Sep 26, 2016 / Community Pool

Community Pool

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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    19. Excellent posts. You have a nice cadence and tone to your writings. Your sentences mesh well with one another, flow together quite nicely, and your thoughts are relevant to the times. Your voice is strong, your opinions are prominent, and well-articulated. I enjoyed your posts, although I only read a few, but I added you to my reading list. I look forward to hearing more of what you have to say. It seems as though you have learned a lot from your younger years, and are putting that knowledge to good use, keeping what you’ve gained as a guide and buoy—which is wisdom that some young people don’t have or display. My daughter is 26, and so I can relate to your position on some things, although my life seems to have been pretty different than yours. Please continue writing and sharing your mind and heart with the world. You won’t regret it, and everyone will benefit. Thank you.
      Wynn

      Liked by 1 person

    20. Hi! Just read your recent post, honest and emotional! I like it that you are not keeping any boundaries when expressing yourself which is wonderful 🙂 keep writing through your heart.

      Like

  2. Hello! My blog, To Cut a Short Story Short, has been going for a month now and I’ve had some very helpful feedback from here and on the site. There are a lot of stories that no-one’s looked at so far though, so here’s a link to a (clickable) list of them all! I just re-read Ringing the Changes, (no. 59 on the list) and I’d love some feedback on that one!

    https://simonjwood.wordpress.com/2016/09/20/story-index-tue-20th-sep-2016/

    Liked by 11 people

    1. Hey Simon, I checked out your blog and just wanna let you know that you’ve got a good site going on here. It looks really clean and organized and my visit was definitely a pleasant one!

      You’ve got so many content on too! You left the link to check out no.59 but I realized that it’s quite lengthy so I decided to check out your other shorter work instead. They were pretty interesting and considering that it’s all written by you? Seriously, it’s amazing how you’ve already written so many lol!

      Keep it up bud 😉

      Your pal,
      Benjamin
      http://www.projectbiy.com

      Liked by 6 people

      1. Hiya Ben, thanks so much for your detailed comment and so pleased you enjoyed your visit – come back soon! I don’t spend a lot of time writing (especially the last couple of months when I was setting this blog up, knowing nothing about blogging previously!) but I always aim to write one or two stories a week. They soon build up, and also I can write and edit a lot faster than a year ago when I started!

        Liked by 2 people

      1. Hi, thanks for taking the time to read that one. It does make me chuckle, even if I say so myself! Although I hadn’t read it for quite a while I’m still a bit too ‘close’ to the story to think of any plot holes (and no-one else had read it), that’s why I asked for some feedback. Anyway, I really appreciate you taking the time to comment this time and last!

        Liked by 2 people

      1. Hi, thanks so much for your comment (and for following me) and please do have a look through some more stories as they are quite varied in genre. Also, to make it even more navigable (yes, great word!) I’m thinking of doing a contents list for each category, just working on the best way to go about it!

        Liked by 1 person

    6. I became a follower on your last visit to the pool. I’m a fan of your 200/400 word stories. I need to start writing shorter posts like that. Maybe I’ll get folks to comment more. Keep it up.

      Liked by 3 people

      1. Hello Elke, thanks for commenting again – I hadn’t forgotten you and your fantastic blog! Incidentally, I probably won’t be doing any more 100 or 200 word stories! However, starting in a couple of weeks’ time I’ll be writing a 300 word story a week for a year, plus some longer ones too, though mainly under 1000 words. Yes, definitely have a go at some short ‘flash fiction’ yourself, it’s quite a challenging format, but enjoyable too!

        Liked by 1 person

    7. Nice Blog, very straight forward and easy to navigate through. I read through some of your stories and they were pretty entertaining especially the shorter stories. Very good blog look forward to reading more

      Liked by 1 person

    8. I think your blog is great. I like the theme. Its great. Keep at it and I can see you are a frequent blogger because you have written so many of them. Keep it up

      Liked by 1 person

      1. Hi Doreen, glad you like it! In fact most of the stories were written over the past 12 months (as I mentioned on the About page) and I uploaded them to give the blog some good content before launching. Then I started to post new stories as from five weeks ago. But I aim to post at least weekly and am starting to find my way and enjoy this blogging thing!

        Liked by 2 people

      2. Simon, it’s the best thing.. Blogging has become my new social media..
        It’s opened my eyes to New things and I don’t think I will be getting bored Any time soon…
        Great to meet you, or talk to you…😄

        Like

      3. [reply to 7.14, there’s no reply arrow against that post]

        Hi Doreen, yes, I thought it was a case of writing some stuff and then sitting back to wait for comments pouring in. Hmm!! The interactive thing, suggested in an early lesson of Blogging Fundamentals, came as a surprise! Anyway, it’s a new experience entirely for me and I’m looking forward to checking out the sites of those who have liked and followed me, and getting to know other bloggers. There are also so many groups to contribute stories to, it’s all a bit mind-boggling!

        Liked by 1 person

      4. True true.. you welcome into the family. For me I blog all about relationship or a hard time am going through; heart break!

        Like

  3. Hi everyone!!

    I’ve been on hiatus for a while to get my head together before diving back in (haha get it, cause community pool?) Anyway, I am doing a reader survey about blogging and other conline content and would love your feedback! This can be the first ever visit to my blog, because it isn’t about what I do but about what we all do. You can fill the form out here: https://michelleanneliese.com/2016/09/26/reader-survey-give-your-input/

    Thanks and happy Monday!

    Liked by 12 people

      2. Lovely blog. I enjoy the idea of pictures on your every post. I think I should start doing that too.. And your blog is simple and really cute.

        Liked by 1 person

    2. You have gained a new follower. Your site is amazing. And I loved this post in particular. I left a comment on the post. You need to set that to music. I love it. I’ll be browsing through your other posts. I love the philosophical.

      Liked by 1 person

      1. To nerdywordybirdy – love the name of your blog, love your blog and your post on blogging. I’m now following you (not in a stalking kind of way!)

        Liked by 1 person

    1. I think the format you chose is perfect for your blog because it puts the attention on your great photos. I do a lot of travel writing on my blog as well and it’s always nice to find other people who write about travel. I just followed!

      Liked by 5 people

    1. You unfolded the story well. It would be easier to read if you broke it up into several paragraphs. I enjoyed your use of humor. To decide what types of posts to write, first determine the purpose of your blog site. Are you trying to reach a particular audience? What type of writing best fits your personal style? https://gracelead.co

      Liked by 2 people

      1. Hmm thank you for the advice. I’ll definitely consider it. And well about my site, I’m not really trying to reach a particular audience and I’m trying to find the type of writing that suits me through it.

        Liked by 1 person

      2. hi! saw your about me page and i absolutley loved how honest you are! Creating a blog takes a lot of effort and courage and you have managed to do it! The layout of your blog is very nice as well… 🙂 Good luck

        Liked by 1 person

  16. Hey guys! ❤
    I've just started a blog and published my first post yesterday and I would love if you could go and check it out. I hope it will help some people and it's were i can speak my mind. Make sure to leave your thoughts on there as it will mean the world to be and I'll hopefully respond back to you! 🙂
    https://kallihcom.wordpress.com/
    Thankyouuuu xx
    ❤

    Liked by 6 people

    1. You have a good start there but you still have lots of the template formatting and text widgets on your front page. I use a simpler theme for this reason / have a play around ( visit me if you want to see what others are like 🙂
      Good luck and welcome!

      Liked by 3 people

  21. Hey all! Review my blog and I will review yours- Let’s get started!
    My latest blog post is actually a 4-5 min video of me singing a duet by myself for our Project Community’s entertainment lol.

    Feel free to check it out and let me know what you think 🙂

    https://projectbiy.com/2016/09/24/a-duet-with-myself-me-my-shadow-frank-sinatra-sammy-davis-jr-cover/

    And if you wanna join our community as well, feel free to find out more about us at our blog!

    Your pal,
    Benjamin
    http://www.projectbiy.com

    Liked by 7 people

    1. Checked out you last post… you have a good voice… great duet for one person 😄… lovely blog. I was unable to find the follow button using my mobile. . If you could add it on via settings to make it more accessible. If you find time, do check out my blog, I’ll appreciate feed backs too. God bless 😄🙋

      Liked by 2 people

      1. Hey bud thanks for the nice words! So I’ve checked out your blog already and LOVED what you’re doing with it as well.

        We’re both trying to make a positive difference in lives and I really like the fact that I found someone else who’s doing this as well 😉

        I couldn’t find your “About” page though. I want to get to know more about you so would you kindly give me a link to it?
        Or did you omit it on purpose?

        If so, just sharing here- Most new visitors would go to the “About” page first to get to know the author before continuing onto reading the site so I believe it’ll be beneficial for you to have one if you don’t yet 🙂

        I will look into that later when I got time cause I gotta go now (Took up too much time writing a long comment for your post XD) but I believe you should be able to follow me now since you’ve got a notification from me 🙂

        If not, do let me know alright? Talk to you again soon!

        Btw, is your name “Grace” or how can I address you??

        Your pal,
        Benjamin
        http://www.projectbiy.com

        Liked by 1 person

      2. You are such an awesome pal so far hahaha.. My name is God’sgrace. I kinda linked my About page under “Home”. However, i still have to edit my about page and probably separate it to make it more accessible to reads. Great suggestion. Thanks so much Benjamin, God bless 🙂

        Liked by 1 person

      2. Mary, your blog seem so I be a therapeutic outlet for you, a place to think, vent, reflect and share your everyday life. I like that you are real about it. It’s feels like reading your journal, and you write from your heart in an honest way.

        Liked by 2 people

    1. Hey, just swung by your blog. It looks great. Looks like you have been working hard in it since sometime. My only feedback to you is that perhaps you should add more images to draw the audience in. Also I didn’t notice any tags ? Tags can help you get more visibility so do explore those.

      Do you mind taking a look at my blog and giving me some feedback. Cheers.

      Liked by 2 people

      1. Thanks! Recently my computer is a little weird so I’m afraid to upload images because it has important things in it and I don’t want to lose anything!!!

        Liked by 1 person

    1. I am writing a few blog posts about “Finding Hillary”. The latest, As American as Apple Pie..” I did think I was listening to the “oracle” too much in deciding about her. I’ve learned a lot through reading about her career. Sadly, Misogyny is a recurring theme. But no excuse for some activities to be sure. Your poem resonates with me through the not often beautiful language of frustration & anger. I was a little lost in the stanza of “the saga” and a couple of words I didn’t recognize. Thank you for sharing your poetry.

      Liked by 2 people

    1. Checked your blog and had great content, plus well organised… looking forward to more of your blog posts. The Last one had good imagination, except if you’ve been outta space lol😄. All the best. Do check out mine please, I’ll appreciate it

      Liked by 1 person

  28. Hi all, happy Monday! For those of you who are new, I’m a name blogger (baby names, character names, etc.). Since the pool was closed last week and I missed the week before that, I have two things for y’all:

    1) Of interest: What baby names are popular in England and Wales but not the U.S., and vice versa? Here’s a link to the girls’ analysis; I’m publishing the boys’ post later today, hopefully: https://wellinformednamer.wordpress.com/2016/09/16/u-s-vs-englandwales-girls-names/

    2) My ‘Baby Name Index’ has become unwieldy and I’ve deleted most of it. Currently only names with dedicated profiles are listed, and I intend to add back names with some information on them. However, it’s really impractical to list every single name mentioned on my blog, as there’s thousands of them. I’d love feedback on this point. Link: https://wellinformednamer.wordpress.com/baby-name-index/

    Please check out, comment, and enjoy! 🙂

    Liked by 5 people

    1. Interesting names 😂.. I haven’t heard so many or even knew they existed. Will be watching out for more posts on name 😄. . Do check my blog too, will appreciate it please. Thanks and God bless

      Liked by 1 person

    1. It’s a pretty blog, theme is light, clean, and airy. Font’s a little small, but that’s coming from a scientist with very tired eyes. Now that you’ve got a flying start, just a couple of things:

      1) Perhaps a little bit more about you on your About page? Lovely blog like this, I’m sure you would want the reader to get to know you better and why you’re blogging. An afternoon in the Customizer ought to be fun.

      2) Not sure why the first three posts are tiny snippets, but the rest of your posts are fully on your front page…quirk of your theme?

      https://scicasual.wordpress.com

      Liked by 2 people

      1. Thank you very much for the insight! I really appreciate it. I’ll be sure to improve on my About page. (And yes, the three most recent posts appear as snippets because of my theme. I haven’t posted very much so it may have been confusing!)

        Liked by 1 person