Greetings Future Bloggers!!

Greetings and salutations to all of the fledgling political bloggers reading this posting. I was once like you, a fresh-faced blogging virgin who had never even considered setting up or contributing to a blog. Hopefully after the pseudo-sage advice given here you too will soon have the confidence and credibility to post as a master blogger.

The first step in setting up a blog is figuring out what on earth it should be about; what the purpose or theme of it should be. If you are taking the time to read this you have apparently chosen a politically themed site, or at least one related to it, good choice. I say this not as a hidden compliment to me or to all of the other politically minded people, but because it is a topic where there is constantly something to write about. There are literally hundreds of niches in politics that you could chose to write about. You can chose a specific topic or generally cover everything or even just a certain genre of politics. Personally, I tend to cover international politics and human rights if you were looking for ideas. In addition, no mater what niche or genre is chosen, politics is a topic with constant changes and information. There will never be a lack of material with this topic.

Material. Choosing a particular topic to write about is the most difficult part. The key is to find something that you actually can write about, something that interests you, impassions you, and puzzles you. It can be about anything and everything. Start looking and book-marking other sites that could give you ideas or something to reference to. Various newspaper and reporting sites always inspire me (i.e. The Times, The Post, CNN, etc.). Also, news sites from other countries can also be highly informative. A useful site for international papers is onlinenewspapers.com. It indexes news sites from virtually every country. Also, when researching news sites or other blogs it is important to reference them in your post. Obviously you got the story or idea from somewhere so give credit where credit is due. Not referencing or linking to the original is an easy way to lose credibility in the blogging community. And surprisingly enough, linking and referencing is not hard to do at all. Simply type the word or phrase that the reader would click on as the link, highlight it, and put in the website URL.

When it comes to writing processes and approaches to actually writing a post there is no right or wrong way to go about it. Everyone has a different process. Its all a matter of finding what works best for you, what feels right. Go ahead and try many different methods and processes until you find one that fits best with you. Personally, I work better with deadlines so I often set some for myself. I have also found certain places where I am inspired to write. For me, it is usually in a place where I can still focus and concentrate to write, but there are still people around inspiring me with their actions and conversations. This may work for you, or it may not. It really does depend on what makes you comfortable and inspires you.

Now I said choosing what to post about is the most difficult part of blogging. Second to that is figuring out how to catch people’s attention and connect with your audience. One of the easier ways to do this is through a relevant title to your post. Often, the title to the post is what comes up in a keyword search. Therefore it is easiest to garner attention to your site through topic searches in search engines. If your posting title is interesting and relevant you will most likely get more hits on your website and your post. It is once people are at the page that they will decide if they will return to the site. Most readers prefer to read blogs and posting that have some level of credibility to them, and that seemingly connect to them personally. Credibility in the blog community takes time, but it can be achieved. Instrumental to this is responding and commenting on other blogger’s sites and postings. It will get your username known and respected, as well as generate interest in what you have to say.

Connecting with readers is a bit more complicated. It is all about the voice used when writing. Sure, many people often imitate a style of writing that they encounter and like, but it is often the original voices that truly connect with their readers. Your writing voice is all about letting your personality shine through. This is not the IRS. Things can be fun, satirical, enraged, and passionate; the list is endless. Simply put: be yourself. Most people, especially other bloggers, can tell when someone is not being authentic. Those people usually don’t have much traffic on their websites. Like I said before, it is all about experimentation and time. Through trial and error you will find your voice. It will start coming out without you even realizing it. It just takes time (a massive cliché yes, but it is true).

Lastly I will leave some small pieces of advice; hopefully these will help at some point. Never shy away from a topic. There is really no good, bad, or off-limits topic in politics, as that is the nature of the beast. Also, never be afraid to offend someone- no matter what you say about any topic, someone somewhere will be offended. It is simply a fact of life. That being said, while not being afraid to offend someone try not to intentionally alienate groups of people. Meaning, posting angrily, taking a hard-line position on something and putting down those who disagree with you can often lead to backlash. Most importantly, as I said before, use your voice. Be funny, creative, witty, or whatever emotion seems to go with the angle you are taking on the piece you are posting about. Unlike what you see on C-SPAN, politics can have humor in it. It is about real people, written by real people, being read by real people. Lastly, enjoy what you are doing. There is really no point to having a blog of any kind if it is the bane of your existence and you get no enjoyment out of it.

I hope at least some of this will be helpful on your new journey to become a blogger. Good Luck!