Lori Ballen brings you the best tutorials, guides, and software lists for blogging, and affiliate marketing. When you write a listicle, it's extremely important for people to be able to skim it and pick out the most important points in just a minute or two. This website uses cookies. There you have it! Theres an inherent sense of progress and accomplishment as you work your way through the piece, which itself encourages you to finish reading. For help on that, check out the following post: Most of the value of listicles comes from the list itself. Site designed in California by the Content Powered team. When I sat down and brainstormed this list, for example, it was just that a brainstormed list. Why do people like listicles? 5. Subscribe to the Marketing Blog below. 14 Life-changing Ways to Reorganize Your Closet, How to Apply Red Lipstick in 4 Easy Steps, 20 Things You Should Know Before Buying a New Mattress, The 7 Best Sustainable Clothing Companies, 7 Communication Channels Your Team Needs in 2020, 12 Marketers Tell Us Their Favorite Marketing Campaigns of 2020, The Best 6 Superbowl Ads of 2019, and Why They Worked, How to Make These 3 Meals With Only 5 Ingredients, 10 Cool Gadgets You'll Definitely Need This Summer, 7 Hilarious Videos Trending on YouTube Right Now, How to Become an Entrepreneur, According to 11 Successful Ones. We . Fast Company published a list-style post using subheadings only rather than bullet points about what they learned teaching the top 1%. A listicle is an article made of a list, usually with some kind of extra detail to each item. Finally, let's explore some listicle ideas to help your marketing team brainstorm highly engaging content for your readers. 11) Use Keywords:Search engines love list posts. Generally consisting of 5 or more items, a listicle format is a great way to get readers to engage with content and generate traffic. Lists of lists. top list of local mechanics in the Las Vegas area. Lists of lists. You could even create a landing page to target a main keyword and then use it to link to a collection of listicles which target all of the long-tail variations of that keyword. norwegian cruise line dining menus listicles game examples. To create a high-quality listicle, it's vital your content is consistent and parallel. Listicles; Listicles, a portmanteau of the words list and article, are short articles that list down samples, reasons, or factors about a specific subject. Before we dive into how to create your own listicle, let's explore a few examples to inspire you: Now that we've explored some examples, let's dive into how you can create a listicle of your own. Your competitors are blogging. List Article = Listicle. The reason was that they blew up to be so popular, so quickly, that it was all you would ever see on the site for months. And it's consistently one of the most popular email newsletters in the world. If you're writing a list of best practices, you should only have best practices in your list sneaking a few examples in the list will just confuse your audience (and you can always create another listicle for examples, later on). Listicles are easy to update. Many readers love listicles. Get the list written in its base form, make sure youve covered everything you want to, and look up information from existing sources if needs be. 3) What I Learned From This type of list includes one item per line. Theyre formatted in a way that is exceedingly easy to skim to get to the exact information you want, making them a massive victory for fast access to information and usability. . if(typeof exports!=="undefined"){exports.loadCSS=loadCSS} Even a little bit of clickbait can be acceptable. This is not to say that there aren't bad lists and sloppy lists and lists that would make . But it doesn't tell you exactly how to do those things. Open Buzzfeed and scan the headlines. Types of Listicles with Examples There are many different ways to structure a listicle. For example, a checklist of SEO items to monitor. No! If theyre extensive lists, I might make a spreadsheet and paste them to see and remove duplicates more easily. 8) Items to include: when packing, camping, or moving. The person who forgot to do a little cropping: 2. Mind . While we're talking about numbers, let's clear up some misconceptions about them. For longer lists, I write shorter descriptions. I recommend several shares on social media over a few weeks. Wolf's Gaming Blog How you do this will depend on the subject and contents of your list, but here are some great organizational structures to choose from: alphabetical (great for glossaries), chronological (great for step-by-step guides), or by popularity/importance, like most to least or least to most (great for top 10/20/50 lists). 6) Quotes: Quotes are another way to add personality to your listicle. A business blog (such as the one here at Process Street) may instead use a topic relevant to their products audience. Use Google Trends, Answer the Public, Ahrefs, etc to identify a [relevant] topic. But not all list posts need to be low-quality. If everyone else has included minimal detail in their post, you can probably get away with writing only a paragraph or so for each point. A friend of mine told me that Google will penalize it since she had issues with these. -Charles Swindoll. Dont worry about grammar and punctuation at this point. The link mentioned has a 404 error. And, my favorite: listicles are an easy target for 10x content. Add a step to check for filler words and remove them. Listicles can make excellent bottom of funnel pieces of content. listicles game examples jeffrey dahmer museum milwaukee Because many states regulate hunting, it's important for hunting enthusiasts to be more proactive. They satisfy our need to consume and retain information with little effort. A listicle is easy to scan, and outlines specifically what a reader can learn in the post. For example, a list of growth hacks you can take to boost your site ranking. Determine your formatting. As for why they are so popular to produce, there are a few reasons (aside from their popularity with audiences): Listicles are easier to plan and write than traditional articles because they dont have to worry so much about the order of their points. There are some fantastic tools out there to help with your keyword research, such as Google Keyword Planner and Ahrefs. You have to choose what kind of listicle youll write before you even begin. I just found your article, Writing a Listicle: The 11-step Guide and Why Theyre Awesome while researching for my latest article, thank you! For instance, "The Ultimate Guide to Building a Landing Page" might make some readers feel overwhelmed, or like they don't have time to consume all that content right now. Sometimes a particular order might be more effective but, in general, any extra items can be added to the end of the list without disrupting whats already there. If theyre shorter lists, I might go through one after the other, skipping items that are repeated. else{w.loadCSS=loadCSS}}(typeof global!=="undefined"?global:this)). This free game can be played on phones, laptops, tablets, and computers. Step Two: Make Your Pitch Timely. 2. 4. Skimmers are the lowest common denominator among readers, so your copy has to accommodate them or you'll lose most of your audience quickly. 2) How-To Guide: Ryan Fitzgerald published a listicle on his real estate website about how to sell a house by owner. Theres definitely something appealing about the number in the title. Hashtags are keywords that appear after a symbol. When you sit down to start drafting your listicle, decide how granular you want to make your topic. 4. Credit: Photo by Kristina Tamaauskait on Unsplash. If you need help, check out our free SEO and keyword research process. In general, clickbait can be taken as something which uses its title to promise something unrealistic or plain doesnt follow up on what its title claims to do. Best of all, if readers are already familiar with some steps in the process, they can skip to sections most applicable to them. The more research you need to do, the longer it will take. The listicle-style blog post is popular because people love lists, and they are easy to read. You could write a listicle which is nothing more than a title, five sub-headings for each list item, and a picture or gif below each. What do you think of listicles? Cheers. Here's some suggestions for making your listicles really count (pun intended). This advice holds true for most blogging and article writing in general; the key is doing it consciously until it becomes a habit. However, if you cant do anything else then its better than nothing. Write out your entire post in bullet points. Use the same header style to highlight your individual list items, and make sure it stands out. Once youve decided, its time to move on to the title of the article. It was subtle but it was there. Thanks to you, I actually think my article is pretty comprehensive and awesome. var rp=loadCSS.relpreload={};rp.support=(function(){var ret;try{ret=w.document.createElement("link").relList.supports("preload")}catch(e){ret=!1} In journalism and blogging, a listicle is an article that is structured as a list, which is often fleshed out with additional text relating to each item. Even if you don't think you know anything about anything important, don't sweat- just choose a topic and ask 3-4 other people to contribute a . Make sure your title epitomizes that. Heres an excellent example of a recent, high-quality listicle: It has a lengthy intro that digs into the topic and tells you why you should care. You might read a fun listicle, like 'The Top 10 Movies of 2020', or a more informational one, like '7 Steps to Build a Website'. Also, Id like to suggest that the popularity of listicles is at least partly because the unavoidable number in their title insinuates completeness. You may have heard at some point that listicles or list articles are penalized, either by Google, by Facebook, by the algorithm, or just in general. 33 Listicle ideas | money saver, infographic health, budgeting money Listicle ideas 32 Pins 7y S Collection by Sizzling Scrapbook Content Marketing Social Media Marketing Internet Marketing Make Money Blogging How To Make Money Blogging Ideas Blogging Prompts Easy Money Money Fast Even if there isnt a list which naturally fits a given topic, you can create one by looking at the subject with a certain angle. What makes them easy to read is that they take into account our preference for processing information spatially. Listicle Format Should Be Determined By The Advertising Objective Listicles are curated lists based on experience, research, quantifiable metrics or editorial opinions. Dont worry about the order of your list just yet (or any detail for the points you make). Learn More I supported because Listicles tell you what to expect. If you cut out the words in the images (which Google cant index), that post is 200 words long. Add any extra information you want to work into your article. Put simply a listicle is an article that includes a list of items. A good example of a mind sport is chess. List articles can take a complex topic and break them down into digestible chunks. return function(){return ret}})();rp.bindMediaToggle=function(link){var finalMedia=link.media||"all";function enableStylesheet(){link.media=finalMedia} In fact, I'm a firm believer that the listicle does have a place in the world of high-quality blog content. Longer paragraphs will take longer to read, which decreases the likelihood that readers will click through to your website. Remember: Listicle Does Not . The biggest indicator of a lousy list post is one that contains a ton of fluff and no real, valuable takeaways for the reader. The title you craft can also help you stay focused. Make sure that you include tags like best, most, and worst so that people know exactly what type of listicle they are getting into. Failing to do so only confuses readers, especially when they can't tell that they've moved onto a new item on the list because the header style was inconsistent or under-emphasized. They are, essentially, themed compendia of micro-articles, each one self-contained. Affiliate links allow you to earn money by promoting another companys product or service. Author. If you do, it might become difficult to tell where one number ends and the next begins. Let's go!!! Having said that, you shouldnt add new points for the sake of it. In some cases, you might turn a personal essay into a listicle this way. listicle: [noun] an article consisting of a series of items presented as a list. 2. If you're writing a listicle and especially when you use a number in the title of your list post number your list items! If theres no citation but theres a reference to the source (eg, from a 2016 study) try entering the information into Google along with the rough source. Listicles are easy to read quickly, which is important for the increasingly fast pace of the modern world. The subject you write about can be literally anything. Additionally, listicles are incredibly shareable on social platforms. Audiences have been exposed to so many listicles at this point that you can easily run the risk of being seen as producing clickbait or worthless drivel. It becomes a listicle primarily because its numbered items in an order. "5 Steps to Do X"), and sometimes there won't be as obvious a story (e.g. First, you need to choose your topic. While we sometimes still write lists posts containing six or fewer items, we don't include the number in the title for those posts. My listicles tend to be: Listicles are bad for topics that are deep, complex or require nuance. Usually, they expand on each list item with additional information to make them more useful for readers. The game of ridiculously random lists! Heres an example of a more article-focused listicle: This is closer to a typical article, with each section digging into a specific aspect of an overarching subject. Inside this tutorial: How to Create a Buzzfeed-Style Listicle. With content writing, the place to start is with writing. I have a question- does this article actually qualify as a listicle? However, they offer more value to your readers and will help you earn more money. Listicles work for many of the same reasons that traditional lists do we just like to read them. These sections might fit better in an "Ultimate Guide to Instagram Marketing", instead of a listicle. By making sure that your readers always have at least a portion of an image on screen you can help to encourage them to scroll further to see the rest. Just make sure everything makes sense. [c]2017 Filament Group, Inc. MIT License */ Let me know what you think in the comments below! By this point, all youll have left to do is add the finishing polish, publish, and promote the listicle. I suggest that we call each part of a listicle a particle. We've earned our black belts in both. As marketers, we're often tasked with writing about drier topics to educate our viewers and attract leads. 9) Checklists: Todays Parent created a checklist containing items every new baby should have. Certain topics are evergreen, which means that audiences will always be interested in them, but most pop culture articles need to be written at specific times. For example, a list of WordPress plugins to boost your SEO. You absolutely should do all these things in your social media marketing. Whatever you decide to do to beat your competitors, note it down in your plan along with the rough information, number of points, and level of detail in other posts. Content Powered is a blog management company that helps scale companies by creating helpful blog posts. Sit down with your team and brainstorm challenges your readers might be facing, and then decide whether that challenge can be solved with a step-by-step guide or a list of tools (that includes yours). Quality of the article aside, its a great way to know that you arent going to waste your time reading an irrelevant discussion of a similar topic. This very listicle How-To post includes 10 steps for writing a listicle, because that's how many I thought were individually valuable and indicative of a high-quality list post for this particular subject. Search for your competition. A listicle is an article that is a list. Typically, they have a short introduction, a series of list items relevant to the topic at hand, brief descriptions of each item, and, usually, images for each. This website contains affiliate links that benefit me. Race against time to find the correct term for the definition displayed on the screen. 2. Examples, Writing Tips, and. Well, take a look at that post above. Build your list. While you'd initially planned on titling the piece "10 Best Instagram Marketing Tips", your research has uncovered plenty of other angles you'd like to include, such as "why Instagram Marketing is important" and "how to create compelling content on Instagram". A statistic quote with a link is always beneficial. 10. 3. This is an easy one. Some listicles explore an incident in your past and how it can help others. June 05, 2020, Published: Even if you cant locate it, its good to get into the habit of trying. If possible, its also a good idea to record what the purpose of the article is, as this can help you decide what angle youre going to tackle the topic from. Lets hop on a call and talk about what we can do to help. 2023 Content Powered. The truth is, they were, but also not really. A listicle is an article that contains a series of bulleted lists, each with three or more items on it. Here are some examples: 1) Top List: Keller Williams Realty Las Vegas Summerlin included a top list of local mechanics in the Las Vegas area. Why? An internal study of our own blog, for example, revealed that posts for which the title indicated six items or fewer didn't perform as well as when the title indicated the list contained seven or more items. Grab your FREE list here. Listicles typically include a humorous title; numbered subtitles; a static or dynamic image; and text that elaborates on the subtitle and/or image. A listicle is an article in the form of a list. Measure results! Not to mention that your audience may well have heard everything you have to say before and quickly bounce from your page. Here, we're going to dive into what a listicle is, how to write one, and listicle ideas to help you generate high-quality, engaging content for your readers. Use your analytics to tell you what's working. then you've probably got yourself a high-quality list! You might include several opening paragraphs, then a series of points, each followed by text. This is a great opportunity to use what youve learned about your competition and what you already know personally about the topic. At best, thats thin content that will get ignored, and at worst, it can penalize you. 9) Best of List: Scott Taylor published a blog about the top neighborhoods in San Diego for Millenials. setTimeout(function(){link.rel="stylesheet";link.media="only x"});setTimeout(enableStylesheet,3000)};rp.poly=function(){if(rp.support()){return} Here's an example of what we mean: 3 Ways to Improve Your Social Media Marketing. 154K followers View more on Instagram Comment Share Save 961 likes The primary hallmark of a thin listicle or a clickbait list is that each list item has a heading, but the actual content of each post is an image. If not. For example, The teacher might give words like- BZG, CZT, ZND, ZPPLE. Listicles are one of the most talked about devices on the web. He was selected for just one All-Star Game, and that was three years ago after he got off to a hot start. 1. And we just feel very comfortable with the idea t of having dealt with a topic conclusively, even if we may be aware that that is, of course, an illusion. If you dont have one already set up, check out our free blog pre-publish checklist for a handy checklist to get you started. If theyve gone into detail, consider topping that with a content upgrade to sweeten the deal. This involved a formulaic approach to looking at a keywords competition, then crafting content which was better and having a set outreach plan. I teach entrepreneurs how to get more website traffic, generate leads, and make more money online. Not only will you have to heavily reference that post in your work to avoid plagiarism (which will only make its ranking stronger), but there is literally no reason for someone to read yours instead of whats already ranking. "only halfway to go" or "I'm almost done!"). What's in the box The lesson? listicles game examplesspecialized structures of banana. Whether it's this travel piece from The Guardian, or this 101 ways to ruin a party listicle from VICE, they dominate the internet.. Listicles are the annoying younger sibling of the 'how-go' guide (and they're even more annoying that the inverted pyramid structure) but they're often essential reading if . You should be shooting for long-form content whenever possible, even in listicles. Listicle examples There are lots of types and forms a listicle can take, so to give you a better idea of how listicles may look and work, I've categorized them by goal: 1. People dont want to spend too much time reading long paragraphs of text. Its time to plan the meat of the article the list itself. A listicle can easily hit 3,000+ words, depending on the topic and the number chosen. Lists of 19 or 23 are more unexpected, and so are a little more intriguing for potential readers. Definition, Tips, and Examples, Content Writing Tips for Beginners: A Step-by-Step Guide, Evergreen Blog Posts: Content Ideas, Examples, and Tips, 12 Reasons Why ChatGPT Won't Replace Your Content Writers, The Importance of The XML Sitemap Priority and Changefreq Tags. Please, try again later. hbspt.cta._relativeUrls=true;hbspt.cta.load(53, 'ccc95db5-9007-49cf-b69c-94bb5c46b366', {"useNewLoader":"true","region":"na1"}); Simply put, a listicle is an article written in list-format. USA Distributor of MCM Equipment listicles game examples In other words, if everyone else has lists or articles containing no more than 10 points, you need to aim for 15 or 20 to have an advantage. 1. 6. Lists by themselves can be pretty dull. Every individual item on a listicle has, typically, 50-100 words worth of content. To start making money from writing listicles, you should focus on creating long listicles. The Help: During the civil rights movement of the 1960s, an aspiring . It helps draw attention to those words and increases the likelihood that users will click through to your site. One of the best-known examples is Dave Pell's Next Draft - a curation of great stories from around the web, which he regularly publishes as a list post. 3. Next, you should find the right keyword for your post. Longer listicles are harder to write and take longer to produce. Short listicles are usually between 500 and 1,000 words, while longer listicles are typically around 2,500. Its time to choose a unique angle to tackle the listicle from. The closer you are to first place, the more people will read your content. Teachers may also mark off all vowels or cross 3rd word of each sentence. There are many different ways to structure a listicle. Happy planning! Titanic.. 4. A listicle is a digital text that combines the words "list" and "article.". One of the best-performing content types today for bloggers is the listicle. That is, as long as any claims you make are actually met within the body of the article. This is the same reason why updates are easy to make. Formatting is essential because you want every item on your list to be the same. Some hate them. Questions? Consistently higher clickthrough rates seems to back this up. Not only do you get a sense of how reliable the info is but this can also avoid giving backlinks to your competition. Under no circumstances should you just take what the current top-ranking post has said and turn it into a list. I recommend aiming to make your listicle an odd or unusual number of items. listicles game examples Alternatively, examples of a category are named, until another player can guess what is the category. This is a typical listicle; its a long list, its punchy with short descriptions, but its not too short. A daily dose of irreverent and informative takes on business & tech news, Turn marketing strategies into step-by-step processes designed for success, Explore what it takes to be a creative business owner or side-hustler, Listen to the world's most downloaded B2B sales podcast, Get productivity tips and business hacks to design your dream career, Free ebooks, tools, and templates to help you grow, Learn the latest business trends from leading experts with HubSpot Academy, All of HubSpot's marketing, sales CRM, customer service, CMS, and operations software on one platform. It doesnt use clickbait techniques, and it has substance to it. 5) Reasons Why: One Green Planet published a listicle about why zoos are bad. Yes, they bring simplicity and order to stories. Lists are not rotting your brain or lowering the standards of journalism. The Unforgivable: After serving a prison sentence for a violent crime, a woman attempts to re-enter society and put her life back together in a world that refuses to forgive her past.. 5. Listicles, otherwise known as list-posts, are articles structured around lists. You know that after reading this post, you'll know exactly how to create a marketing plan (in 5 steps), and you'll have templates if you need help getting started. Once youve selected your keyword (if at all) the next step is to look up your competition for the topic. To give you some ideas of unique angles, you could: The last method (collecting information) isnt the ideal way to frame a listicle as literally anyone can look up a few sources and provide a summary theres nothing unique about the information itself. Listicles carry much controversy. Do you have to wonder what this post will be about? Covering popular subjects like HTML, CSS, JavaScript, Python, SQL, Java, and many, many more. If an item is removed or changes enough that it doesnt belong on the list, it can easily be removed and a new one put in its place or the list number adjusted. Its a multi-step process. It should also include valuable content that tells readers how to do each step. No products in the cart. Sometimes, if you can write a listicle about a complex issue, you can get special attention for the novelty.