Apr 21, 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. Constructive criticism? Maybe I’m better at constructive commendations, but it’s also possible that they amount to the same thing.
      I blog from a mobile phone and that limits the adjustments I can make to mine, but these are a few things I have in mind that may help you:
      -Name your posts in such a way that they contain keywords to enable those who seek related topics find you through search engines.
      -Widgets or sidebars that contain links to your most interesting, controvercial or educative posts.
      -Add keywords and tags whine naming your images.
      -be as creative as possible; there is no limit to what you can do.
      -organize tags and categories in such a way that related items can be close to each other.
      I don’t know how helpful these tips would be, but I’m glad to share them with you, my friend! 🙂

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      1. Ooooh, I know what you mean… my titles and categories aren’t direct enough… so you feel that impaires the reader… I am a bit too “metaphorical” :/ I should be more descriptive that way people will find me… and naming my images, wow! this is all good my friend, jajajaaaa you always knew this but waited till I asked!! 🙂 thank you sooo much…

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      2. I just got that I am supposed to be as specific as possible… So, what I really want to know is what could be the reason for people not commenting on my blog posts… I have formed some lovely friendships with other bloggers and they are the ones who will leave a comment… 🙂 any clues???

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    2. On first glance at your site, I thought it was a photo blog because of the layout. It is very graphic heavy which isn’t a bad thing if you’re trying to show off your graphics and photos. But from the tag line, I think that you’re trying to show off your writing more than the graphics. Maybe a less graphic heavy front page would showcase your writing more.

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      1. wow, OK, hadn’t seen it that way… there are two reasons for this: I am VERY visual and enjoy some graphics as part of a post…. and the theme I am using asks for a featured image to identify each post on the home page… so maybe, considering your very interesting observation, this is not the right theme for me!? this is something very much worth considering, thank you so much for taking a peek and taking the time to give me some advice 🙂

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  2. Some of you have been reading my personal blog ‘Photography, Pain and Life’ with well over 100 comments and over 1000 visitor and I appreciate every single one. But I have another blog that is less well known its all to do with my photography so I would appreciate if you would take a lookie and comment. http://www.rainbow-photography.net there are a whole range of images and more to be added. Thank you in advance.

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    1. It looks like the beginnings to a blog. And seeing your other blog, I can tell you know what to do to make it very pleasing for readers to use.

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      1. Thank you for the comments here and on my blog its much appreciated. Trying to explain how I feel, how things affect me, I find difficult with my speaking voice but my writing or blogging voice gives me the freedom to speak. So when people listen to my blog, with the rubbish grammar and missing commas and apostrophes, as I tend to write how I speak then its much appreciated. =)

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    2. Not a fan of the heading and post title font and colour, it looks more suited to something to do with children. Also the grey text on the grey background is difficult to read. Also your Harley post, waaaaaaaaaaaaaaay too many photos.

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      1. appreciate you feed back, but as I work with childrn thats understandable, as for the Harley images, you don’t have to look at them all ans its better the a slide show where you don’t know when its going to end, at least you can skim and choose what you wish to see enlarge as you cannot please everyone all of the time. =)

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  3. Hello, everyone! Thank you for sharing your thoughts and ideas here each week. I’ve learned a lot, and now I have a question for you.

    I’ve had a blog for the last year. I’ve seen the number of followers rise bit by bit, and the number of daily views increase. I’d love those stats to grow faster, but the one thing that I’d really love is to get more comments – more engagement.

    I’ve included questions in my posts, asked directly for thoughts and ideas, but no significant result. What do you recommend for me? (I average between 150 and 200 views per day.)

    Here’s a link to my blog, “Things I Love at Trader Joe’s” – http://thingsiloveattraderjoes.com/
    I post three times per week (normally). Any observations and help would be greatly appreciated! Thanks so much! Have a great day. ~Judy

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    1. I am by no means an expert on this but I spent a little time with your love of TJ’s and thought I’d give you my opinion on what may be going on.
      I found that by the time I finished reading your post and got to the end where all the “follow…” were it was so much writing that I completely skipped the itty bitty place where it says to add a comment. I see that you already have widgets for twitter and FB so why not add a Pinterest widget and get rid of all that unnecessary writing? While I’m on the subject of unnecessary writing, I get the “Thank yous” at the end but the link back to the same page is a little redundant in my opinion. And it also, again, makes things look a little cluttered. Have you thought of maybe condensing that somehow?
      I am not familiar with the theme you’re using but with mine, the comments are all at the bottom. No clicking required. People can easily see where to add a comment, as well as, see what other people had to say.Granted, I don’t have a crap load of comments on every post, but when I do get a comment they multiply. A conversation gets going which, I’ve found, most people enjoy. After all, there have been times, in a discussion, that new information has been revealed that I didn’t put in my post. Call it an added bonus for my reader. 🙂
      One last thing, as someone new to your blog, I wonder if it may be a good idea for you to create menus and categorize your posts? I see that you have the archives and cloud widget but those make looking for something a little daunting. I don’t know when you posted what I may be looking for. And, like most of us, I’m sure you use multiple tags for your posts which makes scrolling through an endless page rather dispiriting.
      Just my two cents, Judy. Hope it helps 🙂

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    2. Hey! Your blog concept is adorable!

      I think your posts are fun to read but you may not be receiving comments because they don’t really invite any conversation.

      Your posts and updates are like little notes and statements of facts. The way to make people want to comment is present your opinion. People have nothing to say about facts. Opinions, however, can really start a discussion.

      I may not have a lot of room to speak, as I’m just now beginning to spend a lot more time on my own blog, but I’ve used that strategy on Twitter and yielded very good results.

      Best of luck!

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      1. Hey, Madison,

        Thanks so much for your kind thoughts and great ideas! I like your suggestions. I’m trying to infuse more personality as well as personal info.

        I’ve thought about putting some of the nutritional info in the post. I’ll give that a try!

        And I like your blog! Really nice set up. Love the solo martini post! I look forward to reading more.

        Hope you had a great weekend. Thanks, again, for your advice, and best of luck to you, too!

        ~Judy

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    3. I am having the same question: Why don’t I get more comments? And I think #MadisonBarras has a good point: the posts don’t really invite any conversation… I am thinking, how about adding more info to compliment each product, I see that you do add links but it’s really nice to do one-stop shopping 🙂 and get all you need in one place, your blog, of course with all the due credit… But nutritional info plus a delicious recipe, it doesn’t even have to be your own… That, at least for me, would be a super fun bonus… And people would at least start of by leaving a thank you this looks mouth-watering… Hope this is helpful… I’m still waiting for someone to give me a clue, jajajaaa, take care, Alexandra

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  4. I have been blogging for just two months now and I would love some feedback ranging from my writing to the themes and the way things are organized on my blog @ sheilacioustreehouse.wordpress.com thank you.

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    2. Your writing is very eloquent, but, might I suggest you organize it a little better? In the time I spent on your main page I noticed that you had a few different type of posts. Maybe you could make menus for each style? Like all your poems in one place and all your WordPress prompts in another, etc. I’d also make a “Home” button available to make it easier to navigate back after exploring the rest of your blog.
      Lastly, I’m sure the photo in your header has a good reason for being there but, it’s a little distracting. Not only does the name of your blog not pop (like it should to grab your reader’s attention), the picture itself is pixilated and, therefore, not appealing to the eye. Your background is so wonderfully colorful that the header picture just doesn’t mesh well with it.
      Just my thoughts on it, Sheila, I hope this helps. 😉

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      1. I have to agree with the comment above. I love the idea of creating a menu to categorize types of posts – that’s advice I’ve heard many people give, and I’m considering doing that myself. Also, your header needs a clearer background image that will really showcase your blog title. I love your ABOUT page. It tells exactly who you are, what you write about, and why, so the reader knows exactly what to expect from your blog posts. I will visit again to read more. 🙂

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      2. Thank you so much, this is the type of feedback I have been looking for. I turn to agree with all your suggestions and I would work on it right away.

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  5. I’ve been blogging and writing romance for a while, and I’d just like some general feedback about my blog and whether or not it’s interesting. I know that’s kind of vague, so if I had to be more specific, I guess I’d like to know whether the content is good. http://matthewvett.wordpress.com/

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    1. Hi Matthew, I think you should have been more honest in your post here – it’s erotica, not romance and those are two very different things. I didn’t particularly want to see a pic of a naked woman over my morning cup of tea! Don’t be shy about describing yourself. You write and review erotica, so use that word! I didn’t get any further, as I’m clearly not your target market.

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  6. Hey guys!
    I’ve been blogging for a few months now and I love it, but I was wondering if someone could have a look at my blog and point me in the right direction, I’d love to build up a following, and I am but rather slowly. I was wondering if there was anything new or different I should incorporate into my work that would be a influence.
    Disclaimer 😛 I’m not just blogging to get followers, I’m just genuinely curious as to how to get them 🙂
    My blog can be found at amybyrne19.wordpress.com
    Thanks in advance 🙂

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    1. HI Amy, I think one of the issues for me is that it’s hard to grasp what the theme of your blog is. I think for your friends and family it could be a good read, as they know you and are probably curious to know what goes on in your mind. But for anyone who stumbles across you without knowing you, what’s our reason to follow? I think you should think about turning it from ‘ramblings’ to something definite. Writing becomes compelling when you highlight a passion. Reading that you’re bored or unsure of the point of a post isn’t going to inspire followers or comments. It seems that music is your thing. So on 24th March, you could have written about why Stevie Nicks is as relevant and fresh today as she ever was, for example, rather than going into observations about writing essays. Good luck, as writing is a fantastic thing to do each day!

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  8. Hey everyone. I am a newbie blogger and just got my blog set up. I would appreciate if someone could have a look and tell me if you find it interesting enough. Also feedback regarding the design would be welcome. My blog is at http://www.shiuli.com
    Thanks.

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    1. It’s really interesting! What I would suggest is a more interesting header, ideally with an image. Most important of all you need to create an ‘about me’ page. It’s easy to do – in your dashboard, just look for ‘pages’. Readers like to understand a little more about a blogger and why they are here. I would also consider adding some widgets, category cloud and definitely an option for people to follow your blog! Hope that helps and good luck!

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      1. Thank you so much for taking the time out to review. It helps a lot. I’ll try to incorporate the changes asap. 🙂

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  9. I have been blogging for some time, but got serious only a few months ago. I find that the traffic is slowly increasing but people are not subscribing to the blog neither through email nor through FB etc. Please give some ideas regarding content and design considering desi Traveler is an India focused family travel blog.

    http://desiTraveler.com

    thanks

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  10. When I first started blogging I got a lot of hits right away.

    However, they’ve seemed to plateaued in the past few weeks (I’ve only started a month) and I am unsure as to why. I am improving on the substance of my material and going further in depth into each topic instead of writing “Top 5” or “3 easy steps”. I will include those from time to time but I like writing with more detail and helping people improve and look at life differently. I’ve been playing around with topics and titles to see what people prefer reading.

    If anyone would be able to provide any feedback or tips on the writing quality, or even just the titles to make them more approachable for reading that would be greatly appreciated.

    Or just let me know if you’d read my material and the demographic it seems to appeal to. (Aside from the obvious)

    Thank you very much. I would be more than happy to return the favour.

    — Benny

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    1. Your personality shines through your writing style. I would keep that, and because of that I see why you were fortunate to have so many initial hits.I would just advise being more active on teh blogs of others to bring activity back to your personal blog.

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      1. Thanks for the feedback.

        I’ve been a little more inactive because of exams. But I plan on launching it full scale in a few days when I’ll be finished.

        Thanks for your comments on my posts as well. We’re almost done!!! Keep going!!

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  11. Been experimenting with loads of writing styles and even making video blogs. If anybody would be so kind as to give a little constructive criticism on any part of my blog, that would be just fantastic!
    I’m looking to improve and gain more interest in my posts, so even negative criticism is useful and I won’t take it to heart and get offended if you are completely honest with your feedback.

    Thanks a lot!

    http://yeldarbinator.wordpress.com/

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    1. This is a flash of opinions from quickly glancing at your site…

      1. For me a black background with white font may be visually appealing it is the hardest on the eyes to read, so when I land on a site like yours, if the story is long I am forced to copy and paste the content on a notepad then come back and read it. Because of the extra steps I really need to feel like it will be worth the trouble. I do suggest changing your color scheme to make it easier on the eyes.

      2. There are many directions in which your blog is going – which is cool, most of them do that unless they are specific to a niche. I recommend creating categories such as: a) journaling; b) vlog; c) anime/cartoons; d) video; etc. It will help give it a structure and when one of your followers really likes one particular category they can go straight to THAT type of post

      3. Your design is clean, slick and very appealing – yay!

      4. You are not your tagline? Ha! I freakin’ LOVE that!

      5. Now that I’ve taken another glance – I see you do have categories (my bad) maybe go to your page that lists all your posts and do some quick edits and file through all the uncategorized and place them where they belong. I know – it’s tedious (I’m still working on fine tuning my stuff and I have slow internet so it’s a pain in the arse!)

      Finally…

      6. Keep on blogging! You’re on a really great start! As you grow within, hopefully you’ll also grow with the community, find other similar blogs you admire and link up to them…

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    2. Hey! Took a look through the blog, and there are two things I’d suggest, which have actually been suggested to me before. 1) Create an easier, catchier blog title. Although I personally love The Yeldarbinator, it took me a few seconds to read it out properly, even with your pronunciation help on the side. Also, if I don’t know what it means, or I have to look it up/read your explanation of it, I’m going to get confused and bored just by the title of the blog itself, which will likely put me off from continuing with the rest of your content. I have this problem, and I’m sadly a stubborn mule, and haven’t changed mine. I ought to at least put the definition (my title is “Virginia the Viruliferous”, and yes that is a word meaning “like a virus; contagious.” XD). 2) If your whole blog is not you-focused, leave those kind of posts out of your blog. It’s not that your viewers don’t want to know your background, your personality. It is not, however, the likely reason why people follow you. Your blog, although it bounces around, can still have a theme. Categories will help sort the different aspects of the world you direct that theme toward, but including your daily activities, your family interaction, takes away from the theme you are establishing through your other pieces. You can make a secondary blog which is just your personal life, a journal blog that your viewers can also follow if they wish, but it won’t detract from the theme of your original blog content.

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    3. One other thing! Since you have multiple topics in your theme, move your widgets around on the side and make the Categories up top somewhere so your viewers can access them. You have great content, you just need some more fluid organization. Hope that all helps! ^_^ (now I need to go take my own advise. XD)

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      1. Thank you for taking the time to write so much xD

        I’m going to spend a load of time experimenting with the layout and such now, hopefully I can make it easier to read and a lot more effective.

        The Yeldarbinator is actually my first name (Bradley) spelled backwards with just “inator” put on the end (as in The Terminator) –it’s a weird nickname that my friends gave me when I was 13. I see that it’s probably not very effective, so I may have to really think about something a bit easier to understand.

        Also, I see what you mean about the topics. I may create multiple pages for each topic in the future, so that it is a whole lot easier to navigate!

        Thanks again for the feedback! 🙂

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    4. One very quick thing – it’s almost impossible to keep reading white out of a black background. Those templates are great for photos but not good for writing. Hope that helps!

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  12. I’ve been trying to incorporate more pictures into my blog lately. WordPress makes it a little tricky at times but, I’m slowly gaining more confidence in the nifty little things offered. In my most recent post, I tried something new instead of the usual static image. Love to get some feedback! Thanks in advance!

    Round Trip in a Letter

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    1. Is that a picasa embedded album? Those are awesome…

      Have you checked out the image gallery option when you add media to a post? I LOVE that… Such fun and its fast when your media is preloaded…

      I like when the image is by the corresponding paragraph – adds a direct visual to what I am reading. I also like breaking down lengthy and text heavy posts with images and eye candy. I find using the slideshow great for trips ad profiling many pictures.

      No sure if that’s the kind of feedback you were looking for… but those were my 2 cents worth!

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  13. I’m simply looking for critique on my writing, specifically my NaPoWriMo poetry right now. The items I post for the world to see, I post to know what the world thinks. I love being critiqued and having discussions on writing and the world at large. Any feedback on that or my blog as a whole is greatly appreciated. 🙂
    htyp://vathv.wordpress.com

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    1. I LOVE your Spring Rain Poem!

      You are so descriptive and when composing your poems you seem to enchant each Verse and each line with this mystifying essence of joy and warmth!

      You are certainly an artist and a darn good one!

      I also love your blog, it’s simplified yet sophisticated and has great readability!

      If I was to offer my advice on one thing it would be to maybe add a few more widgets to your blog.

      I know you told me I had one too many which I agree but I think it would really spice thing’s up and catch the eye of your visitor’s to have some more interactive type things to play with/click on.

      Also I would suggest adding some Pages at the top, I was hesitant and skeptical about adding some Pages to my blog but they seem to be attracting my followers and have produced some great feedback, especially my “Ask me anything” Page and my Page where I take Book Review Requests.

      Btw I also love your Poem entitled “Fret”, I can relate and connect to this one for sure, it truly is remarkable and straight from your heart! I am so glad we found each other, and I look forward to reading some more of you work! =]

      ~Shane

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  14. Hi bloggers! I’m in the process of updating the look of my blog. I’ve created a custom header and started using a new theme since I asked for feedback last time. I’d love to know your FIRST IMPRESSION of my home page. Does it spark your interest enough to click around some more? Thanks for taking the time to check it out! >> http://typicaltanya.com/

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    1. My first impression of your page was noting how heavy it was with text. For someone like me, it makes me want to click around more, but I also know of some people who are turned off by lots of text. I guess that just depends on who you want your audience to be. I personally loved the content when I began reading though.

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      1. Hey, thanks so much for commenting. I really appreciate your thoughts. Yes, it is pretty text-heavy, isn’t it? It’s even a little too busy for my own taste. I prefer clean & simple, so I think that’s the direction I’ll be taking soon. Thanks again.

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      1. Hi there. Thanks so much for your comment. I really love the Oxygen theme, but it got a little too busy for me and my blog was starting to give me a headache, so I changed it. 🙂 Check it out again if you’d like, and let me know what you think. Thanks again.

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    3. Hi Tanya! Your header looks great, love the sunflower 🙂 The entire layout is pretty well organised as well, great job!

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      1. Thank you. I appreciate your positive feedback. It was actually getting a little too busy and I ended up changing to a simpler theme. But I love that my header makes an impact. Thank you again.

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    5. I think it’s overall visually pleasing, but there are so many options to click or chose, it could be a bit distracting. Menu options on the side and menu option below the banner could probably be combined. Your devotion to your blog in the content and quantity shows.

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      1. Thanks so much for taking the time to comment. I completely agree with you. It was so busy, it was giving me a headache. I changed to a simpler theme and am VERY happy with how it’s shaping up. Fewer menus, fewer choices, less distracting. Take a look if you’d like. I’d love to know what you think of the new design. Thanks again! 🙂

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  15. Hola everyone! I’m always willing to hear constructive criticism! I’ve been around since the beginning of March and I would love to hear what you all have to say about my writing, my layout, and the ease of navigation! I’m looking to better myself and my blog for EVERYONE!

    I have four authors right now and it’s been amazing how quickly this blog has matured and grown. I look forward to hearing from ALL of you!

    Thanks in advance!

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    1. wow your blog is immediately pleasing to the eye! Content was easy to navigate through as well as having really wonderful widgets. I would say your blog is rich and I wouldn’t change a thing.

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      1. Thank you immensely for that wonderful praise. I really appreciate it! When I got away from my phone and on my laptop, I’ll be sure to check out your blog as well!

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  16. Hey everyone! My name is Shane and I am a new Blogger/Writer/and Poet.

    I have only been blogging for a little over a month now but I quickly became addicted and infatuated with the WordPress community! I love it here simply because it’s one big family of writers, bloggers and authors who share pieces of there life’s with us and create incredible works or art for us to view and absorb!

    I have tried to make my blog a fun interactive hub where I feature my Book Reviews, My Poetry, and articles on random things. I am participating in NaPoWriMo, (30 Poems in 30 days challenge) and I plan on participating in NaNoWriMo in November.

    I would greatly appreciate any Feedback from fellow bloggers on what I can do to improve my blog. Any suggestions and or ideas are welcome!

    Sometimes I feel I need to organize my blog a bit better but I honestly have no idea where to start. I have also thought about adding a few more pages at the top or maybe even another menu.

    Thanks for taking the time to read this and I truly thank you for your time and input!

    ~Shane

    http://shanesbookblog.com/

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    1. Personally, I wouldn’t change a thing! I love your style and the atmosphere of your blog is fascinating and interesting. It feels interactive, moves, despite the black and white, which usually doesn’t work well with blogs. You pull it off very well. The only suggestion I would make, which is more a personal preference to me I think, is to back off a little on the widgets on the right side. Especially the icons of your followers which I think takes away from the black and white style. 🙂 Can’t wait to see more posts from you on my reader now! ^_^

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      1. Rana, Thank you so much for taking the time to review my blog, I greatly appreciate it!

        I thought my little Followers widget was a bit out of place due to the size of the avatar pictures and the color interfering with the theme of my blog, however I do want it to be somewhere easily accessible to anyone visiting my blog. I will just have to play with it later on, But I do absouletly agree with you, now that I know it’s not just my OCD being a whiny baby like usual I will certainly change/fix that.

        This is exactly why I was hoping someone would take a peek and offer up some advice, Thank you so much for your input! =]

        I shall be venturing over to your blog right now!

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      2. No trouble at all. 🙂 I’m glad I could be of help. Perhaps you could make a top tab specifically for a follower list? It would be up front, but fit the theme. You could even put some extra time into it and make a quick look at each different follower’s blog, a thank you to your followers. It would take more time but much appreciated I’m sure. I’ve been fiddling with doing the same thing on my blog. I don’t give my followers nearly enough credit for their support. 😦

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    1. Its very simple and a bit stark but that may well be your style. Certainly clean and uncluttered, tho I am not a fan of all the categories and stuff off to the right of the post. Can you make the font smaller or less intrusive.

      I like winter too 🙂 Esp for photography, it does interesting things to the light and the landscape.

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  19. I am just starting my blog this week and I currently have a few posts up. I would like some feedback and advice on what I could do to boost the traffic that I get to my page, as well as the content on there. Also know that I will be doing a weekly video blog to go along with the blog on YouTube.

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    1. Wow! I LOVE your blog title and background pic. Drew me in right away. Gave me a good idea of who you are and what you’re all about already without reading any further. My only suggestion might be to format your posts with left justified margins, not centered. Can be hard to read for longer posts. Overall, great blog. But I have no idea how to boost traffic. I’m working on that too. If you discover the secret, let me in on it. I’m looking forward to your posts and video blogs.

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      1. Thank you very much! I have been battling with the centered vs. left based text for a while actually.

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  20. Hello everyone,

    I would love some feedback about the look of my blog, not specifically the posts. I just spent the last couple of days revamping it and I’m hoping it looks as good to the objective masses as it does to me! I looked through some suggested posts that are offered.
    I wanted a clean, warm look, like I’m inviting my friends to have a seat and chat with me.
    What do you think?

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  23. I have been blogging for about 6 months now and love it. I just added a new blog since I am graduating a s a Graphic Designer in a week. This blog is my portfolio. I will use it to hopefully show my work and maybe get work from it. Could you please look at it any comments on how I can improve it will be very much appreciated… thanks so much for your time..
    http://loethendesign.com

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  24. Hey, y’all! Great discussions and recommendations so far over here – aren’t Sundays great for that?

    I’m wondering if y’all would mind taking a look at my blog. I’m not ready yet to pay for a custom design either from WordPress or from one of my friends, but I wanted to clean up my site and concentrate on content.

    I love how simple I’ve been able to get it to now, but I’m afraid it’s missing some color/that it’s not inviting enough. Most of my posts have images or videos associated with them, but I feel like that media weighs down the content too much and makes it difficult for a site visitor to browse.

    Anyone have some suggestions for this theme (Origin from Alien WP) to make it a little more visually appealing? Or do you think it’s fine as it is?

    THANK YOU for your time!

    Like

      1. I like your header photo too! Not sure at first if it’s a photo or if it’s a painting. It’s very unusual and distinctive.

        I like how you display your posts as excerpts. The reader can see a bunch of headlines all at once and maybe check out something older, rather than just read the latest post.

        Not sure I would suggest adding in additional items for visual interest, but if whatever your latest post is has a photo, you might want to display it as the ‘full post’ instead of ‘excerpt’ – that way you can have a photo show on your site. And then, when you put up another post, you can change the previous post to ‘excerpt’.

        Would you consider adding in a ‘Tag Cloud’, or a list of subject categories ? If someone comes across your blog, they can quickly take a look at that and get a quick sense of what you write about. Or maybe just add in a ‘Subheading’ ? to explain that you write about running.

        Also, it might just be me, but I always like to check out where a blogger is located. And it can be just a general thing, like just mentioning the state, or even just the country where you are in your ‘About Me’ page. It’s just to give me an idea of where the blogger is and what they might be writing about. Kind of like ‘Oh hey, here’s someone from Finland, I’ve always wanted to go there, hmmm what do they have to say ?’. So, I could be wrong, but I didn’t see it mentioned in your ‘About Me’ page.

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      2. Thank you! These are great insights! I’ll see what I can do about having my latest post be a featured full post with the photo. That’s a great idea.

        And I’ve been thinking about having a shorter version of my About Me section in the sidebar under my photo with exactly the things you’re suggesting, I just haven’t been able to narrow down what I want to say, yet. Again, THANK YOU!

        I’m in South Louisiana, by the way, and regularly travel between Acadiana and New Orleans. Quite a colorful atmosphere. Happy blogging, Peter! All my best…

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    2. Hello! You did have a customised background right? That’s a good start 🙂 And maybe you could add a header as well? I’m not customisation-savvy but that’s what I think can personalise our blogs further:) You have a nice background by the way 🙂 It is fine like that as well! Clean and simple, easy to navigate.

      I look forward to reading more of your running posts 🙂 You’ve inspired me to write about my own running journey as well 🙂

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      1. Yay! I’ve had to take a bit off to find out the cause of my knee pain, but it’s being monitored and I’ll be back at it this week! Let’s run!

        I’m working on getting some better images for a header and for the background. All I have right now is my phone – probably going to have to steal my brother’s pro camera for a week so I can get some good shots to use around the web for all kinds of things.

        Thanks for the insight!

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      2. Alright!

        I don’t have a pro dslr or anything either. My header was taken with my Lomo Camera – Diana Mini 🙂

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      4. What a coincidence! 😀 I have some new b&w films waiting to be used, super excited to use them and see the effects!

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    1. You can easily add a Google + icon and many others with an about.me widget. Creating an about.me page is a great idea, anyway. I don’t use it often except for people to have links to everywhere I am on the web. You can check mine out at about.me/omadison and you can see my about.me widget in the sidebar of omadison.com – it just has the title “Connect”. Super simple and easy to install.

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      1. Thank you so much!
        I checked your blog and the about.me thing.
        I loved them.

        It will take me days before I manage to do what you are explaining, if i ever manage at all… But will try and will let you know! Thanks again!

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      2. No problem! about.me is SUPER simple to use. Let me know if you need help finding tutorials online.

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      3. I will probably let you know! (I do need help, I am one of those computer handicaps I guess) But i don’t want to be a burden…

        We are at the very beginning of a new way of life. Imagine. No work, no income, “no worries”, no taxes, no winter. We will be living on a boat, cruising, volunteering, making, art and living off-grid. With solar panels and watermaker. Fishing for food. Working odd jobs whenever in the world we are.

        The blog i started is important as we already started getting sponsors through it and I need to promote it. More people reading and following- more sponsors. Did I mention we will not work? No income? so that is why I need to do this, and i don’t know how exactly…Promoting…Thank you again. (I also enjoy creative writing, i even created a legend, check it out (if you feel like it) here: http://thelifenomadik.wordpress.com/2013/04/06/fata-morgana/

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  26. I checked out the story at http://microrrelatososhortstories.wordpress.com/ Your story is well written. You develop the tension very well. The layout on your opening page is very busy. But the reason that many might not write is a common experience for many bloggers. In this hurry-up world, people look a site over and move on to the next one. They may or may not even click “like.”
    I believe your audience will grow based on your story-telling. It might just take time. Best wishes.

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  27. I’ve been blogging for almost a year now, and I’m having trouble increasing the visibility of my blog. If I post every day my traffic increases, but if I miss even one day it drops like a rock. Any suggestions? Blogging every single day with three small kids is no easy task. http://diarygrade3.wordpress.com/

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    1. I think that’s just the nature of blogging. It seems as though a blog’s readers will check out the latest post, and then wait until the next one comes along. I think the fact that your readers do come back for the next post shows that you have a dedicated group of followers.
      It should be fun anyway, not an assignment. I used to try to blog every day, then it switched to every other day, now it’s maybe two or three times a week. I’m much happier now that I’m not thinking of it so much like an assignment!

      Also, it looks like you don’t post photos ? I think photos add so much more interest to a blog. If you don’t like posting photos of your family for privacy or security reasons, and I think a lot of people don’t like to do that, (there’s a lot of photos of the back of my 3 year old’s head on my blog for the same reason!) you can just post photos of other things like the birthday cake, toys, or whatever else the post is about.

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      1. Thanks for the feedback. Until the kids get bigger I’ll just have to keep blogging when I’m able. They give me enough topics for a years worth of blogs.

        I’ll try to take your advice on the photos. Like blogging itself actually finding time to take pictures while chasing these three is a challenge.

        Thanks again for your support!

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    1. I’d also like to know if there’s any way to centralise my widgets! My goodreads widget is off to the left, likewise the Five Minute Friday Icon.

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  29. Hello! I’d love it if you all could take a quick look at my blog’s home page. I’d like to know your first impressions, please. I’ll do the same for you if you’d like, as well. Thanks!

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    1. I like your page. The only suggestion I have is that when I saw your picture and then the center of your page it made me think of simplicity and elegance. I think you may have too many widgets going on the sidelines that take away from some of that calming simplicity. You may want to declutter your sidebars or go with only one to make your page look more stylish.
      Good content though and I like how you presented some of the links. Very creative.

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      1. Hello! Thank you very much for your gracious comments. A special thanks for your constructive criticism! Yes, I am very much leaning toward decluttering. It’s important to me that the content be the center focus, and not the fluff. Thanks, again!

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      2. I promised a review of any blog that reviewed mine, so here goes: beautifully organized and efficient blog you have there. I especially like your header. Your content is engaging, and I will definitely stop by to read more. I would only suggest one thing: a media kit. You will want to be ready for interviews if you keep up the good work!

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