How to Start a Political Blog and Get Involved

Are you planning on starting your very own political blog? Politics is an extremely broad topic that will allow you to create an infinite amount of content. And it has remained one of the most popular topics on the internet. Today, I am going to show you everything you will need to learn how to start a political blog.

What You Will Need For A Political Blog

Before you even start building a website, you are going to need to have a few things to create a political blog.

Pick A Side

There are a lot of political blogs, to say the least, which means every new one needs to make sure it has a clear identity. And this is done by picking a political party to side with, Every successful political blog does this. If you do not pick a party, you will isolate yourself from both.

Be Able to Take Criticism

Politics may very well be the most controversial blogging topic online. You will be called out for your political beliefs and you need to be able to handle it. If you cannot take criticism, you will not last long.

An Understanding of the Political System

Political systems are very complex. If you plan to write political articles, you are going to need a deep understanding. And it isn’t just one system with which you will need to familiarize yourself. Being able to write about international topics will sometimes require information on a particular government.

How to Build A Political Blog

Luckily, building a website has gotten a lot simpler over the years. You don’t even need to be a computer expert to be able to do it. Here is everything you will need to put together a stellar political blog.

Find A Webhost and Pick A Domain Name

The first choice you are going to need to make is which web hosting company you will pick. This is very important because this is the company that will keep your website online 24/7. As such, there are certain qualities you need to look for. Speed, security, support, uptime, and the impact on the environment.

Here at GreenGeeks, we are confident we excel in all of these areas and do it at a cheap price.

You will also need a domain name. This is the name of your website. It needs to reflect what your website is about and most importantly, it needs to not be in use. There are millions of websites, thus, it’s likely your dream name may already be taken. Thus, you should come up with a few names.

Why WordPress is Perfect for A Political Blog

WordPress is the most popular CMS or platform to build a website in the world. It can do just about anything, but it was specifically made for blogs. It has a wide range of customization options that are easy enough for beginners to use and deep enough to keep veterans happy.

Unlike the vast majority of CMS platforms, WordPress does not require any coding knowledge. This means you can create an awesome political blog without ever writing a single line of code. Thus, it is perfect for beginners.

Political WordPress Themes

The design of your website is one of the hardest things to get right, but WordPress themes can make it easier. Themes decide what your website looks like and the vast majority of them have a lot of customization options to choose from. Here are 5 themes that are perfect for a political blog:

Politics

As you might suspect, the Politics theme was built for political blogs and campaigns. It is highly customizable and has a modern professional design that most political blogs or campaigns strive for. It is fully compatible with Mailchimp to help you grow your email subscribers with ease.

MH NewsMagazine

If you plan to write political articles in a magazine-style, then the MH NewsMagazine theme is perfect for your website. It offers a modern design that is perfect for any type of political blog. It has more widget space than other themes, which is perfect for displaying the latest blog posts.

Grace News

The Grace News theme was made for blogging and as such, it can fit any type of blog. The sleek modern design leaves plenty of room for thumbnails to attract visitors. The theme is 100% responsive, which means mobile users will not have any trouble viewing them.

Create Magazine

The Create Magazine theme is modern and responsive. It can fit the needs of any blog that’s after a professional style. This theme really shines in the customization department as it is fully customizable, which means the only limitation is your imagination.

Blog Magazine

The Blog Magazine theme is another great choice for a political blog. It offers a typical magazine layout that is perfect for displaying news stories. One of the best features is the option to have sidebars on both the left and right sides. This creates a lot of space to use.

Plugins Perfect for a Political Blog

If you were wondering how you can add features to your website without writing code, it’s all thanks to plugins. These are similar to apps for your phone and allow your website to have additional features. Here are 5 plugins perfect for political blogs:

Show Support Ribbon

If you favor a political candidate and want your visitors to know, the Show Support Ribbon plugin is a great addition. This plugin will allow you to add the name of a candidate or foundation that you support. The ribbon can be placed almost anywhere with the help of shortcodes.

The Events Calendar

There are a lot of political events in our country. Keeping track of them can be difficult, even for the most enthusiastic political junkie. You can help your fans and yourself keep track of these events by using The Events Calendar plugin. With this, you can fill in a calendar with all of the major events. Make sure to let readers know if you are attending.

U.S Debt Clock

Many political blogs focus heavily on government spending, and as we all know, the United States has a lot of debt. You can keep track of it by using the U.S Debt Clock to display the current debt. This clock can be placed almost anywhere on your blog, but remember to make sure it is relevant.

WP-Polls

It’s always important to collect feedback on any type of website and political blogs are no different. However, you can create polls based on current events, politicians, and more with the WP-Poll plugin. This tool is intuitive to use and helps you create stylish polls to interact with your visitors.

Asgaros Forums

Politics is all about discussing your ideologies with someone else and finding likeminded individuals to do so with. Forums are the perfect place on the internet to do just that. The Asgaros Forums plugin is a great way to add a discussion board to your website.

Ways to Share Your Political Blog

The most challenging part of any new website is marketing your new blog to the world. Here are 5 ways you can share your blog with readers:

Reply to Politicians

There are a lot of politicians, and you can really make a name for yourself by promoting your blog during live events and replying on social media. For example, let’s say your party’s candidate has sent out a new tweet. You can reply with a short excerpt and a link to your blog. This is a great way to find like-minded individuals.

Attend Political Events

There are thousands of political events and local meetings that take place every year around the country. And even more on election years. You should take advantage of this by promoting your blog in person. You can even write an article on the event for your blog.

Actively Comment on Political Forums

Many believe forums to be past their prime, but that is simply untrue. Reddit is one of the most popular websites on the internet, and it is just a forum. They are great ways to communicate with other like-minded individuals who might be interested in reading your blog.

Just make sure to actually contribute to conversations and not just push your blog.

Use Current Events

Current events dominate the top search result spots and as a result, are an easy way to get exposure for your blog. Many political enthusiasts love to read different opinions on the same topic and you can take advantage of this by covering the latest events.

Create A Podcast

Podcasts have really grown in popularity over the years and can be a terrific addition to any blog. They have really taken off in the political world. Making sure your podcast appears in every major podcast host with a link to your blog can be a huge traffic increase.

What Can You Do With A Political Blog

Cover Elections

What is a political blog if it does not cover elections?. There is new information every day and there are multiple candidates with their unique viewpoint. Take advantage of election years and cover your party’s candidates and their opponents.

Cover Everyday News

Every single day, there is something new to talk about and you can add your own political view to it. This has become even easier to do thanks to the everyday press conferences in the Whitehouse. You will never run out of content to cover.

Go International

You can significantly increase your viewership by covering international news. Often times some of the most popular news is how world leaders interact, what are other countries working on, why are some counties not getting along, etc. International stories are a great way to expand any political blog.

Share Your Ideals With the World

A political blog is an excellent idea, and there is an infinite amount of content you can easily create. Just remember that political topics can get very heated in the comment section. You are going to take criticism and you need to be able to handle it and differentiate real criticism from those who just don’t agree with you.