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Blog Listicles Must Appeal to Readers’ Immediate Interests

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They’re both “listicles”, but, for me as a blog content writer, there’s an interesting difference:

  • 7 Things You Should Know About Virginia Woolf’s ‘To the Lighthouse’
  • 10 Things You Might Not Know About Mother’s Day

Yes, I was an English major in college, so of course I’d studied the book To the Lighthouse. That was a long time ago, though, and today I just didn’t feel as if I needed to know more things about the novel. Mother’s Day, on the other hand was something happening right now. So, while I agree that listicles really “work, as insightsyesadagency.com points out, they must appeal to searchers’ immediate interests.

“Don’t get even – get odd!” is one piece of advice the insightsyesadagency offers, recommending odd-numbered lists over even-numbered ones. In general, listicles are popular because they require minimal effort on the part of readers, conveying authority and appealing to our desire for organization.

Listicles should offer creativity and originality, while still touching on the key points that drive traffic,” insights.digitalmediasolutions.com advises, adding that .”the type of content in listicles should fit the target audience.” At Say It For You, we couldn’t agree more with that last statement. Everything about your blog should be tailor-made for that customer – the words you use, how technical you get, how sophisticated your approach, the title of each blog entry – all of it, I tell newbie blog content writers, and listicles are no exception to that basic content planning rule.

Career coaches suggest that using numbers may be one of the most underutilized strategies in cover letter writing. Numbers are a great way to be specific about your accomplishments, demonstrating that you pay attention to benchmarks and concentrate on setting and meeting goals. As a blog content writer and trainer, I stress that numbers can be used in business blogs to “build belief”. For example, statistics can demonstrate the extent of a problem your product or service helps solve.

Using numbers in blog post titles is a great way to both attract attention and to set expectations for a post. Words on the other hand, are used to put lists and statistics into perspective, so that readers are given the answer to the “So what?” and “So, what’s in-it-for-me” questions. Just why do I need to know 7 things about Virginia Woolf’s novel just now? Mother’s Day, in contrast, is something to be dealt with this very month.

Listicles must appeal to readers’ immediate interests.

 

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Listicles Make Life Simple for Blog Content Writers and Blog Readers

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The AAA Crossroads Magazine knows a good listicle when they see one. In “How to Make Travel Count”, TV host Samantha Brown lists five tips plus one “bonus tip” for getting the most out of even the shortest travel experience.

  • Tip #1: Take a walk.
  • Tip #2: Explore the side streets.
  • Tip #3: Create a ritual.
  • Tip #4 Talk to people.
  • Tip #5: Identify the emotional value.
  • Bonus tip: Put the map away, put down the phone, and just go down street because you think they look good.

Each one of these titles heads up a paragraph explaining how to use that tip. Not only does that visually organize the page in an attractive way, it makes the information easy to digest.

Still, in the online world, Caroline Forsey writes in hubspot.com, the list post (otherwise known as a listicle) commonly gets a bad name. In fact, she admits, “you can easily drown in a sea of particularly low-quality low-value listicles”. Nevertheless, Forsey explains, readers love listicles – for a number of reasons:

  • They are easy to scan.
  • They outline specifically what the reader will learn in the post.
  • Complex content is broker into bite-sized pieces.
  • Readers can skip to sections most applicable t them.

Listicles feed into our brain’s drive to categorize information and give us a sense of satisfaction when we correctly predict patterns, Neil Patel points out, citing a study out of Ohio State University showing how humans try to detect patterns in their environment.

To avoid adding to the “bad name” side of listicles, Toman of checkflow.io advises, don’t add more points just to fill up your list. Add interesting details to each item (Samantha Brown’s article is the perfect example). In order to make your angle unique, read what the competition is saying on the subject, then write from a personal perspective. “Going for a walk is the very first thing that I do at any destination,” Samantha writes.

I noticed that, even though it’s a listicle, Samantha Brown writes in first and second person, using the pronouns “I” and “we” and “you” throughout her piece. “I know what you’re thinking – Enjoy the mundane?” “I feel that talking to people is something that has been slowly going missing from our daily lives.” In blog marketing, I stress first person writing because of its one enormous advantage – it shows the people behind the posts, revealing the personality of the person or the team standing ready to serve customers.

At Say It For You, our content writers are always seeking to vary the ways we present information on a single topic in many different ways. Not only are we on the lookout for different “templates” in terms of platform graphics, but different formats for presenting information about any business or professional practice.

Listicles, when done well, make life simpler for both blog content writers and their readers.

 

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Don’t-Do-These-Things Blogging for Business

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“Selling your home? Don’t do these 5 things” is the title of an IndyStar article, and a very good title, at that – for several reasons that should be of interest to blog content writers. For some reason, it’s the ”don’ts” that draw people’s attention far more than the “dos” – readers are drawn to negative titles. It’s that old human fear of failure again, but like it or not, negative titles work.

The article goes on to offer several pieces of very practical, valuable advice, such as warning against doing major remodels to your home to match your own tastes rather than what buyers might prefer, and at a cost that may not be recoverable in the sale price.

“Don’t Do These 5 Things” is an example of a “listicle”, which is actually a very popular type of blog post title. Lists spatially organize information, creating an easy reading experience. By most accounts, search engines like lists as well. IndyStar writer Michael Schroeder is also using “chunking”, a technique for tying different pieces of advice into one unifying theme.

The “listicle” technique can be useful for freshening up old blog post content. Starting with one idea about your product or service, put a number to it, such as:
“2 Best Ways To …,”
“3  Problem Fixes to Try First….”
“4 Simple Remedies for…”

The point of it all is to draw attention to ways readers can use your product or service, making the valuable information and tips you’re offering easy to grasp and retain.

Are there any “Don’ts” about being negative in blog posts? Negatives against competitors are a basic no-no. It’s almost axiomatic that, in writing for business, we want to clarify the ways we stand out from the competition.  How, then, can we get the point across that readers should want to choose this business or this practice, or these products and services over those offered by the competition? Stay positive, is the answer.

Don’t-Do-These-Things titles may work well for attracting readers to your helpful hints. But when it comes to comparing yourself to others, accentuate the positives about your way of doing things!

 

 

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