Calling all blogging newbies! Are you interested in writing a short blog piece based on recent research? Would you like some hints and tips for writing in a non-academic, journalistic style? Book a session at the General Conference with one of our Academic Editors Johanne Døhlie Saltnes and Martin J. Bull, or with Loop Managing Editor Kate Hawkins. Play around with The Loop's WordPress editing software, and take a peek behind the curtain...

In autumn 2023, The Loop marks three years of groundbreaking work, bringing the very best of political science research to a vast readership – in academe and beyond.
 
In that short time, we have published more than 700 blog pieces, including contributions from over 800 authors in nearly 60 countries worldwide. Our articles have attracted more than 278,000 visitors and more than half a million page views.

👩🏽‍💻 Why blog?

Academia is changing. To achieve the greatest impact for your research findings, you need to embrace new technology, and new methods. You could be motivated to write a blog for a number of reasons, including:

• To drive traffic to and existing research article, boosting your citations
• To reveal work-in-progress findings of an ongoing research project – and solicit constructive feedback from peers
• To raise awareness of a recently published book, and encourage sales
• To offer your professional insight on a fast-developing area of political interest (The Loop, for example, can turn your piece around in 48 hours)
• To boost your scholarly profile and give yourself an excuse to post on social media
• To publish a deliberately provocative piece, which invites reader engagement and below-the-line comments

🥾 Book in for a fun 'Blog Bootcamp' at GC23

The Loop publishes a blog piece most working days; sometimes more than one! Managing Editor Kate Hawkins will be manning The Loop desk in the Expo area all through the General Conference, during which time it's business as usual on our thriving blogsite. Join Kate for an hour or so and get stuck into some real-time blog editing. Explore our Readability and SEO software, pick out some snappy pull-quotes, do some picture research... the choice is yours!

Would you like to join Kate as a 'Guest Editor'? Or maybe you'd like to discuss your blog idea with one of our Academic Editors Johanne Døhlie Saltnes and Martin J. Bull? Either way, email khawkins@ecpr.eu with your availability and we'll book you in for a short session.

▶️ Watch our 'First-time blogger' guide

If you don't manage to catch us in Prague, take a look at this handy explainer video: