Comments on: 7 Tips for Writing About Politics (…When You’re Not a Political Writer)

By: Seth

Seth — Sat, 09 May 2009 19:58:21 +0000

Writing about current events and politics can be really difficult. Thanks for the useful tips.

By: matutu nyabange

matutu nyabange — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 21:34:21 +0000

Political blogs can be a bit challenging to write,especially if you have less interest in politics. but also for those into politics “political junks’ can surelly pump alot of content and creat a forest of articles.but with a desert of boring stuff to scare away visitors..sounds tough niche ah!
The answer is yes and big NO…
Political blogs attract millions of readers dairly even for those not into politics.simply for 3 reasons that most bloggers don’t know.

1.KISS your content before posting..Sorry guys.when i say “kiss” I mean (keep It So Short) not long and boring
2.make it attractive,with most current issues first and accompany it with relevant fotos this is very paramount.
3.choose a compatable layout. ie one colomn or personal blog layout won’t work..

hope you find this usefull guys,thanks

Matutu Nyabange

http://www.frogblogger.com

By: Desh

Desh — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 18:14:52 +0000

I really got attracted to this because I have two blogs – one generic (www.drishtikone.com) and one specifically on Indian politics (www.7rcr.com – 7 RCR is short for 7 Race course rd, the official residence of Indian Prime Minister). My writings on drishtikone.com have been pretty well received on topics about South Asian (India/Pakistan politics etc), but somehow it does not .. yet.. translate into money. :)

Another thing I wanted to point out here is – that Blogging on politics has two specific tones, if you will: a Rant/Rave kind of partisan writing (which I found most common during the US Presidential writings – and is soem variation of Rush Limbaugh school of “journalism”, if you want to really cal journalism!) and the “NPR-like” sedate/balanced.

It seems to me that the former (rant/rave) kind easily become more popular.. although it lacks substance and is hardly educative!

So, if one wants to go ahead on politics blogging what style should one take? With “Sanity” in mind and with “Popularity” in mind?

Any thoughts on that front from the author and others?

-desh
drishtikone.com

By: appleblogger

appleblogger — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 02:38:18 +0000

ehm. i guess too many political blogger todays. But i like them.

By: Work From Home

Work From Home — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 22:49:47 +0000

Great tips, but I would think that political blogging is way too competitive especially for unknowns.

By: Tom Hanna

Tom Hanna — Sun, 15 Mar 2009 19:35:08 +0000

The old rule in business is that you don’t discuss politics or religion; for blogs not focused on politics, just following that rule is far better advice than the otherwise good advice in this article. My first blog was a political one that I ran as a test of the software before going live using it to provide news on a business site, so I’m no stranger to writing about politics. Even so, I steer clear of including political opinion on my business sites. For a long time, I even hesitated to include a link to the political blog.

I nearly stopped subscribing to a cooking blog that I really enjoy when the author gushed long and hard about a particular candidate in the last US election to the point of asking her readers to vote for him as a personal favor. (Does the fact that she was gushing give away which candidate it was?) I decided to stay on, but it left a bad taste in my mouth – usually not the result that a cook wants.

By: Charlie Davis

Charlie Davis — Sun, 15 Mar 2009 14:56:52 +0000

Great draftsmanship in this post. I am now considering writing on politics because of this post and its succinct presentation. Problogger has provided great resources for me. Thanks to the organization and all the participants, the comments are collectible as well.

By: tim

tim — Sun, 15 Mar 2009 13:12:13 +0000

Good tips! Sometimes it seems like non-political bloggers should follow the "family reunion rule" and not talk about politics or religion. Well, my family is dysfunctional enough to talk about both! I tried a political post during the last elections: Car Salesmen and Politicians

By: Viraj Sawant

Viraj Sawant — Sun, 15 Mar 2009 12:10:34 +0000

Hi Darren , I had written a similar topic …on why its best to start a politics in today’s date

http://www.new-web-business.com/start-politics-blog-abou/

By: Calvin

Calvin — Sun, 15 Mar 2009 12:00:02 +0000

Political blogs attract a lot of traffic – eg.Huffingtonpost, TPM, NPR, Politico, Dailykos

But it also pretty difficult to monetize. I’d be interested to watch now on how you grow your governmentalityblog.

By: ITrush

ITrush — Sun, 15 Mar 2009 11:51:31 +0000

Hmm, haven’t tried it yet.. thinking of doing it, these tips should be great. Thanks

By: Lee Ka Hoong

Lee Ka Hoong — Sun, 15 Mar 2009 10:13:56 +0000

Great tips! But in my country, blogger who voice out own opinions and writes about something bad about government, they will get punished or get in jail for weeks or months. Anyway, I got no interest to write about politic and my parents asked me not to write it, or else I got the chance to stay in jail for months. lol!

Regards,
Lee

By: ZK@WebTrafficROI.com

ZK@WebTrafficROI.com — Sun, 15 Mar 2009 06:37:42 +0000

So in nutshell you should have all the basic which a blogger should have and to make it more attractive photos and videos are always there.

Sounding really interesting and I am sure this will also help me to get better in my writing skill.

By: Jacob

Jacob — Sun, 15 Mar 2009 06:25:31 +0000

Given the fact my site is a political commentary web publication, I write about politics often. The hardest part about it is getting over the fact that people are going to disagree with you. The second you throw opinion in there, people are going to disagree.

If you’re looking to write a political news site, there should be no opinion. It should be the very simple:

Who, what, where, when, why, and how? Answer those and that’s it. That’s the job of a reporter. However, if you like commentary, throw your opinion in and just back it up with fact.

Otherwise…You’re like Rush Limbaugh.

By: Alvin Buchanan

Alvin Buchanan — Sun, 15 Mar 2009 05:32:38 +0000

Whether you write about politics or anything else, I do not believe that one should be afraid to express him or her self. Politics is two sided, sometimes three or more sides. Take one, but speak the truth, do not slander people, even politicians, unnecessarily.

By: HDTV Plasma Televisions

HDTV Plasma Televisions — Sun, 15 Mar 2009 00:38:39 +0000

well, im not into politics, kinda bored with it. lol, nice topic btw :)

By: Eddie Gear

Eddie Gear — Sat, 14 Mar 2009 21:48:58 +0000

Politics and me are miles apart. This is something not for me..
Hope other readers find it interesting.. I think this is a good post especially in this time of recession and a new president elected in the US. This make people want to mention about politics every now and then when something happens both good or bad. Good job on this post.

Cheers,
Eddie Gear

By: Melanie Nelson

Melanie Nelson — Sat, 14 Mar 2009 20:41:42 +0000

I’d like to add that anecdotal evidence rarely makes a logical argument. I find that type of evidence in a political post manipulative. Sticking to the facts to make your case (and your point) will help your credibility.

By: TRecs

TRecs — Sat, 14 Mar 2009 19:02:01 +0000

I think something that can be drawn from this post is the importance of writing outside your so-called area of “expertise.” This cross-referencing of topics makes for original and interesting posts. For example, the ProBlogger post about saying fit while blogging covers health in a way that most blogs about blogging don’t.

By: Seth

Seth — Sat, 14 Mar 2009 18:47:14 +0000

I write frequently about politics in a number of my blogs. I love writing about politics because it forces you to take a side, have a voice and care about something for once. Too many are apathetic about everything but making money, but politics effects everything. Just look at the economy!