your ending, all in all great job 🙂

      Liked by 2 people

      1. I’m so happy you could relate!
        Thank you for your comment, that’s really helpful and such a good tip. I’ll definitely try bolding next time! Hope you come back and read more soon 🙂

        Liked by 2 people

      2. I just followed you, so I’ll definitely be back!
        BTW thank you so much! you just became my 300th follower and I’m so excited about that. I’m very glad to have you and I hope you like what you read 🙂

        Liked by 1 person

    2. I like it! I am not sure everyone would agree, I know some do have a hard time socially, on the other hand, if you have that confidence, awesome! And maybe your post will inspire the less confident ones!

      Liked by 2 people

      1. Thanks for the comment, I’m really glad you liked it! I hope it can give anyone who reads it a little mini boost of confidence, if they need it!

        Liked by 1 person

  21. Hi there,

    I started my blog a couple of month ago about food and travel for now. I thought about writing in French as English is not my first language. I would love to hear your feedback about my writing, especially about the quality of my writing.
    Here is my last post about a trip in Tokyo: https://secretmoona.wordpress.com/

    Thanks and happy Monday (and week)
    Mayi

    Liked by 5 people

    1. Great blog! I like how descriptive your posts area, and the pictures are high quality, relevant and engaging. A tip would be for the home page instead of making one scroll all the way down to see the next post, make it so only the post excerpt is visible. Once again, great job!

      Liked by 2 people

  23. Hi everyone.
    I just opened my blog today and did my first post… However when my friends type the domain http://www.chriskenya.com they are told that the URL aint recognized…. What should I do to enable my friends access my blog to create traffic…. Plus how does one make money out of blogging? I don’t understand that concept
    Please drop your feedback on my site… Love you all family

    Liked by 4 people

    1. Hi Chris,
      this would be because your website is actually : http://chriskenya.wordpress.com
      as you are hosted by wordpress.com.
      If you want your own domain there are different plans you can purchase, which you can find below your stats page on the menu. If you want full control over everything, you can also self-host on wordpress.org. Hope this helps!

      Liked by 1 person

    3. Hi Chris! I am also a new blogger who posted my first post today. I know the feeling of confusion and dealing with the whole beginners blogging. I have a self hosted site and I feel that I have made the right choice in terms of blogging for the future. I started up with bluehost. That might be something you’d want to look into.
      If you have time I’d love for you to check out my blog. youngishmama.com.
      Good luck on your blogging!! I’m sure you will do great.

      Liked by 2 people

      2. My domain was free and included in the bluehost package that I bought. The package itself was about 200$ but that was because I paid to keep it active for 3 years. They have more simpler and cheaper packages that are about 50$ but bluehost is so easy to use. I really recommend it.
        If not, you can buy your domain on godaddy.com for about 10$ depending on availability.

        Liked by 1 person

      4. you can make money blogging through company ads. to be honest i’m still in the process of setting that up for my own website but pretty much the gist is other companies will pay you for a spot on your blog depending on the amount of traffic you get. Each ad that is put on your site gets about .01 -.05 cents each time someone either clicks on the ad or even sees it. It all depends on the company you go with. the ones that I am going to try is amazon affiliates and google ads.

        Liked by 1 person

    1. I don’t know if you can get far with this – but I think you have to try! I loved the post and I think you should keep at it. The thing is that these stories needs to be shared to make people feel less alone, so keep at it. Even if you touch only one person I think you’ll have done a good job.

      Liked by 3 people

      1. That’s my goal, honestly. I’m sharing so many secrets of mine in hopes to help those who are still struggling.. or have struggled before. I’m hoping to make this go far but even if I don’t, helping people is what I try doing best!

        Liked by 2 people

    1. I’m glad to see that you’re in a better place, and I feel as if your blog would be very motivational for those struggling with eating disorders. I like how you kept your posts honest, and the images and quotes made it that much better.

      Liked by 1 person

      2. It looks pretty good, the only thing I would say is that on the top bar, you’ve put the home page twice, so maybe you should delete the second one. And maybe choose a different header image for your home page, because the grapefruit isn’t really filling the whole box so it looks a bit awkard. Hope this helps!

        Liked by 1 person

  27. Okay so I once again need your help and feedback!
    I recently changed my theme and the whole look of my blog. Honestly I love it, but I would like to hear your feedback on anything that I maybe overlooked. Is it easy to navigate? nice to look at? etc. Anything you have to say would be helpful.

    I would also appreciate it so much if you could take a look at my content and suggest what kind of posts you would like to see from me. I know that’s an unconventional question but I’m busy brainstorming and I figured we’re all creative on here so maybe some of you have ideas you won’t mind lending me 🙂

    https://enetteventer.com/

    Liked by 3 people

  28. Hello, fellow bloggers!
    I just posted a new blog, appropriately timed for the upcoming USA holiday. Feel free to check it out: https://domesticminister.com/2017/07/03/the-work-in-fireworks/

    Also, I’m curious to learn how you all prefer to update/revise a previously posted blog, NOT to edit it for just a typo–I’m talking about coming back in with new material (perhaps you’ve learned more or gotten more accurate data). I have a pinned post that I created a while back to explain that many of my posts had been blocked from view for a while, pending either some editing on my part or copyright permission from others. Both the editing and copyright issues have been resolved, so I’m thinking I should provide an update on it, but I’m not sure how best to do that. Or maybe I should just delete the whole post? https://domesticminister.com/2017/05/18/the-integrity-inspection/

    But even beyond that, there was a topic I recently contemplated writing about, wanting to talk about it in a “real-time” way, but I felt sure that I would want to do some research (which takes time) in order to present things well. So I wondered how I could quickly share something and then come back later with any additional and/or more accurate info. If you’ve ever done such a revisit with one of your posts, please let me know how you did it. Share your link(s) so I can see what you did. Thanks!

    Liked by 4 people

    1. If your previous post had views, likes, or comments, you may want to leave it intact. You could publish a new post and call it a sequel. Once that is done, you could go into your old post and remove the content except for a message that tells your viewers that the and improved sequel is ready for them. https://gracelead.co

      Like

      1. Thanks for this idea! I was concerned about how any comments would be affected. Have not been sure of how to blog a sequel/update and connect it to its predecessor, especially if I blog something else in between. Still wondering what other options may be out there?

        Liked by 1 person

  29. Hi everyone, I run a travel blog and have just posted something new. Would love to get some thoughts on it.
    Thanks! 🙂

    Liked by 4 people

    2. I like the post!
      Your sentences are a bit repetitive though. For instance almost all your paragraphs had the word “another” as one of the first three words. It’s not a big issue but it throws off the flow of the post. A good tip for editing is to read the whole post out loud to yourself.

      I would love to travel to all those places! Especially Bora Bora and Canda which are both on my list!

      I went through the trouble of getting the link so if anyone else would like to read the post here is the link:
      https://travelledcities.wordpress.com/2017/07/03/travel-wish-list-1/

      Liked by 2 people