According to my blogging hero, Darren Rowse, "the secret" to successful blogging is consistently creating value for your readers. If you give them something valuable then they will keep returning to your blog and sharing it with others. So I began to wonder how political blogs create value for their readers...What do people get out of reading political blogs that adds something to their lives? To answer this question for the purpose of improving the service we offer here at THL, I decided to make a list of 100 (an excellent brainstorming tool) ways that political blogs create value.
It was so good and so clarifying that I was tempted to keep it all to myself, but realized right away that this is just the kind of backward thinking that new media has shed entirely. By sharing this with you the reader- especially since there's a good chance you might be a political blogger yourself- I am creating so much value for you, which is the whole point of the exercise!
By the way, I've also linked to examples of bloggers that do each item- well not each and every item, but several of them. If you want to help me fill in the gaps with more links, you can make recommendations to me via comments, or e-mail, or Twitter.
So here goes:
1. Filter - all the good stuff from the noise.
(...or let Memeorandum do it for you)
2. Inform - Report items your readers won't find anywhere else.
(Radley Balko covers lots of items like this)
3. Niche - Report items related to your reader's niche.
(Like AntiWar.com... it's all about war & foreign policy)
4. Entertain - Make them laugh.
(IMAO is a rockstar at this)
5. Educate - Teach about politics, history, economics, philosophy
(Mises.org has their name written all over this)
6. Review - Products / Services / Books / Movies
7. Listen - People don't feel like they're being listened to these days
8. Organize - Help them take action to improve the world
(Campaign for Liberty, YAL, Downsize DC, MoveOn.org)
9. Inspire - Rally them to your cause with rousing rhetoric
10. Train - Teach them how to be more effective political activists
11. Collaborate - Teach them how to be better bloggers like you!
12. Make lists - of everything! Lists rock!
13. Give - Start contests and give away free stuff to the winners.
(Like this one at Gateway Pundit)
14. Warn - of troubles ahead.
15. Herald - great things to come.
16. Merchandise - Sell political bumper stickers and t-shirts.
(Bureaucrash does this well)
17. Discredit - misconceptions, injustice, broken systems
(The Southern Avenger does it well)
18. Save - your readers time, money, and stress with life hacks.
19. Solve - political problems.
20. Editorialize - on hot topics of the day.
21. Connect - different people who can help each other.
22. Help - people find things they're looking for.
23. Raise funds - for causes and campaigns that matter
(DailyPaul rocks this... ask Ron Paul or his son Rand Paul)
24. Shock - people into a higher level of consciousness
(Like Michael Moore... this libertarian is a critic and a closet fan)
25. Encourage - people to be the best version of themselves
26. Enliven - their day with beauty
(Or enliven their day with beauties a la The Other McCain's Rule 5)
27. Round up - multiple perspectives on one issue or event
28. Shatter - misconceptions by walking in someone else's shoes
29. Break - barriers by showing what people have in common
30. Apologize - when you're a jerk (we're all human)
31. Admit - when you're incorrect
32. Broaden - horizons by covering global news and cultures
33. Cover - news stories live and in person
34. Break - news stories yourself
(Matt Drudge did this and sure isn't regretting it)
35. Enrich - your readers' visit with multimedia
(Can anyone say Shelly Roche?)
36. Boost - their day with a dose of pure awesomeness
(Like the Mercatus Center did with this)
37. Interview - people your readers want to hear from
38. Promote - your readers' websites, causes, interests
39. Showcase - brand new technologies and ways of thinking
40. Create - a platform for readers to share their opinions & ideas
(Like at DailyKos or FreeRepublic)
41. Praise - readers' positive contributions to your site
42. Post - readers' e-mails and your response
(Andrew Sullivan's Daily Dish does this frequently)
43. Be prompt - (I'm working on this one)
44. Tweet!
45. Link - To everything! It's good for your karma and readers.
46. Streamline - make your site easy to look at and navigate
(Reason has some great design)
47. Journalism - be professional
(What blog feels more professional & journalistic than HuffPo?)
48. Pizazz! - be personal
49. Sympathize - show you know how readers feel
(Glenn Beck is the king of tear-filled empathy)
50. Explain - things that readers would like to understand better
51. Local news - go local sometimes in your coverage
52. Relate - to what readers are experiencing
53. Offend
(Just know that Ann Coulter will do it better than you)
54. Confuse
55. Take - Give people a chance to donate to your site
56. Tie - readers into your personal goals & political vision
57. Sell yourself - people can value you, your opinion, brand, & image
58. Flirt - be attractive, funny, positive, saucy, confident, enticing
59. Post jobs - and gigs related to your website's topic
60. Let them help you create content by accepting guest posts.
61. Establish - a rapport. Make friends. Get to know your readers.
62. Compliment - good blogs, authors, politicians, movers, shakers
63. Be real - Don't lie or be something you're not.
64. Save readers time by putting all they need in one place
65. Give them something to do to waste time
66. Let them post niche-related classified ads for free
67. Make them confront hard questions
68. Break it down - make typically "complicated" issues simple
69. Write - thorough, well-written essays
70. Publish - short, byte-sized posts
71. Vlog - publish videos of others or yourself
72. Radio - Start a weekly, call-in radio program (it's easy)
73. Socialize - be their friend on Facebook & Myspace
74. Teach readers a new skill
75. Push readers to do something they wouldn't normally do
76. Write well - Employ excellent prose and exquisite vocabulary
77. Write simply
78. Equip - readers to be better apologists for your cause
79. Be spiritual - touch their heart and soul
80. Host blog carnivals
81. Specialize - benefit them w/ your skills, interests, and expertise
82. Learn - become an expert to create more value
83. Talk about sex, romance, and love -these matter to people
84. Talk about jobs "ditto"
85. And finance "ditto" again
86. FIGHT to keep the Internet Free and Unregulated
87. Two Cents - give them your own, unique take on things
88. Be creative - give them fiction, poetry, parody, something!
89. Infuriate readers - with infuriating news!
(Michelle Malkin is great at reporting the outrageous)
90. Volume - give them TONS of great coverage
(Instapundit does this well, so does Left Coast Rebel)
91. Be familiar - reference things they know and think about
92. Be different
93. Be memorable - produce content they'll think about and share
94. Have debates with other bloggers
95. Charity - find causes your readers would love to support
96. Fact check - expose inaccuracies
97. Be a watchdog - for the media, government, corporations...
98. Build bridges between opposing groups
99. Be adventurous (acorn sting)
100. Link to this list
