Quit With The “Top Ten” List Posts…At Least For A Little While
One of the most popular blogging techniques I’ve read about is the “list post”. With a topic that lends itself to a long array of tips or ideas, the list format lets you address these ideas one by one. This way, it’s easier to read. Many popular bloggers recommend this style of posting, and list posts are so popular that good ones often land on the front page of sites like Digg and Delicious. (If only they could help us get laid. Then again, I bet someone’s already written “Top 7 Reasons Why You Should Just Go Ahead And Ride My Horn”.)
But, you know…the whole list post concept? It’s getting a bit old. I’ll be fair – the same popular bloggers recommend that you don’t whore out the list posts. And yeah, list posts do a good job at highlighting the major points you want to make. Still, it’s a technique that’s used way too much. Hell, some top bloggers have made their careers out of writing an inexcusable amount of list posts.
Three of these top bloggers are:
- Darren Rowse of ProBlogger
- Leo Baubata of Zen Habits
- Yaro Starak of Entrepreneur’s Journey
Now, I don’t hate the list post itself. And I’m not saying everyone should stop writing them. I just think that sometimes it’s a crutch that many people rely on as a cornerstone of their blogging strategy. Especially the top bloggers, who have a big fanbase that’s gonna read what they write anyway.
So what can we do? Throw down a challenge, of course.
If you’re a top blogger or you’re just getting started, I challenge you to go a month without making any kind of list post whatsoever. This means avoiding the use of numbers, bullets, or headlines to divide your points into chunks. Instead, I’d like to see you write in a traditional article/narrative style. Can you cover all your points in a clear and legible manner, without the use of a list? Can you be so interesting that you’ll make a guy sit down and pour through the entire post? Now that’s a true accomplishment. And unlike that time I tried to eat ten hot dogs in a minute, your family can still use their couch afterwards.
Of course, if you’ve never tried a month-long challenge, you may have a hard time with it. That’s why I’m going to tell you about six things you can do to make sure you reach your goal.
1. Tell your family and your friends about your goal, and keep them updated. This creates public accountability – not only will it help you stay focused, but you’ll want to do well so you won’t let anyone down.
2. Tweet about your goal on Twitter. Same as above. Feel free to update here as well.
3. Update your Facebook with a post about your goal. Again, same as above. Plus, it’ll be way less annoying than an app.
4. Start a thread on a forum you own or visit. Each day during the challenge, post an update, and keep it up until all thirty days have passed.
5. Remove anything from your presence that might spur you into making a list post. Do it before you begin the challenge, so you start with an advantage.
6. Make a bet with a friend. If you complete the challenge, he has to do something for you. But, if you lose, you have to do something for him. Make sure the punishment is something you’d normally avoid, so you’ll be spurred into action.
Okay, I don’t expect you to have a hard time with this challenge. What I want you to do is to write without relying on a certain format. After all, why do people link posts to begin with? It’s not because it’s organized in a certain way – it’s because the post has great content. Yes, list posts are a simple way to organize and highlight your content, but in the end, if you’re not writing the best content you can, people aren’t going to care. (Unless your name is Seth MacFarlane. If that’s the case, we love you, and please accept this lovely gift called Africa.)
Now, at the end of a month, if you still want to do list posts, go right ahead. It’s not a harmful practice in itself. But keep asking the question: “Am I creating the best content I possibly can, content that people will want to share?” New bloggers – you’ll gain a lot of influence in the blogosphere if you focus your guns on creating great value over formatting tricks. Top bloggers – you already provide great value, so you don’t need to use a lot of list posts anymore. Your fanbase will still listen, no matter what you say. Hell, you can post random gibberish and a few of your readers will think, “You’re right, posting in tongues sounds like a great idea for my blog.”
Just try it for a while and see how it goes. It could be an interesting experiment. As for me, I’m gonna fetch some dinner. Some of the things I might have for dinner include:
* Spaghetti and meatballs
* Beef and vegetable stew
* Pizza Hut
* A microwavable dinner
* Peanut butter crackers and two cups of sherbet
Related posts:
The irony, I loves it.
[Reply]
My blog is co-authored. My bro does many list posts — but they’re all humor and that format just works really well for it.
Me? I do very few list posts. Very, very few. To me the art of writing is generally lost when you do a list post. With humor, I think it works really well. But with something else, I think it should be done rarely.
Let’s face it: The reason list posts are done so often is because they’re much easier to write than a traditional essay.
[Reply]
Matt Willard Reply:
February 8th, 2010 at 6:48 PM
This is true. But I also think that if you’re going to blog, you should develop your writing skills and write in traditional as well as the “easy” formats. Many probloggers don’t have this problem, naturally, but a lot of would-be bloggers could use a push.
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