BeforeItsNews is an alternative news site that was founded in 2008. It has become one of the most popular alternatives to mainstream media networks, with an estimated 1 million unique visitors every month. According to their own stats, their articles have received nearly 1,000,000,000 views since the site was founded.
Like most blogs on the internet today, the ones with the most updated and reliable content, are likely to find the most success. That is exactly what you will find on the Before It’s News blog. Today we are going to dive into all areas of the site and discover why and how they’ve found the online blogging success they have today.
Notice: If you enjoy this review article on Before It’s News, don’t forget to check out other ones we’ve published for Bravo TV blogs, Tim Ferris, and OMG blog.
How BeforeitsNews Does So Well With News Blogs
What differentiates BeforeItsNews from other alternative media sites? One of the biggest differences is the site’s reliance on user generated content. Let’s take a look at the elements that made this site so popular.
Contributors Have Helped Build a Massive Amount of Content
Over 6.7 million articles have been published on BeforeItsNews. This average is to nearly 1,900 articles every day since the site was first launched.
Relying on users to create large amounts of fresh content has played a substantial role in boosting the site’s SEO.
Aggregating Content by Popularity
Like Reddit, BeforeItsNews aggregates and ranks content by popularity. The only difference is that it relies solely on page views, rather than an upvote system.
This is necessary for a site that relies so heavily on user-generated content. As with any user-generated content platform, it is inevitable that some articles will be shoddily written or poorly optimized for social media. This system ensures that content that performs the best on social media received the most visibility, while stories liking depth or credibility are filtered out.
Content has Evolved to Tastes of the Site’s Users
Every new website struggles to understand the desires of its future users. One of the benefits of BeforeItsNews’s user-generated content strategy is that content is always geared towards the user base.
The content is a reflection of the perspectives of thousands of different authors, which is a better representation of the site’s target user demographic than a single blogger. The popularity rating algorithm also rewards authors that optimize their content for the tastes of most readers.
Many authors use BeforeItsNews as a platform to boost their own brand. Others simply enjoy the attention their stories receive. Either way, they are more likely to accomplish their goal if they write stories that are similar to others that have performed well in the past.
Promise of Exclusivity
BeforeItsNews was created for people that are sick of traditional media publications. They promised users stories that they won’t find anywhere else. They have consistently delivered on this promise for nearly 10 years.
Of course, the validity of the stories varies considerably on a site with so many authors. Some stories are written by highly credible citizen journalists that are committed to rigorous fact-checking. Others are fake news articles pushed by conspiracy theorists and people with political agendas.
But the accuracy of the stories is not very relevant. Most readers don’t take the time to verify the claims on the site. All that matters to them is that the stories are fascinating and tend to align with their own biases.
Controversy and Sensationalism
The stories on BeforeItsNews are some of the most sensationalist ones any website on the Internet. Here are some examples:
- “Trump Turns Deep State Upside-Down as Evidence Mounts For CIA Dispersed of Pneumonic Plague”
- “Missing 411: People Vanishing! Who Are What Is Taking People From National Parks? (Video)”
- “Very Urgent Warning to All Who Live Within America and Canada/Cain-Nod-Da aka the Ancient Land of Nod: Secret Society Geologists Know That This Godforsaken Country Sits Upon a Hell Hole and in the Near Future Hellish Fire Will Rise to the Surface!”
There are a couple of reasons the stories perform so well:
- The rhetoric is completely off the charts. Headlines meet for exceptional clickbait, which probably explains why they do so well on social media.
- Stories are written on topical trends, such as sour sentiments towards President Trump. They have mass appeal beyond the site itself, so they do well on social media.
Social media has rewritten the rules of journalism. Controversy is what sells.
Can You Create a News Site of Your Own?
The news niche is very competitive, but there is still room for bloggers with a sound vision and a knack for determining successful news stories. Here are some tips for building a successful news site.
Be Provocative
In the age of social media, bland journalism doesn’t cut it anymore. You need to add some controversy to your posts, especially if you are writing alternative news. You don’t need to make things up, but you should be willing to interject some interesting elements to your stories.
Target a Tight Demographic
BeforeItsNews’s demographic gradually emerged over time. Their primary user base are conspiracy theorists, libertarians and other people that have been distrustful of the mainstream media. Many other news sites, such as Huffington Post, target users on the other end of the political spectrum.
Create a Multi-Author Platform
BeforeItsNews has received content from thousands of writers, which has helped it soar to unprecedented heights in the alternative news niche. Readers come for unique insights from writers of different backgrounds.
While BeforeItsNews accomplished this by creating a user-generated content platform, there are other ways that you can build a multi-author site. These approaches include:
- Hiring a team of writers (if you have the budget)
- Soliciting guest posts from other news bloggers
- Offering AdSense revenue sharing to active bloggers (Winning Democrats and many other alternative news publications offer this)
- Reaching out to people that have shared viral stories on Facebook and other social media platforms and ask if they would like a chance to make their voice heard
You don’t necessarily need a large budget to create a multi-author site. There are plenty of reasons people may want to contribute if you give them the chance.
Get Input from Your Readers
BeforeItsNews got to know the perspectives of its users naturally by using a popularity weighting algorithm for its content. If you are relying on user-generated content, you should use a similar model. Otherwise, you will need to find another way to gauge the preferences of your users. Monitoring your social media metrics, taking polls on the stories they want to see or evaluating similar news sites are good ways to get to know their preferences.
How You Can Create Your Own News Blog in the Next 10 Minutes
There is obviously no shortage of news stories on the Internet. That doesn’t mean there isn’t room for more! If you have an interesting perspective, you can create a news blog of your own in less than an hour.
Starting a news blog can seem overwhelming if you never created a website before. Don’t worry – you don’t need any technical skills to get started. You can simply register web hosting, install WordPress and start blogging! Bluehost is our recommended hosting platform.
After setting up your hosting, you will need to install WordPress. You don’t even need to install any software!
We have a great partnership with BlueHost, which gives our readers access to a great money-saving deal. You will save 60% off your hosting and can get a free domain. BlueHost has an exceptional reputation and offers one-click WordPress installations.
People are consuming more of their news online than ever before, so it is the perfect time to start as a news blogger. Just decide what demographic you want to write for, find your voice, signup for hosting and start blogging! It is that easy and more news bloggers are getting started every day.