Listicles are one of the most popular content on the web that people prefer to read in today’s busy life. Listicles gained popularity, especially among the busy people. The reason being they are easy to flick through and give readers a clear impression of their length.

A listicle is a blend of a list with an article. There are chances that a good list can skip the attention of a busy person if they think that it would be too long. Also, list and numbers always attract attention as it’s easier to absorb information in the form of a list. That’s the reason why people tend to write grocery lists for themselves instead of paragraphs and sentences.

How to write excellent listicles is what people think, which pull them back due to the lack of insight for the subject. With this post, How to Write Excellent Listicles, I would like to share five very helpful tips that can help you create entertaining and excellent listicles for your readers.

1. Choose an Easily Readable Format

It is always advised to choose a format that is easy to follow and read. Because if you choose a list that is too extensive containing too many elements, readers could get bored. You should choose the title very carefully and properly so that it attracts the reader and not drive them away from clicking the link. When each number or subheading on your list contains just about a sentence or two it might imply that you don’t have much to say or knowledge or understanding about the topic.

For example, you might have seen some posts like “50 Brilliant Ideas to Keep Your Home Clean & Organized”. With the number mentioned (50) people would think that it is a lengthy post that might get them bored. Also, they might think most of the ideas are what they might have already implemented. However, posts like “12 Brilliant Ideas to Keep Your Home Clean & Organized” tend to get more clicks since the number 12 mentioned in the title implies that the list won’t be long and there could be ideas that your readers might not be following.

2. Prepare an Outline

Making a proper plan for any writing is essential and listicle is not an exception to that. The first and most essential part is to come up with fun and catchy title that not only describes your topic but also makes your reader to click the link and interests them to read the whole article. Create your listicles with the list of tips, facts, opinions, steps etc.

For example, the title for an article intended for the home buyers could be “15 Essential Tips for the First-Time Home Buyers,” or “10 Steps You Can Follow When Planning to Buy Your First Home,” or “5 Facts Home Buyers Must Know to Get a Good Deal”

After you are decided on the title, next come the subheadings. The subheadings need not be the perfect ones and you can always change them later. You can always increase or decrease the number in the title as per your subheadings if you think that you can write more or less than what you initially thought of. Interesting subheadings make listicle writing easier and also encourage your readers to complete it.

3. Stick to One Idea

It is always good to stick to one idea. That makes your listicle more comprehensive and guiding towards the fact. For example, the tips for home buying that I mentioned in the previous point is one idea upon which your article would revolve around.

Mixing and matching subheadings from all the titles across the board would make your listicle sounds confusing or rambling. If you try putting all the information in one listicle, your intent to create the listicle will not get served. It will make your article too long to hold the attention of most of your readers, and it will look confusing.

4. Include Informative, Useful and Entertaining Material

Do not use unnecessary words or sentences and make your listicle long and boring. If any sentence that does not sound interesting or useful – remove them. There is no place to add fillers in your listicles. A listicle should be compost and concise – not a verbose. However, a few funny jokes can make a dullest topic fun and interesting to read. Humor encourages your readers to read and share your listicle on their social media and help the readers coming back to your blog or website. Images and infographics to your listicles can also make reading interesting and easier. They grab the attention of your readers easily and make your article more and easily memorable.

5. Don’t Overstress

Instead of overstress your listicle try to be honest. Hence, for example, using a title “10 Cleaning Tips That Make Your Life Easier” sounds more honest than the title “Follow these 10 Cleaning Tips That Can Change Your Life”. The second title is more exaggerating as we know that it won’t change life. Hence, never try to use a title that sounds like promise more than what the listicle can actually deliver. This will keep people away from clicking on your post instead of getting them to read your article.

There are many people who think that listicle is sign of poor writing. But this kind of article are easy to read, informative, useful and entertaining. Useful and excellent listicles can help you reach more readers – especially today when people are busy.

Hope this post on How to Write Excellent Listicles would be of help to gain some insight and you would apply these tips when you create your next listicle. Read one of the listicles on my blog here.

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