We talk a lot on this site about getting our work published on other sites, but what about the awesome original blog posts published on our very own little blog babies?

Remember a few years ago when if your blog post was ‘Freshly Pressed’ by WordPress, you would get ons of traffic to your blog and huge bragging rights? In case you missed it, it used to be that WordPress would select 8 WordPress.com blog posts each day to feature, but it took luck and a little bit of voodoo to get there.

Recently I realized that it has been some time since I heard anything about Freshly Pressed, so I started digging and figured out why. Guess what? It is GOOD NEWS for all of us!

Here is what you need to know:

Freshly Pressed is out WordPress Discover is in!

In a move that is great news for all bloggers, WordPress launched WordPress Discover in fall of 2015. Discover features editor’s picks for awesome blog posts from around the web on the front page each day as well as other content of interest to WordPress users.

You can submit your own post for consideration

I love this, because with Freshly Pressed, there was a little known weekly theme that might give you a little edge in getting selected, but for the most part, getting freshly pressed was a mystery. Now you can recommend posts (yours or someone else’s) for consideration! It is still very stiff competition, but at least you can be more proactive. SUBMIT HERE 

WordPress.com blogs are no longer the only sites considered

As a self-hosted WordPress site, I was bummed about Freshly Pressed, because they only considered posts on WordPress.com sites. With Discover, they now consider posts and content from WordPress.com, Jetpack, and self-hosted WordPress sites. Woo-hoo!

Tips for getting featured have been published

This time around, WordPress offers specific tips for how to become an editor’s pick, including publishing original content on your blog, offering a strong point of view, embracing your unique voice, and using images and a readable format. You can check out past editor’s picks to see what they tend to go for.

WordPress sends readers right from Discover to Your Blog

Yep, if you are an editor’s pick, when a reader clicks your blog from the Discover home page, they are directly to your blog to read the full post. Do not pass go. Do not collect $100.

This is a jackpot for readers too

Don’t forget to check out Discover as a reader, because the ‘What’s in it for me?’ isn’t all in being an editor’s pick. The Editor’s picks are typically great reads, and they also have interviews and other featured content of interest to bloggers. For example, on the day I wrote this article, I also found two featured interviews I enjoyed Parenting Blogger Emily Austin on Turning a Hobby into a Full-Time Job and Sam Dylan Finch on Being Vulnerable, Creating a Supportive Space, and Going Viral 

There you have it! If this new opportunity slipped past you a few months ago when they rolled it out (like it did me), hopefully this brought you back up to speed. I can’t wait to see some Beyond Your Blog readers ‘Discovered’!