I ORIGINALLY wrote this for the Young Fabians, who wanted a piece on “Top Ten Tips for Labour bloggers”. But it could just as easily be aimed at bloggers of any political hue. It’s now online as part of the Young Fabians’ new “Can The Internet Change Politics?” publication.

1. Politics is dull. Really, really dull. So when you write about it, you have to make it sound far more interesting than it actually is. And the only way of doing that is to be able to write well. A good writer can make just about anything sound, if not interesting, then not quite so dull.

2. Use humour. Political blogs, particularly Left wing ones, have a reputation for being very poe-faced and serious, because, like, politics is about people’s lives, yeah? Don’t take yourself or your politics too seriously – at least not all the time.

3. Go off-topic. Yes, readers will visit your site to read about politics, but it’s okay to talk about other subjects occasionally. Even politicians and local activists have interests outside politics. Whether that’s cooking or gardening or football or movies or… yes, Doctor Who. The key is to connect with your readers on a different level from the political one.

4. Don’t go out of your way to criticise Labour, but don’t be too worried about doing so either. Politics needs to be about debate, and one of the most regular – and valid – criticism of LabourList when it launched was that it was too on-message.

5. Allow commenters to have their say. By all means moderate the abusive ones, but blogging isn’t one-way – a dialogue with readers is the life blood of a good blog. But conduct that dialogue on your own terms.

6. Update regularly. And I mean very regularly. At least twice a day, ideally more often. Your regular readers must understand that paying repeated visits to your site will pay dividends in terms of seeing new stuff.

7. Format and design is crucial. Narrow columns, an attractive, good-sized font with adequate spacing between lines makes it easier on the eye for readers who have an awful lot of other political blogs on their favourites lists all competing for their attention.

8. Blogging is a community in its own right and political differences, while still there, matter less, Be generous on your blogroll. Feature rival parties’ blogs as well as those supporting your own.

9. Don’t become a slave to the wordcount. If a post is worth only 25 words, write 25 words. Don’t try to expand needlessly on a subject just to make it look better. Pithy can be attractive to readers who are in a hurry.

10. Synchronise. Use Twitter to publicise your posts, use your blog to promote your Twitter feed, use Facebook to send hugs to people you’ve never met. It’s all good.