List posts in blogs are sure to get people’s attention quickly and effectively, but why do they work? This article looks at reasons why these list posts always work so you can use them properly.
- Importance In Numbers: The number shows readers what to expect. They know that they will get a certain length of items to read, and will not be intimidated seeing something longer than they expected. Keeping the number shorter whenever possible, can entice the reader to click the post since they know it will not take long to read. Use a variation of words and the physical number so all your posts don’t start looking the same. I have a great numbers post that gets hundreds of views every month, and you can check that out here.
- Putting Up A Warning: Some blog posts will have titles like “Three Red Flags To Buying A Home”, or “Five Early Signs Of Cancer”. These titles grab the readers attention by implying that they need to click to ensure they are aware of something. Including warnings in your post titles can be an effective way to entice users to click on your posts.
- Asking A Question: Has anyone ever asked you a question you never thought of asking before but now you must know the answer to? Your blog readers are the exact same way. They like to answer information they already know, or discover new information about themselves. Having post titles such as “Do You Know The Three Things Dentists Always Look For?” or, “Are You On Track For Retirement?” can entice the reader to click because they want see if they know the answer, or want to know it.
Of course we know that list posts are effective, you shouldn’t have all of your posts done in this manner. If a reader starts reading your posts and sees a bunch of numbers in all the titles, your blog tends to look monotonous and spam like. Sonia Simone actually wrote a fantastic article that goes even further into list posts. If you are interested in learning more about quality list posts, you can check that out here.