Three bloggers and three editors discuss Freshly Pressed from both sides — and offer insights on blog exposure, engagement, and growth.
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A roundtable of bloggers and editors:
Paula Reed Nancarrow, Paula Reed Nancarrow
Peg Schulte, Peg-o-Leg’s Ramblings
Stephanie Summar, Listful Thinking
Krista Stevens, editor
Michelle Weber, editor
Cheri Lucas Rowlands, editor
Since the publication of this post, we’ve launched Discover, a new showcase of editors’ picks and recommended sites that has replaced Freshly Pressed. All links in this post have been changed accordingly.
The editorial team behind The Daily Post works on other projects such as Longreads and Freshly Pressed. On Freshly Pressed, which you’ll find in your Reader, we share top picks, community recommendations, and our favorite reads. Freshly Pressed has evolved over the years: it began as a developer’s Hack Day project to showcase user-made content on the WordPress.com homepage, and has become a favorite space to discover standout posts and new bloggers.
The So You Want To Be Freshly Pressed support page explains what we look for, although these are merely guidelines — there’s no magic formula to be featured. We, too, are people who love to read. We look for posts that are thought-provoking, inspiring, unexpected, unique, relevant, and resonant. We’re drawn to topics and elements that move you as well, from a compelling story to a strong voice to a new perspective.
In this roundtable, we ask three multi-Freshly Pressed bloggers about the highs and lows of their experiences. We want to shed light on a process that might feel mysterious, but also to share insights on how to deal with sudden exposure, blog growth, and writing for a larger audience as you put yourself out there.
What’s been the most surprising outcome of having a post shared on Freshly Pressed?
Paula Reed Nancarrow writes and performs personal and historical narratives, as well as folk tales and myths, that reflect the texture and complexity of family and community life and the blessings and betrayals to be found therein.
Paula: My first Freshly Pressed post, “Puzzles,” was a story I was getting ready to tell on stage at a story slam. The traffic boost was incredible, as was the increase in comments — I had trouble keeping up with them. I was surprised at the number of people I didn’t know who used these comments to nominate me for a blog award. I’d been previously nominated for one or two, by regular readers I knew. These nominations, on the other hand, seemed to be driven by chain letter desperation.
The most surprising outcome from my second post, “Forgotten Is Forgiven,” was not the post’s high traffic on the first day — which I expected — but a two-hour period over dinner when page views to my blog more than doubled. (The actual views of that particular post represented less than a third of this number.) At first I thought new visitors were reading other posts, and that is partly true.
Related Reading: For information on indexing, check out the Search Engines support page or this Kissmetrics post.
But I discovered that every other post over the last year had been accessed precisely five times. I suspect that I had a case of the bots; that is, the blog was being indexed. I’ve had more traffic from search engines ever since, which is nice, because social media promotion is a lot of work.
Krista: Selecting and featuring a post on Freshly Pressed can be somewhat daunting. I never know how an author will feel about the exposure. There are more comments to moderate and sometimes authors feel put upon having to deal with an influx of people reading their work. It’s like a bunch of enthusiastic folks crashing your party, so to speak, where with organic growth, you get to know your regular readers over time.
Peg Schulte at Peg-o-Leg’s Ramblings is a humor columnist for a newspaper and lifestyle magazine, and a small-town insurance agent in her spare time. She’s been Freshly Pressed nine times since 2010.
Peg: The whole thing was a surprise the first time. I’d been blogging a couple of months, and my three regular readers had commented on “My Sister-In-Law is Ruining the US Economy” one morning when strangers started weighing in. This was the first time I dared to think that people who weren’t related to me might want to read my writing. I don’t think it’s an exaggeration to say that realization was life-changing, and I was hooked.
This was the first time I dared to think that people who weren’t related to me might want to read my writing.
In recent years, the most surprising thing is that you can appear on Freshly Pressed with not much impact on your stats or readers. From what I can tell, it depends on the category under which you are featured. For instance, “We Need More Taxes” was tagged under taxes. This attracted a mere handful of earnest CPAs who had to be told that I was kidding. “Mortal Kombat: Battle For The Monkey Bars” was under nostalgia, which apparently only appeals to your Great Aunt Millie. Unfortunately, Great Aunt Millie doesn’t own a computer.
Cheri: Readers are naturally drawn to specific topics, while some categories, like writing and photography, are perpetually popular.
I, too, have noticed the overall decreased effect of Freshly Pressed since I was first featured five years ago (when I was not yet an editor at WordPress.com). The first few times, the visits and comments to my blog were instant, constant, and overwhelming for several days.
Each Freshly Pressed post is distinct and performs differently, and oftentimes you don’t know what will go crazy on the internet, what external factors might push a post to go viral, and which posts will hit that magical sweet spot.
Stephanie Summar at Listful Thinking is a writer obsessed with lists: numbered lists, bullet lists, outlines…
Stephanie: In that first day of being Freshly Pressed, you check your stats like crazy because every time you refresh the page they’ve gone up by approximately one trillion. You also do a lot of humble-bragging to people who don’t know what you’re talking about when you say you’ve been Freshly Pressed. (“My dumb blog was featured by WordPress, but I’m not even sure I’m literate.” That kind of thing.) That goes on for several days until your post moves down the page. It’s hard to see it go, but it’s the circle of life. And once it’s over, you have a bunch of new followers who expect you to write something good and who you will inevitably let down.
After I was Freshly Pressed the first time, I tried to think of a follow-up topic, and the only thing I came up with was “Thinking of a New, Impressive Topic Now That Gaining So Many New Followers Has Broken My Brain.” I never wrote it, but I think it illustrates where I was in terms of total panic.
. . . there’s some pressure, but it’s motivating.
There’s a bit of pressure knowing that Freshly Pressed exists: knowing that someone might read what I write and share it with thousands of others makes me want to write better things. So yes, there’s some pressure, but it’s motivating.
Cheri: That’s nice — it’s something driving you as a blogger, in the same way that there are other goals people can shoot for, from literary prizes to music awards. This type of system naturally creates competition, even animosity, which we sense when we read posts about Freshly Pressed. Ultimately, we hope you all blog because you want to, because you’re passionate about something — not to be Freshly Pressed.
Do you write about friends and family on your site? Take a look at our guidelines and tips, and learn more about how to maintain good blogging boundaries.
Michelle: The traffic can be a double-edged sword, too. I once featured a very personal, powerful post by a blogger writing about her troubled childhood. Her family didn’t know she was blogging, and some of them found the post when the Freshly Pressed exposure led to it being more widely shared — and since the post contained some less-than-flattering stories, it caused a significant rift for them.
What downsides have you experienced from being featured on Freshly Pressed?
Curious about reblogging? Read Elizabeth Eurello’s post, “Reexamining the Reblog.”
Paula: The first time, the downsides were the aforementioned blog awards, which I politely declined, and the let down when my page views went back to normal. The second time, the issue of reblogging caught my attention. I hadn’t thought much about this practice; I tried it once myself, like menthol cigarettes, and didn’t like it. But many people reblogged my post — often with no comments or any explanation of why they shared it.
Don’t want others reblogging your posts? You can disable the feature.
I have different expectations relative to original content when I’m on a platform like WordPress, versus Tumblr. It’s possible that all those reblogging instances caused the SEO bots to mobilize — I don’t know. It bothered me, however, that my personal photographs were being uploaded automatically into other WordPress media galleries, without attribution.
We all have different practices and preferences. Some bloggers love receiving awards from other bloggers; some don’t. Check out Michelle’s primer on blog awards to learn more.
I dealt with these downsides the way I deal with most things I’m trying to make sense of: I wrote about it. I put a stop (mostly) to award nominations by writing a post called “Blogligations,” and a follow-up, “10 Ways to Just Say No to Blog Awards.” I also added an Awards Policy page to my blog. I then wrote a post about “The Dark Side of Having a Blog Post Freshly Pressed,” which discusses reblogging and why losing control of my photographs is an issue for me.
Stephanie: One downside is the guilt I feel over not being able to reply to all of my comments. I don’t often reply to comments anyway and I already feel guilty about that, but this compounds it.
Quick tip from Cheri: I have a note above the comment field at the bottom of my posts: “Please note: in most cases, I don’t approve self-promotional or off-topic comments, or those that don’t add to the discussion.”
You can update this section in your classic dashboard in Settings → Discussion; scroll down to the field under “Comment Form” next to “Prompt.” (If you’re not in the classic dashboard, head there via your My Sites tab by clicking on the WP Admin link.)
Krista: One thing I recommend for any blogger is a Comment Policy. I’ve encountered plenty of bloggers who struggle with what to allow and what to delete. Some feel it’s rude not to approve every “Great post!” when they’d prefer something more substantive. There are no hard and fast rules, and I suggest checking The Daily Post‘s Comment Guidelines as a place to start. Bloggers are free to copy, revise, or modify it to suit their commenting philosophies.
Peg: I hope I don’t sound unforgivably ungrateful when I admit there are a few downsides. First are the people who show up with the sole intention of pushing their blog. We all want to be appreciated, but c’mon people — there are ways and there are ways. I blogged about this and give advice in one of my favorite Should-Have-Been-Freshly-Pressed-But-Was-Criminally-Overlooked posts, Miss Peg-o-Leg’s Guide to Excruciatingly Correct Comment Etiquette.
Another downside is that Freshly Pressed is a drug. Once you’ve experienced it, you want more. As quickly as your stats go up, in two days they drop so fast that bloggers have been known to suffer a bad case of the Freshly Pressed bends. Afterwards, everything around the blog looks flat and dull and uninteresting and hey, where’d everybody go? Don’t you want to read this stuff? This stuff is good, too, right?
Stay motivated, post-Freshly Pressed:
Cheri: Peg, you’ve been pressed nearly 10 times, so you know that traffic ebbs and flows, and that readers come and go. Post-Freshly Pressed, when you feel deflated, what do you do? Cease writing for a bit? Publish the next post soon after?
Peg: I tend to post fairly quickly after being Freshly Pressed, to give new readers another reason to stick around. Several times, the subsequent post has been about that Freshly Pressed experience. It’s a rollercoaster ride and a topic of interest to many.
How have you leveraged your Freshly Pressed “appearances” over the years?
I’m more committed to blogging, and I take it more seriously than I would if it felt like I was shouting into an abyss.
Stephanie: I probably wouldn’t have a blog right now without them. I’d have a disappointing bass fishing career. I’m more committed to blogging, and I take it more seriously than I would if it felt like I was shouting into an abyss. It’s also affected my writing overall. It’s one thing to write weird jokes by yourself for no one; it’s totally different to know there are people out there who like what you write and look forward to your work. I’m never going to get over that, and I wouldn’t know I had an audience at all if it weren’t for being Freshly Pressed. I sound like a huge suck-up right now, but I mean it.
Michelle: Personally, I’ll read anything you write, and that includes odes to bass fishing. A unique and compelling voice is always the first thing I look for in a Freshly Pressed post — if the voice is there, I’ll follow the author down any topical rabbit hole. And realizing that your readers will give you that leeway is huge for any writer.
Peg: I know I should be Tweeting and Facebooking and Redditing and all to really leverage success, build my brand, and push the numbers, but that’s all very exhausting and confusing. My modest success on WordPress did give me the courage to approach my local paper, knees knocking, and suggest they have me do a humor column. They fell for it, and I’m now being paid to write.
Crossing over from blogging to “real” life was terrifying, but exciting. Now I’m trying to figure out how to syndicate my column. If any newspaper editors are looking for a humor column, practically dirt cheap, contact my agent (who happens to have the same name and contact info as me).
Based on your experiences, what advice can you share with others who have been newly Freshly Pressed?
Paula: Enjoy it. Remember that anything you say on the internet can be shared, and that your work will have a larger audience than you may have originally conceived. If there are things in your post you would only say to your closest friends, edit them out. Finally, read other Freshly Pressed posts, and leave a comment or two. It’s a great opportunity to broaden your blogging horizons.
Cheri: I’ve received negative feedback from several bloggers over time, from a photographer not happy with the surge of random followers and less-thoughtful comments (“Congrats on FP!”) to a woman who published something controversial and closed her comments. When searching our Freshly Pressed archive, I’ve found that some bloggers have deleted these posts.
If one of your posts gets a ton of attention — whether via Freshly Pressed or another way — you open the door to, well, the entire internet. Expect all types of readers and prepare yourself for criticism. Remember that if you have a public blog, anyone can read it. If you aren’t sure whether to post something, think it through, as Paula said. (And, if we ever feature your post and you prefer that we don’t, we respect that and will remove it.)
Related Reading:
Inspired by Peg’s comment etiquette guide, here are tips for newly pressed bloggers (and readers entering the commenting waters):
- You don’t have to respond to comments on your Freshly Pressed post, but if a reader responds thoughtfully, it’s good practice to reply.
- Don’t know the blogger? That’s OK! Introduce yourself.
- Reciprocation isn’t automatic: don’t be hurt if a person doesn’t visit or comment on your blog, too. Real connections take time.
- Avoid an empty, self-promotional linkdrop to your blog in a comment.
- Disagreeing with a blogger is fine — just be respectful.
- “Liking” a Freshly Pressed post is fine, but if you do it all the time and never engage, it might appear as if you don’t actually read the posts.
Finally, what does “blogging success” look like to you?
Peg: Success is writing well, having people read what I write, and having it impact them in some way. Although Peg-o-Leg’s Ramblings is a recommended humor blog, some of my more thoughtful posts, like “Why I Would Rather Try to Find The Funny Than The Meaning of Life,” generate responses that show I have truly touched someone, and that is a wonderful feeling.
Cheri: I second Peg’s reply. I’m always happy when a reader tells me that what I wrote inspired them or made them think. I also don’t have a clear focus on my blog and write about whatever I want, but that hasn’t seemed to affect my readership in the long term. Success, to me, is seeing readers come back to read me, not a topic.
Have you been Freshly Pressed, or dealt with sudden exposure and a influx of readers from a post that’s gone viral? Share your perspectives.
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Great post. I’ve been Freshly Pressed only once, and that was about a month after I started blogging. It was for one of the Weekly Writing Challenges, and I got hundreds of followers and views for it. Since I was brand new to the site, the success was such a boost to my confidence; if I’d started out so well, I *must* be doing something right and my blog will become an amazing hit!
…Yeah, that didn’t last long.
It was striking how quickly the views dropped off when I wasn’t doing a daily prompt or photo challenge; some of my best work go for days without a single view, and it’s certainly not for lack of trying. After a while, you learn to accept it and keep going. Blogging solely for views is a hollow endeavor; no amount of daily stats can quantify how much you’re worth as a person. I’m grateful to be Freshly Pressed, and hope to be so again.
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This article is like an insiders guide to blogging – a step beyond Blogging Uni 101 and 201. And I felt as if I was listening to a live conversation. Although I’ve never been Freshly Pressed I’ve got lots of new ideas about how I might tweek my approach to comments, reblogs,and awards. Thanks!
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I’ve been freshly pressed exactly once – and that was after only one month of blogging. I had no idea how to handle all the people and shut down – I didn’t post anything for another three months. Over the last two years I’ve worked to develop a sustainable writing habit, my own blogging style, and the like. I think that’s the reason my stats and reality don’t make sense: I have almost two thousand “followers” (most of them spam or deleted accounts) but only 50 or so regular readers (judging by page views, likes, and comments). Now, if only I could write something press-worthy again!
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I can relate to the free falling stats aftermath of being FP. And the daunting feeling that I had to immediately put up a post that would knock the socks off the new readers. Oh and the endless craving to get that FP hit again and again and again. It’s never enough. I think that’s the only downside for me. Otherwise, being FP is like winning the lottery. A lottery that involves zero money and your family and friends don’t even know exists.
What I would love to see more of on Freshly Pressed is HUMOR. Please, please, please put more funny stuff up there! As somber as the world is, we need to laugh more. It’s hard to write funny. Honor those people that can pull it off. Give Peg her 10th FP!
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Makes sense. I certainly don’t envy you that job. I do appreciate you guys are at least trying to find more light upbeat writing.
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Listen to Darla – more humor! And she’s got loads of it over at her place.
It never occurred to me that it’s hard to find, as Ben said, but that makes sense given all the traffic on WordPress.
Back in the day, the thing to do was pick one, major tag (like humor, food, family) then augment it with other tags that spoke to your specific topic and slant on that topic. Perhaps if new bloggers were taught to do that it would make it easier for editors, and readers, to find content in their specific area of interest. Or if WordPress used category classifications and then tags as subsets.
And yes, I realize that saying “back in the day” makes ME sound like Great Aunt Millie.
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I aspire to taste the dark side of Freshly Pressed.
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But I don’t think I’m political enough, or “catch-phrasey” enough. I agree with some of the prior comments about how many of the Freshly Pressed seem “hot topics.” Sigh…I’m just not hot enough. 😉
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“Hot topics” posts are definitely part of the Freshly Pressed mix, and I suspect they will be in the future, too — WordPress.com bloggers are often at the forefront of the day’s raging conversations, and it would be a disservice to them and to the community (and, sure, to the world at large!) if we didn’t share these voices with our readers.
That said, each of us editors has a huge number of very diverse pet topics and passions that we’re always happy to promote. They range from maps and beekeeping to math and street art, but we all have a (very) soft spot for personal musings on topics that would appear mundane were it not for the beautiful, moving writing of the blogger in question.
In other words, there will always be ample room on Freshly Pressed for well-written, personal, not-hot-button posts.
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Thanks, Ben. Appreciate that.
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Its funny that I actually wrote a post called “Why I will never be Freshly Pressed” At the time all the FP stuff being selected was very intense angsty navel gazing things about depression and suicide and other stuff, and I got quite tired of it all after a few weeks.
Not to say that those things are not relevant to talk about, of course they are, but to see the same constant style of posts being selected on FP just made me depressed.
So imagine my surprise when about a year or so later, I wrote a really long rambly post about how hard photography is once you buy yourself a fancy camera and it went NUTS!
(note to the WP folk – I never got an email or notification that I had been FP – it was the massive increase in traffic and comments that gave it away)
I still don’t understand what gets posts picked for FP these days, I will echo the other commenter that a lot of them appear to be by US based posters, around US centric subjects (politics taxes etc).
It was a nice ego boost and validation that my efforts have merit, I got LOTS of lovely comments, and tried to reply to as many as I could. Yet several years later, taking part in WordPress based photography and digital art challenges hosted by other bloggers has given me a much greater sense of community and participation and satisfaction, and ultimately a feeling of connection to like minded people.
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I’m scratching my head here. With the amount of posts daily on WP I can’t believe people are Freshly Pressed more than once. Sounds a bit like Meryl Strep syndrome “Oh she is good. Never does anything bad, what a talent, must nominate.” “How about checking out other folks”…”well but we know she is good.”
I read a number of excellent long term bloggers who have never been nominated.
Personally I am very happy with my 20 regular readers and the 900 others who actually clicked follow at one point and haven’t declicked yet.
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Always interesting to hear “Behind the Music” stories from past Freshly Pressed bloggers. I was lucky enough to get Freshly Pressed three times within my first fifteen months on WordPress, but the last of those memorable occasions is now coming up on its second anniversary. I try not to think of these past two years as a “dry spell” and instead focus on enjoying what I do for its own sake. Most of the time, it works and I’m pretty content with my output.
Once in a while, though, insecurity creeps back in and i have to fight the urge to write overlong diatribes about Very Important Topics in hopes of catching the Freshly Pressed committee’s eye once more. I imagine it’s like being a film director who once won an Oscar for one of their early films, then devotes the rest of their career to a perpetually disappointing series of failed Oscar-bait projects in a sad attempt to capture that same lightning in another bottle.
I’d rather not end up like that, so I suppose I should be grateful for the FP dry spell that keeps me humble and challenges me to focus my blogging on differently satisfying pursuits, even if #4 never comes. 🙂
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Not yet, but I hope to in the future. I understand there is often “bad” to go along with “good,” and would do my utmost to deal with both sides of that virtual coin. ;). Great post! About to delve into some of the links in it. Thnx!
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So interesting. I would love to be freshly pressed and this post has provided an interesting perspective on the dark side of being so. FP’d 10 time – wowzers!! I hadn’t really considered much of this side of things before. Thanks for being so frank all.
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This was very informative, and insightful. And I appreciate the honesty that you all used in responding. Interesting to see what things are like from the perspective of other folks.
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These are ‘problems’ that most bloggers don’t have to think about…
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You’re right! Not every blogger on the internet will experience these things.
But I hope this discussion is more about “Freshly Pressed” — it’s simply about dealing with exposure, non-organic growth, virality… I myself have learned a lot from everyone’s insights, in the post and comments. Every person’s experience is unique — I’m grateful to hear all of these perspectives.
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I agree with the part about wanting people to read other things.
I am on day 26 of blogging. Freshly pressed came at around the two-week mark. I have no idea how my brand new baby blog was found. (But thanks!)
Because of my intended message it’s been a major blessing, and I’m grateful it happened.
But… I wrote this really good story (in my opinion) that is getting very little attention. It’s called The Bird and the Birdwatcher (A Cautionary Tale) and while I’m glad people are still dribbling in to read the open letter that was pressed, there’s so many other things on my blog that I think are even better (like Finally He Claimed Me) and which also open eyes about tough subjects.
Because of the content of the post that was pressed, I’ve had the self-promoting comments, people (very small percent) being rude, a bunch of people telling me I just need God, but actually overwhelmingly positive comments. And like freshly pressed oj through a sieve, the more substantial bits (readers who are interested in the rest of the blog) are sticking around, and now that the fp mania has died down a bit, I have time to engage with those people who have become ‘fans’ (what?) and are starting to become friends.
The cool thing I’ve noticed is that if I read and comment on a post I like from a fellow baby blogger, my words and compliments have more clout. Someone told me they look up to me as a writer (again, what?) and another said she’s ‘obsessed’ with my blog.
I’m blown away, which has only happened so quickly because of fp (which I like because it means I was given a really big reason to keep writing before my enthusiasm had a chance to fizzle).
And yes, I want more.
I gave people a place to add their blog so it keeps their self promotion in one place, launched a project where I’m posting semi-anonymous stories and works of art of readers (Project: Better Than This), updated my about page to have a table of contents, and have put a reader update politely begging them to read my other favourite posts. I think it’s working, more eyes = more awareness = steps to the greater goal of people being more understanding toward others.
The most difficult thing has been trying to understand the way WordPress works as I learn while I go. It means I have to be a lot more careful at editing and I read a lot of wp forums.
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Intriguing. Part of me has given up any expectation to be Freshly Pressed. However that’s not what drives me to blog.
Depending on the blog post topic and where it’s perpetually shared, it can be motivating or just darn puzzling: a discovery of some just strange readers/followers. I had a blog post on feminism as expressed in the act of cycling by women which was shared over 500 different readers. I have a readership under 100…
Some of those readers on the feminism, were guys with very bizarre and negative blogs. It felt toxic and like looking in the basement of blogosphere.
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If I were Freshly Pressed, I think I would have a hard time with the sudden flood of views, comments, awards, etc. I’ve always had mediocre stats and few comments here and there. I just wouldn’t be used to it.
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Thanks for this wonderful post. I was Freshly Pressed in January, 2014, and am still humbly thankful that that particular post was shared with so many WP readers. It increased my following dramatically, while I was on the computer for days, reading and responding to comments. Even though the traffic eventually slowed and comments lessened, I found a few dedicated followers that I love to death (both the person and their blog). I came into blogging with the intention of writing regardless of how many people follow, comment or like the posts. However, I found it’s easy to get caught up in “likes” and comments and the stats page. I rarely look at stats because I try to stick with my original intent – to write for myself first (a sort of emotional therapy) and hope that a few people will enjoy the content. So, for those of you starting out, I say KEEP GOING! Don’t worry about pressings, comments, followers, or stats. Write for yourself, first and foremost, and the rest will follow.
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My take-away from this string is the discussion about our community of readers; the how-tos and expectations of engagement. Sounds like, if a post is FP’d, or for whatever other reason goes viral, the best advise is to stay on the surf board that’s been handed you as best you can and enjoy riding the length of the tube, however long or short it may be. Accept whatever shakes out in the end and be content with the anti-climatic return to your normally obscure self.
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an enlightening post—thank you!
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Definitely intriguing for a newbie like myself, thank you.
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Thanks for this post. Getting Freshly Pressed is a double-edged sword. The recognition would feel good for hard work at your craft, but not everyone can or will make it – even if their writing is stellar, or their blog is amazing because I might be the only one who thinks that. I have to remember I’m not less if I’m not recognized, and I write because it’s important to me, because I feel less alone, because it’s healing, or at least purging, and there also seems to be a responsibility to keep putting out product at a level that might not be possible, and therefore let down readers.
It’s such a mixed bag, right?!
I appreciate the thoughtfulness of the topic. Cheers.
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Thanks for all the information. I always wondered how posts were selected for freshly pressed. This article answered that question and a whole bunch more I didn’t know I had.
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Congrats to you all. Will never be in your company. All is good.
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My second blog was Freshly Pressed before I knew what Freshly Pressed was. Yes, that particular post was a good one. Yes, I got a big spike in traffic and “follows,” which helped me discover some interesting blogs that I’m still folowing. For a short while, I followed FP in my reader. Yes, there’s some great stuff out there that’s been FP — but there’s plenty of great stuff that hasn’t been. No surprise there, given the unbelievable volume of good posts. I figure it’s mostly a matter of chance, but I still keep the FP widget on my blog. It might prompt some passerby to linger a little longer than they would otherwise.
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Having been Freshly Pressed once, I enjoyed the increase in the amount of comments and it was fun to see my traffic stats spike. It was also a great feeling — my FPed post is about a very personal experience and it was lovely to receive such supportive feedback from the WordPress community.
Another reason why I love FP is because it has led me to blogs that I might not have found otherwise. 🙂
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Thanks for the great information. i do enjoy reading the articles that have been pressed and understand why they have been chosen, great writing. Perhaps one day…
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Thank you all for your insight and humor. As a new blogger is it always encouraging to glean tidbits of knowledge from the past successes and failures of those more experienced than myself. Not only will I be able to use these ideas to enhance my own writing but I now have new blogs to follow as well. Thanks for taking the time to lead the masses. 🙂
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FP does provide added inspiration ~ it is a feel good/appreciation of my work as an artist. It is surprising to realize how good it feels, yet also a reality check when non-blogger friends have no idea why you are checking out your stats.
My first time, I checked out every blog, answered every comment and put a lot of time into this experience, and while the high of being FP will never get old, the harsh reality of many new ‘followers’ and readers simply not ‘being there’ was a bit disappointing. However, the people I did connect with made it an incredible experience. Great post.
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Very interesting insight of all the different points of view! I toroughly enjoyed the read. I’m new to blogging and this was a good way to read into a topic I’ve never heard of before! Pro’s and Con’s were well stated and written – it nearly almost makes you wish you’ll never be freshly pressed *lol*. Thank you for sharing!!! ❤
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Oh I forgot to quote my favourite part:
” Ultimately, we hope you all blog because you want to, because you’re passionate about something — not to be Freshly Pressed.”.
So true! I’ve had a similar experience in an old art page of mine – I found out at some point that everything I’d create was basically just to earn that award they were giving out. It made me very unhappy when I never got it after all those years. I should listen to the people commenting and telling me that this particular drawing should have earned an award – that it made THEM happy enough and that should make me happy enough. Very well said! Thank you for that ❤
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