The Wardman Wire

This is the third in my series of articles about starting a Political Blog.

My first article, Starting a Political Blog I: Blogging is like Traditional Campaigning , introduced a parallel between political blogging and traditional political campaigning.

The second article, “Starting a Political Blog II: How to Get the Basics Right “, highlighted the extreme transparency that exists when you write a blog, and the need to engage with your potential audience in a long-term strategy.

This post looks at some of the basic principles to follow in order to write a credible political blog.

Principles to Apply

Be transparent

One major difference between blogs and newspapers is that blogs are usually more transparent. Newspapers often do not declare gifts and travel expenses paid; good bloggers do. Many blogs have their own voluntary “register of interests”.
If you write about something, but do not declare a personal or financial interest, you will (rightly) be treated quite roughly when you are found out - especially if you are a public figure.

Be consistent

Do not start something you will not be able to maintain. Your blog is yours, and it is up to you to set your targets and to meet them.

There is no problem if you wish to post daily, weekly, occasionally or even seasonally - as long as your readers know what to expect. Do not, however, give hostages to fortune.

And please, do not apologise for “lack of blogging”. One of my pet hates is people who do that all the time. They would be able to do much more writing if they did much less apologising.

If you find yourself needing more material for your blog, why not make it a “team” blog, or use “guest bloggers”. The latter is one good reason to develop a network of “blog friends” - or to join a network such as Blogpower (www.defendingtheblog.blogspot.com).

Be circumspect

A blog is a publication, and you are subject to the same laws as your local paper - without a legal specialist. Be (reasonably) circumspect, and do not give too many hostages to fortune. The Internet does not forget anything you say.
Good ideas are to check two sources for anything questionable, and to ask a specialist blogger if necessary - most will give a little time to help a fellow “amateur” understand their subject. If you receive help, link back to their blog as a thank-you.

Be anonymous?

There is a place for the anonymous blog. The upside is that what you say will not affect your daily life and reputation - unless you are unmasked. The downside is that what you say will not affect your daily life and reputation - unless you are unmasked.

If you are running a political blog aiming to help your political profile in the wider society, an anonymous blog is not an option.

My blog - The Wardman Wire - is pseudonymous because I like to keep my online political writing separate from my work.

Enjoy it!

And finally, don’t be surprised at your own success. If you stick at writing a political blog, you may find that after a year or eighteen months you have as many visitors as the circulation of your local paper.

At that point you will have understood the fun of political blogging, and will have a number of new friends (and a few enemies).

If you last 18 months of posting regularly and thoughtfully, you will probably deserve the success.

Wrapping Up

In my fourth article tomorrow, I will look briefly at some technical questions in positioning your blog on the Internet.

Many political bloggers have not got the basics right in my view - whether it is sticking for too long with a blog built on somebody else’s website, or having a web address targeted to North American traffic rather than visitors from the UK.

The upshot of that is that of the political bloggers profiled in Iain Dale’s Guide to Political Blogging published in the autumn of 2007, something well over half are stranded - like beached whales - on domains that are punished by Google UK in their search results.