7 Easy Steps to open a political blog
- Buy a domain name and host the domain name
- Chose WordPress software blogging platform
- Use a Political WordPress themes design
- Write, write and publish articles, posts, stories, news
- Use social media to share your posts, articles, posts etc.
- Install email subscription form to get emails of visitors
What is a political blog
Just like any other blog, a political blog is your own platform, a personal online diary that allows you to voice out and communicate your political beliefs and opinion to the whole internet audience who are interested.
Being a political blogger brings you into the limelight of the political razzmatazz and you become a sort of a think tank go to. Whether you are conservative or liberal, you become a voice and not a noise, engaging and communicating with people of political interest and developments.
Types of Political Blog
Ideally, there are just two major types of political blogs, however, I have extended it to include two additional types making the total types to become four. They are listed below based on scale of influence and importance.
The Conservative Political Blogs
Respected conservative politicians includes Margareth Thatcha, Theresa May, Boris Johnson ( All from United Kingdom). Bloggers running this niche uphold the virtues and values of being conservative. Examples of blogs in this niche includes:
- The much respected Drudge Report
- Andrew’s Sullivan Blog, DailyDish
- Neo-Neocon
Liberal Political Blogs
Their opinions are liberal; examples of such blog are:
Moderate Political Blogs
Examples are:
International Politics Blogs
You can be an international political blogger, covering everything everything outside of your local reach. I know of three examples of blogs in this niche. These three blogs are authoritative and well respected:
- Oxblog
- Saudidebate
- ICGA ( Informed Comment:Global Affairs)
Whether you want to build or start a blog like Daily Kos or the Drudge Report, just continue reading on how you can set up one.
Getting political stories, news and articles
One of the most daunting challenges when launching out is on how to get relevant stories, news and top notch contents because of the effect on two major issues:
- how fast you are able to publish them and get it out to your readers before other political blogs and website does so
- How authentic i.e how original is the news/updates or story
But the good news is that the following are proven sources on where to get real, original information. Check below;
- Target and follow the twitter account of most politicians, political parties and your local leaders. For example, Donald Trump is a very good example. He is very much active on his twitter account and that is where you are able to get fresh, real and original information from him
- Subscribe to their press releases
- If they have a website or blog, subscribe using your email ( this means anytime they publish any update, you will be the first to get it)
- Follow them on their Instagram account
- Another place to check for trending political news or stories is buzzsumo; for viral ideas, buzzsumo is my number one (1) destination!!
- Attend meetings and gatherings
- Become friends with fellow Journalist in this niche
7 Facts Before Starting
What is the purpose?
Blogging is serious business, except you are just doing it for fun. Doing blogging for fun does not make sense because:
- It will consume your time
- It will consume your money (for a start e.g. for domain name and hosting)
- It will consume your concentration and focus
So, before setting out, you should have a purpose of why you want to launch your own political blog. Your purpose will guide you in the right path and trajectory.
So, think about this!!
Expect no money in one year after launch
From all forms of blogging niches out there, political blogging is the least profitable in terms of making money. It is because all major forms of monetizing your blog in this niche does not fully fit in. What can work very well for you if your aim is to make good money is to probably transform the blog into a news or website of a sort and you continue publishing more of political contents.
If you decide to go in this way, then the use of Google AdSense and some paid advertisement from probably political parties will help your cause.
However, no matter what, expect no money in the first one year.
Are you passion driven?
I am of the opinion that your true passion should be the main reason why you want to launch out. The thing is, you are not going to make money in the first one year, it will consume your time etc.; so if that genuine passion is not there right from the beginning, I honestly advise that you drop this project now.
Passion is everything; your passion in becoming a political blogger is what will even keep you going in the face of adversity, challenges, court order, harassment, intimidation etc.
I mentioned those factors above because you are going to face them!!
Have a plan
You are not going to make money in the first one year, it is going to take your time, it is going to take your concentration etc.; this is where it is essential you have a solid plan on ground before running a political blog.
Allow me to explain:
It is imperative to have a short term plan and long term plain; Part of the long term plan includes:
- For example buying the domain name and web hosting registration for more than one year ( at least go for 2 years and above)
- Setting aside some money that you can conveniently spend each month for (e.g. Facebook advertising, press release, writers (optional) etc.). Have at least a budget for this that will cover 1 year.
Part of the short term plan include:
- You cannot do it alone if you are looking for efficiency and effectiveness. That is why I recommend you get someone on board with you right from the beginning. The best option is your boyfriend/girlfriend/wife/husband etc. they will assist and also back you up.
Start Local
Do not try to be the international guy as you about to launch out. I recommend you start with a local political blog; To be successful in this niche, please know that it involves serious work.
Step 1
Political WordPress Themes
Check the following recommended blogging templates, view the demo, make the purchase and download it; subsequent installation follows next ( as you scroll down).
Schema
Daily
Scribbler
OutSpoken
Tabloid
DailyBuzz
Reader
Magazine
Authority
NewsPro
NewsToday
NewsOnline
Check the companies below and view the demo of the selected or chosen demo:
Step 2
Webhosting And Domain Name
Once you have understood the above guidelines and truths, it is now time to learn the process of setting up your political blog one by one.
In this regard, you need to come up with a name for the blog ( e.g. Dailykos, Drudge Report e.t.c.) and that brings us to the concept of domain name registration. It is very easy. Follow the guidelines below:
1
Search for domain name
2
If successful , you will see it
Please note that, I am using the name, ‘anjorin’ as an example in this context:
3
Grab the promotional price offer
4
Create your account Quickly
5
Select Hosting Plan
For your hosting, Use my link below and get started for just $2.95/month (63% off your hosting plan) from Bluehost AND also get a free domain name registration
Step 3
Set Up Guidelines
For the complete set up tutorials for your new political blog, I recommend you read the posts below where I explained with full images and videos on how to set up the blog ( though it is a news blog, but the same concept on the configuration, installation and set up principle applies).
Step 4
Write And Publish
Its time to start writing and publishing your story and articles, follow the guideline below.
Step 5
Get Set Up On Google
The video below will be of guided help:
As seen in the video above, follow the guidelines below:
- Go to Google search console at google.com/console ( https://www.google.com/webmasters/tools/home)
- Click sign up (you must have a Gmail account, and if not, just sign up for a free Gmail account)
- Verify your blog ( and you can also use the Yoast plugin to help out)
- Create a sitemap and submit it also on the Google search console
Google Indexing Your Blog
After signing in and verifying your political blog at Google console ( webmaster), you need to submit your sitemap and use the ‘fetch as’ tool to get your blog indexed immediately so that it can start showing on the search result pages.
I recommend you read and install these plugins ( https://yoast.com/wordpress/plugins/)
Step 6
Getting Traffic And Promotion
When you are thinking about how to start a political blog, you should know from the beginning that you will need lots of targeted internet traffic from visitors to determine its success.
You should not depend on the search engines from the start, the following are proven ways to get traffic:
- From Facebook
- From Twitter
- From Email Subscription List
When you open the social media accounts, use the name of your blog to open the account so that they will all be on the same page. If your blog name is haceweb, name of your Facebook account should be Facebook.com/haceweb et.c.
The same model applies to twitter, but in growing your twitter account, I recommend you use Manageflitter App to grow your followers.
Step 7
Network
Network with fellow political bloggers to get exposure and get to receive first hand information and opinions on issues that matters.
Step 8
Make a deal with social media influencers
Have you heard the phrase ‘Work Smarter and not harder!!’
It still boils down to what I was talking about above. Infact, this works fast and it is guaranteed to get you fast and long term results.
Look for fellow political bloggers, columnists, editors, contributors ( on political issues), become their friends, follow them, tweet and retweets their post, engage with them and ask for their help.
Step 9
How To Monetize A Political Blog
Just finished sipping coffee and let me address this important question. Running a political blog not only brings about popularity, exposure, engagement and lending voice ( both conservative and criticism); it is both rewarding in terms of making money and opening doors of opportunities.
The following are ways on how to make money from a political blog:
- Asking for donations
- Making money from subscriptions
- Making money from Guest blogging opportunities
- Using Cost Per Click (notably the use of Google AdSense)
- Direct advertisements
- Press releases
Asking for donations
Easy does it my friend. I have seen in on so many blogs, where at the end of the post or towards the footer; a request is put out to people to support them.
By the time your blog starts getting authority, traffic and visitors with dedicated readers, asking for donation from them is so pretty easy and it is not a rude approach.
I recommend you install this plugin to get started:
- GiveWP plugin
- Easy PayPal Donation : This plugin adds PayPal donate button on your blog
Making money from subscriptions
This works very well if you want to run a membership sort of political blogging. For example, Financial Times website does. You are limited to read certain contents for a short period of time, thereafter, a pop comes up that you should subscribe. This option should only be embraced if your blog is matured and authoritative.
Cost Per Click (Google AdSense)
This program is run by Google and it is by far the most reliable, effective way of making money on the internet. It is very easy to implement. Check it out at: https://www.google.com/adsense/start/
Direct Advertisement
Create a portion on your sidebar, displaying that you are open to accept advertisements. Secondly, do not wait for politicians, political parties or organizations to contact you, go out and get in touch with them.
Buzzfeed makes a killing amount of money from this model when it comes to election year or political campaign moment.
Making money from Guest blogging opportunities
Some bloggers wants to get exposure to their own websites and blogs through you. In other words, they may pitch the idea of guest blogging to you. You can charge some few hundred dollars for this.
Press Releases
Buzzfeed uses this model a lot and I also implore you to do the same. You can come up with a well researched white paper editorial about a particular politician etc and then publish it as a press release.
After publishing on your blog, also submit the same press release to premium press release media organizations. Trust me, you will make tons of thousands of money.
Conclusion
Want to become a political blogger, implement the above guidelines and steps. If you find it helpful and resourceful, link to it, share it with your friends and families , share it on other websites, resource places and also share on Facebook.