Blogging for Freedom: Top 5 Things You Need to Know

We are living through a period of unprecedented technological advancement. We have televisions and radio and can access the entire world through the Internet on our mobile devices, yet in spite of all our modern conveniences, our struggle to preserve and defend our freedom is unchanged in principle from our Founding Fathers’ battle. For in our generation, as in theirs, the fight over who controls information is the key to preserving individual freedom and keeping our government accountable.

If we are going to preserve liberty, we must be able to powerfully communicate the truth about the struggles facing our nation. What are the best steps to becoming effective citizen watchdogs, journalists, and bloggers?

WordPress.com, blogger, tumblr, and blogspot are some good places to get an account. It’s free and easy to set up, and you can easily add text and photos and embed videos.

WordPress.org is different than WordPress.com. WordPress.org requires you to have a domain name such as “AmericanMajority.org.” It also requires you to set up an account with a hosting provider such as GoDaddy or Host Gator. This costs money, but it also gives you far more flexibility to customize your site.

You don’t have to start your own blog to be an effective watchdog. A blog is a great place to house the information you compile, but you can also post this information on your Facebook or Google+ page or tweet the information so others can help spread the message.

Once you’ve established your platform, follow our top tips on making your blog stand out:

1. Allow open comments. This means that you don’t require comments to be approved before they appear live on the site. Closed comments discourage participation and increase the likelihood people won’t come back to your site. Blog readers want to be involved in the conversation.

2. Comment on other blogs when you know something about the story they’re telling. This can give you credibility with that website, and you can become a trusted source for information. Usually you are allowed to add your website name in your comment, which can also help bring people to your site to read the information you are trying to get out.

3. Have a blog roll on your sidebar. This is a list of websites you like to read or that you recommend. If you know other bloggers, you can ask them to add your site to their list and return the favor. This helps grow the network.

4. Embed page links to your past posts in your current post if they are relevant to the story you are telling. If another website picks up your story and uses part of it, they can pick up that link and embed it in their post as well. Then when readers are looking for more information and facts about the story, they will be directed to your site. This can improve your page views tremendously.

5. Include links on your posts to encourage readers to share your posts on their social networks to help spread your story.

This was an excerpt from our manual “Blogging for Freedom.” Find the full manual in our Resources section and contact us if you would like to bring an American Majority social media training to your area.