Admit it…You’ve read at least ONE listicle today. Of course you have! The listicle has gone through a few reputation iterations in its short lifespan, from new and flashy to overdone and mocked to…a pillar of blogging content. Say what you will, the listicle offers a chance for readers to digest a lot of information quickly and easily. If your content marketing strategy needs a little something to jazz it up, write a listicle! You’re an expert in something, we guarantee it!
1. First of All, Blog Posts Help the Bottom Line.
Marketers who prioritize blogging efforts are 13x more likely to see positive ROI (Source: HubSpot)
2. Listicles are Quick
Listicles are a small time investment, and if the content is bad, the reader hasn’t wasted more than two or three minutes (Fire Brand Group). 43% of readers skim blog posts, anyway (HubSpot).
3. They’re Eye Catching and Pique Our Curiosity
It’s true. I mean… talk about clickibility. I can be an expert in a subject in just ten steps? There are ten reasons why this is the right strategy for my business? 5 Reasons why flamingos are the smartest birds? (Don’t know if that’s true, but I’d read it.) Boom (Proponent Agency).
4. They're Digestible
They break up the complex ideas into bite-size pieces that readers can understand more easily. As Maria Konnikova of The New Yorker says: “They create an easy reading experience, in which the mental heavy lifting of conceptualization, categorization, and analysis is completed well in advance of actual consumption.”
5. Our Brains Prefer Lists
It’s true. In a world of so many choices, a list is finite, reassuring, and predictable. They provide a level of certainty in an uncertain world. You know what you’re going to read and you know what you’ll learn from it. Done. (Journal of Risk and Uncertainty.)
6. They Provide Relevant, Expert Advice and Information
It’s a simple way to share information about your brand or business without selling it. For example, “10 Solutions to Staying Hydrated This Summer” offers a chance for a water bottle brand to be more than just a water bottle brand. They’re now experts in hydration.
7. They're Easy to Stop and Come Back To
You can remember what number you’re on! That’s why they are perfect for a mid-work reading break…and why so many readers choose to read them.
8. They’re Good for High-Volume Suggestions and Low Stakes Advice
Have lots of suggestions about a topic that everyone wants to know about? Or maybe a topic that has more than one (brief) analysis possibility? Maybe you’re not into commitment? Listicles are the perfect, multi-answer breakdown! (Fire Brand Group)
9. Odd Numbered Listicle Headlines Perform Better
…. That’s right. They outperform even ones by 20% (CMI). So we’ll stop at 9 ;).