There are a lot of ways that a blogger can get his point across whatever the topic is. Sometimes, if they are trying to show their readers some steps or directions, lists are used. Lists are also used even to just…well, list stuff. Even though it might be very easy to list items, properly using them is one of the common mistakes I come through. Here are some steps to use effective lists in your blog posts. **Notice how I use lists to do this**
1. Use the proper list type. Number lists are used for directions or for showing steps to do something (like this post). Bullet lists are for listing anything that doesn’t need a proper order. For example, you might list your favorite foods. You would use a bullet list for this and not a number list.
2. Highlight keywords. Remember, write good content that can easily be scannable. First impressions of a blog post can also affect first impressions of your blog. Even if the reader doesn’t read the whole article, they can go over all the important keywords that are highlighted. You can do this by putting words the important words in bold.
3. Don’t lose track. If you’re trying to show directions or steps, make sure you get out of order. Keep things organized to keep your readers reading.
4. Give them a teaser. This is really optional, but if you want to increase your page views, you can leave a teaser to your readers. Here’s what I mean: don’t give your readers the whole post that includes the whole list. If you have 10 Steps to __________, show only the summary and the first 2-3 items in your list. Your readers can then “read more” or “continue reading”.
5. The more the better. This is self-explanatory. If you are trying to list 2 or 3 items, I would consider that too little. Five should be the minimum, and 100+ should be the maximum. An example of a list that had over 100+ items is something like the Make Money Online: 100+ Tools and Resources from Mashable.
Got other tips for effective use of lists?
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Great post!
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Rahul Jadhav Reply:
February 22nd, 2009 at 11:45 am
Highlighting the keywords is very important as it captures the attention of the readers and makes them to read more
Rahul Jadhav’s last blog post..26 Free eBooks For Bloggers
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some great advice there thanks
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Five solid points there. Looks like you followed your own advice.
Hafiz Dhanani’s last blog post..Welcome to Ask A Blogger
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You can use a list if yur writing up a receipe of your favorite cake or meal huh? I myself always have trouble with lists I can never get them underneath each other they always look like this 1. Be sure to leave a comment. 2. Now you see what I mean ? 3. No matter how hard I try I cant get them right. and as for the line that goes underneath that certain word that you want to make stand out I have this problem _____GROCERIES__________ I do not know how to make the line go right underneath the word. I enjoyed reading your article thoI have tried bullets it still did not work for me.
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Great tips.
Many Thanks this will help me on a upcoming blog post.
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Seems like you’ve got some pretty successful lists on here yourself - your top three most popular posts are lists
Lists seem to be the most popular things on social media sites as well - another great incentive for writing one.
Internet Marketing Blog’s last blog post..Focus
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I’m in the habit of using to highlight certain keyword for better SEO.
And I like your idea of using a teaser.
Blog for Beginnerss last blog post..Yet Another 8 CSS Tips For Your Blog
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Inspirational stuff. Using Lists shows the post as more organized and more readable. It reminds me to go and edit a post I made about DoFollow Directories. A nice plugin I have also reminds me constantly of one that needs to be taken of as it is a broken link.
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I am really kind enough to you as you have explained the effective use of lists in a blog post in a nice manner. I’ll try to stick on these points in my upcoming posts.
Adsensing’s last blog post..How to Get Free PR-6 Link in No Time?
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I love the part, don’t lose track.
Sherry´s last blog post…Name Sherry is ready
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Pretty nice advices…
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About don’t lose track, I am trying to stay on track.
Sherry´s last blog post…Win $15 via PayPal @Free Ebook Collections
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Good idea to using a teaser.
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I used bold text and teasers a lot too. Using the unordered bullet points is what I always do too as it makes easy reading and most bloggers just scan the main headers anyway. Thanks for sharing.
Peter Lee
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I used bold text and teasers a lot too. Using the unordered bullet points is what I always do too as it makes easy reading and most bloggers just scan the main headers anyway. Thanks for sharing.
Peter Lee
Make Money Blogging´s last blog post…How “Work From Home Ideas†Made Google Top 10
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Great post. I begin feel love your blog. I will try comment here.
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I am trying to build a community which will have lists. Initially my focus is about top 10 lists. These tips will be useful for my community. Thanks for sharing them.
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I agree, I am working on a website which contains lists of everything. Initially, i am focusing on the lists of 10 i.e. top 10 of everything.
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Yeah I always make sure I highlight my keywords for easier reading.
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