Today I selected a post entitled “Mad About Bananas” for Freshly Pressed. It’s not the first time I’ve promoted this particular blog to the homepage — the author, Loreen, consistently writes excellent posts on the topic of all things delicious, so she’s one of those authors I’ll feature more than once. Her passion really shines through.
For good reason (we all need to eat!), food is one of the most popular topics on the internet. Here on WordPress.com, I’m always impressed by the quality and quantity of posts I see on the food and recipes tag pages. I never browse these pages on an empty stomach.
Alrighty, time to dig in: Let’s take a look at why I specifically chose this post today.
1. It’s got a succinct, typo-free headline.
2. The post includes great photos taken by the author. Photos help your readers understand how this dish should look, and it also helps them visualize your dish on their dinner tables.
3. The author starts by sharing an intriguing article she has read in food a magazine that asks celebrities “what are three items you can always find in your fridge?” When she mentioned that, I immediately started trying to answer that question myself, and when that happens — when a blog post makes me learn something new about myself — I find myself really entertained. My only complaint is I wish the author had mentioned which magazine this column came from.
4. The author then shifts the discussion to herself, revealing bananas as one of her must-have fridge items. We’ve now learned something personal from the author.
5. Most importantly, she ends by sharing an easy-to-follow recipe. For food blogs, that whole recipe part is key, transforming an ordinary post into actionable content that can be bookmarked, shared and enjoyed.
Share the Word 
Bananas, my favorite
Hi Joy!
I would just like to say a huge thank you for featuring my post on Freshly Pressed. I’ve enjoyed reading the daily posts you’ve featured on Freshly Pressed for a while now (I especially love the post you featured about how being a mum’s the hardest job in the job!) so it’s always such a huge honour for me!
The interview column I mentioned in the post is actually from Bon Appetit. It’s the first thing I actually flip to upon getting the magazine in the mail each month.
Anyway thanks once again for the feature, Joy, and great job on keeping Freshly Pressed interesting and thought provoking.
Laureen of Eat and Be Happy
thanks for this post, it’s useful for learning how to make better posts, and i will try to apply some of the things mentioned above in my foodblog!
Thanks for all your help. Great information.
What’s with leaving the same two blogs in the top spot on page one, Food Tags, for days? The green beans post has been up for a week. Can’t someone else have a turn at the top spot?
I know you do Freshly Pressed, not Tags, but who can I direct this query to?
Thanks,
Kathleen
Hi Kathleen, glad to hear you’re noticing our tag pages!
Actually, that’s an automated process for the most part, but there is no featured posts on green beans post on this tag page:
http://en.wordpress.com/tag/food/
So, are you referring to another tag page?
Hi Joy,
Yes, that’s the page. After I wrote you, the green bean post that had been up for a week disappeared. The banana flower one, now up for six days, is still on top of page one. I hope I don’t sound whiny, but it would be nice for others to get their moment of stardom on the top of page one for more than five minutes, before they are moved to other pages, while other posts stay on the top for days.
Thank you,
Kathleen
Well, why do you feel like having a post up there for days is bad? What would you consider ideal? The process is automated so ya get what ya get, but I’m interested in what time frame you feel is appropriate.
Joy,
Thank you for asking my opinion.
The reason why I don’t like a particular post being on the top of page one for 7 days is because the Tag page is the only place where everybody who never makes it to Freshly Pressed gets their 5 minutes of being in the spotlight. Literally. I know because I watched my post fall to page 3, 5 and 8 in a matter of 20 minutes. Don’ t you think this is a large discrepancy between being showcased for one week, while others can’t maintain their place on page one for more than 10 minutes or so? I would consider an ideal time for special posts to have 24 hours on the top position. It may be an automated process, but settings can be changed. Anyway, we have Freshly Pressed for those posts that deserved to be spotlighted.
Thanks for listening. Thanks for responding. While nothing may change, it is satisfying to know I can be heard somewhere about this.
Kathleen