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10 Blogging Tips For an Irresistible List Post

July 2, 2012 By Erik Emanuelli 35 Comments

The articles divided into points, in other words the list posts, have a great success among readers in the blogosphere, because they are easy to read, they avoid unnecessary chatter and they are rich of information.

Writing a list post, means to organize content in a structure that is particularly suited to the web, but this does not mean that you can simply number some stuff and just publish it, in order to get retweets, comments or academics kisses.

You must remember this : Quality above all!

Bloggin Tips about List Post

Here you find 10 blogging tips that you should follow in order to write a great List Post.

 

1 . Publish Useful Resources

You should take a moment to emphasize in your article the fundamental concept, in other words what you are writing about.

Before think to write about a specific topic, just ask yourself : “Has someone already published a list of the resources listed in my article? Can I give to the readers something useful ?

Try to be innovative in your writing, and avoid what has been said already 1,000 times.

I know that in the blogging niche, this is something not easy at all, but if someone ask you the difference between your list and the one already published by other bloggers, the answer should be very clear.

And above all you should write something really useful. See what I mean :

How to Write an Article in Less than One Hour : 10 Useful Tips

 

2 . Do Not Complicate: Simplify

The list posts go viral on the web. They respond to the needs of those who have little time available and allow your readers to quickly identify what interests them.

For this reason the list posts are easier to read, in relation to other articles.

You should select the most interesting information for ordering a weighted list. Nothing must be left to chance!

 

3 . Do Not Overdo the Points

Publishing a list with 150 points makes always a certain effect, but you should think if all these points are really necessary to your article.

Remember that people in internet are lazy and too many points may bore them.

There is not a particular right number of points for your post, each list needs its space to be explained.

I have written a list with 102 points, but actually this is a resume of  Blogging Tips and What I Have Learned, so I guess if it is really worth, you can list many points.

Just try to identify and develop your idea, therefore write the points that you think are useful to explain your concept.

 

4 . Create Sections

If you are writing a list with many articulated concepts, in order to improve readability, try to divide the points into thematic sections with a title, a bit of an introduction text and a picture.

Also using bold or italics really helps sometimes.

 

5 . Focus on the Images

When you are working on list posts, you may forget completely about images.This happens sometimes.

But you should remember that you need to include in every article at least one image, as this really helps the viewing of the whole post in the eyes of your reader.

Things to Do - List

 

6 . Work on Your Headline

The soul of every article is enclosed in its headline. This is the same for a list post. The article headline is your business card in the SERP, in social media and all around the web.

It is difficult to have a second chance, if your headline is not good enough to catch your visitor’s attention, he will not continue reading your post.

A tip: use the numbers in your title, as they really help to understand the content of your article.

 

7 . Use a Good Format

The points of your list should be easily recognizable and widely spaced, while the header of the paragraphs should follow a consistent basis that brings all the titles in that section to have the same importance.

To be clear : the titles of the paragraphs should be <h2> with similar appearance, the same goes for subtitles <h3> and so on. These are simple but fundamental rules that you need to follow, also for SEO reasons.

If you want to know more, be sure to read these 20 SEO Tips for Beginner Bloggers.

 

8 . Watch the Number of Points

It may happen that you have 10 points in your headline, then in your content you miss one.

Be sure to proofread your article, and be sure to include in your list post all the points you had in your mind.

Reading again (and again if needed) your content, before publishing it, does not cost you anything.

 

9 . Choose Between Points and Paragraphs

When you create a list post, you have 2 solutions: the bulleted lists (ordered list in your WP Dashboard – use Alt + Shift + O) and paragraphs.

In the first case there is a real bullet list marked with small icons (or numbers) , in the second you create manually the paragraphs with titles and numbers.

So the question is which option you should use. Just thing about how many points you have to list and how much you can write about each one, and you will have your answer.

 

10 . Do Not Forget the Call to Action

Occasionally you may find articles that has huge list well written, but without any call to action.

In my opinion, you should include an invitation for your reader. It may simply be a question.

Perhaps there is no need to write anything more, but do not complain if users do not comment, for instance.

At the end of my articles there are always a call to action for invite the readers to comment and leave their own experience.

You can also ask your readers to subscribe to your RSS Feeds, if they liked what they have read.

Did you already subscribed to NoPassiveIncome.com Updates?

 

What about you, do you like the Posts Lists? Are you using them in your blog?

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About Erik Emanuelli

Hi! I am Erik EmanuelliΒ : problogger, marketer and social media addict. You can follow me on Twitter, add me on FacebookΒ or follow me on Pinterest.

Comments

  1. Chris

    July 2, 2012 at 7:09 am

    Hi Erik, thanks for great tips. I like especially the last one – call to action πŸ™‚
    BR, Chris

    Reply
    • Erik Emanuelli

      July 2, 2012 at 8:08 am

      I think when you give something to someone (for istance good content to read, a video, a tutorial course), you can ask for something in return.
      This is the Call to Action.
      And it is certainly commensurate with the service you give.

      Thanks a lot for the Guest Post opportunity, Chris! πŸ™‚
      I really appreciated it!

      Reply
      • Chris

        July 2, 2012 at 8:29 am

        You are welcome Erik!

        Reply
  2. Caimin

    July 3, 2012 at 7:58 am

    I like the tip about not including too many things in your list. Whenever I see “164 Ways To…” I just think there’s a person with no filter.

    Reply
    • Erik Emanuelli

      July 3, 2012 at 2:31 pm

      I do agree with you, Caimin.
      In fact generally, people online are “lazy”.
      They want a quick and interesting read, that addresses their needs.
      A list too long demoralize right away!

      Are you using list posts, Caimin?

      Reply
  3. John Banks

    July 3, 2012 at 10:43 am

    Awesome list! I love list posts, I have used a few in the past and they seem to attract some good attention. I am working on one at the moment. Like you say though, its quite difficult to find ones that don’t already exist. I don’t think this really matters as long as you put your own twist on it……..

    Reply
    • Erik Emanuelli

      July 3, 2012 at 2:35 pm

      Thanks for the comment, John.

      I think that if you blog about the most competitive topics, like “make money online”, “blogging”, “online marketing”, etc, it is really hard to find something of which has not been discussed yet.
      I do suggest you to say YOUR OPINION” about those topics or a special subject.

      I think that stand out from the crowd is the key here.

      Don’t you think so, John?

      Reply
  4. Christine Brady

    July 3, 2012 at 2:29 pm

    Hi Erik,

    Gotta love those list posts!

    Excellent point about the headlines – I love writing them, but also work on some for many hours before finally nailing one down. As you said, they are super important, so it pays to craft a great one.

    Thanks for sharing!

    ~Christine

    Reply
    • Erik Emanuelli

      July 3, 2012 at 3:06 pm

      Hi Christine,
      thanks for the kind words! πŸ™‚

      I think with experience you will be able to improve, then surely this also applies to blogging, and writing successful headlines.
      Moreover, the headline is the part that first jumps to the attention of the reader and if is not attractive enough, he will not continue to visit and read your article!

      Are you using List Posts in your blog, Christine?

      Reply
  5. JamesW

    July 3, 2012 at 6:14 pm

    Great post, the shorter the post, the more people will go through it and find the value.
    And title needs to be attractive, without it, many will just bass by.
    thanks for sharing Erik

    Reply
    • Erik Emanuelli

      July 4, 2012 at 6:14 pm

      You’are definetely right, James!
      Headlines are so important!
      But if you think, also the content is…what if a reader see a catchy headline and then the article sucks?

      πŸ˜‰

      Reply
      • JamesW

        July 5, 2012 at 8:13 am

        True, if article sucks then we will lose possible customer or visitor in a second.

        Reply
        • Erik Emanuelli

          July 5, 2012 at 1:44 pm

          It is difficult to get a customer / reader / visitor, but it is also easy to lose him!

          Make sure to have always great and useful content.

          Thanks for the reply, James! πŸ™‚

          Reply
  6. Andi Leeman

    July 4, 2012 at 12:06 pm

    Excellent post Erik, I have only done a couple of list posts, I don’t want to become lazy and just fill my site with them but they are great when used right, as you say people can get lazy and and list everything that they can. A huge list can put people off.

    Reply
    • Erik Emanuelli

      July 4, 2012 at 6:15 pm

      Do not underestimate the power of a List Post, Andi!
      In my opinion it is not a “second choise”, for your content, if written well.
      Don’t you think so?

      Reply
  7. Rick Eberhart

    July 4, 2012 at 6:04 pm

    Erik,

    Great stuff. Love the emphasis on quality!

    Great point about images. They ARE easy to forget about as a way to keep readers interested. Well put.

    Rick

    Reply
    • Erik Emanuelli

      July 5, 2012 at 7:27 am

      Thanks Rick!

      At least one image per post is really a need.
      It helps mix what would be a wall of text, without images.

      Are you using List Posts, Rick?

      Reply
  8. Chadrack

    July 5, 2012 at 12:58 pm

    Hi Erik,

    Must say you’ve done a great work here. I do a lot of list posts. For me they are the easiest to write and they are good at passing along your message with much ease.

    I really like it when you say, not to complicate things. I’ve actually seen some list posts which I had to stop half way because they are either too long or disjointed in ideas.

    Thanks for sharing.

    Reply
    • Erik Emanuelli

      July 6, 2012 at 8:00 am

      Hi Chadrack,
      I am glad you liked the article.

      I think simplicity most of the times works better, than complicated things.
      List Posts are easy to read and reach more audience.

      Thanks for your comment.

      Reply
  9. sandeep kumar

    July 5, 2012 at 6:11 pm

    Hi Erik…
    nice post…
    All points are valid and useful…..
    looking some more cool stuff from you

    Reply
    • Erik Emanuelli

      July 6, 2012 at 8:01 am

      Hi Sandeep,
      I am happy you found the article useful.
      Thanks for the comment.

      Reply
  10. John Ernest

    July 7, 2012 at 6:34 am

    Writing lists also mean having a long post, and no one especially loves reading long posts. It is only in the format and how you present your list article that people will find it appealing. You may even pt instructions to find what they are looking for using the CTRL+F function and list down the keywords they could look for.

    Reply
    • Erik Emanuelli

      July 7, 2012 at 10:29 am

      Hi John,
      not necessarily a List Post must be long : it can be informative and brief.

      I do agree that you should write something interesting to capture the reader’s attention.

      Thanks for your comment.

      Reply
  11. Aditi Datta

    July 13, 2012 at 9:59 am

    Thanks Erik for this informative post. Great tips you have provided above and all would be very helpful in blogging. I like the sixth and the seventh format of working on headline and using a good format. I think these two are important. An appropriate headline is the first most important thing that the visitors gets attracted to.

    Reply
    • Erik Emanuelli

      July 14, 2012 at 2:09 pm

      Hi Aditi,
      I am glad you liked the article.
      Definetely we should focus first on writing a catchy headline and then create good content inside the post.
      Are you using List Post, Aditi?

      Reply
  12. Costas

    August 8, 2012 at 10:41 pm

    Very good points! I really liked the question part “Did you already subscribed to NoPassiveIncome.com Updates?

    Reply
    • Erik Emanuelli

      August 24, 2012 at 1:16 pm

      Hi Costas,
      glad you liked it.
      So did you you already subscribed to NoPassiveIncome.com Updates?
      πŸ˜€

      Reply
  13. Ben Edgson

    February 24, 2013 at 10:19 pm

    Erik this is the second post of yours I have read today. you could charge bucks for this kind of information! the whole list thing will make everything seem so clear to my readers and I think they will keep coming back! Thank you so much Erik!! πŸ™‚

    Reply
    • Erik

      February 25, 2013 at 8:52 am

      That’s a pleasure you enjoyed the article, Ben! πŸ™‚

      Reply
  14. Yogita Aggarwal

    May 21, 2013 at 8:10 am

    Blog post publishing format is one of the most important factor that is responsible for your daily site traffic. Infact well formatted blog posts always have less bounce rate rather than the messy one. Similarly use of relevant images in blog post attract more users rather than without a blog post without any image.

    Reply
    • Erik

      May 21, 2013 at 9:26 am

      That’s right, Yogita.
      People don’t want to lose time trying to catch up information between a messy text.
      Thanks for your feedback here.

      Reply
  15. Chetan Chaudhari

    July 12, 2013 at 11:36 am

    Thanks Erik for the tips… I will surely start with the last point *call for action* in blog posts as-well as questions in FB page images..

    Reply
    • Erik

      July 29, 2013 at 9:39 am

      Call to actions are very important, Chetan!
      Don’t miss the opportunity to add one to your blog posts!

      Reply
  16. Patricia Weber

    July 28, 2013 at 8:46 pm

    I love list blog posts. Keeping it simple, your point 2, is one of my favorites. Often times I use List.ly. I find it easy to use and automatically adds images to a list as you go. Thanks.

    Reply
    • Erik

      July 29, 2013 at 9:43 am

      Thanks for adding your thoughts, Patricia.
      I know List.ly, but I rarely use it.
      Great comment!

      Reply

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