Five Ways to Get Featured on Freshly Pressed
Each weekday, we select about ten new blog posts for the Freshly Pressed section of the WordPress.com homepage. These posts represent how WordPress can be used to entertain, enlighten, or inspire.
Getting promoted to Freshly Pressed is a major traffic win because WordPress.com receives a high volume of page views. And, we have a feed set up so people can subscribe to Freshly Pressed. Why do we do all this? It’s our way of saying we like you. We really like you.
So, by now you might be wondering how to get featured. It’s all about the content. Here are five bits o’ advice that will increase your chances of landing on the homepage:
1. Write unique content that’s free of bad stuff.
Each post that makes it to Freshly Pressed contains original content created by the WordPress user. Bad stuff includes (but isn’t limited to) plagiarism, hate speech, fear-mongering, adult/mature content, improperly used images that belong to someone else, spam or content that is primarily advertorial.
2. Include images or other visuals.
Although not every topic can be illustrated, we believe most blog posts can and should have a visual element. We like original images (meaning, your own), but if you don’t have any of your own and decide to use someone else’s, be sure you properly credit the original source. Video rocks, too. You may get a request from us to add an image before you are promoted to Freshly Pressed — the faster you can respond, the more likely we’ll put your post on the homepage.
3. Add tags.
We find new posts by surfing the tag pages. If you don’t use tags, we can’t find you and how sad would that be? Also, don’t use tags that are too obscure (“beauty tips from the ancient world”) but rather more common tags (“beauty,” “history”).
4. Aim for typo-free content.
We know, we’re human, too — errors happen. We recommend using our Proofreading feature before you hit “publish.” If you’ve got a few typos but we really like your post, we may ask you to fix them. In most cases, we’ll put your post on Freshly Pressed after you’ve made the changes.
5. Cap off your post with a compelling headline.
Your headline needs to stand out. Avoid swear words, excessive punctuation or vague statements. We love a clever headline, and that’s often the reason we click on your article in the first place.
Examples:
Good headline: I Won the Lottery and You Didn’t!
Bad headline: U Loserz, i WON!!!!!11!
Go Forth and Create
So, that’s it! Once you’ve been promoted, you’ll receive an email from us, and you also will notice your page views and comments increasing. Enjoy the ride! You deserve it!
April 28th, 2010 at 6:19 pm
… So, Freshly Pressed is not for me, sadly. LOL
April 28th, 2010 at 6:29 pm
I’m sorry but i honestly think that the second headline “U Loserz, i WON!!!!!11!” is much better!
April 28th, 2010 at 6:31 pm
I’ll try to get featured! Hope I get selected as well as everyone else
April 28th, 2010 at 6:31 pm
Great information! Thank you for posting. Also, I love reading “Freshly Pressed” every day.
April 28th, 2010 at 6:32 pm
Cool tips, thanks.
April 28th, 2010 at 6:35 pm
Thank you so much for the great tips! I’ve always wanted to be in the freshly pressed line up
April 28th, 2010 at 6:38 pm
Would you exclude the blogs which may have Hide related links…checked?
April 28th, 2010 at 6:46 pm
Hi there AA, no, I wouldn’t exclude those blogs.
April 28th, 2010 at 6:39 pm
What a neat idea. They seem to be perfectly reasonable requirements and wouldn’t you know…I meet them all!
April 28th, 2010 at 6:39 pm
Hello from Ukraine !
This is very wonderful of WordPress for us its users, and since I joined in March I have always dreamed of one day maybe being on “Freshly pressed.”
English is not my first language, and yesterday’s scenes in our Parliament don’t help us Ukrainians much in the English world I suppose.
Anyway, I am glad to be part of WP and Blogging world.
Sincerely to you,
Marina.
Rivne – UA.
April 28th, 2010 at 6:39 pm
Great tips!!! Thank you for sharing! I do find that the tags are really important for people to search our articles.
April 28th, 2010 at 6:40 pm
Thank you! That is great stuff! I can not wait to comply and see results
April 28th, 2010 at 6:41 pm
how about the content, must be in English? or do the sites serve in native languages have any chance!
April 28th, 2010 at 6:42 pm
Can posts in other languages also be featured?
April 28th, 2010 at 7:35 pm
As of right now, this applies only to blog posts in English. We hope to have it available in other languages at some point.
April 28th, 2010 at 6:43 pm
You have an awesome job, Joy. I love Freshly Pressed.
April 28th, 2010 at 6:43 pm
Fabulous tips! One day, PICK ME! PICK ME!! See me there? I am like a kid, jumping up and down in front of the magician, on the prowl for a willing volunteer.
Thanks for the information!
blessings
jane
April 28th, 2010 at 6:44 pm
I think a blogger should follow those 5 whether to get featured on Freshly Pressed or not.
April 28th, 2010 at 6:47 pm
Thanks for the advice.
April 28th, 2010 at 6:47 pm
My posts are in French so I guess it won’t be chosen, however good my posts might be. Are you going to have an “international” Freshly Pressed, too, some day?
April 28th, 2010 at 6:48 pm
I do all of that! Hopefully I can get some fresh pressed goods one day.
April 28th, 2010 at 6:50 pm
Thanks for the pointers. I always wondered how the ‘Freshly Pressed’ got chosen, now I know!
April 28th, 2010 at 6:52 pm
Nice ! Great information ! I like it !
April 28th, 2010 at 6:52 pm
Thanks for sharing! I plan on being featured some time soon!
April 28th, 2010 at 6:54 pm
Great idea, thank you for doing this; unfortunately (for my chances at getting featured at least, not unfortunately for the Earth) my blog is politically radical in “nature.” (inside joke, view my site and you’ll get it, LOL). Hence I’m unlikely to get featured. I DO use a ton of my own original photography though…
April 28th, 2010 at 6:58 pm
Neat tips
April 28th, 2010 at 6:59 pm
Thanks for the tips. Would love to get on freshly pressed!
April 28th, 2010 at 6:59 pm
I am new to the blogging world, so I appreciate the ‘inside scoop.’
April 28th, 2010 at 7:02 pm
How are pictures cited? what if the source or the owner of the picture is unknown?
April 28th, 2010 at 7:45 pm
Hi Stephen, that really depends on the specific image being used and where you found it. As a courtesy, you might want to provide a link to the site where you found the image. You also might want to check the site to see what their rules are, or if they have set up Creative Commons licensing. http://en.support.wordpress.com/creative-commons/
For example, on my own blog, I ask readers to contact me before using any of my images.
April 28th, 2010 at 7:04 pm
Thanks for the tips! Unfortunately for me, I’m not good at making my own images, and I usually write about things that don’t have obvious images that seem appropriate. Hmmm, maybe I should collaborate with a graphic artist…
April 28th, 2010 at 7:06 pm
Great to know.
April 28th, 2010 at 7:09 pm
Thanks for the tips!
April 28th, 2010 at 7:15 pm
Wow don’t get me wrong, I mean what you folks seem to be doing is great. However, as I found out, people are really looking for cutting edge material and thinking outside the box of the norm. The Douginator Online Magazine does have adult language, adult situations, strong and expressive political views for the mature audience.
As a published author of adult dark fantasy in the traditional print, I think that something should be done on WordPress to suit and promote well written and thought-provoking mature content to the masses out here. People do find this content, my blog(zine) and many other site or blog owners are certainly recommending sites like myself and the other wonderful journalists, commentators, and gifted writers such as myself, but it would be nice if WordPress had an adult mechanism like this…
Have a wonderful day!
April 28th, 2010 at 7:19 pm
Here’s hoping some of my culinary creations are featured at some point. All of my content is unique, created through literally hours of baking, photographing, and writing. It’d be a boost to be featured on the main page!
Julie
Willow Bird Baking
April 28th, 2010 at 7:24 pm
thanks for the info
I will keep it in mind…
April 28th, 2010 at 7:26 pm
I do a church blog. Does that have a place on “Freshly Pressed?”
April 28th, 2010 at 7:49 pm
Maybe! It really depends on the individual post itself. Faith is a very popular topic among WordPress users.
April 28th, 2010 at 7:30 pm
Any chance for a blog post in Swedish to get featured?
April 28th, 2010 at 7:31 pm
Simply love WordPress, thought you should know. (Ah, that’s with or without Freshly Pressed play.)
April 28th, 2010 at 7:46 pm
This is a great idea. Another of the perks from WordPress.
April 28th, 2010 at 7:48 pm
Your inclusion of adult/mature content under the heading “bad stuff” bothers me. I read several very successful blogs that are chock full of swearing and sexual content. Obviously people are interested in those things, so why should they be excluded from the Freshly Pressed feature? I think douginator up there is a little full of himself, but he has a point. There should be some sort of mechanism whereby the viewers of the Freshly Pressed feature can opt to include or exclude mature content.
Other than that one point, I don’t really have any problem with these 5 tips. Mostly they make sense. I just have one question. Do these criteria only apply to the specific post that’s being considered for the Freshly Pressed page? Or do they apply to the blog as a whole? Because I have posts that do actually meet all of the criteria you’ve listed, but the blog as a whole does not. I’d just like to know if I have any chance at all or if I should not waste energy hoping to get on Freshly Pressed.
April 28th, 2010 at 8:11 pm
The “5 ways” criteria apply to the specific blog post, though we do scan the entire blog to make sure there isn’t any “bad stuff” on there.
In regards to your first point about exclusion, to me, it all depends on the tone and intention of the post, and the audience who is exposed to it.
April 28th, 2010 at 7:51 pm
Cool thank you so much for the help. Hopefully there will be room on the freshly pressed for my blog one day. I’ve gotta lot of work to do in the meantime.
April 28th, 2010 at 7:51 pm
Thanks for the info! I would love to see Tenadventures featured at some point. Maybe after a few more posts…
April 28th, 2010 at 7:57 pm
Does it matter what time of day you publish? Do you only look at blogs before a certain time of day, and if yes, what time zone?
April 28th, 2010 at 8:01 pm
Hi Sally, I update during the week, but the specific time doesn’t matter too much, since I’m always on the hunt for posts to feature.
April 28th, 2010 at 7:57 pm
I like the way you guys operate. Okay, will do my best.
April 28th, 2010 at 8:05 pm
Joy Help Where is the proofreading button? I could have used that along time ago.. ;+)
April 28th, 2010 at 8:30 pm
Hi Starla! Here is the correct link for learning all about our awesome proofreader: http://en.support.wordpress.com/proofreading/
April 28th, 2010 at 8:09 pm
I really like this feature! I look forward to reading the content of other WordPress users, and hope that you will enjoy the content that I submit daily.
April 28th, 2010 at 8:09 pm
Here’s hoping I get lucky!
It would be an honor to be featured =)
Thank you for offering such a great place to share our dreams, ideas, endeavors and adventures!!
April 28th, 2010 at 8:13 pm
So just to confirm, you only get Freshly Pressed love if you are on x.wordpress.com…yes? For those of us taking the load off of WordPress’s poor, tired, huddled masses of servers yearning to breathe free (by using a different host) but using WordPress as our blog engine, our reward will be great in heaven?
April 28th, 2010 at 8:38 pm
Hi Julie, yes, this applies only to blogs that are hosted on WordPress.com. Here’s a ‘splainer on the difference between WordPress.com and WordPress.org: http://en.support.wordpress.com/com-vs-org/
And yes, I’m predicting your reward will be great.
April 28th, 2010 at 8:16 pm
Does it matter in which language you publish? Do blogs written in Dutch have any chance of making it to Freshly Pressed or do you only choose blogs in English?
April 28th, 2010 at 8:38 pm
For now, only English blogs.
April 28th, 2010 at 8:28 pm
** Just poking my head in to say I’ve always loved Freshly Pressed!
I’ve found a lot of my current favorite blogs there – so thanks WordPress!
April 28th, 2010 at 8:30 pm
Awesome. Thanks for letting us know about how to get noticed by Freshly Pressed. Freshly Pressed……..I love the name.
April 28th, 2010 at 8:41 pm
For the most part these are good guidelines to follow anyway and I hope I am. I would LOVE one of my blog posts to be pressed! It would be a HUGE boost for me! Thanks.
April 28th, 2010 at 8:51 pm
Thank You Joy!
April 28th, 2010 at 8:52 pm
There’s no chance of a sports blog headlining Freshly Pressed, is there?
April 28th, 2010 at 9:09 pm
Happens all the time!
April 28th, 2010 at 8:53 pm
I do appreciate the FYI on this….and I appreciate all of you. Your work, your efforts, your communication, to try and help. It is hard to come by sometimes. So God bless you all. Thank you. Elena
April 28th, 2010 at 8:53 pm
These requirements are also great standards for blogging and I am looking forward to the opportunity…. I guess I have to blog blog blog away now. You guys are great!
April 28th, 2010 at 8:56 pm
So what are you going to do with all your lottery winnings?
April 28th, 2010 at 8:58 pm
Thanks for the FYI. Best of luck to everyone!
-FringeGirl
April 28th, 2010 at 9:00 pm
Joy,
My blog posts are mostly like this one… and are not typically associated with an image because I want the reader to see the image that I am painting in their mind’s eye… I’d love more people to see my poems both at Kate Strophe and Tin Ear… they often include joy… might that help?
-I Want You-
I want the unconscious expectation of joy
A nebulous sense of hunger
That no food can cure
I want to hold it
Cry over it
Release the tears
As if wishing an acquaintance
Farewell
-Stephen
April 28th, 2010 at 9:05 pm
Do you notify people that they are on Freshly Pressed?
April 28th, 2010 at 9:08 pm
Yep.
April 28th, 2010 at 9:12 pm
Look no further ~ Freshly-pressed content with an extra dose of nourishing vitamins, all for free at highheelstoflipflops blog!
April 28th, 2010 at 9:17 pm
I will never qualify
April 28th, 2010 at 9:25 pm
Because I have a niche blog, I think it is only once every blue moon that I have a post that may fit “freshly pressed”. When those blue moons do come, is there away to submit a post for consideration?
April 28th, 2010 at 9:28 pm
Just curious….If someone is so honored, to be picked to be on Freshly pressed….. Which it really would be….
How long would it stay there? Just curious. And thanks…..
April 30th, 2010 at 3:32 am
It stays up about a day, but it varies.
April 28th, 2010 at 9:32 pm
I’m going to try to remember this the next time I write a post!
April 28th, 2010 at 9:34 pm
Thanks !
April 28th, 2010 at 9:34 pm
My friends kept telling me how much they liked my Facebook blogs, so I signed up. I’m brand new to WordPress (just signed up this last Saturday). No pictures in my blog (yet), but I think it’s fresh and interesting. Scripture-based, but not really a Christian blog. Hopefully one day, someone will think it’s interesting enough to feature
April 28th, 2010 at 9:37 pm
These are great tips, I’ll have to add some tags, but I would absolutely love to be on freshly pressed. I’ve got a bit of humor, wisdom, tragedy, and travel in my blog, I guess I’ll just keep my fingers crossed.
April 28th, 2010 at 9:39 pm
Eeeeh I’m never quite sure what constitutes as adult/mature.
April 30th, 2010 at 3:33 am
Well, for Freshly Pressed, keep in mind the audience: Anyone signing in to their blog. That includes minors.
April 28th, 2010 at 9:46 pm
Me Me Me ME ME MEEEEEEEEEEEEE – though not my last post – that was rather dull.
April 28th, 2010 at 9:47 pm
Now I know why I’m never, or rarely, on Freshly Pressed: it’s the mature content and/or other people’s images. I’ll work on the image thing. But hey, it’s just that there are such great pictures available all over the place, and I’m not making money off them, so why would people mind? Also, I wonder if you include stuff like pictures from Major League Baseball and sites like that?
April 28th, 2010 at 9:48 pm
I once made it into the fastest-growing blogs top 10, and it made my whole week a bit sweeter. Now I want want want to be picked for Freshly Pressed, so I will behave myself, control my punctuation and try and think up some snappy headlines. Not my strong point…
It’s like waiting for Santa, but more exciting because Freshly Pressed exists and it comes round every day.
[Disclaimer: I know that Santa exists. In our hearts.]
April 28th, 2010 at 9:50 pm
Another reason why I love WordPress! Thank you for sharing the tips and for taking the time to answer the other questions. I do have a question concerning tags. Can one over tag? I tend to include numerous tags, especially when a post fits into multiple genres or topics, so it would be nice to know if this may affect being featured. Again, thanks!
April 30th, 2010 at 3:36 am
Hi Heather, it wouldn’t exclude you from being picked (having a lot of tags, that is).
April 28th, 2010 at 9:59 pm
thanks for the helpful info – its nice to know I’m on the right track
April 28th, 2010 at 10:00 pm
Hi Joy,
Great Info! If I use a photo of a person I am writing about on my blog taken from her website, does that count as a no-no? Also if I use a website’s logo or copies of books taken from an author’s website I am writing about in my blog, does that count as a no-no?
April 30th, 2010 at 3:39 am
You might want to ask the person whose photo you are using. And photos of book covers is generally OK. (I’m realizing I should do a follow-up post on using images fairly!)
April 28th, 2010 at 10:00 pm
Regarding TAGS:
I generally use categories first, then (if I don’t have an apt category), I use a tag. In other words, I create categories for my oft-used, well, categories… and I use tags if I need a more-specific description.
So, is this limiting my chances? I think my blog fits your criteria very well
I write unique content that’s opinionated but fair.
I use images to illustrate each post.
I am anal about perfect grammar (you should see my crazy number of saved drafts because I edit multiple times!)
And I think hard to create catchy titles.
(I don’t usually “sell” myself like this but… )
Please tell all re categories versus tags.
Thanks,
YogaSpy
April 30th, 2010 at 3:57 am
Hi there, try this:
http://en.support.wordpress.com/posts/categories-vs-tags/
If that still has you confused, feel free to write me at editor @ wordpress.com
April 28th, 2010 at 10:00 pm
@Joy
Thanks for sharing. I can’t help but notice that those are all the elements of good blogging, and when we employ them consistently we attract readers who form a blog centered community that makes our commitment to blogging so very worthwhile. Numbers aren’t everything yet the traffic flow created by good blogging must be a factor in the selection for being featured on Freshly Pressed. Isn’t that the case? Don’t the number of page views count?
April 29th, 2010 at 1:24 am
Hi there, I don’t look at page views when selecting a post. I’m looking at the quality of the content. But, high-quality content attracts readers and therefore page views, so they do often correlate nicely.
April 28th, 2010 at 10:01 pm
Cool!
One thing I always struggle with is crafting a great headline! Oh well, one more incentive to improve.
Thanks for sharing.
Sarita Li
April 28th, 2010 at 10:07 pm
Now I know what “behind the scenes” means.
April 28th, 2010 at 10:07 pm
Sweet, I’ve done all this, plus built up a credible news source for a community dominated by a profit-motivated media corporation. Hope I get picked someday.
April 28th, 2010 at 10:08 pm
I would love for my photo blog, Centuries Since the Day, to be featured on Freshly Pressed. There’s almost no text, because the images speak for themselves, and sometimes the tags offer clues for context. And it’s all rated G or maybe an occasional PG, but never any “adult” or nude material — primarily nature and architecture shots.
April 28th, 2010 at 10:10 pm
I am new to word press but this is a neat site. I suppose if I ever want to be on this feature I should stop making my headlines Kotton’s Opinions and think of something better huh?
April 28th, 2010 at 10:12 pm
These are great tips which I mostly try to follow anyway as they are pretty “common-sensical”.
My problem is with tip #5 as I find that most of the so-called “compelling titles” are actually quite deceiving (not cool in my books!) all because the person is trying too hard to be witty and cool.
I often wonder if wordpress focuses on North American blogs. Are we blogs overseas excluded?!
Great post “Joy Victory”! Keep up the great work, WordPress!
April 28th, 2010 at 10:20 pm
I’d like to get featured.
April 28th, 2010 at 10:26 pm
Well, it is my second day here, and once again learning something new. Thank you for the tips, they were inspiring to me. With any luck I will make it on there more than once, would love to see the day, when I learn enough about blogging to be noticed. Have a great day, and thank you again.
April 28th, 2010 at 10:31 pm
*crosses fingers my new little blogs gets noticed*
April 28th, 2010 at 10:32 pm
Cool. I’m glad you decided to share with us. I’ve been wondering how I could up my blogging a little to get some love.
April 28th, 2010 at 10:34 pm
Thanks for the tips, but I don’t need any! My blog is perfect just the way it is! * Erases post “OMG i liek got a ideazzzz!!!!11″ and “wat a loser! & i stole more piczzzz from online!!!!11″ *
…I’m just that awesome
~Sara
April 28th, 2010 at 10:38 pm
This is fantastic! Everything about WordPress has made this an easy experience for me, and I will be forever grateful. I’m really new to the world of blogs. I post twice a week… is this a good average, or is more or less better? (and yes, I also want to say “PICK ME, PICK ME!”)
Thanks for the great work and wonderful ideas!
April 28th, 2010 at 10:42 pm
Hmm, looks like what I’m doing… But bad stuff, do you count an occasional rant? XD
And you’re making me want to make a post with, “U Loserz, i WON!!!!11!” because you mentioned it as bad. It could be good, if you pull it off right……
April 28th, 2010 at 10:48 pm
It’s certainly something to shoot for. =] Thank you for the tips. I love reading Freshly Pressed every day. You never know what you might find.
April 28th, 2010 at 10:51 pm
When you say “tags,” are you including or excluding “categories”? The “Tags” shown on the tab/page next to Freshly Pressed are what I understood to be “categories.” (e.g., “Music” is a category; “American Idol” is a tag within that category) Not that I’m in any danger of getting on Freshly Pressed, but I’d like to know where to enter that catchy label (tag or category?) I think of for my next post.
April 30th, 2010 at 3:59 am
Here you go. http://en.support.wordpress.com/posts/categories-vs-tags/
April 28th, 2010 at 10:57 pm
Unfortunately my blog not in english. There is no chance for my blog
April 28th, 2010 at 11:05 pm
These are great tips! I’ll def keep them in mind!!
April 28th, 2010 at 11:13 pm
I’m so internetically impaired that I have no idea how to get more blog love. I have a great idea (or so I think), but short of “Hey, look at me,” I don’t really know how to spread it. Do you specifically search for some tags, or do you just surf at random? I never tag anything, so maybe I’ll start…
April 30th, 2010 at 4:00 am
I search under most of the “major” tags seen here:
http://en.wordpress.com/tags/
April 28th, 2010 at 11:18 pm
Thanks for the tips. Still need to figure out how to use WordPress
April 28th, 2010 at 11:41 pm
Pick Me! Pick Me! *nearly pees his pants with excitement*
April 28th, 2010 at 11:50 pm
Hola Joy:
Thank you for this new information…
April 29th, 2010 at 12:01 am
Thanks for the info, now I know. But I will probably never be selected. Images just don’t work with my stuff.
April 29th, 2010 at 12:08 am
It’s been weeks since a post of mine topped the WordPress Dashboard and right now I’m still walkin’ on sunshine! How much more if I’d make it to Freshly Pressed! It would be flying high. And hey pipz, tip No. 6: blog blog blog on a wing and a prayer!
April 29th, 2010 at 12:13 am
I blog as a personal journal so some of my stuff would be considered adult/mature (in fact one is down right graphic)….. But most of it is editorials of my life, poems, etc. I hope you will disregard the rare adult material and check out my other pieces. Thanks for the info though.
April 29th, 2010 at 12:25 am
I can only hope that I should be so lucky as to add my humble blog to front page icon-clast-isty…