Five Reasons You SHOULDN’T Use A List

Posted by bloggertone under Social Media
From http://bloggertone.com 4836 days ago
Made Hot by: maplesummit on August 29, 2011 12:32 pm

It is with a hypocritical tear in my eye, that I write the final list post I shall ever write as both an ode and “sayanora” to playing it safe – Five reasons you shouldn’t use a list in your post:

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Comments

Written by thelodgeshoper
4749 days ago

I use List all the time. :( lol

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Written by businessavante
4832 days ago

I don't mind lists, but I see Connor's point - it's been done to death. I also love the way his post against using lists was presented As a list...

Duncan

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Written by Connor Keppel
4832 days ago

Thanks Ducan - glad you picked up on the satire

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Written by franpro
4832 days ago

I totally disagree, here.Lists are easy on the eyes...our online eyes...you know, the "scanners," who don't read every word, anyway. Second of all, Google Search loves them--great SEO power. No reason not to use "list" posts. It's not like they don't work. :)

@FranchiseKing on Twitter

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Written by Connor Keppel
4832 days ago

Good points on the SEO. Many thanks for commenting!

However, it's not vital you have a list to have good SEO. It's one thing finding it - it's another actually reading, engaging and enjoying a creative post.

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Written by lyceum
4832 days ago

I have been blogging since 2002 and I have mixed my posts with short pundit punchlines of a sentence or two and a link, an excerpt or quote from a blog post / article, etc. I have also have had longer guest blog posts with several hundred words and now and then wrap posts with bullet points and a list of stuff.

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Written by Connor Keppel
4832 days ago

Good combination strategy. I think bullets are a great way to break up a post and with commentary can be much more effective in creating flow to the post than just a simple top 10 etc. Thanks for commenting and engaging on twitter!

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Written by sannwood
4832 days ago

For as much as lists may seem lazy to some, I have found that readers are drawn to them like moths to a flame. They remain very popular posts and tend to become even more popular over long lengths of time. But I can certainly see the issue from boths sides of the fence.

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Written by Connor Keppel
4832 days ago

Hi Sannwood - thanks for reading. Much appreciated. I agree that people are attracted, but what happens beyond that? Are people really engaging? How much information can one individual take away?

Also could you argue that people are attracted to them because there are just so many people writing lists that perhaps they have little choice in reading anything else as opposed to the true definition of 'attracted'. Two sides to every story as you say and I certainly see your side also :-)

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Written by stillwagon428
4832 days ago

I think it really depends on what your list includes. A great resource list is still a good thing to me. I think a lot of people enjoy a quick way to look through a list of things they just don't have time to search for themselves. On my personal recipe blog, my top 3 out of 4 posts that continue to drive the majority of my traffic are list posts. The oldest one being from February 2009. So I will continue doing lists until my traffic stats tell me my readers are no longer interested.

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Written by Connor Keppel
4832 days ago

Thanks for the comment! I think a recipe blog is the perfect platform for a list because it is more instructional based like I mention above.

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Written by The Bad Blogger
4833 days ago

Just submit a comment of my opinion on your main blog post, well, it was a great read, though I do not agree list post is old history because it still works well for me though :)

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Written by Connor Keppel
4833 days ago

Thanks for that. I appreciate the read even if you don't agree :-)

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