10 Successful Tips to Write Top 20 Successful Lists to Boost Your Presence in Social Media
21. Aug, 2008 
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You all know by now how important is to give your readers good tips, so they stay motivated to subscribe and read your blog regularly.
But do you know what’s even more important than giving your readers useful tips?
Giving them in form of lists.
If you believe what I’ve written so far, that’s OK, your readers probably love you already. But doesn’t this blogging world start to look like a cookbook? Take two eggs, scramble them on a plate, add some salt and pepper, some small cut bell peppers, throw everything in a hot pan, wait one minute, turn on the other side, wait another minute, put everything on a plate, decorate with parsley, eat, enjoy.
Although there are great recipe books available for almost everybody, some of us are lousy cooks. Or maybe we are good, but the ingredients we use aren’t always that fresh. Or our timing is not exactly the right one: 30 seconds more on the fire can change the taste of the food we make.
Do you see my point? Why writing in lists, when the outcome would be unique anyway? Why respecting the cooking recipe, if I think my food could have a better taste if I cook by inspiration? Do you think the guests you invite for dinner care more about your cookbook rather than about the result, the food itself? If I were a cooking expert, supposed to produce the same outcome each time I combine the same ingredients, that would make a sense. If you go to a restaurant and order a Caesar salad, each time you expect to get the same combination of foods which we use to call Caesar salad.
But cooking by the book when nobody expects that can be a little frustrating, don’t you think so? Having an infinity of blank pages waiting for me to fill them in could be a challenge for creativity and not for making more and more lists. Why limit myself to a given frame, when I feel like crossing the boundaries? Only because I assume that readers cannot focus enough to read a whole page which is not broken into bullet points?
I’m smarter than that and I’m sure my readers are smarter, too.
What do you think about lists?
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I have read quite a few posts advocating lists. I understand from this that lists are a sure-fire guaranteed way to both riches and devotion.
Personally I can’t be doing with them. I agree entirely that a mechanistic approach to blogging removes the point of blogging and often lists (or Top X lists anyway) are just that.
Almost every other blogger writing about blogging is a big fan of lists. I don’t like to write like that. Even when I tried, I haven’t noticed a bigger success than with other posts. Even a 77 points list, which took me ages to put together, and which was supposed to get lots of diggs and other social media love got ignored. I think that more important than lists are the friends you have, and who’d give you their votes because they simply like what you write and not because you write like robots.
It depends what is your audience I once wrote a Google Toolbar installation post and got hundreds of emails to change the post type of writing to an easy to read list in simple language, simply because many marketers wanted to show this list to their client who are NOT internet experts, so if you have smart prospectors write smart if you have dumb viewers start writing a step by step recipe.
I agree, SEO Consultant, there are situations like the one you’ve described, which require step by step instructions. After all, your purpose is that your readers follow your instructions and get the installation done.
I have no problem with lists as a means of conveying information that is best displayed as a list; the issue is with the cynical use of of Top X lists as a traffic driving exercise.
Lists keep things organized and give the impression of a hierarchy, giving you the ability to form priorities. “Blogger X” says Title tags are the number 1 element that counts in SEO? I’ll prioritize that then. We WANT others to organize things for us, for we as humans, are lazy
Long live tops and lists.
It should be about the best way to present the info. Lists have their place but I think they’re going through a fad of popularity. The tide will eventually turn and posts with titles like ‘Top 10 la la las’ will become a turn off to the potential reader and their popularity will inevitably dwindle.
Hey, Tudi, that’s one of my points. Why let others organize things for us? RT is right, at least in my case, the “Top 10 …” opening of a headline is a turn off.
Hi, This is a nice article about successful tips on social media and the best way to present is to write a post that user can read it and understand easily.
This is a second post I read this week that’s bashing lists, and I couldn’t be happier about it. I wish more bloggers realize that by pumping nothing other than posts they turn blogiverse into a huge junk-food producing machine. Lists are like junk food, it tastes good, it is seemingly easier to digest, but we all know, it is still a junk food.
Like others said above, sometimes lists are a necessary way to convey a message, but after seeing hundreds of lists that are pumped out by bloggers with the sole reason to get more promotion and generate more traffic to their blogs, I’m developing such an allergy on lists, that I trash all my ideas to post anything that resembles a list.
Btw, did you notice that even on RA Project, out of 5 posts Around the Web four contain lists?..
Hi Liora, thank you. Indeed, the point is to manage to communicate the message to your readers.
Vivien, I suppose there are many of us who got tired of those lists, although we’ve used them quite a lot on our own blogs
I think I’ve stepped in a new Internet marketing age after this summer, where I cut all unnecessary things to a minimum, so I won’t be probably writing more lists very soon.
Simonne, I’m not saying it’s right, I’m just saying people are lazy and like to be spoon-fed information in small, organized chunks. I’m not ashamed to say I love reading and writing lists
P.S. I forgot to mention this the last time I commented, but I really enjoy your blog’s layout.
Tudi might be right, that people are lazy and like to be spoon-fed information.
But I would advocate a different point of view. Let’s say that the only way that the commerce world made money way by getting their customer to consume their products rather than making money when the customer buys. This allows for a much deeper and richer relationship.
One that fosters trust and repeat business because the consumption of the product or service is a positive experience for the customer.
So lists of small, organized chunks make it easier for your customers to consume what you have to offer.
That IMHO is where to gold is (at the end of the blogging rainbow)
Lovin Life in Ajijic, Mexico,
Joel Smith
Casa Preciosa, Ajijic, Mexico
http://www.CasaPreciosaAjijic.com
If you are writing longer posts that allow themselves to be written as a list, then I think you should take the opportunity to do so. Lists lend themselves better for social media sites. Some of the top posts on digg are lists such as the top 10 cars or top 15 Halloween costumes, etc.
Mike
How to reply for appreciation.
Personally, I like to read through a post to gain all the general points, but if the readers prefer lists, I will have to cater to that instead of my own preference. Perhaps I could get some other bloggers to repost some of my articles with some good lists, or actually make it big on a site like Digg with a very informative and concise list like I see all the time. It is sort of ironic that you did not use a list to explain the major points of this article
Simonne, good analogy with cooking here.
I try not to follow the specific written rules about writing when working on my blog entries or articles. I do nevertheless understand that in our busy world people sometimes don’t have the time to read everything, and that’s true, so I try to make it easier for the potential readers to get to the point they’re interested in and skip what they don’t need. This is achieved by lists, text bolding, paragraphs, subtitles and so on. You name it – they sell it. But everyone should do it as they like, it makes life much more interesting and makes blogs different.
And another thing. If after quickly scanning a blog entry, a reader finds it really interesting, he or she will read the full text, no matter how it’s formatted. So the main point here is not the text formatting but the quality and the captivating content of the text.
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There is no real recipe that always works, on the internet. And it depends on the type of readers you want to attract. Sure, lists are easy to read and are more successful with the social media sites, but that doesn’t mean that’s the only kind of post you should make. There are people who don’t mind, even enjoy, reading article-style blog posts. So to them, the lack of lists isn’t a problem.
Yea you really need to put yourself in your readers shoes and give them content that will catch their eye immediately and make them read on…
What about top 5 and top 10 list. Do they work? I have a dating blog and have started doing them there and on the article section of my other site. I am new to blogging and this has been a rough road for me!
You’re right about that. Everybody runs out of ideas for a blog. When I saw yours with a title like this on I started to look for the lists. No lists there? Why?
i think off course we have to think and decide first where we will belong, the niche that we targeted and whether we want give the information for an expert or for a newbie and dummy..do some visit to another blog to compare and start to manage the content.
doing some research and bookmarks a lot of site that really helpful and relevant with our niche.
I agree with what George said about reader’s will follow what interest them. I try to write articles that interest me! I stay within my topic and have kind of a feel as to what people are looking for. It is also about staying in touch with your peers and seeing what others are reading.
Optimization is always very heavy on my mind and I have to be careful not to go overboard!
Sure, lists are easy to read and are more successful with the social media sites, but that doesn’t mean that’s the only kind of post you should make. There are people who don’t mind, even enjoy, reading article-style blog posts.
I try to write articles that interest me! I stay within my topic and have kind of a feel as to what people are looking for. It is also about staying in touch with your peers and seeing what others are reading.
Everyone has their own preferences. Some prefer lists while others prefer points. Whatever does it for them.
Lists are one of the best things to ever happen to the internet. Everything from rankings to humour articles can be contained in lists and honestly this is the most web 2.0 friendly way of writing anything.
I have read quite a few posts advocating lists. I understand from this that lists are a sure-fire guaranteed way to both riches and devotion.
I consume massive amounts of information each day on the Internet. Quick and summarized is often very appreciated. If I go back and look at many of my bookmarks, they are often links to lists of some sort – good for reference, summary and order. But the sites I enjoy (and learn from more) are those with smart writing, out-of-box thinking (like this site) and great reader participation and interaction. I’m more likely to subscribe to that site’s RSS.
Good discussion here.
Oh, and I like your question at the end: “Would you like a response.”
Maybe it is a kind of cookbook but what’s wrong with that? Every advicement service is a kind of cookbook with list of rules, what to do, what not to do, simple. Take this, take that, shake it that way, but don’t add this, it’s too spicy. A cookbook indeed.