Comments on: Why Single-Idea Blog Posts Often Work Better Than List Posts

By: Spooveappoize

Spooveappoize — Sun, 03 Aug 2008 02:16:09 +0000

Brilliant!

By: Tom Stine | Spiritual Life Coach

Tom Stine | Spiritual Life Coach — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 02:35:10 +0000

I have a crazy idea. How about we use list posts for…. ready?…. lists! You know, things that actually are lists? Funny that this post is on Leo’s blog, because he gets lots of flack for writing list posts. He does a lot of them, mainly because, as he says, “he thinks in lists.” Makes sense to me, because I often say while talking: ONE, I think…. TWO, blah blah….. and THREE…..

By: Ribeezie

Ribeezie — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 23:06:57 +0000

There’s nothing wrong with putting together “list” posts but I agree, sometimes, the best and most engaging are the ones that hinge around one specific, great idea!

By: Thomas Johnson

Thomas Johnson — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 04:25:35 +0000

List post that provide links to more in depth coverage of each topic are often very handy.

By: Casey Quinn

Casey Quinn — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 12:03:04 +0000

I think that lists are a great way to get a one time reader to come to your site but I agree that focused content that provide details around specifics instead of making generalizations will in the long run be welcomed by readers and have them coming back more often.

By: Innocent

Innocent — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 17:59:56 +0000

Great post. I’m a beginner and try too hard to create lists and recently ruined a fine topic because I needed to get a list in there. I’m definitely stronger when I develop my idea in single point form. See the horrible list post @ innocentlyspeaking.com/self-improvement-for-the-rest-of-us/.

Thanks.

By: Beyond Niche Marketing

Beyond Niche Marketing — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 12:06:39 +0000

Another benefit of short “on topic” posts is that you can focus on a specific keyword, which is something the machines love to see when they’re indexing a post.

The search engines love specific. Fortunately, human readers like it too. However, as writers, sometimes keeping our writing specific can feel like a girdle.

By: Edward Lomax

Edward Lomax — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 23:04:52 +0000

I really like the idea of splitting up lists into a series. Short, high-quality posts that lead to other similar posts will get people signing up to your RSS reed or bookmarking your blog so they can return.

Blogs are perfect for this, because people don’t expect a 10 page in depth article on multiple facets of a topic… nor would they read it.

By: Brendan

Brendan — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 04:48:06 +0000

What I hate is seeing a title 7 great “whatever” and when I click to the post it sits across 7 pages. Can you say “think up a hot title and wait for the ad revenue to roll in”.

I’m looking for something decent to read in a short amount of time. I like the idea of publishing the list as 7 good well written topics all at once linked together.

I try to write one good piece in my Quality Education series every Monday. http://schoolfinder.globalscholar.com/blog/350/quality-education-teacher-education/

It is much more than a simple list post. I can also see how it could have been easily enough. It’s a lot of work, but I’d still rather try to give one well written post a week then shamlessly plug for traffic.

Sort of a write well and they will come philosophy.

By: Jesse Hines

Jesse Hines — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 18:15:24 +0000

Skellie,

You said,

“Sure, single point posts should be part of your arsenal, but the truth is that they’re not as effective at capturing the attention of new audiences.”

That’s the key right there. I noted in my post that list posts will often get lots of readers.

But, I also said that true effectiveness is far more than simply gaining new readers–it’s about persuading those readers of your argument and getting them to take action (if appropriate).

And if a writer wants to really persuade his or her readers of something, focusing on one central idea and arguing it soundly is more likely to stick in their readers’ heads than a list of 25 reasons why such and such.

It sticks with me more powerfully if a writer picks one main idea and argues it compellingly through examples, quotes, contrasts, questions and so on, rather than if he picks one main idea and gives me a list of 25 reasons why…with only a few words of explanation for each point in the list.

But…both types of posts have their place. I will say lists posts are getting old to me and writing for social media isn’t as important to me as writing for my readers.

I will still do list posts at times, though–usually only with two or three items, though. Too many points clutters up the central message.