Mar 17, 2013 / Community Pool

Community Pool

Community Pool

The Community Pool is for those of you looking for input, whether on post ideas, writing, blog design and layout, or anything else. If you have a post, page, or idea you want to bounce off someone, leave a comment. Your fellow bloggers can then click through and offer input either on your site, or in the comments here (feel free to indicate which you’d prefer).

Read on for the ground rules and to leave a comment . . .

  • You’ll get the best feedback if you can be as specific as possible about what you’d like people to respond to or where you’re struggling.
  • Please keep all comments civil and constructive. We’re here to help and support one another, not to beat anyone down.
  • If you haven’t looked at our Commenting Guidelines in a while, now might be a good time.
  • 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.
  • No running on the deck.

Photo by t_a_i_s.

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    1. Easy to read and understand articles so I think the length is pitched about right. Nice easy writing style so i don’t feel I am ‘being told’ but am having ‘information shared’ Finding my way around was straightforward enough. Pleasing layout. All in all a positive blog visit. Keep up the good work.

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    3. Brett Fish- Excellent blog! The theme is much needed and the layout is great! The testimonies are awesome. I pray for everyone who visits will be inspired and their relationships strengthened. I understand it is common to speak and write in a language common to your audience. As a youth pastor, your style maybe be very effective. But your blog has the potential to reach a MUCH broader audience. Therefore, proof your posts with spell check and WordPress grammar recommendations. I also recommend adding simple links at the beginning of testimonies to remove lengthy repetitive intro statements. God’s peace and blessings upon your ministry!

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    5. Brett Fish,

      You blog is all over the place, which is fine, except that you stated above that you want to encourage stronger relationships. If that is your focus then go for it. I read the blog intro to losing a baby and couldn’t tell if you had a real experience about that or not. As, someone who has lost a baby it would mean more to me, as a reader, if you told me your own pain and sorrow. This is how we connect with our readers.

      Also, as someone else mentioned, you really need to edit your work before publishing. It will make it easier to read. And if you want to attract a wider age range of readers you will have to use capital letters and punctuation.

      I wish you great success as you find your voice and use it to connect with your readers.

      Juju
      Left-handed scribe

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      1. thankx so much for the feedback – yeah my blog is all over the place – it is specifically the series on marriage i was looking for help for… will check out my intro again – i have not personally lost a child but it was creating a space for those who have to share and there are some powerful stories there – the capital letters and punctuation is personal style so i guess it will always be a very specific readership unless i change that – lots to think about, thankx…

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    6. Apparently I am a few days late on seeing this community pool, but maybe my comments can still be helpful.

      I agree with PaulScribbles that your writing style is easy and not pushy. The length of the each post is good, and I like the personal intros that you included for each guest poster. I also like the topic of your series; I think it is a needed reminder/lesson in our society that puts self above all else.

      A suggestion about series writing: include a brief intro about the series at the top of each post. This will help tie your series together better and help anyone who might stumble upon a post in the middle of the series to understand that it is part a series and not just random post. If they know it’s part of a series they might go back and read the rest of the series.

      A suggestion about your links: I think you are including too many words in the link. For example, you have this entire phrase,“[to read what Robert Martin has to share on sacrificing self, click here.],” in the link. A better way to do it would be, “To read what Robert Martin has to share on sacrificing self, click here.” Only the word “here” is linked.

      Also, the wording of the link I mentioned above doesn’t really grab the reader’s attention unless they know who Robert Martin is. A better way to grab my attention would be “Continue the series here: One Way to Love Your Spouse Series, Part 2: Sacrificing Self.”(The underlined part is linked.)

      Previous commenters have advised using proper grammar and spelling in your posts. I have no problem with not using capital letters (I often use all lower case myself), BUT if you are going to do that you must sound like you actually have a good grasp of the English language. I am all for adding personality to your writing style, but if you actually want someone to read what you wrote (and I’m guessing you do because this series is about improving marriages plural, meaning more than just yours) then you should only bend the rules of writing when it does not hinder your readers’ ability to understand what your wrote.

      In your response to JUJU333, you seemed to imply that you don’t mind having a very specific readership for the time being. If that is your intended purpose for this blog, a very specific readership, then by all means cater to that specific audience. But if that is not your intended purpose then I would encourage you to think about what your intended purpose actually is. And when you decide that, every post needs to be written with that purpose in mind.

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      1. thankx Katy, a lot of helpful stuff there – really appreciate you taking the time to comment… and thankx for all the advice – i don’t have uber much time to focus on my blogging so kinda just happens in the moment a lot and don’t really have the brain capacity right now to do a major shift overhaul of my writing style but i have been considering doing what you say a lot and might start up a second blog that bends to the english language and not the other way around… thankx again!

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  2. Hi there – I’d love some feedback on my short stories, which I’m posting exponentially as I write them, having posted the ones that were already written. I’m currently just finishing number six. When I’ve completed enough to fill a book, I’m hoping to publish them as a collection called ‘Sex N’ Drugs N’ Sausage Rolls’. Yes, as befits a gay, former, minor pop/rock star; they are quite racy!

    About

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  3. I am not a writer, but I like to write silly post stories like the one below that are only partially based in reality. I’d like a little feedback about whether strangers find it entertaining or not. I got some good feedback on this one from friends. Also, is my blog’s layout aesthetically a turn off? I’m not trying to have anything too extravagant, but I don’t want it to be a total turn off either. I wonder if a different theme would be better. Thanks in advance.

    http://donofalltrades.com/2013/03/08/a-time-i-hung-with-the-son-of-god/

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    2. Bahaha I loved it!! That was not silly, mate. That was inspired! Irreverent is irrelevant, just plain hilarious! Good content, and good layout! (did I spy a mister potato head, hmm?) I sure hope your blog takes off in a big way! It should!! 🙂

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    3. Jesus likes beer? And Bud Lite Lime at that?

      That was a very cute story. Well-written, short, easy to read and moved well. It was a funny story that kept me reading.

      Keep up the good work.

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  4. I would really appreciate some technical advice with plug ins. As I understand it you can’t add a custom plug unless you have a .org site, ie self hosted. Site my code writing skills are zero and I am just about keeping my head above water learning the ropes with the .com site that’s not a practical solution. My blog is a eclectic, (hope that’s not code s for a dog’s dinner!) so I do travel and photography as well as baking. I really want the asking blogs to look better by using a recipe card plug in. Are there any baking bloggers out there who can help me with a free solution. Also if you visit my site and think I should have separate sites for baking and travel, I’d appreciate your thoughts.

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    1. Hi, Vannillarock. The good news is that you need zero coding skills to get a wordpress.org site up and running. Adding plug-ins and using themes to make your home your own could not be simpler and you get max control over the way that you present yourself to the world. WordPress.com offers great ease of use and instant gratification but you are right, if you want to extend and personalise to a great extent, you need to self-host.

      There is plenty of help and support at wordpress.org. The best advice that I can give you is to go ahead and try it out! There are plenty of cheap and cheerful hosting services available out there and it need not cost you much to put your own site together. Many of these hosts offer 1-click installation for WordPress, so you don’t even need to do your own installation

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      1. Thank you for taking the time to reply. It has actually taken me the best part of a day (doh!!) to figure out that the baking site I love the look of are all self hosted. I have come across this ‘one click ‘ installation phrase before- what exactly does it mean. There is an on going monthly charge for these services though- am I correct? I am not a business just a blogger so maybe it’s overkill?

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    2. In general, you should be able to install wordpress fairly easily as a self hosted blogger. I say that now, but have to admit that it took me a couple of weeks of trying off and on to figure it out! But once I did it was like a light bulb going on. The ‘one-click’ installation depends on the host service you’re using, but there should be a menu option on the host service that should offer a wordpress option, might be under a ‘simple scripts’ menu option. Host service charges vary, but usually start at something like $4 – $8 a month. You can add all sorts of security, SEO, and lots of plug-in options too that might add to the cost, but it’s not too bad overall.

      Some host services also offer a help line via phone too, and the WordPress.org site offers a help service too, which I seem to remember being via email. I used both when I first started, and was glad I did, the people at both the host service and WordPress.org were very helpful.

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      1. Thank you for taking the time to reply. I think that. I am going to separate my photographic content from my baking content and change the the on the baking. I will revisit the .org for the baking site if I can get readership up a bit.

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      2. Thank you very much for taking the time to reply to my query – I really appreciate it. I have decided to split my posts, one for photography, travel and one for baking and give it a few months to see how that goes. I am getting way more traffic on photography even though I think I am much better baker!

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      3. The one thing I don’t like about self hosting is that you have to do all the work to attract readers. At least with a .com site, you can get some traffic through the WordPress.com search features. But I’m just thinking of it as a challenge to figure out.

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      4. I am really glad you mentioned that about the search bringing more traffic as I have read that before. How exactly do you make use of that.? Is this functionality available in mobile mode too? I would like to use it to find a wider range of blogs than on pressly pressed. Thank you.

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      5. If you have the WordPress mobile app, go to the main menu. At the top of the menu look for “Reader”, from that page then click on the icon in the top right corner – it looks like an open book. That menu will list a number of options such as ‘Blogs I follow’, ‘Freshly Pressed’ , and a list of subjects including ‘Food’. You can also type in something specific like ‘Chocolate’.
        Hope this makes sense!

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      6. Oops, looks like you can only type a specific search term on the WordPress website, not the mobile app. But you can access general subject searches like ‘food’ there though.

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  5. I like to share my story being discriminated at workplace so that people like me who struggle a lot can learn something if not at least know that the workplace discrimination does exist and real til this day 2013

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  6. Hello 🙂 I am a new-ish WordPress user, and have a blog dedicated to my journey through anxiety, depression and eating disorder, whilst being a single mum of four children…Being fairly new to blogging, I would appreciate any feedback at all, and any hints/tips on where I could improve would be very much appreciated 🙂 Thankyou!

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    1. I liked your easy writing style and I could relate to what you were saying. The only thing I would say I had to hunt around to find your sidebar…I finally found it at the bottom. IMHO not everyone who lands on your homepage will scroll right the way down … As I say this is my opinion based on looking at thousands of blogs. At the end of the day you go with what you like 🙂

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      1. Hello 🙂 Thankyou very much! I truly appreciate your feedback ~ I am glad you have brought the sidebar issue to my attention, as it is something that is important, and I had overlooked…I will see if I can change this 🙂 Thankyou for your positive comments! Much appreciated 🙂

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    2. I love your site, your writing style, your and your message. I am no where near qualified to give any sort of advise on betterment’s of blogging. I just know that I love what you are doing and I am following you for sure!! You are going to do great great things with your blog. Keep up the good work!

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      1. Hello 🙂 Thankyou so much! I really appreciate that you took the time to visit my blog and have given me such positive feedback! I am grateful for all advice given, I am sure you are more qualified than me! Thankyou 🙂 It is nice to meet you and I plan to visit your blog when I have a bit more time on my hands 🙂

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    3. I think a lot of your posts were amazing. What’s the name of your theme? It looks great! Oh yeah, it is a bit different that your sidebar is on the bottom. That’ll be hard to find for a new reader like me. But anyways, I thought the stories and feelings you had come all too often. I would know because I had orthorexia… But what I like most about you wrote is how it easily relates to people. I get stuck into depression ruts very easily, and I used to hate when I felt that my pants were too tight. It made me very self-conscious and irritated for the rest of the day. It’s really great that you’re not pro-anorexia, but that you know it’s a battle. Keep fighting! It is hard to live without traits of an ED coming back in. Keep in touch!

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      1. Hello 🙂 Thankyou so much for visiting my blog, and for your great feedback! I think my theme is called ‘Ever After’, just one of the WordPress options that I liked…Thankyou for pointing out the sidebar issue to me ~ you are correct, it is hard to find! I will see if I can change this…It is nice to hear you enjoyed my posts 🙂 Yes, I think alot of people can relate to issues like poor body image and depression ~ sadly it is quite a problem in society…Thankyou for sharing your experiences with me ~ I hope you are ok now from the orthorexia you had ❤

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      1. Hello 🙂 Thankyou so much for taking the time to visit my blog, and for your positive feedback! I really appreciate it 🙂 Its nice to hear I am not coming across as too negative or miserable, as I do worry about that! Thankyou 🙂

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    5. I thought your blog was beautiful. I can relate to what you said. I am new at this also. When I saw the anxiety and depression subject I wanted to check it out since I struggle daily with those 2 issues myself.

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    1. Hi Sound Eagle!
      Your website is pretty visually appealing. However, upon first glance I can’t find a purpose on your blog. The homepage is sort of confusing and it’s unclear whether you’re a writer or if you like to make infographics? Perhaps you ought to consider making an About Me page. I didn’t find one on your website but perhaps I wasn’t looking hard enough? That being said, it should be fairly easy to find one on a blog, otherwise I have no clue what I’m looking for/at. Hope this helps! I really like your infographics!

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      1. Hi catdiggedydog,

        Thank you very much for your comments. 🙂

        It is quite unusual that you did not find the “About” page. In fact, last Friday, someone left a message there announcing that SoundEagle has won THE BEST MOMENT AWARD. See http://soundeagle.wordpress.com/2013/03/18/soundeagle-in-best-moment-award-from-moment-matters/ for the details. And that is not the first time when SoundEagle’s “About” page serves as an announcement board for others.

        The “About” page should be very obvious as it is the second item (next to “Home”) in the main menu. The link is http://soundeagle.wordpress.com/about/. SoundEagle is very interested in your views and comments on the “About” page, and whether it will help you to “find a purpose” in SoundEagle’s blog.

        Cheers!

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      2. Hi catdiggedydog,

        Reposting this comment just in case you did not receive it earlier. Thank you very much for your comments. 🙂

        It is quite unusual that you did not find the “About” page. In fact, last Friday, someone left a message there announcing that SoundEagle has won THE BEST MOMENT AWARD. And that is not the first time when SoundEagle’s “About” page serves as an announcement board for others.

        The “About” page should be very obvious as it is the second item (next to “Home”) in the main menu. SoundEagle is very interested in your views and comments on the “About” page, and whether it will help you to “find a purpose” in SoundEagle’s blog.

        Cheers!

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      3. SoundEagle, that was totally my bad. I moused over it and I thought that the About Page was just your web statistics but i didnt realize that there was an actual about page. Just kidding!

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  9. Hi, I am refurbishing my Photo blog and would appreciate some feedback on its layout and usability. I am currently working backwards through the site to neaten up old posts and have reached last August, so please do not base your comments on posts prior to that.

    http://www.woolgathering.org.uk/newd/

    Thank you in advance

    Beth

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    1. I have to admit to finding the layout a tiny bit confusing. There’s a photography link on it’s own and then links by year…then there’s a blog with photos in it.You also have the blog here…So I wonder if it might work to simplify. If the woolgathering site is to be photo specific maybe just make it that. Galleries and nothing else and keep all your writing here at PB.
      I do like the sliding galley thing though and the overall design of the site is user friendly. Is it a wordpress site?

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      1. Yes, the theme shows Cats for navigation at the foot and I would prefer Pages there. I think I need to re-categorise my posts. The Year thing is because it set out to be a blog about a learning journey, illustrating progress. The “Art” fork is currently hidden because it embarrasses me 🙂 The theme is Minimatica (free). I don’t think it is available for wp.com

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      2. Cats? What Cats? Oh, Cats! Aha 😉
        I keep my writing and photos separate now…works for me…if your intention is to document progress/a journey maybe do just that and keep it simple…Use just the years.

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  10. Hello everyone! I’d love to hear any feedback for my blog. I’ve mainly been writing fiction recently… plus I’ve recently began taking part in the ‘100 Theme Challenge.’
    The City of Rankoor is my favourite short story I’m writing at the moment, but feel free to let me know about any other post which you’d like to discuss.

    Here’s a link to The City of Rankoor – Part One.

    Thank you very much for this – let me know if you’d like my advice too and I’ll definitely oblige!

    The City of Rankoor – Part One

    Jasmine

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    1. Hello! Your writing style is great – how long do you plan to make the story?
      Might I suggest making a custom menu (in the widgets section) and sticking your chapters in that. Give each chapter its separate category (category of pt 1 would be part 1, etc) and then put those categories in a menu. It’s more organized to have all the chapters/parts displayed on your blog at all times, rather than at the bottom of each post. 😀

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      1. Hi, thank you so much for your feedback! I’m not sure about the length yet – The City of Rankoor began as a tiny idea and now it’s escalated, so I don’t know! I was also thinking about possibly turning it into an eBook eventually, but we’ll see… 🙂

        That suggestion sounds like a great idea, actually – I didn’t even know I could create a custom menu! Do you think that if I separated each short story into a section, that would be okay? (e.g. menu name would be ‘The City of Rankoor’ and I’d have part one, two, three, etc. included in that?)

        Thanks for taking time from your day to give me your opinion, it’s much appreciated 😀

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      2. Yeah, your menu idea makes sense. And if you have multiple stories then just do multiple menus. That way people can see them the instant they step into the blog.
        I’m currently writing my own blog-story and that’s the format I’m using. The only possible problem is where your theme locates the menus. Because for some of them the menu ends up at the bottom of the blog, or somewhere out of the way.
        And you don’t have to thank me. Just doing my duty, citizen! (sorry… bad superman impersonation)

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      3. Sounds great. All my other menu items appear on the right hand side, so hopefully this one will too.

        I take it that superman impersonations are your kryptonite? (I couldn’t resist… *sigh* I miss The New Adventures of Superman… :P)

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      4. Excuse me while I die of laughter in the corner. Superman impersonations are totally my kryptonite, so please don’t hurt me too badly.

        And that sounds good. Best of luck with your menu-adventures!

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  11. Hey everyone! I’m a high school student that has been keeping an active blog for over half a year now. I’ve never really had a focus and I intend to keep it that way but recently I’ve started posting mainly about a service project that I’m involved in, about North Korea. Do you guys think this is effective?

    neverstationary.wordpress.com

    Additionally, any general feedback regarding my blog would be very much appreciated. Thanks so much! – Catherine

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    1. Hi catdiggedydog (Catherine),

      SoundEagle has visited your blog and commented on several posts, and would like to reiterate one of the comments here as follows:

      SoundEagle agrees with tfaswift, and would like to congratulate you for being mature and eloquant at a young age.

      At SoundEagle’s blog, you would find that we have much in common to the extent that the blog also serves as a kind of journal in which many styles and ideas can come into existence and be shared with others.

      SoundEagle hopes that you continue to do very well and find fulfillment in whatever you enjoy doing and savouring, especially through being “Never Stationary Because we’re constantly evolving”.

      Cheers!

      You are already on a fine footing and off to a good start. Keep up the great work!

      Like

    1. Simple, clean easy to Navigate. Very interesting content too. Lots of variety. Engaging with other bloggers via comments, likes etc seems to be a good way to increase traffic to your blog.

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  14. I have published a number of eBooks. As any author will tell you the writing is far easier than finding readers. I am experimenting with a combination 76th Birthday Party (March 21) and a Book Launch on Facebooks event. Details here: https://www.facebook.com/EMOT.FIT/events

    The book? Easy Exercises to Tame Bad, Mad, and Sad Feelings. I would love feed back but also think others might get some ideas for promoting their stuff.

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  15. I would appreciate and welcome any feedback on set-up or content or any improvements that are needed. I am very new at this and am strictly doing this for – I pray all of God’s Glory. After many years of holding back even with the promptings of family, friends and associates to take my way with words and do something good with them, well here I am just -a- stumbling through! Although most of the time my message is light and witty, I do have the more deep and serious moments and messages. I just go with the flow of whatever God has laid on my heart in the mood and manner in which He gives them to me. Thank you so much for any advice, direction or comments.

    Linda

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    1. If you are linking to a video it is possible to embed this in your post. (I can’t remember how, but there are plenty of support documents on wordpress.) This allows a reader to watch it with a single click rather than two. I have some links on my blog you may find interesting. Keep blogging! Sue

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    1. Hello! I’m just an amateur blogger myself, so I’m not and expert – just a friendly, interested reader! I spent a few minutes browsing around, and I like the look of your content. You use visuals really well. My only piece of advice to draw more readers is to make more use of tags. Some of your posts had some good ones, but others barely had any tags at all. If your posts aren’t tagged with terms that other people will search, then they won’t show up in the reader for people to find. Tags like “healthy food”, “work out”, or just simply “life” or “healthy living” might help you show up more on the reader. I hope that helps!

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  17. I have been looking to expand my audience, and at this point I’m not sure how to proceed. I host two blogs at this time:

    eyesthroughtheglass.com (personal)
    dgtoons.wordpress.com (art)

    I must admit I have more ideas for content (such as video games, some of my fiction, and so forth). I welcome any advice, ideas, or constructive criticism.

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    1. Hi Dylan

      I had a look at the eyesthroughtheglass.com blog. I enjoyed the read and would suggest the following for your consideration:

      # add a search widget

      # add a link to any previous posts mentioned e.g. in the ‘Trying to Sort it All Out’ post, you mentioned a post titled ‘Exodus’. I had to search through month by month to find the Exodus post as you didn’t have a search widget that I could just type it into. Linking the previous post within the current post helps readers to find the information that you mention – particularly as the issues you discuss in the Exodus post make such interesting reading.

      # including a short list of “Related Posts” at the bottom of relevant posts – as this will help draw reader’s attention to other posts on the subject under discussion.

      # One way of expanding your audience is to take part in one of the writing challenges at the Daily Post and submit entries that draw the reader back to your subject matter. One fantastic example I found of this is here: http://beingspecial.org/2013/01/28/the-nightmare-of-public-affection/

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    2. 1. i love your focus! i think something that helps gain followers is a focus on a blog. It’s hard to read a blog that talks about many different subjects. you hesitate before clicking the follow button because you don’t want random topics to pop up in your Reader.
      2. Perhaps you could utilize the Daily Prompt more? You definitely have in the past, I can see from your posts, however people tend to click on the ones that get there first. Daily Post publishes new writing prompts every morning around 8 am. If you get there first, make a pingback and have a fascinating title, then you are sure to get more hits!
      3. change the format of your blog. The homepage should be short snippets of your posts, or the way mine is arranged (based on the image attached to my post – you can check my website: neverstationary.wordpress.com) and that tends to make your site easier to navigate, without all of the endless scrolling.

      Hope this helps!

      Like

  18. I just started blogging and was wondering what are some of the best ways to increase site traffic? How do I help my blog be “known”? Thanks!

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    1. I’d suggest finding some other blogs that have a similar focus as your’s and leave comments. As you get to know other bloggers, they’ll get to know you and leave comments on your site as well.

      Joining in with the daily post on WordPress and the weekly photo challenge are pretty good to at getting a bunch of views of specific posts.

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      1. Thanks, Peter! I will keep looking for more blogs to follow. I don’t think the app version of WordPress is very user-friendly for this, and I do most writing from my iPhone or iPad. I wish there were just a google search bar type thing to use for finding blogs/blog content. If there is one, I have not found it yet.

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    2. Hi Insomnamom!
      I would agree with Peter S. If you do decide to do some of the daily writing prompts, people tend to look at the pingbacks on those posts, namely the ones that get there first. They normally post around 8 am every morning, so you ought to consider waking up early and doing a little bit of free writing! I enjoy it a lot.

      Additionally, you could change the format of your blog to have a static front page, with excerpts of every post you make. This makes it much more visually appealing!

      Content wise, I think your posts are interesting and relatable. 🙂 Hope this helps!

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      1. Thanks for the feedback-I appreciate it! I made my front page static; hope this helps! Also, I will try to do the daily prompts…I’m usually up all night, but 8 is when my kids wake up, so it will be a challenge! 🙂

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  19. I would appreciate constructive criticism on the general appearance and layout of my blog. Since my focus has always been the writing, I haven’t put too much effort into the aesthetic appeal of the blog, if that makes sense. I could use some help in that area. Of course, I wouldn’t mind some feedback on the content, as well!
    http://teenchange.wordpress.com/

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    1. Hello! I’d say if you want the viewer to concentrate on the writing, choose a black simple, sleek theme? Can still be interesting but makes the writing the strong focus, and so it should, your writing style is very nice, interesting and humorous Hope I helped! xo

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    2. Hello! I liked the writing on your blog, but wondered at the reason behind the space-themed background. Overall, it’s a nice site – the writing certainly is of good quality, and I agree with jannairefaulkner; find a layout/design that will let the writing speak for itself.

      Best of luck to you!

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      1. Thanks for the input. The original thought behind the theme was the “second star to the right and straight on till morning” quote to go with the Neverland reference. I don’t know if it’s working, though. I’ve been thinking of changing the theme, and this is affirmation that I probably should soon. Thanks!

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    3. I think the content is great! I would like it if your header was a bit bigger or more pronounced, but I love the title and I love the notebook background–it’s very fitting.

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      1. Thanks! I just changed to the notebook theme, so I’m glad to hear it’s a good fit. I don’t know if I have any control over the size of the header… I’ll look into it, though. I appreciate your input!

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    4. Hi Mrs. Roberson! I think perhaps you could make the background a little bit more intriguing? Plain dark green isn’t very eyecatching, I’m afraid. Additionally, you ought to consider changing the font/layout and adding more images and fun widgets to your sidebar. I’ve always liked your content though. Hope this helps 🙂

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      1. Haha! Hi! I changed the theme to something simpler because people thought my last background was too distracting and was taking away from the text. Ah, well. I’m glad you like my content (I like yours, too), so I’m doing something right, at least. 🙂

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    1. Hello my dear friend, you need to learn css Cascading Style Sheets, this is the code that is read to give you what you see on the screen. i think WP do a help sheet on it. You can see what I mean by looking where you write your blog and there are two tab, if you click on text tab you can see how the coding works. You can see the font name, font size, font colour, hyperlinks and what you have written. css is a matter of learning the code, where it goes and why. you also will need a folder with your fonts in. To tell you the truth unless you are going to make your blog dynamic i wouldn’t worry. Unless anyone knows another way then please let us know. 😀

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    1. Hi Wiley. I think your blog is fine. The theme is nice. However the only thing I’m not fond of are the colors. I don’t know if you can change your color scheme, but if you can I would make the brown a shade or two darker than your coat and for a pop of color instead of green use on orange. I’m thinking those colors might help your pictures pop a bit more. Also, if you have the option where you can choose Image under Format when your writing a new post if I’m not mistaken it will frame your picture and you can put a caption underneath it.

      Just my two little cents.

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  23. I recently became a member of wordpress and would really appreciate it if you helped me improve my blog by telling me what you think about my writing. Thankyou 🙂

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    2. I get the sense from the first few posts that you are a teen, writing for a teen audience. Not sure whether this is true or not, just stating the vibe that I got.

      I like that you cover a variety of topics, and I think the design of your blog is great. Very cute!

      The writing is easy to understand and gets to the point (your posts are not overly long, which is good). I’d recommend proofreading your posts more closely, as I found a few typos in the most recent post, which can be offputting to new readers.

      All in all, I think it’s a lovely blog, and wish you congratulations, and much success!

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    3. Hey Taylor! If you’re a teen, we can relate! I’m 16 and I’ve been keeping a blog for a while. I think in terms of writing, you ought to make your posts a bit longer, so that on first glance, it seems like you have something substantial to say. You also ought to find a focus for your blog. At the moment, it seems to be amateur book reviews? Beauty advice? Interesting! You ought to define a focus and stick to it. However, personally, I’ve found that it takes a while to find a focus so you can definitely experiment.
      As young people it’s hard to keep up a blog because few people our age maintain one, so it’s pretty cool that you started one. Hope this helps!

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      1. Thanks! Do you think I should do two seperate blogs? One for my fashion and another for my reviews? 🙂

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      2. Probably not necessary. You could probably just create different pages on your blog, titled like, “Beauty Trends!” “Reading Trends!” or something. There can be multiple different focuses if you indicate in the homepage somewhere. That way, it’s much clearer.

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  24. I’m 76 and have been blogging for years, but would love some feedback from the younger set. Also because time becomes an award winning speed boat when you are my age, I make only this promise- review me and I will review you. Here is the link http://www.emotionalfitnesstraining.com.

    One other comment after reading the above remarks about WP.org. I tried to switch, paid for WP help, had a local techie help me and after six weeks of trying gave up and deleted that account. Not as easy as promoted or at least when I tried, but then some call me a Cranky Old Lady.

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    1. Right off the bat I can tell you I love, love, love your wit and humor, that grabs my attention immediately!! You seem very young and hip at heart, so perhaps you can give me some pointers….I think you are wonderfully fine and you have my follow!!

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    3. The theme is not really my cup of tea, it reminds me of an advertisement a little too much, but the content is awesome.

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      2. I think it’s the use of red on white at times that I don’t particularly enjoy, but as I said, the content is great so it outweighs my concern really.

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    1. Hello again! I thought it’d be easier if I wrote about your blog here – less confusing that way.

      I think you’ve picked a great layout – it ties in with the vampire theme nicely. I finished reading your ‘About’ page and simply had to check out your story because it was so hilarious; your personality really shines through. And damn, did you deliver. I’ve only read chapter one so far and already I’m hooked. I’ve got a university essay due in tomorrow, but when I started reading, I couldn’t stop.

      Anyway, I’ve got some catching up to do, plus I want to watch Hellsing now! I look forward to stalking your activity through the blogosphere, like Anastasia quietly tracking a ghoul through the woods (although she’s so badass she’d probably just kill it straight off the bat).

      Thanks for sharing 🙂

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      1. Oh whoops I already commented on your other comment.
        *Smacks head.
        *It hurts less than superman impersonations. 😉

        Yeah I like my layout – I think it’s quite dark and gothic. Shame more blogs don’t use it.

        And thank you so much for the compliments. *Swoons. I never liked the whiny Twilight vampires very much. Plus I was inspired by Hellsing (watch the OVA’s though; the anime’s not that good).

        Woohoo! I’ve got a stalker. Wait. That’s not a good thing. And you know my weakness! Ahh! Run!

        And thanks for reading, Your story’s great. 😀

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  27. Hello everyone!
    Just started a fashion blog for both journalistic experience and to write my opinions on fashion news, collections and events.
    I’d love to know what’s stopping me gaining more likes/followers/views as although it’s nice to have a blog for yourself, i’d love to broaden others minds with my opinions/interests!
    Thank you 🙂
    jannairefaulkner.wordpress.com

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    1. I didn’t spot anything “unfriendly”, but wonder if you have submitted your website to Google, Bing and Pinterest directly yet? If not, look under the “tools” menu on WP, and sign up for the Webmaster Tools for Google & Bing, and get the codes for all three. This step will help all three sources find your blog faster. Good luck!

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      1. Thanks, I had done this with Google. Just did it with Pinterest. Haven’t yet with Bing. I have to get a MS account I think.

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