How to Write a Listicle [+ Examples and Ideas]
We’ve all been there. You click on a listicle that touts amazing insights and simple tips, only to be presented with worthless clickbait. Listicles often have a bad reputation for being low-quality and providing little value to their readers.
However, when done right, a listicle can get both clicks and share helpful insights. These well-written listicles can play an important role in your content strategy.
In fact, this post about listicles is primarily a list post itself. Here, we’re going to dive into what a listicle is, how to write a high-quality article, and listicle ideas to help you generate engaging content for your readers.
What is a listicle?
Simply put, a listicle is an article written in list format. Each list item will typically include a few sentences or multiple paragraphs to educate or delight readers. For example, you might read a fun listicle, like “The Top 10 Movies of 2020,” or a more informational one, like “7 Steps to Build a Website.”
1. Make sure your content makes sense in list format.
Before you begin writing your listicle, research to ensure your topic fits into a list format.
If you search for your intended keyword and find most marketers are creating “Ultimate Guides” on the topic, it’s better to avoid a listicle format.
For instance, perhaps you need to write about “Instagram Marketing.”
While you’d initially planned on titling the piece “10 Best Instagram Marketing Tips,” your research has uncovered plenty of other angles you’d like to include, such as “why Instagram marketing is important” and “how to create compelling content on Instagram.”
These sections might fit better in an “Ultimate Guide to Instagram Marketing” instead of a listicle.
If you choose to create a listicle, each list item must match the topic. To create a high-quality listicle, your content must be consistent and parallel.
If you’re writing a list of best practices, you should only have best practices in your list — sneaking examples will confuse your audience.
Remember: You can always create another listicle for examples later on.
2. Include valuable takeaways — no fluff!
The most significant indicator of a lousy list post is one that contains a ton of fluff and no tangible, valuable takeaways for the reader. Here’s an example of what we mean:
3 Ways to Improve Your Social Media Marketing
- Be unique! Do something to stand out from your competitors.
- Take risks. Try out-of-the-box ideas.
- Measure results! Use your analytics to tell you what’s working.
What a fantastic list post! I’ve learned absolutely nothing. Of course, you should do all these things in your social media marketing. But it needs to tell you how to do them.
Your listicle should give readers more than just a list of things to …read more
Source:: HubSpot Blog
