This is Day 2 of 31 Days to Build a Better Blog, a group project 50+ other bloggers are doing together in an effort to help each other become better bloggers. You can read more about it and still sign-up to participate here.
What an awesome first day we had in this series yesterday. I am blown away! To see my observations from yesterday check out 6 Things I Learned from Day 1 of #31DBBB.
Today’s lesson is about the list posts. If you’ve been reading blogs for any length of time, you know list posts are very popular. In fact, we have done our fair share of list posts here at Christian Web Trends. Here are some examples…
Top 5 List Posts on Christian Web Trends
- 20 Ways to Share Your Faith Online
- Top 10 Signs Your Church Website Needs a Redesign –
- The 10 Commandments of Social Networking
- 12 Ways to Ensure Easter Attendees Don’t Come Back to Your Church Next Week
- 10 Things I Learned from the Online Church Blog Series
The lesson gives several reasons list posts are so popular. They are easy to write. They’re easy to read. They break the main point up into clearly identifiable bite-size nuggets. In fact, you could make the case that list posts are the Chicken Nuggets of blogging. (Would you like some dipping sauce with that?)
Personally, I have my own theory for why list posts are so popular…
Geeks like numbers.
But that’s just one number-loving geek’s theory. (Full discloser: I was on the math team in high school)
Assignment
The assignment for today is to write a list post for your blog. If you’d like some more advice about writing list posts, check out 10 Steps to the Perfect List Post
Discussion
- Do you agree that list posts are both easier to write and easier to read? Why or why not?
- Of all the tips you’ve read about list posts, which do you think are the most important?
- If you did the assignment and wrote a list post, include a link your comment.
The Extra Mile
A few other things you can do to take your blog, other bloggers, and this project even further today…
- Reply & give other bloggers feedback on their list post
- Go back to 31DBBB – Day 1: The Elevator Pitch & check out the elevator pitches.
- Tweet, share, & bookmark this post. (You could win a $25 gift card!)
- Ask & answer questions about blogging but unrelated to elevator pitches in the forums.
303 Comments
Just wanted to share a great link that was given in my comment thread above. I know it is impossible to read everything I thought this might increase the visibility. It is a writing guide from the Associated Press.
http://www.bu.edu/com/writingprgm/ap_styleguide1….
Just wanted to share a great link that was given in my comment thread above. I know it is impossible to read everything I thought this might increase the visibility. It is a writing guide from the Associated Press.
http://www.bu.edu/com/writingprgm/ap_styleguide1….
My list post is off-topic from my regular "Daily Discipleship." I listed 6 Blogs I Read Almost Daily: http://junctionforjesus.blogspot.com/2010/05/6-bl…
Sometimes it is good to plug others and let folks know what else I am reading.
Aw, thanks, Ray! That made me smile…
Thank you for the visit! On my lunch break, I'll head over to yours…
Great list! I have added your blog to my (almost) daily reading. Thanks.
I have finally posted my list – 6 Truths About Prayer, and you can find it here: http://prayerexperiment.wordpress.com/2010/05/04/…
I definitely prefer lists because I like things to be concise. Lists get to the point.
Some of the thoughts in the lesson about the elevator pitch apply well to making lists. Each list item is a really short elevator pitch for a larger idea.
JDE, thanks for the feedback. Just a note on the 3rd item, Structure, is it is just that.
I also try to get people wondering in my posts, or I like to think I do, and if that can have the kickoff effect of starting a comment conversation, it would, IMO, be a win.
But again, thanks for the input, and will definitely try to remember it, and try to implement it in future.
This is a good list. If these items appeal to you then they are sure to appeal to others as well. Some of your readers will benefit from this additional insight.
Nathalie…
This was a good list post. Out of curiosity, are you just trying to reach a French audience? I used Google Translator to read your post in English. Here is the link:#fr|en|http%3A%2F%2Fl..." target="_blank">http://translate.google.com/#fr|en|http%3A%2F%2Fl… The English translation was a little broken but I was able to understand what was being said. Just FYI in case you weren't aware of this tool.