Blogging

Why List Posts Work So Well On Blogs

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Well, here’s a topic I haven’t touched upon in a very long time, so let’s look at it again shall we?

If you’ve checked out any blogs on the topic of blogging, you’ve probably read that one of the post popular types of posts are list posts. It is what it sounds like; it’s a post where you have anywhere from 3 to 20 numbered lines where each one tells something about the topic at hand. I’ve written lots of list posts on this blog, some long, some short, as well as my other blogs.

From the deep (Explored)
John Ryan via Compfight

Why are these posts so popular? Here’s a list lol:

1. Lists are easy to understand because they usually begin with a highlighted line so you know what each line is about. Sometimes the list only consists of lots of single lines.

2. Lists can be pretty easy to read, and fast as well. If you only have to take in a few words, less than 20, things move along fast.

3. List posts indicate in the title most of the time how many points there are going to be. This can be a misleading indication of how long a post will be. You can bet that a post with only 3 points is going to be much longer than you think, whereas a post with 10 points could be either long or short, as this post of mine on another blog listed 10 points but was close to 2,000 words; I’m kind of proud of that post, just so you know. 🙂

4. List posts can help you get people to ask you questions. You can use a list to highlight things without getting into detail, and if people are interested you can bet they’re going to ask you more. That could be good for business if used properly.

5. List posts are very easy to write. As opposed to having to write a lot of words to try to draw readers in, like I do, a list could just be a bunch of random thoughts strung together and yet still convey everything you want it to.

Go ahead, try it out to see how it feels. Just so you know, there are many blogs where every post is a list post, and it probably suits the writer and their readers just fine.
 

7 thoughts on “Why List Posts Work So Well On Blogs”

  1. Hi Mitch

    It’s first time I am visiting your blog and much impressed to see the quality of your contents. You are not just another blog but arrived in this field with your own voice.

    Your last point is very important that usually list posts are easily created. So initially a blogger should try such kind of post to get the attention of others.

    Thanks a lot for sharing this great post.

    1. Thanks for your words Mi. Yeah, list posts can either be long or short, and for some people who can only come up with things as a list it’s a way to get started and create content. Of course, we also hope what they come up with makes some sense. 🙂

  2. I subscribe to a marketing feed of some sort and 90% of their links are to posts to list posts or what I like to call listicles.

    The other day I was saying I’d like to write more of them. Just not sure how to approach them.

    Your essay on listicle posts is timely.

    1. Listicles eh Steve? lol I’m staying away from that one.

      It’s easy to see the popularity of these types of posts because some people will just read the headline and move on, thinking they got everything they needed, while others might want to pick and choose which item they want to delve more into. Course, my post with 55 things… maybe that was a bit much for some folks, but they’d best get used to it because next year there will be 56!

  3. Another great and informative post here Mitch :), As soon I finish my blogsite, I will really apply these tips of yours.

  4. Hi Mitch
    Thanks for your article on list posts. I wrote my first list post last week on Tuesday 24th. It’s been my most viewed post so far, I thought I would try one and see what happened!

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