5 reasons why list posts are crap
And other blog subjects that drive me nuts.
I’ve been conducting a little experiment on my blog for the last month or so. I’ve been hearing a lot of uproarious criticism about certain kinds of posts, specifically how a few cookie cutter post styles seem to be taking over the internet. I decided I would test how those kinds of posts perform versus posts that don’t fall into any of those cookie cutter patterns.
Guess what?
The kinds of posts that people so often complain about out-perform my other posts nine times out of ten. I’d wager the same would hold true on anyone’s site.
What kind of posts are getting the shrug-off? I’m seeing a lot of people negating the value of list posts, of how-to posts, or of posts that have headlines with words like “the best.”
To make a change, you must act, not lament
If you truly want to change a system, whether in the world of Social Media or anywhere else, complaining about things you don’t like won’t really do much. In fact, if you complain about certain kinds of posts in the online world, it just draws more attention to, well, those kinds of posts. It plants the seed in your readers’ minds. “Hmm, what is this list post thing all about?”
Rather than despairing that every blogger’s voice is melding into one, consider taking some actions to shift this trend. For example:
1. Look for posts that go against the grain and support those posts
2. Offer suggestions on how the kinds of posts you don’t like could be spiced up a little
3. Acknowledge the good stuff. Why do list posts do well? People are in a rush, and if they see they might just have 3 or 4 or 5 bullet points to read, they’ll be more inclined to head on over and read those posts.
4. If you don’t feel new content is being covered, cover it yourself! Light the fire of interest.
There are many other ways to alter the path bloggers are traveling on, I’m sure. But if numerous bloggers continue to complain about a cloud of similarity looming over blogs worldwide, guess what will happen? That kind of post will just become another cookie cutter blog post.
What do you think?
Image by Jean Scheijen. http://www.sxc.hu/profile/vierdrie
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I think different is bad.
Not really, but most people are scared to think for themselves or ally themselves with those who think differently. They look for validation of ideas and that validation is always found in the middle where there are huge retweet numbers and mediocre, popular pablum.
I think you named four reasons. I’m missing one aren’t I?
… that appeals to a large segment of the market. (comments who click the button before the thought is complete should be put on a list 🙂 )
But in list posts if you don’t number it, it doesn’t count.
That is possibly a new rule I just made up.
Seems like a fair enough rule to me. Now, in the words of Andrew Jackson, I’ll let you enforce it 🙂
OK then, I demand the fifth reason.
@Rufus My thought was complete, it’s a sad state of affairs that I’m conditioned to seeing headline = x amount of reasons why and get antsy when I don’t find all reasons numbered, in a list.
Oh, you’re on a list alright….don’t you worry your furry head about that 🙂 It’s true though. The lure of many comments and retweets is rather strong, which is the same motivation behind those biting “everyone is blogging the same” posts.
Crazy world, non? 🙂
Hey if something works, I know that a lot of people will be attracted to it, which then makes list posts cookie cutter blogs.
You’ve already done the “What Gone with the Wind told me about social media” post and its follow up.
This is deliberate so I don’t have anything to complain about isn’t it?
Hi Margie,
Funny… I spent some of the afternoon today analyzing the traffic on my company blog to see what content people have been visiting the most over the last month. I wanted to see what posts were popular… What pages folks were visiting the most… Where my traffic was coming from (search, Twitter, Facebook, other entrance sources)…
Here’s what I noticed… I’ve written a few announcement posts (new product feature, and a few ticket winners for a conference). I’ve written several “How To” and educational type posts. For example, “Understanding Google XML Sitemaps” was the most recent. And another on the difference between blog tags and categories. Then one big list post on a late Friday afternoon – a post I didn’t promote via Twitter much on my own. It was titled “18 Must Have WordPress Plugins for Your Real Estate Blog”.
Guess which post got the most traffic??
The list post of course. When I look at the traffic on my own blog (the one that links here through my signature), it seems like the list posts that I share on my “Best Of” page are also the most visited. Why? Because people like to scan. They’re in a hurry – heck, I know I always am.
Anyway, what’s the lesson here? It’s good to sit and review your traffic once a week or so or bi-weekly. Get a sense for what people are responding well to so that you can continue to replicate that success. Don’t overwhelm yourself by obsessing over the stats daily (that’s too much in my opinion). But it’s definitely good to keep a close eye on what’s working, what’s not and where you can find ways to improve.
Ok, that’s enough for now. Thanks for letting me blabber away 🙂
As usual, this post does what so few people are willing to do with their writing. You challenge the status quo (not to piss people off, but to help them develop as writers/bloggers). I think list posts can work for anyone, but it is important to identify your own unique voice and style.
My only advice to add to this would be learn all you can about the list post. Try them out and see what kind of results you can get. Then start breaking the mold and finding new ways to approach this framework.
Keep up the amazing work Margie!
@jwsokol
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