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16 Tips to Write a Good Listicle
You must be thinking, “What if I go to a dance bar with my friends and just SHAKE IT OFF!”. RIGHT! Don’t worry. I’ll make this reading experience more exciting than any dance move. For yOu with yOu. Yup, you read that right. How! Follow me, pal. I’ll show you how to SHAKE IT OFF.
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Hold your pen and paper. Now what? Hmm, making a list is simple. But to write a list post or listicle is… is… is… EASIER. How! A listicle is just a piece of content written in a list-based format. You could create any form of listicle. Make a list of five items based on a topic and discuss them under their separate headings. Or, make a list of 10 items and discuss items in the same way, which I told you. Usually, on GOOGLE, those listicles, which have 10 or 10+ listed items work very well. The main point is you have to provide enough or complete info regarding each listed item in your article to make it worthwhile.
Hmm, why do listicles work so well?
Listicles work so well due to some reasons. The listicles:
- Are easy to write.
- Are easy to preview.
- Are comprehensive.
Now, what types do we have of a listicle?
We have mainly three kinds of a listicle. These kinds are:
Simple list post:
Firstly, we’ll talk about the simple list post. In a simple list post, the items are listed with a brief explanation for each listed item.
Expanded list post:
In an expanded list post, you write such a listicle whose items are explained adequately. Yes, this means each item would carry a lot of relevant information for a site user.
But what does make a listicle so much engaging for an online surfer that they click to know more? Its TITLE. Frankly speaking, the listicle becomes extremely engaging for a reader when its title has a number.
For example,
10 Best Ways to Roast a Chicken
12 Best Tools for SEO in 2022
15 Best Tips to Write Facebook Ads in 2022
So, what are those tips you can actually help you create amazing listicles?
There are a lot of tips for helping you craft a great listicle. These tips are:
1. Choose a topic:
Yup, choose a topic of your interest to write a listicle. When you choose a topic that you have interest in, this becomes easy for you to write on it. Next, use online tools for your keyword research. You have to use these tools to choose a subtopic for your writing. And, when you write on a topic of your interest and expertise, your writing part becomes highly enjoyable for you.
2. Ensure your listicle makes sense:
What do I mean by that? I mean choose a subtopic for your listicle, which could be named as a listicle. You could use Google SERPs for ensuring whether your subtopic makes sense for a listicle or not. As an example, if you have to tell how to make pasta in an article, the listicle format isn’t suitable for that. Coz your user would obviously want to know about the step-by-step process of making that dish. Not the top ten ways of preparing this item. Got my point, pal! Now, let’s dig down further to know more about these actionable tips. Ready, steady, go!
3. Decide your content length:
After the second step, you should decide the length of your listicle. For example, decide whether you want to write content based on ten listed items or more than that. You could also make a listicle that’s less than 10 listed items. But obviously, the number varies based on your research for your content. The scope of your content should decide your content length.
You should include a proper number of listed items in your article. This means not too long listicle nor too short. This too short or too long length definitely relies on the depth of your topic.
4. Choose a format:
Choose whether you want to craft a listicle having a basic list format or detailed list format. That obviously depends on the available content, which you could find during your research. But sometimes simple posts work better than detailed posts. Coz sometimes people don’t want to read detailed content for a listed item coz they already know a lot about that info. They just want to know the listed items and their number in your article. For example, if a person already knows some info of five best tools for SEO content, they just want to know their names with some explanation and your listed number that you give in your listicle based on their performance level.
One more point. Your list will be short if your topic is complicated and you’re writing a detailed list post. Yup, you need to add more info about each listed item in your article if your topic involves complexity. When you add more info for each item, obviously you can’t write so many details for the ten listed items. Coz this is unhealthy for your writing experience and unhealthy for UX or user experience too. As an example, if you wanna tell the top tips for SEO, you’d have to tell 5 or less than that in your article. Why? Coz SEO is a difficult topic, and you’d have to explain your tips in detail for the users’ understanding.
5. Select a winning angle:
What do I mean? You should write your listicle around the following angles for listicles:
Personal experiences
Best…
Ex: Best XYZ (e.g., tips) for ABC (e.g., SEO content writing/copywriting)
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Expert commentary for changing ABC
Particular outcome for change in XYZ
Content for guiding beginners
Tried and tested items for XYZ people
6. Brainstorm list points:
You should brainstorm some points before researching what other listicles have to say about your subtopic. Why? In this way, you’d be able to write such points that could make your listicle unique and able to be shared with others.
7. Expand your ideas:
You should expand your ideas by taking help in this matter from your friends and colleagues. In this way, you could easily come up with some unique points to talk about for your listicle. You might also take help to gain your subheadings from the top ten results of Google SERPs.
8. Explain each listed point:
You should then write in detail about each one of your listed points. Write as much as you should for your article to explain each and every point via relevant examples.
9. Illustrate your points:
You should explain your point through illustrations. For example, when you use images, videos, GIFs, and infographics to illustrate your content, your reader’s engagement level would increase. Plus, your SERPs ranking would increase too on search engines. Use this tip to make your content more attractive for users and search engines. Plus, sometimes, people want to see what is in your article for them. They could easily scan this through your image, infographic, or some other illustration.
10. Craft a catchy title:
Your title should be keyword-oriented, engaging, clear, error-free, numbered, and logical.
For example, 10 best ways to lose weight. And, 5 best tips to optimize your LinkedIn profile.
11. Include only valuable info:
Just don’t add any listed item or any info that’s illogical, repetitive, and/or unimportant for your listicle. This tip would maintain your content quality in the eyes of users and search engines.
12. Number your items sensibly:
You should number your items logically and consistently in your listicle. This makes it credible and easy to follow for your reader and search engines.
13. Use category buckets for long listicles:
You should use category buckets for long list posts. This means you should categorize your listed items or use category buckets to form a precise and concise article. For example:
10 Ways to Lose Weight:
1st way:
ABC approach and DEF approach
2nd way:
GHI approach and JKL approach
14. Ensure your listicle is logically ordered:
This is your duty to order your listicle logically. For instance, use alphabetical order for glossaries and things like that. Then, use chronological order for step-by-step guides. Or use the measurement of value/fame for ordering your items. For example, most to least value/fame or least to most value/fame model for listicles.
15. Ensure your listicle is consistent:
Use a consistent style for your listicle. Use paras of similar length. Use the same header style to highlight headings in your content. Write your headings in a parallel style. For example, if your subheadings start with a verb, all of them should start with a verb. And, use images & bullet points to break up text when appropriate but with consistency. Why consistency? Consistency makes sure that your reader doesn’t get confused or bored while reading your text anywhere on your web page.
16. Wrap up your article:
You should sum up your listicle in the end. Below are a few tips to present a remarkable conclusion.
- Keep your conclusion short.
- Don’t repeat points you already added in your article.
- Focus on the main points concisely in your conclusion.
- Link to other more in-depth related posts (These don’t have to be list posts.).
Conclusion:
Well, that’s all what I wanted to share with you about how to write a listicle. I hope you liked what I shared today. And, if you want to learn how to be a credible SEO writer, read my free ebooks on Amazon Kindle Unlimited. Also, if you want to share anything, comment here to let me know. I’ll answer asap.
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Good job, Mahar.
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