Are you here to discover how to start a political blog?
UPDATE 1 February 2021: At the time of this writing, Former President Trump’s 2nd Impeachment Trial is underway. Learning how to start a political blog is easy during these circumstances and situations like these.
For instance, you can give analysis of the impeachment proceedings and ask your comments to weigh in. People love to share their opinions.
UPDATE 2 February 2021: Former President Trump’s 2nd Impeachment ended on Saturday when he was acquitted of the charge of inciting an insurrection.
People who know how to start a political blog realize the even is not over. In your political blogs, you can highlight the 7 Republican Senators who crossed party lines and voted to convict, for instance.
Also, when you know how to start a political blog you realize you need to repurpose to save time and extend your brand’s reach. In fact, many bloggers repurpose their posts as podcasts and vice versa. You can even repurpose your information in a YouTube video.
How to start a political blog is a timely topic since there has been an overlap between social media and politics. In fact, Former President Donald Trump was banned from Twitter, and, at the time of this writing, Google and Apple have stopped allowing downloads of the social media app Parler for political reasons.
Politics is one of the subjects people are the most passionate about. And, if you want to make a name for yourself as a pundit, analyst, or candidate for office, then starting a blog could be a great way to do so. The process is also fairly simple, and you could literally have your own blog up and running in one day.
By reading this guide, you’ll discover how to start a political blog, how to promote your new blog, and how to get email subscribers. You’ll also learn about a famous political blog.
Let’s take a look at what you need to do to start your political blog in 2021.
Are you ready to learn how to start a political blog?
Famous Political Blog
Before we start, to inspire you to want to read on and learn how to start a political blog, let’s learn about a famous political blog, PoliticalWire.com.
PoliticalWire.com is one of the most famous political blogs. Political Wire was started by Taegan Goddard in 1999.
Who is Taegan Goddard?
Taegan Goddard’s political experience includes working as a former policy advisor to a U.S. Senator and Governor. He’s also an author.
Today, Political Wire is one of the most popular political blogs.
Challenges of Political Bloggers
Political bloggers like Taegan Goddard have experienced a great deal of success. However, there are challenges of being a political blogger.
For instance, if your blog is going to grow, you need to promote your content on social media channels. However, many social media sites like Facebook don’t allow promotion of political content.
When I first started blogging, I was a political blogger. However, I received so much criticism in Facebook groups that I stopped being a political blogger and changed niches. Today, I am a blogging tips coach in large part because I couldn’t promote my political content in Facebook groups.
When I’d ask where I was allowed to promote my political blog, no one would tell me.
Now that you know the challenges of being a political blogger, if you are still interested in learning how to start a political blog, read on.
How to Start a Political Blog in 2021
Get Hosting and a Domain
The first two things you’ll need to do are search for a domain name and purchase hosting.
Once you’ve done this, you’ll have everything you need to start a blog. It’s very affordable too. You can get a domain name for under $10 on a site like NameCheap. Many domain providers offer affordable hosting too, which can make things easier for you.
You can find cheap shared hosting plans for as little as $6 per month, though you will need to consider a dedicated server option if your blog grows in popularity.
One thing you want to make sure of is that they have an easy WordPress installation application. WordPress is a content management system, and the number one blogging platform used online. It makes designing and managing content on your site extremely easy and can be used by virtually everyone, no matter their level of experience.
Find a Niche
The next thing you have to do is find your niche. You might want to simply report on recent news or want to focus on providing a bi-partisan view. Others may want to go the other way and speak to a core base or focus on international politics.
Create and Publish
Once you’ve found your niche, you will need to start creating content. Find three blogs you feel are the closest to what you’re trying to do. Look at the top stories and pick a few that you like. Look at the length of the articles and try to aim for roughly the same word count.
You will then need to create a writing and publishing schedule. Most will decide to stick to a set number of words per day. Try to make this number comfortable for you so that you remain consistent.
Publishing is something that can be automated, but you want to be careful since you’ll be dealing with a lot of time-sensitive topics. We also suggest that you look at the categories on the blogs you’re patterning yourself after to create yours.
Promote
Now, it’s time to promote your blog. While social media is a good start, you want to be as creative as you can. If you’re a candidate, for instance, one of the best ways to get your name out there is on social media.
However, you have to be active and use multiple platforms and formats. You should at least have some sort of presence on YouTube, even if it’s just audio.
Make Your Blog Work for You
If you’re a candidate, a blog can be an invaluable resource. For instance, you could set up an email capture form that will help you build a customer base and keep them informed of rallies or events you’ll be attending.
You could get their contact information and use election SMS marketing too. SMS marketing can be used not only for events but also for things like fundraising. Your blog itself can be used to boost donations or obtain bookings for speaking engagements.
Conclusion: How to Start a Political Blog
In closing, these tips are timely. Learning how to start a political blog was an important use of your time.
Shows such as Rachel Maddow and Meet the Press would not be popular unless there was an audience for political blogs. In fact, Meet the Press has been on the air for decades.
Thanks to the 2020 U.S. Presidential Election, there is great interest in reading political blogs. This interest should continue after the furor of the election dies down.
Updates
January 2021
If you need more ideas about how to start a political blog, here is a helpful resource: Use Answer the Public.
Go to Answer the Public.
Type in your topic where it says “Enter your keyword.”
Answer the Public will give you many ideas to help you.
Also, remember, you can combine topics. For instance, lately, I’ve been combining politics and social media in my posts.
Clearly, learning how to start a political blog is easy with a little creative thinking.
Remember to use keyword tools to make sure you can rank for your topics. Many people could be writing about politics who have known how to start a political blog for years.
Keyword tools like the free MozBar can help you do this research.
Update December 2020: Five weeks have passed since the election and interest in politics has still not died down. Clearly, the time is ripe to learn how to start a political blog.
After the interest in the 2016 election passed, someone started a political blog that wrote fictional articles about a Hillary Clinton presidency for people who wished that she had won to read. The blog became famous. As you can see, knowing how to start a political blog can serve you well.
For instance, politically-minded social media users are flocking to sites like Parler and MeWe. On Parler, they can continue to air their political views without censorship.
Related Reading: You will find more information about MeWe in this MeWe review.
You can capitalize on this current interest by becoming a political blogger. As a blogger, you want to ride the wave of popular trends. Doing so will boost readership. Therefore, now is the best time to learn how to start a political blog.
As you can see, starting a political blog isn’t complicated at all. The toughest part is doing the work and spreading awareness while establishing yourself as a reliable source and authority.
Note: Although these tips on how to start a political blog were designed for new bloggers, many of these tips, such as widespread social media promotion, are valuable for all bloggers.
Readers, please share so bloggers learn how to start a political blog.
I look forward to your views in the comments section. Do you know how to start a political blog? Are there any suggestions you can add?
Authors: Janice Wald and a Contributing Author
Janice Wald is the founder of MostlyBlogging.com and co-founder of the Mostly Blogging Academy. She is an ebook author, blogger, blogging coach, blogging judge, freelance writer, and speaker. She won the Best Internet Marketer Award and the Best Blogger Award at the 2021 Infinity Blog Awards. Wald was also nominated as 2019 Best Internet Marketer by the Infinity Blog Awards and in 2017 as the Most Informative Blogger by the London Bloggers Bash. She’s been featured on Small Business Trends, the Huffington Post, and Lifehack.
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