Are You Prepared to be Freshly Pressed?

A little while back I was fortunate to be Freshly Pressed for a second time by the good story wranglers at WordPress (here’s the first). As I reacted to this development I realized how much more I was prepared the second time around. Whether you’ve been Pressed before or are waiting for that first time, you can make the experience even more beneficial by capitalizing on that wonderful publicity. All you need is a little foresight and planning.

In just a few simple steps, anyone can be ready to really maximize the impact of thousands of readers showing up from the WordPress home page. So I’m going to give you a few key steps to take for when your number gets called. The list builds from beginner to veteran, so a couple of these might be familiar to you if you’ve already been Pressed in the past.

1. Figure out what Freshly Pressed is

Capture a screen shot when you get Pressed

I didn’t have any idea what was happening when my post first got selected. I suddenly had dozens of comments out of nowhere. In case you don’t know about FP, here’s the official WordPress breakdown.

2. Celebrate!

Make excited noises. I mean, don’t go all Meg Ryan in When Harry Met Sally. Or do. Unless you’re at work. Then again you might work at home. So go nuts.

3. Stat gaze

It’s pretty cool to watch those view counts soaring when you’re used to 40 views a day!

4. Tell people

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But then you get past that initial cool stuff. Here’s the strategy part.