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Posted: Wednesday, December 22nd, 2010 at 4:00 pm. Filed in HowTo.

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Tips for a new year of blogging

by Andrew Spittle

The holidays make for a crazy time of year. You’re spending time with family, traveling, maybe enjoying some winter weather. All of this can help you create wonderful blog posts. :)

Here are a couple tips on how to let your blog shine as you head into the new year.

Blogging made easy

Press This is a great way to simplify your blogging experience. It lets you grab content from any blog post, article, website, or photo you find on the web. If you can you see it in your browser, you can use Press This to blog about it on WordPress.com!

It will automatically insert an image, quote, video, or link on any website directly into your blog post as well as include a link back to the source. No more having to copy and paste 5 different things. With Press This you can share great content quickly.

Drag the bookmarklet (the link that says “Press This”) from the Tools page of your WordPress.com Dashboard into your browser’s bookmarks bar to get started. This adds a handy link you can use to post content.

The next time you want to share a link, photo, or video on another site just press the bookmarklet. You’ll see a window pop up where you can add photos, video, and quotes straight from the site.

The two icons next to “Add:” let you choose which photos or videos on the page you want to insert into your post.

Combine all of that with the mobile options we featured last month and you can really blog from anywhere on the web or anywhere in the world.

Let your photos shine

After many lovely days spent with family during the holidays you probably have dozens (hundreds? thousands?!) of photos from trips, meals, adventures, and lovely winter weather. WordPress.com makes it easy to showcase these right on your blog.

Using our built-in photo galleries or slideshows you can share the best moments from the holidays. Here’s a few from my trip to Yosemite National Park in the winter a few years ago.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Between Press This and showcasing your photos you have some great toys to play with as you make your blog even better in the new year. Enjoy the holidays!

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135 Comments

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  1. dhimasln
    December 22nd, 2010 at 4:09 pm

    Nice tips. I can still blog while enjoying my holidays :)

  2. iano10
    December 22nd, 2010 at 4:31 pm

    Cool, I didn’t know that you could upload pictures and videos on Press This. I’m also going to look into making one of those slideshows.

  3. AKHMAD SUDRAJAT
    December 22nd, 2010 at 4:34 pm

    Thank you for the tips, but unfortunately on this holiday I don’t go anywhere :)

  4. dougbrowncreative
    December 22nd, 2010 at 4:42 pm

    I often feel like there must be an alternative to the copy and paste orgy I go through posting on our blog. Press This is going to be very helpful for us. Thanks for explaining it Andrew. Happy holidays.

  5. The Gaffer
    December 22nd, 2010 at 4:52 pm

    Ah, nice one WordPress.

    Happy holidays to everyone too :)

  6. aRuL
    December 22nd, 2010 at 4:57 pm

    Yes, great feature from WordPress…. so useful :)

  7. 2zpoint
    December 22nd, 2010 at 5:10 pm

    Great Ideas…May you have the warmest of holidays filled with joy! Peace be with you.

  8. Elly
    December 22nd, 2010 at 5:24 pm

    Great tutorial! Lots of excellent detail and very inspirational. I’m new and am going to put those ideas to use very shortly! Thanks a lot, and Happy Holidays :)

  9. agirlandhercarrot
    December 22nd, 2010 at 5:35 pm

    Thanks for the Press This info. I will be making a slideshow out of my photos, I forgot about that. I only did it with cupcakes once. Fun Fun Fun!

  10. doctorwhofan98
    December 22nd, 2010 at 5:44 pm

    Nice! :-) WordPress is amazing!

  11. coolpup
    December 22nd, 2010 at 5:52 pm

    I’ve had this in place for quite a while, but kept forgetting I did. :) I guess if I used it more, I may have remembered.

  12. Deanna
    December 22nd, 2010 at 6:20 pm

    The plot thickens – always new things to try on WordPress.

  13. Mikalee Byerman
    December 22nd, 2010 at 6:26 pm

    I’ve always wondered what “Press This” is … thank you! :)

  14. marymaru
    December 22nd, 2010 at 6:34 pm

    I am well acquainted with the copy-and-paste ritual. Glad to have your tutorial on Press This to simplify my life. Thank you!

  15. Sunflowerdiva
    December 22nd, 2010 at 6:52 pm

    I love you, WordPress! <3

  16. Tee
    December 22nd, 2010 at 6:53 pm

    Wow, Press This is nifty tool. I hope to use the slideshow too.

  17. Tara Schiller
    December 22nd, 2010 at 7:00 pm

    Cool. Already added to my bookmarks.

  18. Aditya Mehta
    December 22nd, 2010 at 7:57 pm

    This is excellent. I’m going to have a blast in 2011!

  19. pltprincess
    December 22nd, 2010 at 8:09 pm

    Wonderful tips. I wasn’t really aware of the photo galleries and slideshows. I need to figure that out in time for the explosion of holiday photos this weekend.

  20. Dan North
    December 22nd, 2010 at 8:10 pm

    Excellent, I’ll be Pressing This as soon as I get the opportunity, and I’ve been taking full advantage of the slideshow and gallery functions this year – my only complaint is that the gallery/slideshows automatically incorporate all the images for that post – you can’t have two separate slideshows in one post, or just selected images in one gallery. Other than that, it’s very attractive.

    Now, if you can provide WordPress bloggers with a couple of extra hours in the day to use all these features, that would be the ideal Christmas gift.

  21. drex
    December 22nd, 2010 at 9:15 pm

    Oh so, so GREAT!, I love it…this well help me start. Thank you.

  22. Ljubomir Gatdula
    December 22nd, 2010 at 9:50 pm

    Thank you for these tips!

  23. longevity0211
    December 22nd, 2010 at 9:52 pm

    Cool this can be useful, soon I’m going to use photos to my life-inspiring-blog that I’ve taken myself. I hope that will improve the blog a bit :-D !

  24. gtoftdahl
    December 22nd, 2010 at 10:01 pm

    I knew there must be an easier way to add pictures, etc. I am new to blogging and would hate to admit how long it takes to create each little post!
    I look forward to giving it a go!

    Thanks for you help!

  25. Susanne
    December 22nd, 2010 at 10:38 pm

    Thanks a lot. Happy holidays!

  26. adventurewriter
    December 22nd, 2010 at 10:46 pm

    Great tips!
    I’ve found great use for many of these features – and only recently discovered some of them!

  27. Charlousie
    December 22nd, 2010 at 11:05 pm

    Sounds nice, Thanks!

  28. Dzulqarnain
    December 22nd, 2010 at 11:42 pm

    Cool. I like it.

  29. d34nmu
    December 23rd, 2010 at 12:59 am

    Nice tips. I use WordPress for Nokia to keep blogging during my vacation.

  30. ryoko861
    December 23rd, 2010 at 1:18 am

    Ha, I’ve always wondered what the purpose of “Press This” was and now I know. Thanks!

  31. Jessica Y.
    December 23rd, 2010 at 1:43 am

    Thanks much! :D Love Press This – didn’t know I could do that!

  32. stickinsect
    December 23rd, 2010 at 2:04 am

    I love the slideshow feature. Will be testing it out with my Christmas photos in a week or so.

  33. mia1984
    December 23rd, 2010 at 2:13 am

    Oh, WordPress, I just love you. But I still don’t get what “Press This” is. Is it basically a kind of “re-post” function? Or more like a crop-quoting tool?

    Anyway, thanks for being so great to us. Happy holidays. :)

  34. Shari
    December 23rd, 2010 at 2:52 am

    truly loving the press this button. although mine doesn’t come up as a pop up and it took me a while to get it on my toolbar, i got it there in the end and have used it about 2 times already. Thank you WordPress!

  35. Fresh Verve
    December 23rd, 2010 at 3:25 am

    I was just wondering what Press This was… neat

  36. Intelligent Challenge
    December 23rd, 2010 at 6:52 am

    Great tips, thanks a lot.

  37. itrixboy
    December 23rd, 2010 at 6:58 am

    ive always heard about this feature called ”press this” but i never really understood what it was meant to be used for and thanx to guys for explaining it to me now i can create a blog post more easier!

  38. mbconsulting
    December 23rd, 2010 at 7:15 am

    Great tips! I will try them a.s.a.p. Thanks!

    Merry Christmas and enjoy your Holiday!

  39. dsusetyo
    December 23rd, 2010 at 7:18 am

    It’s really a great tool to share informations. But of course it needs some creativity to make our post interesting to read.
    Thanks

  40. lizziebeth94
    December 23rd, 2010 at 7:30 am

    Thank you for the great tips! As a new blogger, I am always looking for ways to enhance my blog.

  41. call guy
    December 23rd, 2010 at 10:50 am

    Great Tips. My new years resolution is to get more pics on my blog and generally make it a look a lot better.

  42. TheEverydayMuser
    December 23rd, 2010 at 10:57 am

    I’ve been using Press This for some time, and I don’t just use it for posting content from web pages. When I’m feeling lazy and don’t want to type wordpress.com in the address bar, I just hit Press This and start typing. It’s pretty good for lazy people.

    I never knew you could showcase photos! Thanks for the tips, and I wish the WordPress team a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

  43. AnythingAndy
    December 23rd, 2010 at 12:28 pm

    Thanks for the tips bud! Greatly needed for a new blogger such as me, not that WordPress is already user-friendly :D

  44. juntecson
    December 23rd, 2010 at 1:51 pm

    These are great tips! Thanks…

  45. Monika
    December 23rd, 2010 at 3:23 pm

    This is awesome! It’s all about I love WordPress. cheers!

  46. ReetzOnline
    December 23rd, 2010 at 3:56 pm

    I’ve been hunting all over the web for something like this :-)

  47. Nanola
    December 23rd, 2010 at 4:55 pm

    Thank you for pointing this stuff out. I always wonder about features of WordPress but am too lazy (and maybe even scared) to try! It helps when you explain a bit.

  48. Salil Lawande
    December 23rd, 2010 at 7:33 pm

    Thanks a lot for summarizing the main points. Keep up the good work WP team. Cheers!

  49. Scott Thomas Photography
    December 23rd, 2010 at 7:43 pm

    I made use of the slideshows in an upcoming blog of mine. Easy to use.

    Press This is a good tool, just be mindful of the creator’s copyrights. As a photographer, it is something I am very concerned with. Is there a way to know if someone uses Press This on your WP blog?

  50. J Roycroft
    December 23rd, 2010 at 11:58 pm

    Great tip…I think I will be pressing this in the near future.

  51. KingShamus
    December 24th, 2010 at 12:32 am

    Good stuff, WordPress peeps.

    I think I’ll be using the Press This thingy soon.

    Thanks, WP.

  52. tonyhettler
    December 24th, 2010 at 1:02 am

    Simply amazing! I’m new to the blogging experience here, and what a treat to be able to utilize such a great tool from the get go!

    Thank you so much!

  53. Tammy McLeod
    December 24th, 2010 at 1:25 am

    Press this seems like an amazing new time-saving feature.

  54. Jerome the Gnome
    December 24th, 2010 at 1:57 am

    Spectacular! Thanks, WP, for all the wonderful tips to make our blogs more user-friendly.

  55. Meeks
    December 24th, 2010 at 2:36 am

    “Press This” is going to save me SOOO much time when I do my “5 Great Finds” (when I feature posts etc that I find around the web)! LOVE LOVE LOVE IT!

  56. xiaohui
    December 24th, 2010 at 4:51 am

    Thank you alot for this post, it’s the holiday season and I’ve been sitting in front of my laptop wanting to write about something, anything, but there’s not much momentum. I think these tips might just break the inertia! :)

  57. westforwestwing2012
    December 24th, 2010 at 5:23 am

    Thank you so much! WordPress RULES! Y’all are so user-friendly that even I, who started out knowing NOTHING, can learn as I go! I am learning new things all the time, and WordPress makes it fun!

  58. lolivopalmsprings
    December 24th, 2010 at 7:59 am

    Thanks so much always being helpful. Have a very happy holiday WordPress! I will try this out.

  59. walkonby
    December 24th, 2010 at 11:44 am

    Looking forward to it :) Merry Christmas to you

  60. nesnesnes
    December 24th, 2010 at 5:03 pm

    Does Press This work on Chrome?

  61. cupcake2eater
    December 24th, 2010 at 6:13 pm

    Very cool tips. Thanks! I like the Press This button.

  62. Nina Papaioannou
    December 25th, 2010 at 9:17 am

    Very helpfull! Happy Holidays!!!

  63. anirak2000
    December 25th, 2010 at 6:49 pm

    Thanks a bunch. I’m going to try to use them A.S.A.P.

  64. Paul
    December 25th, 2010 at 11:56 pm

    I have been wondering what and how to use Press This, and didn’t get to experiment until this post.

    Now I am addicted to Press This, it is amazing and really simply the blogging process.

  65. Amituofo Devoted
    December 26th, 2010 at 3:16 am

    This is perfect! Thank you!

  66. thebrelandkentshow
    December 26th, 2010 at 5:29 am

    Thanks so much for this :)

  67. gregjoyservices
    December 26th, 2010 at 5:17 pm

    I just LOVE the enthusiasm from you and everyone who posts. Happy Christmas everyone!!

  68. Arcalot
    December 26th, 2010 at 6:37 pm

    Thank you for the tips! It´s really helpful to know the features better (sometimes we get a bit lost :) ).
    Happy holidays to everybody! :D

  69. The Invisible Cookbook
    December 26th, 2010 at 7:27 pm

    Have to try that slide show… am just a two month old blogger now so am appreciating all the hints, thank you!

  70. SherryGreens
    December 26th, 2010 at 8:20 pm

    I always love things that make life easier! Thanks and Merry Christmas.

  71. stevestreetsmart
    December 27th, 2010 at 12:22 am

    Awesome tips!

    I’m new to WordPress but love blogging and helping others.

    Thanks

  72. kevinlee88
    December 27th, 2010 at 3:25 am

    Although I had the blog for sometime, I did not use it, so am quite new to this too. The above feature looks easy and cool to use.

    Hopefully can get some guidance from all of you who use WordPress.

    Merry Christmas and Have a great happy Holiday!

  73. MJae
    December 27th, 2010 at 6:07 am

    I like those pictures from Yosemite…

  74. bennyinaustralia
    December 27th, 2010 at 8:25 am

    Thanks so much!!

  75. Style Souk
    December 27th, 2010 at 12:01 pm

    Being lazy and behind the times, I’ve not yet used Press This… but will now be certain to check it out! Thanks and Merry Christmas.

  76. Annoyed Conservative Christian
    December 27th, 2010 at 8:50 pm

    Thanks, I will get a lot of use out of the Press This tool.

  77. Little Johnny
    December 28th, 2010 at 3:42 am

    Thanks. I have been wondering how pieces of blog posts are doing. I have been cutting and pasting the chosen phrasing. Thanks.

  78. ronojoymishra
    December 28th, 2010 at 7:43 am

    I really liked the concept of Press This. Blogging is becoming easy and innovative now a days! :)

  79. Abhishek
    December 28th, 2010 at 12:21 pm

    Very helpful tips! Earlier I could not get how to add an album to my blog. Thanks a lot!

  80. AskTina
    December 28th, 2010 at 3:02 pm

    Had a wonderful Christmas but now it’s back to worky work. Great feature, thanks!

  81. Riyad Almubarak
    December 28th, 2010 at 4:50 pm

    Those are really great tips, thanks a lot for sharing useful info.

  82. Bre
    December 29th, 2010 at 2:18 pm

    Thanks WordPress this is amazing! :-D

  83. Myrtle
    December 29th, 2010 at 8:08 pm

    Thanks for this information, it really helps! :P

  84. Pingback: Tips for a new year of blogging (via WordPress.com News) | Mixed For All
  85. ejomlexus
    December 30th, 2010 at 2:29 am

    Holidays have lots of cool ideas and events… definitely a big help to increase reads and rates.

    And following this tip will be a great plus to all kinds of blogs.

    Thanks you for sharing, dude. :-)

    Happy Holidays to all!

  86. tpe3s
    December 30th, 2010 at 6:31 am

    Merci

  87. slcantwell25
    December 30th, 2010 at 6:45 am

    There will come a day when we’ll be able to respond and share as fast as we can think to do it. We’re getting there. Thanks for opening our eyes.

  88. larebear
    December 30th, 2010 at 10:01 am

    Thanks for the tips!

  89. Yayan A.I
    December 30th, 2010 at 10:20 am

    Another nice tool from WP. That’s why WP is much better than the other platforms….easy to use and keep coming with more and more tips.

  90. jactherat
    December 30th, 2010 at 12:39 pm

    anything that makes life easier and brighter can only be good. cheers!

  91. stevenboyce
    December 30th, 2010 at 12:45 pm

    great post thanks again wordpress – happy new year!

  92. Knut Skjaerven
    December 30th, 2010 at 2:59 pm

    The slideshow option is very nice. Just what I needed. Thanks WP.

    Merry Christmas and a Prosperous New Year.

  93. gilsongardensinc
    December 30th, 2010 at 3:40 pm

    Thanks for the help! Always up for making life a bit easier!

  94. Pingback: Tips for a new year of blogging (via WordPress.com News) | jimraines
  95. annem040359
    December 30th, 2010 at 7:19 pm

    Good ideas. Thank-you.

    Merry Christmas season and a good 2011!

  96. artsymoon
    December 30th, 2010 at 7:24 pm

    Thanks for the tips!

  97. louisabellissima
    December 30th, 2010 at 9:03 pm

    Thank you for your great tips!

    Happy new year!

  98. katia68
    December 30th, 2010 at 9:20 pm

    Good tips…will do, grazie mille. Felice anno nuovo

  99. hiwaar
    December 30th, 2010 at 9:57 pm

    Thank you for the update

  100. dhikamcr
    December 30th, 2010 at 10:25 pm

    Thanks…
    Be spirit forever!

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