How To Write Winning Listicles That People Will Actually Read
Learn how to write engaging listicles with our 9-step guide. Discover formatting tips, examples, and strategies to create list articles that rank and convert.
Listicles are a great way to get people to read your content. They are engaging, entertaining, and informative. However, not all listicles are created equal.
In this blog post, we'll discuss 9 ways to write a listicle that people will actually read!
What Are Listicles?
Definition
A listicle is an article that uses a list format as the basic outline with expanded paragraphs for all the points.
Format Variations:
- • Basic: Introduction, several points, conclusion
- • In-depth: List points with detailed explanations (like this post)
- • Flexible: Any subject with whatever style of information you want
Our Goal: Help you create strong, engaging, and clickbait-free listicles that provide real value to readers.
Before we get into the main points, let's look at some listicle examples.
Listicle Examples
The 10 Most Common Causes of Hair Loss
by Maryann Mikhail
Example of a basic listicle containing an introduction, key points, and a conclusion. Each list has around three or four paragraphs to make sure each is covered thoroughly.
The 100 Best Movies Of All Time
by James White
Takes a similar format with introduction, key points, and conclusion. Each list has minimal content, two or three small sentences, leaving you little helpful information. Commonly used by readers who just want to scroll through headings.
16 Weird Things You Won't Believe People Used To Believe, Believe Me
by Hilary Mitchell
Example of infamous clickbait Buzzfeed listicles. You can take one look at a title like that and immediately know you're about to waste several minutes, but you still click on it just in case there's interesting truth. Spoiler alert – there never is!
11 Best Toners to Hydrate Dry Skin, According to Dermatologists
by Dori Price
Functions as a content marketing listicle to promote sponsored products. We'll provide detailed tips for marketing your listicles in our 9-step section.
49 Startup Business Ideas To Consider in 2022
by Startup Geek
Takes a different approach by layering the 49 ideas under five main categories, helping readers consume a large amount of content in digestible chunks of information.
How Should You Plan And Write A Listicle?
Writing successful listicles is a lot easier than you might think.
We'll take you through our step-by-step guide for planning and writing a listicle, as well as provide tips for producing high-quality content throughout:
Have Your Topic Ready To Go
You need to know what your many readers may expect from the topic you choose. While the easy option is to pick something you find interesting and hope your readers do too, the smarter choice is to do some research.
Research Process:
- • Use keyword research tools to find topics with high search results
- • Search basic terms of your intended topic in Google
- • Check first page results - if listicles appear, it's a good keyword
- • Find related searches at bottom of Google results page
Example: Restaurants in Spain
Basic search: "restaurants in Spain" → Shows listicles on first page ✓
Related searches: "popular restaurants in Spain" → Perfect for listicle title
Alternative: Specify cities for location-based listicles
Check Your Topic Makes Sense
As we explain this next point, you'll understand why we selected the specific topic phrases above. You can't just take the most popular keyword, stick a high-ranking title onto it, and assume it will work well.
❌ Bad Example:
"Top 7 best restaurant in the world, Spain"
Includes conflicting keywords ('in the world' + 'Spain') that don't work together
✅ Better Approach:
"Top 15 Popular Restaurants in Spain"
Clear, focused keyword that readers understand and search for
Key Point: When making listicles for content marketing, consider what entices the reader as much as what may assist your ranking on search engines.
Determine How Long You Want It To Be
The length of your listicle has an impact on how likely someone is to stay on your page once they've found it. The fastest way to figure this one out is, once again, through the power of a simple Google search.
Length Analysis Example:
Search: "popular restaurants in Spain"
📊 List Length:
Top results: 10-20 items
📝 Word Count:
~3000 words (sweet spot)
Strategy: Analyze top-ranking competitors to find the optimal length and list count for your topic.
Choose Your Format
The main listicle format options you have to choose from are basic or detailed. Both formats are acceptable, but you should think carefully about which format option would suit your topic best.
Basic Format
- • Higher number of list items
- • 2-3 sentences per item
- • Quick consumption for readers
- • Great for: Product lists, quick tips
Detailed Format
- • Fewer items in the list
- • Several paragraphs per item
- • In-depth information provided
- • Great for: Guides, tutorials, strategies
Choose Your Angle
Most listicles fall under one of these categories concerning your angle:
Best/Top
"8 Best Smartphones in 2022"
For Beginners
"13 gardening tips for beginners"
Personal Use
"5 Best Massage Guns that I Use"
Tested with Proof
"7 Off-Road Vehicles (Tried & Tested)"
Expert Reference
"43 Tips to Reduce Insomnia, Backed by Experts"
Pro Tip: Choose whichever unique angle suits your writing style, or analyze the same high-ranking results you used to determine word length and follow their angle.
Create a Brainstorm
🎉 Yay, we're almost ready to put our outline together!
Brainstorming for list post ideas is the basis of building a high-quality listicle because you can't simply search for existing ideas and add them to your own listicles.
🔍 Research Phase:
- • Study similar listicles for comprehensive ideas
- • Identify what others include in their articles
- • Note common themes and approaches
✨ Unique Creation:
- • Create unique subheadings no one else uses
- • Add your own perspective and insights
- • Include fresh examples and case studies
Pro Tip: If you're struggling with unique ideas, include fewer items and expand descriptions instead. A good listicle provides extra detail while keeping short-attention-span readers engaged.
Writing Efficiency: Tools like blaze.today can help by automating repetitive text snippets and streamlining formatting.
Expand On Your Brainstorm
Now that you have your numbered list ready to go, you can consider adding additional headings to give your readers more information about the topic in question.
🔍 "People Also Ask" Strategy:
Step 1: Find "People also ask" section in Google
Step 2: Select relevant questions for FAQ section
Step 3: Search using full title for more questions
Step 4: Add strategically, not just as fluff
🍴 Example: "Popular Restaurants in Spain"
Found 4 relevant questions that fit nicely into an FAQ section at the article's end. Perfect for providing additional value without fluff.
Flesh Out Your List Format Sections
Once you're happy with your outline, go ahead and start fleshing out each section of your listicle, remembering to follow the sizing of either a simple or detailed list, as well as your chosen angle.
❌ Content Quality Rules:
- • Only interesting and factual information
- • No fluff or unsupported data
- • Back up claims with facts
- • Keep readers engaged and informed
✅ Consistency Guidelines:
- • Similar section lengths throughout
- • No obvious preferences (unless ranking)
- • Balanced coverage for each point
- • Maintain quality across all sections
🎯 Angle-Based Content Strategy:
🎓 Expert Angle: Include facts relevant to referenced experts and authoritative sources
👤 Personal Use Angle: Share opinions based on your direct experience with products/services
Add Images To Illustrate Each Point
Relevant images are incredibly important for listicles as they catch the attention of your readers and provide a visual aid to go with what you've written.
Common Mistake:
- • Random images just for decoration
- • Pictures between every item without purpose
- • Confusing visual choices that distract readers
- • Poor image quality or irrelevant content
Best Practices:
- • Relevant and useful images only
- • Graphs and infographics when applicable
- • Clean, professional look with proper backgrounds
- • Topic-specific visuals that add value
Pro Tip: Remove image backgrounds when necessary to maintain a clean, professional appearance that doesn't distract from your content. The image type should depend on your specific topic and list items.
Are You Ready To Plan And Write Your Interesting Listicle?
We hope this eye catching list of tips and advice for planning and writing listicles has brightened your horizons and inspired you to start making your own right away. The steps may seem complicated at first glance but are actually quite simple once you've had a chance to read through them.
Using what you've learned, we're confident you will be able to join us in the ranks of interesting, non-clickbaity listicle writers to help those poor souls sifting through Buzzfeed post after Buzzfeed post finding nothing of use. It is simply not enough to rank your content and use clickbait to get more website views when you could do the same with fantastic content and hold onto those readers for the long term.
FAQ
What Is The Correct Way To Punctuate List Headings In A Blog Post?
There are three proper ways to punctuate your list headings:
- H2 or H3 headings – no punctuation required
- Full sentence – colon or period
- Phrase – colon
What Is The Most Important Thing To Remember When Writing A List Article?
Put an emphasis on factual, interesting content over clickbait and fluff. Content is king!
Why Is The Listicle Format So Popular?
The primary reason has to do with the average human's short attention span, based on the findings of the Technical University of Denmark. Their studies indicate that the average human's attention span grows shorter as more information is available at a younger age.
Listicles provide the perfect means of absorbing said information in a short amount of time as the reader may scan the provided bullet points in whatever particular order they wish in a decent amount of time.
About the Author
Written by: Oran Yehiel, Founder at StartupGeek.com. Oran Yehiel (CPA, MBA) is the founder of StartupGeek.com which helps startup founders make the right moves through unbiased advice, pro info, and helpful tools. He writes about venture capital, marketing & sales, accounting & tax, software tools, entrepreneurship, HR and more at StartupGeek.com